Michael Cart: The Value Of Young Adult Literature

The Value of Young Adult Literature
In this scholarly piece of writing it informs all of the different types of readers about the nature and the evolution of young adult literature. Michael Cart is the author of this White Paper, where he explains the differences between YAL and other pieces of writing to young teens between the ages of 12-19. YAL is so important is because it can help young teens overcome life’s challenges as the characters in the books did. Such as life lessons, they help make young adult literature appealing for people in that age group. Cart considers that the young adult literature is significant to the readers lives, and for this reason it makes reading more enjoyable. Young adult literature is so significant because
the readers can connect so well with it. Cart also explains the importance of YAL and how it illustrates to teens how to grow up and become a functioning citizen of society. Cart also states the importance of teens looking up to someone and the importance of right from wrong.
1.” Young adult literature is made valuable not only by its artistry but also by its relevance to the lies of its readers”. This is an incentive for teens to read more which will increase literacy rates and that's why it should be involved in the school curriculum.

Developing a Love of Reading: Why Young Adult Literature is Important
Mary Owens is the author of this article, and she starts it off by stating that young adult literature was considered “Adult Lite” or “not a real book”. But she argues that young adult literature is important for juveniles to read, the reason being is because they are mostly about the future experiences and the ones in the past that they might encounter. She states that the majority of the main characters in stories consist of adolescent teens. Every ten years Owens describes how YAL has changed and what come about it, by change she means to the evolution of childhood to teenage years and how much people are changing as the generations move on. She also describes how YAL focuses on teenager’s problems that they have to deal with on a daily basis and future instances. As a result of teenagers being involved in YAL, they grow up and become adults. Once that happens they become interested in other adult literature and that lists all of the characteristics of YAL for example she states that “YAL is fast-paced”. She argued that its improved the reading habits of the young adults. She talks about how YAL will continue to change with the increasing audience and that it will never die out. The reason that YAL will never change is because there will always be an audience for it whether they are older or in the age group.
1.“With a protagonist that is similar in age, readers are able to develop an awareness of how other teenagers learn to move on from often pain and threatening situations”. Teenagers might not be able to learn this otherwise so, that is the reason why it's so important and needs to be added to the school curriculum. This will help them grow up and understand things more clearly and be able to cope with things much easier.

Young Adult Literature: What Is Young Adult Literature?
Chris Crowe is the editor of this article, he discusses what young adult literature is, but the only difference is between his definition and Carts and Owens is that he illustrates his personal experience.
He starts with how different high schools talked about YAL and the importance of it and went to the library and noticed that there YAL section mostly contained classics and series books, which are intended for some adults and young girls. He also explains how the Newbery award muddles the issue by using terms such as “children”. He notes that universities aren't even sure what YAL even is, they consider it “kiddielit”. He goes on to mention what he considers YAL is. He states that YAL as all genres of literature published since 1967 that are written for and marketed for young adults”. He makes sure to stress about the importance of young adults reading more and understanding what they are actually reading and being able to connect to what the importance YAL is and the relevance of their everyday lives. To end his article, he decided to list twenty of his favorite books intended for
teenagers.
1. “Selected works of YAL might serve as warm ups or bridges to classic works”. This helps develop a young adult reading habits and comprehension of novels.

Young Adult Literature: Defending YA Literature: Voices of Students
Chris Crowe edited this article which consists of a collection of arguments from senior English majors that help defend YAL literature.
One of the students had a valid argument that included “the books are generally positive and they teach a lesson, and most are just plain fun to read”. Someone in the article stated that; Most YAL readers read these types of books because they are valuable to them and they have similar experiences. Another student believes that “YA lit is a valuable asset to a young adult. These books are true literature. I liked them because they teach what we should value”. According to the books teach the values that adolescents should have to become functioning members of society. He ends this article by creating a list of books in which he believes are worth
reading.
1. “These books aren't just stories about secret crushes and high school sports; they deal with much larger issues that almost all teens have to deal with in some way or another”. So, teens can learn how to cope with drama and other problems that they will experience throughout their lives, and that's the reason why it should be included in the school curriculum.