NPR : A Cure for Kids’ Summer Reading Doldrums is a piece on the troubles with mandatory summer reading lists. A delightful look at the issue accompanied with a selection of good summer reads that won’t be on mandatory lists.

The problem with “problem” young-adult fiction. By Ann Hulbert has been making the rounds on children’s lit discussion lists. Hulbert wants to see a return to classics in high school classrooms rather than problem novels. My response is why can’t we do both? They appeal to different kids, different readers, different learning styles. Can’t classes offer both? Perhaps creating a kinship between both types of book that strengthen the ties between the kids of today and classic literature?