Teenagers as readers: What kind of books do they prefer to read?

by Villaverde, Florencia  and Núñez, Melina

Contrary to popular myth, teenagers enjoy reading. However, it is clear that they do not like reading everything they are presented to. We carried out a survey in order to know more about the characteristics that teenagers consider a good book should contain. With the results of the survey, we will explore throughout this paper the differences and similarities between Small`s characterization of a good book for teenagers and teenagers `owns beliefs. The purpose of this is to determine what kinds of books teenagers prefer reading. 

Nowadays, teenagers read a wide variety of books during their lessons at school. It is important for teachers to know about the preferences of teenagers so as to choose books which call their attention and make them feel interested in what they are reading.

Many authors coincide in the importance of including certain elements in books directed to teenagers in order to engage them. Small (1992) is one of them. He points out that the main character of a story should be a teenager, the events and problems in the plot should be related to adolescents and the story should be relatively short. The survey we carried out included items related to the ones Small pointed out. 

Data for this quantitative study was collected from twenty teenage students of sixteen years old, who study English as a foreign language. The students belong to a public school from the district of Moron in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The survey was divided into six sections which contained several options. Students had to decide which options were more appropriate according to their preferences. The analysis of the data included analytic deduction. We summed all the students´ answers in order to identify the options chosen by the majority. The following is a sample of the survey:

What characteristics make a good book for teenagers?

 Characters                                                                           

- Teenage character

- Adult character

- Adult and teenage character

- Other/ others.

 Plot:

- Based on real life events

- Related to science fiction

- Other/ others

 Length 

- No more that 150 pages

- Up to 400 pages

- Other/ others.

Characters “are the guide who bring the story world to life and teach us to see the rich potential human beings have for goodness, love, faith, and hope, as well as for fear and evil” (Peterson and Eeds, 1990, p.31). A good selection of characters is essential to encourage teenagers to read not just a chapter but a whole story. Through a good characterization authors can make teenagers feel represented in a story and fulfill their special needs. These needs include the need to belong to a particular group of people, the need to communicate their own desires and fears to adults and the need for entertainment (Gail De Vos, 2003). Taking into account Small`s ideas, the main character in books directed to teenagers should also be a teenager and it makes sense if we take into account the need of teenagers to feel themselves represented in a story. However, after we carried out the survey, we realized that most of the students had chosen “adults and adolescents” as the preferred characters for a good story. Their answers are shown in graphic 1. 

The results were unexpected because we believed that they would only choose adolescents’ characters as the key for a good story. We draw this conclusion taking into account teenagers´interest in movies and television programmes. However, the majority of students has chosen both adolescents and adults´ characters.  We consider that this choice may be related to their wish to be adults and more independent. 

The plot is an important part of any story. According to Baker and Greene (1987) a well-developed plot includes a brief opening that introduces the main characters, sets the scene and anticipates the action. The ending resolves the conflict, releases the tension and leaves the reader feeling satisfied. These characteristics are taken into account by many authors when writing for teenagers. However, Small points out another characteristic that a plot should include. This characteristic is related to the kind of events the plot will be based on. To Small a story directed to teenagers should include a plot based on events and problems that are closely related to teenagers. We considered Small´s idea and included it as an option in the survey. We also added a contrastive option and give students the opportunity  to write other ideas if they do not agree with the ones we stated. Students´ answers are shown in graphic 2. 

Taken into account the results, we could confirm that Small´s characterization of the plot coincides with the students´ choice. The majority of the students agreed in having a plot based on real events as an important factor for a good story. This result can be interpreted through Yolen´s ideas. Yolen (2000) stated that “through stories teenagers are able to try their own dreams, fantasies, fears, and concerns without experiencing real-life consequences”. This means that teenagers identify themselves with plots based on real life situations or experiences and  develop a critical thinking without exposing them to risky situations.

According to Small, stories for adolescents should be relatively short. This means rarely more than 200 pages. We include in the survey three options to confirm or refute Small´s idea about the length of a good story for adolescents. The results are shown in graphic 3.

We realize that  teenagers prefer reading stories of no more than 200 pages. This could represent the lack of motivation some of them have towards literature. However, we also consider that these answers could represent the attention span of adolescents.

Our research demonstrates that the majority of the students who participated in our survey  has chosen the same characteristics that Small presented as  regards the length of a story and the plot. A story should be short and it should be based on real life events. 

The Quarantine Act (review)

Mehitobel Wilson

( Review by Nuñez Melina)

The Quarantine Act is a complex story written by the well-known and famous writer Mehitobel Wilson. This story is directed to teenagers and adults who love horror fiction and enjoy stories concerned with zombies. The author uses a wide vocabulary and she does not include illustrations which would be useful for the readers to understand the story.

The main characters of this story are a man called Alan and his wife Julia. Alan is in quarantine because of an epidemic that affects many citizens in the state where he lives. He refuses to accept an injection to be immunized and he dies but he becomes a zombie who is present all the time and mantains a relationship with his wife during the rest of the quarantine.

I do not recommend this story since it is very difficult to follow and to understand. What is more, the author mixes different events in the story that makes the reader feel lost.

Life itself (TV show proposal)

Dear Sir,

It would be a pleasure for our company that you may consider our new project called “Life itself” directed to adolescents and based on real life facts.

The project deals with everyday situations that teenagers face in their lives in Argentina. For example: adictions associated to alcohol and drugs, violence,  teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, among others.

The cast was properly selected by our qualified staff of acting professionals. The chosen actors will perform the roles of adolescents that belong from different social contexts.

We consider this serie is appealing to teenage viewers since each episode will show different situations in which they may feel identified and after watching it, they will be able to reflect upon their own experiences.

We expect the tv programme to be broadcasted five days per week, from six pm to seven pm because of the high porcentage of audience at that time. What is more, there will be  special editions supported by proffesionals that will deal with the topics exposed on previous episodes.

We hope you take into account this interesting project and let us be part of your network.

Faithfully

The great, Big, Enormous Turnip: a story that deals with an important value

by Melina Nuñez

The great, Big, Enormous Turnip is a children´s story retold by Alexei Tolstoy.

It is a very popular story in children´s literature. The main character in this story is an old man, who plants a little turnip. The turnip grows and it is very big, so the old man looks for help to pull it up.

Many English teachers in their lessons and also many parents at home read this story  to their children. They consider this story interesting since the author transmits the value of solidarity to children, which is very important nowadays. Solidarity is concerned with cooperation, and children need to know that cooperate with other people is necessary to live in the society. Solidarity is shown by Alexei Tolstoy in The great, Big, Enormous Turnip as a tool to achieve an objective.

Solidarity is present in the story all the time since the old man receives help from other people and animals to solve his problem and achieve his objective. The reader can notice the presence of solidarity when, for example, the old man realizes that the turnip is very big and he cannot pull it up alone, so he decides to call an old woman. Thanks to the solidarity of the people and the animals, the objective is achieved and the turnip is pulled up. All the characters are together in the end of the story and they share the turnip.

This story is a clear example of solidarity. The author shows the reader that it is not always possible for a person to solve problems alone and that people´s help is useful whenever there are problems to solve.

The Simpsons: a cartoon that deals with important issues

By Núñez, Melina and Villaverde, Florencia

The Simpsons cartoon was created by Matt Groening in the ´80s and made its first appearance on television in 1987. Nowadays, it has become the most popular cartoon around the world. The main characters of this cartoon are the members of The Simpson family: Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Magie who live in a city called Springfield. 

Each member takes a particular role in the family. Homer is the husband/father who does not like working and enjoys drinking beer; Marge is the housewife/mother with an unexcited life; Bart is the rebel of the family; Lisa is the most intelligent of the three children; and Maggie is the baby that does not speak. However, all the characters make use of irony and parody in similar ways, dealing with topics such as religion, politics and racism. According to the Oxford Dictionary,  Irony means “the use of words that say the opposite of what you mean, often as a joke”; and parody means “ a piece a writing, acting or music that copies the style of somebody or something in order to be amusing”. Both irony and parody are not only used by Matt Groening as tools for making people laugh but as a means to convey important aspects of modern society. This is the key for the success of this cartoon. 

Religion is one of the major topics in the cartoon. The creator of The Simpsons uses parody and irony in several occasions when dealing with this topic. Some clear examples are the followings: Homer does not think that religion is important to his life but he believes in God when he is in troubles. He practises the Protestant religion although he believes that going to the church is a waste of time. Many times he confuses God with a character of a comic strip (Superman). 

Although religion is a quite delicate matter, most people do not take Homer behaviors or actions as offences. With the use of irony people take it less seriously and many times laugh at Homer jokes and also discover hidden messages in his phrases. 

As regards politics, corruption goes hand by hand with it for Groening. He shows us that politicians can be corrupt when they have money and power through the character of the Mayor. Groening uses parody to make people aware that the Mayor is like most politicians  and does not care about the citizens´ problems, but only about getting more money. 

Sometimes people find many coincidences between the Mayor in the cartoon and the politicians of real life. People take for granted that corruption appears easily in the field of politics, but instead of feeling angry about it as they would in real life, they laugh at this situation. 

Racism can be seen in many episodes of The Simpsons. Apu, an Indian shop assistant, is sometimes discriminated by the citizens of Springfield, especially by Homer. Groening uses parody when he represents Apu as those immigrants who come to America looking for new opportunities in a way that is humorous.  For example, the episode when the Springfield´citizens discover that Apu is an ilegal immigrant and start discriminating him for this cause. 

The Simpsons success lays on the ability of Groening to make people laugh at situations that appear in this cartoon and are similar to the ones of real life. The use of irony and parody contribute to this success and help Groening developing topics that are important in the modern society.   

The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe
(Review by Nuñez Melina)

The Black Cat is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. Murder and death are the main themes that emerge from this dramatic story. A man goes crazy and reacts in a terrible way against his pets and wife.  The author creates suspense and catches the reader’s attention all the time. I recommend this story for all those people who enjoy reading horror and crime stories.

Little Red Ant (by Melina Núñez and Florencia Villaverde)

Once upon a time, there was a family of red Ants who lived in a big tree in the forest. The family was made of: Father Ant, Mother Ant and their daughter, whose name was little Red Ant.

Everyday, they worked hard to get food because winter was coming. They got up very early in the morning and went to bed at midnight.

One day, little Red Ant was looking for food in the forest and suddenly discovered a very little ant, whose name was Rose Ant, sitting on a stone and crying. She asked her what the problem was.

“I can’t find my tree, I am lost,” Rose Ant answered. 

Little Red Ant offered her new friend to stay with her and her family until she found the tree where she lived. Rose accepted and went to little Red Ant’s home.

When they got there, little Red Ant’s father was not happy because they had not enough room for Rose to stay there. Little Red Ant suggested him to give some leaves that were in the living room to their neighbours in order to have more space for the new guest.

“I won’t give the leaves to the neighbours, dear daughter,” said Father Ant really angry.

“What’s wrong with that?” said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people,” she added. “And you have always taught me to share with other people,” she concluded.

Her father realized that little Red Ant was right and allowed the new guest to stay with them until she found her tree.