SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

May 27, 2019 by Betsy Bird

This Memorial Day, Create a Military History Book Club

May 27, 2019 by Betsy Bird   2 comments

What I love about the world of books for youth is that I am consistently amazed and impressed by the sheer variety of topics out there. For this Memorial Day, I was approached by Marc Aronson, author and professor, about an idea that he and some of his students can been cooking up. He said:

In the fall of 2018 I taught a small class on Young Adults Reading and Literacy to Master’s student in the library program at Rutgers University. I learned that, by coincidence, four out of the seven women had a direct connection to the military — indeed two had lived overseas for many years during their husbands’ postings. I decided to work with them on a project I have long thought could be a real success in libraries (public or school) that serve middle grade and high school age young people: creating a military history book club. Susan Borbely, Laura Curry, Abigail Hsu, Amy Ledbetter, Leanne Ly ,Christina Stengele, and LuAnn Wright (some of whom have since graduated) ran with the idea. Together, and with insights contributed by our former dean, Dr. Jorge Schement, we created the material for the LibGuide you see here. 

https://comminfo.libguides.com/militaryhistorybookclub/home

Creating any kind of a bookclub at all can be a lot of work, particularly if the focus isn’t on Fictional material. What struck me about this LibGuide is the sheer amount of work its students have poured into it. One passage on the Guide caught my eye in particular. It read:

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

We recognize that some librarians may feel uncomfortable with this idea either because they have not read widely in military history or due to a personal reluctance to “glamorize” war, violence, the military in general, and current or recent US combat engagements, and a related concern that members of their communities may have similar strongly-held views. The purpose of these clubs is neither to encourage nor to discourage military service. Rather, it is to provide easy-to-implement opportunities for young people to explore an interest they already have, making use of resources in the library, shared discussions, and adult guidance to deepen their understanding. The clubs will show these young people that the library notices them and seeks to serve them. In turn, we see many intergenerational opportunities for such a club, from visits from veterans, experts, and reenactors to participation from parents and other elders who share this interest.

And then:

What Military History ISN’T:

Military History isn’t a glorification of war, or propaganda to join the Armed Forces. It’s not teaching youth how to be soldiers.

What Military History IS:

Military History is an aspect of history that focuses on the conflicts between countries.  It studies leadership qualities, tactics, strategies, and military matériel involved in those conflicts.  It can also cover conditions in society during those conflicts such as social prejudices, propaganda, and advancements in technology.  It can focus narrowly or broadly depending on the interests of the reader.  

We see our models as giving librarians tools to create their own versions of a high interest YA book club. These are a start, and as librarians put them to use the concept will surely be modified and refined to suit their own communities.

I would like to thank the students that saw this need and created this guide for the rest of us. Thanks to Susan Borbely+, Laura Curry, Abigail Hsu, Amy Lebetter+, Leanne Ly, Christina Stengele+ and LuAnn Wright+.

+ = student has direct connection to the military herself; Amy and LuAnn have lived in many parts of the world as Navy wives. Christina’s husband and Susan’s fiance are in the service. LuAnn took the lead in making contact with the Rutgers military and Veterans folks.

Filed under: Guest Posts

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
book clubsmilitary history

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

September 2023

On Quiet Protagonists: A Guest Post from Jack Cheng

by Betsy Bird

September 2023

Guest Post: The Making of HOUR OF NEED – A Chicago Story by Ralph Shayne

by Betsy Bird

August 2023

Elf Dog LaRue: A Guest Post by M.T. Anderson

by Betsy Bird

June 2023

Guest Post: Featuring Lindsey Leigh, Author and Illustrator of THE DEEP!

by Betsy Bird

April 2023

Guest Post: Welcome Back Authors by Laura Shovan

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Coming Soon(ish): The Wild Robot Animated Film

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Interview with Jorge Cham: Now With a Bonus Comic!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Exclusive: New Sibling Adventure Story from Papercutz | News and Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Debating Decades: Cast your votes in our survey of the best Newbery (and non-Newbery) books of the 2010s

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Peter Brown Visits The Yarn to talk about The Wild Robot Protects

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

ALA Releases Preliminary 2023 Book Ban Data

8 New Picture Books With Disability Representation

'And Tango Makes Three' No Longer Restricted; Teacher Provides Banned Books at Florida Ben & Jerry's | Censorship News

SLJ Invites Readers to Submit 30-Second Booktalks

The Impact of Access: Libraries, Bookstores, Literacy Programs Continue to Provide Banned Titles to Teens

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily Schneider says

    May 27, 2019 at 8:02 am

    Thank you very much for dedicating your blog today to this topic. I am not surprised that Marc Aronson, one of our greatest writers of informational books for young people, is involved in this project. I do find it a little sad that the goals of the book club have to stipulate that its intention is not propaganda or glorification of war. I understand why this approach may be necessary, given that some conflicts in U.S. history have been unpopular and even immoral. At the same time, it reminds me of the fact that, during the Vietnam War, the right wing in our country succeeded in appropriating the American flag, to the point where it became a symbol, not of patriotism, but of support for that war. Over the course of American history, men and women have given their lives to protect the values of freedom and democracy. I hope that, as we approach the 75th anniversary of D-Day, students and educators are able to meaningfully commemorate the sacrifices which that event entailed.

  2. Marc Aronson says

    May 27, 2019 at 10:23 am

    Thank you. We agree that the military as an experience and as an area of interest should not be tied to any only view of a particular conflict or to any set of political beliefs. We honor those who serve, and we wanted to provide ways to feed the interest in things military that is widespread but is rarely if ever a focus of library programming. I will say that while the composition of that class was unusual, I suspect there are more family links between youth librarians and the military than is often discussed.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023