xi Introduction Purpose, Scope, and Selection Criteria The last decade has seen the continued publishing of titles that recognize young adults between the ages of 12 and 18 as a respected and valued audience, alongside the development of titles that recognize them as having their own voice, interests, and agenda. Libraries are able to have current, appealing collections of young adult nonfiction because publishers and authors persist in creating titles that young adults want to read these provide both popular reading and fulfill educational requirements. In summarizing the small year-­ ov er-­ y ear increase in print sales figures for print units in 2018, Publishers Weekly noted that young adult nonfiction, along with its adult counterpart, helped to account for the overall gain. As is pointed out by Kathleen T. Horning in her invaluable book on the art of examining children’s books, From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books, the various subgenres of nonfiction may be evaluated using the same criteria: accuracy, organization, illustrations, design, prose, and documentation. Each of the titles included in this volume has been judged to meet each of these criteria. It may be assumed that the goal of a reader’s advisory guide is to help offer suggestions to a reader looking either for something new to read or for something similar to a title or subject for which they already have an affinity. This book is intended to act in that capacity, as well as offering practical suggestions and serving as a starting point for librarians, teacher-­ librarians, or others who find themselves put in the position of purchasing or replacing the young adult nonfiction collection for their library. This is a guide primarily intended to offer choices for recreational reading, and as such does not include dictionaries, encyclopedias, or reference books used solely for homework. Using a broad definition of nonfiction as meaning works that are not fiction, genres and formats that are highly appealing to young adults have been included, including graphic nonfiction, poetry, and a wide variety of how-­ to and craft books. The titles included in this book have been published since 2012, with exception of a small number of classic titles that remain mainstays of curricula and public library shelves. These titles, which meet the same criteria as the other books in the guide in addition to giving depth to a collection, have been included as “Now Try” titles to give librarians an option to pair titles when offering books to readers.
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