Prescott Public Library’s Teen Book Club has been selected as one of 16 public and school libraries from across the country to serve as an official book group for YALSA’s (Young Adult Library Services Association) Teens’ Top Ten.
The Teens’ Top Ten is a booklist created entirely by and for teens. Each of the 16 groups will nominate books published in a calendar year to create the official Teens’ Top Ten nominations. Then, teen voters across the country cast ballots for their three favorites, creating the Teens’ Top Ten. PPL’s Teen Book Club will begin its two- year term in January 2013. They will nominate titles for the 2013 and 2014 Teens’ Top Ten.
In addition to creating the official Teens’ Top Ten nominations, the groups also evaluate books for publishers. More than 30 publishers provide advanced reading copies to teen book discussion groups in libraries and in exchange, teen readers evaluate them.
PPL’s Teen Book Club members are no strangers to reviewing books. You can read some current teen reviews on PPL’s “Books for Teens” webpage, and each Teen Book Club meeting and Skype visit fosters critical evaluation of teen books. Part of the rigorous application process for inclusion in Teens’ Top Ten included the submission of teen book reviews. Five Teen Book Club members, Vivian Cook (16), Johan Glidden (14), Lena Cook (15), Ivy Broiles (15) and Hannah Kendall (13) each wrote a review of a current teen book to submit with the application.
Jennifer Kendall, a Youth Services Librarian at PPL, facilitates the Teen Book Club which she launched in 2009. Activities include hosting Mock Newbery and Printz Award voting, Skype visits with noted authors, 90-second Newbery film fun and just plain old talking about books. The group is now a thriving community of readers and reviewers that often determine their own agenda. Several recent Skype visits with authors were initiated by teens as were the books selected for monthly discussions. The Teen Book Club is particularly grateful for support from the Friends of the Prescott Public Library who provide generous funding for books and activities.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Kendall at 777.1518.
