Let's talk booktalks!

Book talks are an exciting way to get kids attention and to introduce them to books that might otherwise be off their radar. Most people have certain genres of books that they prefer to read. A gripping book talk can help people find books outside of that genre, which might be fascinating. Sheila Anderson, in Serving Young Teens and Tweens, provides a number of helpful clues to remember while giving a book talk.

The first is to think about the order of the books you will book talk. Anderson prefers to start with a book that will grasp the attention of listeners before moving into books that are more realistic or historical. I know I have grabbed a stack of books that I was planning on discussing and presented them in an order that didn't facilitate listener's attention. I had thought to end with the most exciting, but by placing the more realistic books first, I had not reached in and grabbed students attention. Organizing the order of book talks is an art that will only improve the success of a book talk experience.

I appreciate Anderson's discussion of the mental preparation that is required for successful book talking. She recommends a review of characters, plot twists, settings, and some dialogue. However, when working with students, it is important to be able to grasp onto the teachable moment. Often, a situation will occur that provides an opportunity for a fascinating discussion to anyone who is bold enough to be able to jump onto that train of thought. For this reason, I appreciate that Anderson recommends that readers remind themselves about the book as a whole so that they might revise their book talk along the way.

While Anderson does a good job of addressing potential book talk fears, I feel as if her discussion on proper book talk hydration might have been a bit excessive-- it seemed like it wold make people more nervous than they had before! Regardless, her comments on using special effects, playing cool, but not trying to be cool, and making tweens laugh offers useful insights for potential book talk presenters.

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving Young Teens and Tweens. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

What is a tween?

Sheila Anderson, in her book Serving Young Teens and 'Tweens, recommends looking back at our own tween years to better understand what today's tweens are going through. I remember wearing a sweatshirt tied around my waist every single day--just in case my period started while I was at school. I remember my first school dance; my friends all stood in a circle staring at each other as we tried to "look cool" trying to dance in public for the first time. I remember an ever-present fear of embarrassment in from of my peers.

Today's tweens still face the issues that Teri Lesesne refers to in her book, Naked Reading, regarding physical growth, hormonal changes and emotional maturity. Those are experience that tweens have gone through, and will continue to go through, throughout all of human existence. Bodies grow, voices change, and childhood slowly melts away. Transition is frightening and tweens who don't entirely recall the transition from babydom to childhood, feel as if they have never been through anything like the growth that they experience during the tween years.

What is different for today's youth is the prevalence of technology throughout all aspects of their lives. For tweens to be engaged in the library, we must be providing access to technology. Many teens and tweens complain that their education is not relevant to their lives. In the library, we have a unique opportunity to rectify that situation. The library is designed to provide each user with the unique experiences that they most need. It is crucial for librarians to expand our own horizons so that we can help tweens create meaningful library experiences that are personal to them.

I was especially impressed with Anderson's (p. 19) discussion on how to deal with tweens in the library. Yes, they are egocentric, noisy, packs of commotion. But it is our duty, as librarians, to be there for these people who are in a pivotal moment of their lives. If we consistently treat them firmly, but respectfully we are providing them an opportunity to become lifelong library users. How many adults actually visit the library with a pack of friends? This occurrence is an exciting opportunity for librarians to instill an appreciation of the library and a love of books-- helping to create the lifetime readers of tomorrow. Lesesne (p.17) states that 75% of teens would rather never read another book after they graduate. That frightening statistic is the very reason we need to find ways to bridge the cultural, societal, and generation gap between ourselves and the tweens we serve.

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving young teens and 'tweens. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Lesesne, T. (2006). Naked reading. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.