Candidates demonstrate a knowledge of children’s and young adult literature that addresses the diverse developmental, cultural, social, and linguistic needs of all learners. Candidates use strategies to foster learner motivation to read for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment.

Over winter break during my first year of graduate school, I look LLT 520: Resources for Children and Young Adults. The course was designed to explore strategies for using literature and related materials for children and young adults in library settings and incorporate literature into various curricular areas and public programming. While enrolled in the course, I designed a literature blog showcasing selections of different genres as a form of reader advisory and enrichment. I chose to focus on books with fantastical or imaginative elements and titled my blog "The Book Dragon". 

Inspiration from the title came from my knowledge of mythology and specifically dragons. In fantasy story, dragons are known for having large hoards of jewels or wealth where they make their home. As a future librarian, I will be normally in surrounded by shelves of books and therefore a hoard of my own making. In connecting myself to my favorite stories, I would then be considered a book dragon. In putting myself in my favorite stories, I am continuing my philosophy of wanting all of my future students to find themselves in the books that they read. No two people are the same and everyone deserves to see themselves in a story that they love. The blog speaks to different levels of fantasy or magical realism in stories, and I made a point to highlight different age levels as well. Elementary, Middle-Grade, and Young Adult materials were covered, as well as some award winning titles. 

When completing this assignment, I remember taking great care in choosing books based in tales from around the world and including character of different backgrounds. I am working on becoming a more well-rounded reader and experimenting with genre, and I wanted to first branch out in the genre I am most familiar with. I highlighted books with stories based in China, Norway, and Korea. I included two fairy tale retellings as well as books by male and female authors. The Skull is a chapter-based picture book that retells a Norwegian myth. Heartless is an Alice in Wonderland retelling from the perspective of the Queen of Hearts. A Magic Steeped in Poison is a fantasy story that has a magic system based in the tea ceremony of Chinese culture. 

Readers become engaged when they can see elements of themselves or their cultures on the shelves of their school library. My job as a future librarian is to help students find the books in which they can get lost in worlds of someone else's creation and find empathy in someone else's story. In my journey to become a school librarian, I will make a point to expand my knowledge even further to be able to address the needs and wants of any student that would set foot in my library. My goal as a librarian is to help everyone find themselves one way or another in a book or material in my library.