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ENG 375: Young Adult Literature

Thanks for visiting ENG 375: Young Adult Literature taught by Dr. Jan Susina in the English Department at Illinois State University.  The website supports class discussions in the course focusing on texts (books, films, graphic novels, television, magazine, websites, music, etc.) for people ages 13 to 21. 

Syllabus for ENG 375 Spring 2022. Link here for Syllabus for ENG 375.1    Link here for Syllabus for ENG 375.2

 Introductory articles

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez

Links to paintings mentioned by Sánchez

Related film clips

Fangirl: A Novel by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell

Contributions to Lewis Carroll Writing Competition 2021 "The Missing Chapter" Examples of fan fiction.

Chip Kidd's Kidd's GO: Guide to Graphic Design

MixTape resources

Teen Music

Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X

Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Films of Gatsby

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

PowerPoint on A Midsummer's Night's Dream

Information about Shakespeare and A Midsummer's Night Dream

Clips from performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and info about film versions

Comics and Graphic Novels for Teens

 

 


Fast Forward and Kids + Money by Lauren Greenfield

Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give

Jarrett Kroscoczka  Hey, Kiddo

Jarret Krosoczka's TED Talk "How a Boy Became an Artist"

Jarrett Krosoczka's website

Olivia Godoy's PowerPoint on Hey, Kiddo

Jarrett Krosoczka's 'Difficult Truths in Life and on the Page."

Looking for Alaska by John Green

John Green's own videos

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

 

The  following links are for books taught in previous ENG 375 classes.

Inside the Teenage Brain

Pleasantville. 1998. 

Pleasantville

High School Musical. 2006

The Music Man. 1962

Glee. television show. 2010-2015

Bare Naked Ladies singing "Grade 9"

Bare Naked Ladies singing "Grade 9."   a high school version

Freaks and Geeks. television show. 2001

Freaks and Geeks. a 2001 TV show

A TV series created by Paul Feig, with executive producer Judd Apatow. 2001.

Examples of resources for paper on films for adolescents. In .pdf format.  Film resources are about Soul Surfer. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 Biographical videos on Fitzgerald

Films of Gatsby

Teaching The Great Gatsby

Inspired by Fitzgerald and Gatsby

Films, now on YouTube, from 1920s.  Immerse yourself in the Jazz Age

 

Kate Hudson in Harper's Bazaar photo essay based on Gatsby

Hamilton: An American Musical. created by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lyrics to Hamilton with detailed annotations (from genius.com)

"The Schuyler Sisters" performed from Hamilton on The New York Times site.

Complete Hamilton soundtrack. including "Alexander Hamilton" song with lyrics. video

"The Hamilton Mixtape"

"Spamilton: An American Parody"

Lin-Manuel Miranda interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning

Miranda talks about Hamilton on PBS Newshour

Selections from Hamilton performed at 2016 Tony awards

In 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda performs a piece from his work-in-progress "Hamilton" at the White House

Millenials: The Musical. A Lin-Manuel Miranda/The Rock production.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Information about Shakespeare and A Midsummer's Night Dream

Clips from performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and info about film versions

 

Diana Rigg in 1968 Midsummer film

Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas's website

Information about the 2018 film The Hate U Give, based on the book

Interview with Angie Thomas in The Guardian January 27, 2019.

Jarrett Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo

 Looking for Alaska by John Green

John Green's website, with Looking for Alaska page.

John Green's tumblr site: Fishing Boat Proceeds.  His Twitter site: @realjohngreen His Facebook site.

John Green's " Does YA Mean Anything Anymore?" .pdf article from Hornbook,Nov./Dec. 2014 issue. the Zena Sutherland lecture

Muscle Shoals Documentary trailer.

John Green's own videos

Fanmade trailer. YouTube

Favorite quotes for book videos.  First video 1:44 Second video. 1:21

Nerdfighters
http://effyeahnerdfighters.com/
http://effyeahnerdfighters.com/nftumblrs
http://reddit.com/r/nerdfighters
http://nerdfighteria.info/

Looking for Alaska has been banned by some organizations: Publisher's Weekly.  School Library Journal. Green's video response "I Am Not a Pornographer."

A fan's playlist for the book

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The NEA's Big Read guide to Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury interview for NEA YouTube 22:19

A Conversation with Ray Bradbury. YouTube. conducted at Point Loma Nazarene University. 2008

Ray Bradbury on the origins of Fahrenheit 451. YouTube. 3:10

Discussion with Ray Bradbury on Fahrenheit 451 in connection with film release. YT. 11:29

The following books currently are not being taught in ENG 375, but have been taught previously and continue to interest adolescent readers.

Tavi Gevinson and Rookie magazine

John Lewis March: Book One

 Martin Luther King, Jr., The Montgomery Story.1956 comic book:

March, Book One. The book's publisher, Top Shelf, has created a website for the book with numerous links.

Videos related to March: Book One

Teen Films/Teens in Films 

Grease. 1978 film.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithian  

from Nick & Norah 2008 film

clips from the film

MixTape resources

Queercore links.

Summer 2015 music links

Taylor Swift

 Beyoncé.

Lorde.

Haim "Forever" video

One Direction"You Don't Know You're Beautiful" video of a live performance.

Kayne West.

Kayne's Nike Air Yeezzy IIs. Click on photo for more info.

 

Music Links

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Scenes from 1962 Academy Award winning film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird

Related videos

Information and news about Harper Lee, TKM, and teaching TKM

John Lewis March: Book One

 Martin Luther King, Jr., The Montgomery Story.1956 comic book:

March, Book One. The book's publisher, Top Shelf, has created a website for the book with numerous links.

Videos related to March: Book One

Article and interview about March, Book One, on NPR. Aug 31, 2013

Good review of the book by Robert Kirby on Comics Journal website

John Lewis, in a YouTube video, talk about the book at Politics and Prose bookshop in Washington, D.C.

In the article "Congressman John Lewis readies 'March' sequel" from Creative Loafing in Atlanta July 24, 2014 the congressman, his aide and the graphic novel's creator discuss the surprising success of the first book and what they plan for the sequel.

Music with romantic or break-up lyrics, YouTube videos.

Roundup of The Beatles links

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Sonya Sones Brief essay on "Le Bal a Bougival "by Princeton University art instructor

Suzanne Valadon wikipedia entry.  Another short bio on Valadon Renoir site.

Music and videos related to book

Chip Kidd's Kidd's GO: Guide to Graphic Design

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

Articles related to The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins's website

Scholastic's teacher's guide to The Hunger Games

Videos on YouTube connected to studying The Hunger Games

Map of Panem, a teacher's detailed analysis of the US map as re-imagined in the Hunger Games series

" 'The Hunger-Games':popular, violent, and rated PG-13" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article (March 2011) questions violence in book and upcoming film

The Hunger Games wikia with 285 pages 

 A Hunger Games map (click to bigger map)

Hunger Games map (click to bigger map)

Resources on adolescent culture

Books R4 Teens.  University of Texas site about books for adolescents with links and lesson plans.

Children Now!  California and the Kaiser Foundation report on issues relating to children and teens.  Many links, many reports.  Thought-provoking."Generations 2010" report from Pew Research Center's Pew Internet & American Life Project. Dec. 16, 2010

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager by Thomas Hine. website for author.

"Time Frames: Youth." selected articles from Time magazine about teen culture from 1947-2006.

"The Transformation of American Youth: From Teenager to Teenagent" by Marian Salzman. Huffington Post. May 12, 2010.

Generation M2

Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-12 year olds" a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Use the link to go to the website and then download the report in .pdf format  Also,  Go to the 5 minute video on the report

American Library Association's Banned Book materials

ALA's Banned & Challenged Book site

ALA's Frequently Challenged Books lists

Banned Books Week official website

InfoPlease information on banned books, edited for children

Jan Susina reading at 2009 Banned Books reading sponsored by ISU Milner Library.  YouTube video

"A Library's Approach to Books that Offend"  Article from The New York Times (Aug. 19, 2009) on how the Brooklyn Public Library handles requests for book censorship.  Includes link to .pdf document showing patron's requests and the library's response to specific books and other media.  Article focuses on Tin-Tin.

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

Jenna Marbles

"The Woman with 1 Billion Clicks, Jenna Marbles" by Amy O'Leary in The New York Times. April 12, 2013.

"Jenna Marbles Answers Questions from The New York Times" YouTube video 2:45 min

Jenna Marbles' YouTube site. one of her videos is "Things Girls Lie About"

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Videos and music related to Weetzie Bat


The Hollywood sign today


The longer HollywoodLand sign before it was shortened in 1945


Witch House in Beverly Hills in 2011 (Photo: J Susina)

Hobbit House photo from LA Times article

LA Times article on Hobbit Houses, from January 2005

Jayne Mansfield

Poster from Frank Capra's 1937 Lost Horizon

Twiggy, a 1960s British fashion model


Fast Forward and Kids + Money by Lauren Greenfield

 

Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman

Marc Chagall. Cemetery Gates. 1917.

"The Cool Hunt" by Malcolm Gladwell

 

Articles to Read

Walden Pond and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

Walden Pond today

"Walden" an essay by E. B. White, from his collection of esays One Man's Meat, in pdf format

Link to text of remarks by President Obama in a National Address to America's School Children. Sept. 9, 2009

Link to C-Span video of President Obama giving the address to school children Sept. 9, 2009

Walden quotation posters

Section One.  Click to open .pdf document of class posters.  May take awhile to download.

Section Two.  Click to open .pdf document of class posters.  May take awhile to download

Links to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birmingham Jail letter

Links to sites related to Walden and Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau"Thoreau's Cove" photo about 1900

A 1908 postcard showing the site of Thoreau's house

 

A replica of Thoreau's one-room house at Walden Pon

Walden Pond map from Thoreau's childhood.  click on image for bigger size

Thoreau quoations

Go to this Slideshare presentation of selected posters based on Thoreau's writing.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

"What Girls Want: A Series of Vampire Novels Illuminates the Complexities of Female Adolescent Desire" by Caitlin Flanagan.  The Atlantic. Dec. 2008.  Article in .pdf


Edward Hicks's Peaceable Kingdom Click on image for link to larger image and information on Hicks

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

screenplay

Wicked, the novel. Wicked, the Broadway Play. 2008 course

Materials for books used in previous semesters

Dan Clowes 

Ghost World film

World of Henry Orient

The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night Time by Mark Haddon

Frances and the Fairies, July 1917, taken by Elsie. Midg Quarter camera at 4 feet, 1/50 sec., sunny day.

A few more Cottingley Fairy Links.  Album of family photos. IMDB link to 1997 film FairyTale: A True Story. Article on history of the Cottingley Fairies by Philip Coppens.  Cottlingley Network with lots of details.

Information about Aspberger's Syndrome

A Rebel Without a Cause. 1955.

ALA Banned Book Week. Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2009

Link to ALA 2009 Banned Books Week site

Jan Susina reading at 2009 Banned Books reading sponsored by ISU Milner Library.  YouTube video

Free downloads page of ALA.  Scroll down to bottom for .pdf document of 2009 Challenged Book List

"A Library's Approach to Books that Offend"  Article from The New York Times (Aug. 19, 2009) on how the Brooklyn Public Library handles requests for book censorship.  Includes link to .pdf document showing patron's requests and the library's response to specific books and other media.  Article focuses on Tin-Tin.

Entertainment Weekly's Best YA Book of All Time Bracket Contest

Course Guides for Fall 2014 in .pdf format. Syllabus for Section 1Syllabus for Section 2 

Resources for researching and writing academic papers and essays about children's literature and adolescent 

Readings included in previous introduction to course

Additional links on J.D. Salinger

Carousels Joni Mitchell "Circle Game" on YT but just music Tori Amos singing it live at the piano. YT. 4:33.  Buffy Saint-Marie singing "Circle Game" in opening of  1970 film Strawberry Statement. YT 3:23.

Syllabus for Fall 2018 Section 1 Section 2

Syllabus for ENG 375 Fall 2019 

Syllabus for ENG 375 Summer 2019

Syllabus for ENG 375 Summer 2017