The History of Young Adult Literature: The Evolution Across Eight Decades
The birth of the notion of young adults goes all the way back to WWll when teenagers were distinguished as their own social demographic. However, the term 'Young Adult' was not coined until the 1960's by the Young Adult Library Services Association during the 1960's to represent the 12-18 age range.
Seventeenth Summer, released by Maureen Daly in 1942, is considered to be the first book written and published explicitly for teenagers, according to Cart, an author and the former president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. This novel targeted primarily young girls with its theme of first love. Following its publication, additional novels were published targeting young men with topics of sports.
Although YA literature was published in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, it was not until the 1970's that was considered the first golden age of of YA literature, where authors such as Judy Blume, Lois Duncan and Robert Cormier claimed their place in literary history with novels that challenged the current notions of the genre.
The 80's and 90's of YA literature continued to flourish with the edition of new sub-genres and authors tackling increasingly serious topics. This all leads up to what Cart refers to as the second golden age of YA literature beginning in 2000.
This version of YA literature history is extremely brief, in order to understand the decades in depth, specific time frames of YA literature will be explored in terms of popular YA novels, cover art, major themes present in YA literature, the primary audiences, major cultural events, and controversies taking place at that time. This will be connected to the book history as artifact, as knowledge, as reader, and as a cultural icon.
Seventeenth Summer, released by Maureen Daly in 1942, is considered to be the first book written and published explicitly for teenagers, according to Cart, an author and the former president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. This novel targeted primarily young girls with its theme of first love. Following its publication, additional novels were published targeting young men with topics of sports.
Although YA literature was published in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, it was not until the 1970's that was considered the first golden age of of YA literature, where authors such as Judy Blume, Lois Duncan and Robert Cormier claimed their place in literary history with novels that challenged the current notions of the genre.
The 80's and 90's of YA literature continued to flourish with the edition of new sub-genres and authors tackling increasingly serious topics. This all leads up to what Cart refers to as the second golden age of YA literature beginning in 2000.
This version of YA literature history is extremely brief, in order to understand the decades in depth, specific time frames of YA literature will be explored in terms of popular YA novels, cover art, major themes present in YA literature, the primary audiences, major cultural events, and controversies taking place at that time. This will be connected to the book history as artifact, as knowledge, as reader, and as a cultural icon.
Citations:
Cart, Michael. Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010. Print.
Cart, Michael. Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010. Print.