Text Messages: Recommendations for Adolescent Readers

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Episode 10 — Celebrating the NCTE African American Read-In

Make plans to join thousands of other readers in a celebration of African American literacy during the month of February!  Tune in for recommendations of both old and new titles by distinguished African American authors who write for teens.  Featured books range from historical novels to contemporary explorations of African American life in both urban and suburban settings.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of titles recommended in the podcast (as well as these additional recommendations) to take to the library or book seller.

Recommendations in this episode include

• Copper Sun by Sharon Draper (Atheneum, 2007)
• Day of Tears by Julius Lester (Hyperion, 2005)
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic, 2007)
• Guardian by Julius Lester (Amistad, 2008)
• Street Love by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad, 2006)
• Game by Walter Dean Myers (HarperTeen, 2008)
• When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright (Simon & Schuster, 2008)
• After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 2008)
  

• Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (Wendy Lamb Books, 2004)
• The First Part Last by Angela Johnson (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
• The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake (Hyperion, 1999)
• Bang! by Sharon Flake (Hyperion, 2005)
• If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 1998)
• Hush by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 2002)
• Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 2003)
• Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 2009)
  

Published December 22, 2008

About the Host

Jennifer Buehler taught English for ten years before entering a doctoral program in English Education at the University of Michigan. As a high school teacher, she developed an extensive classroom library to engage and inspire her ninth graders as readers. Watching her students select reading materials led Jennifer to expand her own reading accordingly, allowing her to match books successfully with teens’ wide-ranging tastes and interests.

While teaching high school, Jennifer earned a master’s degree in children's literature at Eastern Michigan University.  During that time she learned to conduct classroom research with the help of a teacher-research group.  As a result of this research, she developed a handbook for parents that shared insights about the growth and development of her students as readers.

An avid reader of books for teens, Jennifer now shares her knowledge of young adult literature in professional development workshops with area teachers and in university classes with future teachers. She is also an active member of NCTE's Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN).