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Adolescent Book Club

Adolescent Book Club

What is the Adolescent Book Club?

The UALR Adolescent Book Club (ABC) is an organization dedicated to the discovery and exploration of adolescent literature. We do this through traditional discussion, events with various authors of adolescent texts, movie nights, etc. As many of its members are English Education majors, the club often focuses on how certain text might be taught in the classroom. However, the club is free and open to all who have an interest in and wish to learn about this burgeoning genre of literature.

History and Purpose

In the spring of 2010, English undergraduates Lindsey Ditzig and Samuel Brown co-founded the UALR Adolescent Book Club with the help and support of Dr. J. Bradley Minnick, the Club’s faculty advisor. Dr. Minnick, Mr. Brown, and Ms. Ditzig saw a need to introduce adolescent texts to English Education majors and to develop lasting professional relationships among future teachers of English. Although the Club began small, with only three students and one professor, the UALR Adolescent Book Club has grown rapidly and continues to flourish and provide a fun and educational experience for all its members.

Recent Events

  • February 25, 2010: The first ABC meeting took place in the Cooper Lounge. Though small in number, members held a lively discussion on S.E. Hinton’s Rumble Fish.
  • March 18, 2010: The ABC welcomed a sixth grader to act as “adolescent expert” in a discussion of Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins.
  • April 30, 2010: As a final spring event, the ABC welcomed Arkansas author Kevin Brockmeier to UALR to discuss his adolescent text Grooves: A Kind of Mystery. With attendance now well over thirty people, the ABC ended the semester on a wonderfully high note.
  • August 10, 2010: The ABC met at Market Street Cinema for “Movie Night” and watched the film adaptation of Jack Schaefer’s Shane.
  • September 30, 2010: The ABC, in conjunction with the Cooper Honors Program, welcomed author, teacher, and activist Benjamin Alire Sáenz to UALR to discuss his newest adolescent text Last Night I Sang to the Monster.

Questions or Comments

Updated 10.13.2010