YALSA names 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
YALSA Communications Specialist
(312) 280-2128
NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2009
DENVER —The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), today announced its 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults list. The list identifies a body of films relating to a theme that will appeal to young adults ages 12-18 and is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.
The 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults offers 16 titles based on the theme “Coming of Age Around the World.” The list includes films, both fiction and nonfiction, that deal with what it's like to come of age in different places and diverse cultures. Selected films include “Persepolis,” “Love*Com,” “The Boys of Baraka,” “Whale Rider” and more. The complete list, including annotations, can be found at www.ala.org/yalsa/fabfilms.
“This is our first year doing a theme-based list and we are really proud of the results,” said Katherine Boyes, committee chair. “We hope that young adult librarians and AV selectors will purchase these titles and use them as springboards for programming, to open lines of communication with teens, as well as for fostering cultural literacy.”
Members of the Fabulous Films for Young Adults Committee are: Katherine Boyes, chair, Covington (Wash.) Library; Zahra M. Baird, Chappaqua (N.Y.) Library; Mary Burkey, Olentangy Local Schools, Powell, Ohio; Lynn Carpenter, Birmingham (Ala.) Public Library; Jacquelyn Caverly, Eden Prairie (Minn.) Resource Library; Susan Conlon, Princeton (N.J.) Public Library; Danielle Dreger-Babbitt, Consultant, Seattle, Wash.; Jane Halsall, McHenry (Ill.) Public Library; Janet Hilbun, Texas Women’s University School of Library Studies, Denton; Melanie Metzger, Lone Star College—CyFair Branch, Cypress, Texas; Sarah Sogigian, Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System, Waltham; and Susan Wray, Joplin (Mo.) Public Library.
For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audio books 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.
