Comments on: Young adult books then and now …

By: Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 16:39:25 +0000

In reply to Jen Twimom. Some very good points. I hadn't thought about gaming, but that probably does contribute, since all the fantasy games (and movies and TV shows) are so popular. Fantasy is definitely a more popular and accepted genre in all mediums these days.

By: Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 16:36:17 +0000

In reply to Amie Doughty. That's very true about times and tastes changing, as well as publishing trends. If a certain type of book sells, then you suddenly see dozens of those same types of books being published. I don't think it matters what kids read, just as long as they are reading.

By: Amie Doughty

Amie Doughty — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:57:57 +0000

Peter Hunt has a great article about children’s lit (and applicable to YA, I think) called “Passing on the Past: The Problem with Books That Are for Children and That Were for Children” in which he discusses how reading tastes change and how expecting kids today to read and love the “classics” (or even just what their parents/teachers loved as kids) is problematic. Tastes change, times change, even if we want kids to enjoy the stuff that we did when we were their age. That’s not to say that they won’t like the older stuff (regardless of genre) once they’re introduced to it. I also think a lot of the trend in fantasy (esp. the YA dystopian now) is publisher and bookseller driven. They see something that sells well and then glut the market with those same types of books.

By: Jen Twimom

Jen Twimom — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:35:40 +0000

I agree with your assessment of YA and fantasy books. I too read the likes of Trixie Belden and The Three Investigators. But I think it was more a product of what was available at the time. I loved watching fantasy and sci-fi, but the only books I recall finding were A Wrinkle in Time series and Narnia books. It wasn’t until I was in HS and could read/comprehend more complex stories and mature themes, that I found a wider variety of books.

While I agree with your reasons for more YA fantasy, I also think there is a feeder system in place. My kids had available to them a number of fantasy-lite books as young readers and multiple fantasy books at the middle grade level. With that in place, it reasons that there will be more interest at the YA level. Also, I think gaming plays a part. There are so many role-playing and fantasy apps available for the iPad, etc, kids are exposed earlier on. Also, parents like me who craved it when younger, pass that love of fantasy on to their kids, who in turn want to read it. It’s also more culturally accepted now, where as in the past, fantasy was for geeks. Finally, there are a number of adults who prefer YA, fueling the market even more.