Readers’ advisory to genre blends for children and young adults

CHICAGO — It’s no wonder that genre blends are some of most popular books for children and teens. When you mash up two different traditional genres, it’s like doubling what makes each one pleasurable on its own. The first of its kind, “The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Blends for Children and Young Adults,” published by ALA Editions, will help public and school librarians, teachers, and collections staff identify genre blends for readers’ advisory, curriculum development, or creating core collections. Pauline Dewan and Meagan Lacy profile more than 200 titles published since 2000. Inside the pages of this helpful guide you’ll:

• learn about six of the most in-demand genre blends for young readers, including Fantasy Mysteries, Magical Realism, Steampunk, and Verse Novels;
• be introduced to each genre blend’s most compelling novels and contemporary authors;
• understand both book appeal factors (such as genre and theme) and reader-appeal factors, assisting you in matching readers with the perfect book; 
• receive guidance on finding genre blends for children who are facing difficult circumstances, such as their parents’ divorce, cliques in school, lack of popularity, poor body image, or self-blame; and
• find what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently with the help of succinct annotations and a thorough index.

Dewan and Lacy previously co-authored “Connecting Children with Classics: A Reader-Centered Approach to Selecting and Promoting Great Literature.” Dewan is a liaison librarian at the Brantford, Ontario campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. She has also written two books about children’s literature and a number of articles about reading for pleasure. She won the 2015 RUSA Press Award for her article “Reading Matters in the Academic Library: Taking the Lead from Public Librarians.” She served for five years on the Reader’s Advisory Committee of the Ontario Library Association. Lacy is chief librarian at Stella & Charles Guttman Community College, CUNY. She received the Emerging Scholar Award for her article “Portraits of Children of Alcoholics: Stories that Hope to Hope,” published in Children’s Literature in Education.

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