It's always energizing to be part of such a large group of librarians, teens, and teachers who have all gathered to learn about YA literature. The Books for the Beast training started with a keynote speaker whom I didn't know, but whose work I'll be reading soon, Gail Giles. She spoke about why her books are called "edgy and dark" and seemed to really be tuned to the teen experience.
Next were book discussion groups, where we discussed the books that we had read in preparation for the conference. My groups tacked the themes of "Real Life" and "Multicultural Reads." I found it very useful to hear what other people had to say about these books, both in terms of remembering and appreciating them, and because it was interesting to hear from people in other libraries, other systems and other settings ( such as schools) who work with teens and books. People shared their own experiences, and that also made the experience rewarding. One of the main goals of the conference is to improve our readers' advisory skills, and this exercise certainly will contribute to my expertise.
Our final speaker of the day was Mark Siegel, who illustrates books, has designed books for a publisher, and now runs an imprint for a major publisher. I found his life story pretty amazing because he has actually written and illustrated a book based on his wife's childhood experiences.
In addition to talking about this book, To Dance: A Memoir, Siegel also showed some of the publications from his company, First Second (:01), which specializes in graphic novels for young people.
I came back from the conference enthusiastic about YA books, and eager to read more. I also have several "If you like" lists which the organizers put together, which should be very useful in doing readers advisory to teens. The only downside to this conference (other than having to drive to Baltimore!) is that it's only held every two years.
Submitted by Barbara Shansby
Chevy Chase Library
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Barbara is so right about the wonderful opportunities the Books for the Beast Conference provides to meet and discuss books with others who work in different settings. I joined book discussion groups for Historical Fiction and Nonfiction- The discussion in both groups was stimulating and included participants who worked in public libraries, school libraries, collection development and teaching library-related courses. Our historical fiction group discussed the books on the list in order of our preference for what we read. At lunch I had a discussion with another conference-goer who been in a different historical fiction group discussion- and her group had a completely different order of preference. Young adult books are good reads for adults as well, something adult librarians might keep with readers' advisory questions. The keynote speaker Gail Giles was very engaging, both with the adults and teens in the audience- I did not know her either, but am inspired to read some of her books. The conference was definitely energizing- I would encourage others to think about attending the next one in two years.
Rhoda Bush
Chevy Chase
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