Provides an overview of boarding school stories in children's literature and explains their appeal in terms of the enclosed setting and personal development, learning to fit in, absence of outside influences, the perceived atmosphere, and the established framework of the setting. A list of recommended classic and modern stories is included. (16…

A well-known author of novels for young adults talks about her own youth and her desire to be a writer. Supportive librarians, English teachers, and parents are mentioned as positive influences, and how she began writing specifically for young people is explained. (EAM)

Describes the history and methodology of a project to compile an annotated bibliography of published critical research on young adult literature. Preliminary findings include recommended book lists, articles by young adult authors, author studies, and topic analyses. Recommendations for future research are included. (EAM)

Robert Cormier, the author of "The Chocolate War" and other books for young adults discusses his plots and characters, input from editors, writers who influenced him, themes in his novels, and his two latest books. A bibliography of 10 young adult books by Cormier is included. (EAM)

Examines the treatment of foreign characters in adolescent fiction series of the twentieth century. Numerous examples of stereotypical images, portrayals of foreign inferiority, dialect, and derogatory designations are provided, along with some positive images. The potential impact on adolescent readers is discussed. (43 references) (CLB)

Examination of Zindel's treatment of adolescent main characters focuses on the gender related roles assigned to them and the interactions of male and female characters. It is concluded that readers are left with more positive views of males although the author is not sexist. (five references) (CLB)

A chronological examination of the portrayals of gay/lesbian characters and their contexts in 60 young adult novels published from 1969 to 1992 focuses on information about gay/lesbian people, both as individuals and in relationships; gender representation; and narrative distance. A chronological bibliography is appended. (Contains 13 references.)…

Presents an interview with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, a prolific author of books for children, young adults, and adults. Her writing process, how reading influences her writing, and ideas for settings and characters are some of the topics covered. A selected list of 32 of her books is included. (EAM)

Considers how to explain crimes against humanity to children, especially through literature. The focus is mainly on apartheid in South Africa but also discusses the Holocaust and slavery, and examines how to present a realistic view of history and events and still offer hope and encouragement. (LRW)

This lecture by Hazel Rochman discusses multiculturalism and immigrants in literature for young adults, including fiction and poetry, based on her experiences of growing up under apartheid in South Africa and moving to the United States. (LRW)

Provides an annotated list of recommended selection tools for children's and young adult materials in Spanish. Commercial vendors, books, older lists for retrospective collecting, and periodicals and journals are among the categories included. (five references) (LRW)

Provides an expanded version of a speech given at the 1992 American Library Association conference reflecting on 25 years of young adult literature. Issues and trends in American society and their relationship to the emerging literature written for adolescents are discussed. (EAM)

Includes three presentations that were originally presented at the 1993 American Library Association Annual Conference as part of the forum entitled "Is That Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for Young People." The viewpoints of an editor, an educator, and a writer are presented. (LRW)

Describes a content analysis study that used Kohlberg's theory of moral development to determine the stage of moral development represented by protagonists in Young Adult Choices (i.e., lists of titles preferred by adolescent readers) fiction and the relationship to the level of moral reasoning of real-life young adults. (Contains 20 references.)…

Describes a content analysis that was conducted of juvenile literature to analyze literary depictions of characters with attention deficit disorder and to discern the congruency of the literary depictions with the empirical and medical research currently available. Also includes an annotated bibliography of appropriate materials. (LRW)