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Contact: William Reyes,
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CITY YOUTH PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL “TEEN’S TOP TEN” BOOKLIST SELECTION
ELIZABETH, NJ November 14, 2006—Teen readers across the country, including the City’s own Best Books for Young Adults Discussion Group of Elizabeth, voted “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling as their favorite book to take the #1 spot on the annual Teens’ Top Ten (TTT), sponsored by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest growing division of American Library Association (ALA). The vote took place during Teen Read Week, October 15-21, 2006, and gave teens an opportunity to voice their choice of the best new young adult books.
“The more students read outside of the classroom the better they will perform in school, said Mayor Chris Bollwage, City of Elizabeth. “It is important that parents read to their young children and encourage reading throughout adolescence. Books are a great way for young people to learn, explore, and develop their creativity.”
Teens’ Top Ten is a part of YALSA’s Young Adult (YA) Galley Project, which facilitates access to advance copies of young adult books to selected national teen book discussion groups. These groups evaluated books that were published from January 2005 through April 2006, and created a list off 22 nominations for the best new books for young adults. Teen across the country then read the books over the summer and early fall and cast ballots during Teen Read Week for their three favorites, creating the 2006 Teens’ Top Ten booklist of the best new books for young adults.
“This is a wonderful example of the quality programs available to teens at the Elizabeth Public Library,” stated Library Director Dorothy Key. “Our teens are part of a select group involved in this project and students in grades 6 – 12 should contact the Teen Department if they are interested in joining the young adult book discussion group.”
Teens were encouraged to vote for their favorite young adult books during Teen Read Week from the official nomination list posted online at the Teens’ Top Ten site. Over 5,000 online ballots were cast and the results, combined with the results of a separate vote of the TTT groups, determined the final ranking of the 10 top books of the year, as selected by teen readers. With J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book topping the list, the 2006 Teens’ Top Ten (in ranking order) includes:
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic Press, 2005).
2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2005).
3. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2005).
4. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (Delacorte Press, 2005).
5. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (Razorbill, 2005).
6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2005).
7. Poison by Chris Wooding (Orchard Books, 2005).
8. Captain Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart (Laura Geringer Books, 2005).
9. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor (Hyperion Books for Children, 2005).
10. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)
Mark your calendar for next year so your teens can participate in the 2007 Teens' Top Ten. Final nominations for the 2007 Teens’ Top Ten vote will be posted in April at http://www.ala.org/teenstopten. Voting will take place during Teen Read Week October 14-20, 2007.
“The Elizabeth teens that read and review for YALSA’s Teens Top Ten/YA Galley Project have the opportunity to read advance copies of books that are not yet available in libraries and bookstores,” said Kimberly Paone, Supervising Librarian for Adult/Teen Services. “This November the group takes on the additional responsibility of nominating books for TTT.”
Teens Top Ten voting groups include the CHS Book Club of Central High School in Grand Junction, Colo.; Middle Creek High School Printz Club of Middle Creek High School in Apex, N.C.; Teen Advisory Board (TAB) of Downers Grove (Ill.) Public Library; Teen Literacy Initiative of Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wis.; Young Adult Advisory Council (YAAC) of City of Mesa (Ariz.) Library; Best Books for Young Adults Discussion Group of Elizabeth (N.J.) Public Library; City Library Street Team of Salt LakeCity (Utah) Public Library; Danbury Library Teen Council of Danbury (Conn.) Library; Keene (N.H.) Public Library’s Keene Teens Read group; Mary Jacobs Teen Group of Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill, N.J.; Stratford (Conn.) Library Youth Review Board of the Stratford Library Association; Teen Advisory Board of Tippecanoe Public Library in Lafayette, Ind.; Teen Talk Book Club of Lincoln County High School Media Center in Stanford, Ky.; Watertown-Mayer Book Club of Watertown (Minn.) Public Library; and Young Adult Advisory Council (YAAC) of Johnson County Library in Shawnee Mission, Kan.
For nearly 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 here, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.
