Novels in Verse for Teens: A Guidebook with Activities for Teachers and Librarians

Product Description

Novels in verse are popular and have recently won some important awards. They are of great value to teachers and librarians as a way of reaching all teens, including marginalized teens and those who may be struggling or reluctant readers. This guide shows readers how to pair books with teens based on their needs, interests, and specific situations. After teens are paired with books, this guide suggests activities to further engage them with the poetry. Activities are tied to Common Core and AASL standards for ease of lesson planning for teachers.

Verse novels address a widely diverse demographic and a variety of topics, including various cultures, religions, racism, LGBTQ+ themes, mental illness, poverty, homelessness, sexual assault, self-harm/suicide, domestic violence, family dynamics, disabilities, refugees, English language learners, and more.

Novels in verse provide a more modern, practical alternative to some older classics that may not appeal to many teens or that may intimidate them by their sheer number of words per page. This book provides a one-stop resource for choosing and using novels in verse with teen readers.

Review

“Teachers and librarians will find Krok’s resource highly useful.” ―
VOYA

“Recommended for anyone looking to diversify collections, learn more about novels in verse, or expand their use of poetry in the classroom or library.” ―
School Library Journal

Review

“Lisa Krok gives us a wonderful overview and poetry handbook for YA in Novels in Verse for Teens: A Guidebook with Activities for Teachers and Librarians. She provides a strong research-based rationale for the value of sharing novels in verse with teens for providing unique and powerful perspectives, building newfound empathy, valuing diversity, and disrupting the canon in reaching marginalized and reluctant readers. Her reader’s advisory component offers a rich annotated bibliography along with engaging activities to encourage critical reading, responding, and writing focused on poetic forms and educational standards. Krok addresses cataloging and shelving issues and provides selection criteria, searchable content tags, a glossary of poetic devices, and QR codes linked to additional resources. Her focus on access (white space) and voice (reader engagement) through poetry is a powerful, practical model of literacy building with teens.” —
Sylvia Vardell, Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University and Author of Children’s Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide, 3rd Edition; Poetry People: A Practical Guide to Children’s Poets; and Poetry Aloud Here: Sharing Poetry with Children in the Library.

About the Author

Lisa Krok, MLIS, MEd, is the adult and teen services manager at Morley Library in the Cleveland, OH, area and a former teacher.