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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Reading Association Inc.
The 2004 Young Adults' Choices list is the 18th that U.S. teenagers (grades 7-12) have helped create. This project began in 1986, funded by a special grant given to the International Reading Association (IRA) and supervised by the Association's Literature for Young Adults Committee.
The goals of the project are to encourage young people to read; to make teens, teachers, librarians, and parents aware of new literature for young adults; and to provide middle and secondary school students with an opportunity to voice their opinions about books being written for them.
The 30 books on this year's list are the result of voting by students in five different regions of the United States. Trade books (books other than textbooks) published in 2002 were submitted by more than 50 publishers. Each book had to have at least two positive reviews from recognized sources such as The Horn Book, School Library Journal, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Booklist, Language Arts, or Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA). Submitted books were read by students in grades 7-12 between September 2003 and February 2004 in selected school districts throughout the United States. More than 11,000 ballots were counted for the books submitted for this year's project. Students marked, "I liked the book," "It was OK," or "I didn't like the book." The results were announced in May at the 2004 Annual Convention of the International Reading Association in Reno, Nevada, USA.
Publishers sent the books to the five team leaders in different regions in the United States. The team leaders' responsibilities included selecting the school districts and schools in which the project would take place; making sure the books were distributed to the schools; and working with the teachers, librarians, supervisors, and principals to implement the program. They were also responsible for collecting the ballots and mailing them to the International Reading Association headquarters for the final tally.
The following schools participated in the 2004 project:
Team 1: Lisa Morris-Wilkey (team leader): Casa Grande, Arizona; one high school and one K-8 Catholic school; rural.
Team 2: Alice Siegel (team leader): Mt. Vernon, New York; two high schools and two middle schools; suburban. Lorrie Gallo and Kathleen Broskin (trainees): two high schools, one middle school, and one junior high; rural.
Team 3: Barbara Rawls and Jeanne Welt (team leaders): Madison, Alabama; two middle schools and one high school; suburban.
Team 4: Stacia Cooper and Valerie Garton (team leaders): Columbia, Missouri; three high schools, three junior high schools, and three middle schools; urban. Patrice Kraus, Kathy Meyer, and Julie Powell (trainees): two junior high schools and two high schools; suburban and urban....
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