YALSA offers book tie-ins to “Twilight” movie
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
YALSA Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
NEWS
For Immediate Release
November 25, 2008
CHICAGO ¾ Last weekend, Americans flocked to see “Twilight,” the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s young adult novel that raked in $70 million in box office. For those who can’t get enough of Meyer’s series, in film or book format, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), suggests similar books and offers resources for planning teen-focused programs that feature “Twilight” and its sequels.
“Romance, forbidden love, isolation and supernatural beings are always popular with teens, as seen this weekend at the movies,” said Sarah Cornish Debraski, YALSA president. “Now that they’ve seen the film version of ‘Twilight,’ many teens will ask their librarians to find them books ‘just like it’ to get them through until the next film comes out!”
Teens’ love for this series has inspired librarians as well, said Karen Brooks-Reese, chair of YALSA’s 2009 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (PPYA) committee. Brooks-Reese points to the nominations for the 2009 PPYA list “Dead, Dying and the Undead” as a starting point to find books similar to “Twilight.” This list of recommended reading is meant to encourage teens to explore the often mysterious world of death and those who experience it and can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/PPYA09.
“Libraries all over the country are drawing teen readers with programs based on the Twilight series, and teens are coming in looking for books to read between installments of the films,” said Brooks-Reese. “Although the books on the list may be as different from each other as night and day — or living and dead — they all share certain themes. Librarians can use the list to find both the obvious vampire read-alikes and additional titles with a different kind of darkness.”
The final 2009 lists will be announced at ALA’s 2009 Midwinter Meeting, Jan. 23-28, 2009, in Denver, Colo. Programming ideas are also available at
http://tinyurl.com/twilightprograms.
For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, films and audiobooks for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, or e-mail,
yalsa@ala.org.
