Explore juvenile books with adult outlook

Not Just Kid Stuff,” says the sign in my local library. The sign highlights a selection of novels, some considered “Middle Grade,” for children ages 8-12, and others “Young Adult,” for ages 12-19. The novels are propped atop a bookcase near the adult fiction shelves. The books are prominently displayed to entice adults to pick them up and check out them. Perhaps you would rather not be seen taking out a novel for kids, but you could pretend the book is for a daughter, a nephew or a neighbor, kind of like the person who checks out books on divorce tells the librarian they’re for a friend.

But chances are, you’ve already discovered the wonderful world of novels for kids, or at least you are open to the idea. Perhaps you are among the legion of adults who have read J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Histories of Middle Earth.” Maybe you’ve entered the world of the autistic 15-year-old in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon. Even in publishing circles, these books cross the line dividing juvenile and adult fiction.

Probably you are familiar with many of the Middle Grade classics from your own younger years, or from when children in your household begged to hear them aloud. In this category, think of “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, “The Yearling” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, “Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls, “The Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson, and “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbit.

“Oh, yes, fine books,” you say with a wistful smile. Now your children are grown and you no longer have time to read fiction, let alone fiction for and about kids. Your mind is focused on real-life adult problems. Well, try “Nory Ryan’s Song” by Patricia Reilly Giff for a gut-level understanding of the potato famine in Ireland. Try “Witness” by Karen Hesse for the story of two young girls, one black and one Jewish, living in Vermont. The story takes place in 1924 during a visit from the Ku Klux Klan that riles up their small community. Cynthia Kadohata’s “Kira-Kira,” winner of the 2005 Newbery Medal, is written from the point of view of a child in a Japanese-American family. They leave Ohio for Georgia in the 1950s in search of a better life. They face racism, disease and wretched work conditions, but they manage to maintain their family integrity. Read “Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy” by Gary D. Schmidt, a Printz Honor Book and a Newbery Honor Book for 2005, to learn about the fate of the community on Malaga Island off Phippsburg here in Maine.

“Harrumph,” the skeptic says. Where are the books about current issues? Well, it can easily be argued that these books of historical fiction are relevant to today’s issues. But here are three more, which address current societal issues directly. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry, in creating a Utopian world, propels the protagonist and reader alike to confront issues of free choice and what it means to be human. “Double Helix” by Nancy Werlin raises bioethical issues in a can’t-put-it-down thriller about transgenic experiments. “Feed” by M.T. Anderson is a scary satire in which brain-implanted transmitters send a steady stream of information, entertainment, chat and advertising directly to the brain.

There are many reasons for busy adults to read books written for young people. The best of these books have the same attributes as good adult novels – interesting characters, compelling plots, rich settings. The use of language is often exquisite. But unlike a several-hundred page book, the typical Middle Grade or Young Adult novel must be succinct enough to hold a young reader’s attention. These books are a quick read for an adult. To put it another way, the Mount Desert hills are to young people’s novels what the Presidential Range is to adult novels – similar characteristics, but different in scale. Besides, the smaller book is easier to tuck into your purse, pocket, or briefcase. And if you’re a bedtime reader who falls asleep after only a few pages, you’ll get through a novel for kids faster. And you might not need your reading glasses.

Maybe you’re drawn to these books to understand teens better – your own, or other people’s. Perhaps you’re a parent, a teacher, a relative or a neighbor, and the teens you know don’t talk much, at least to you. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the other two books in the trilogy by Anne Brashares are about teen friendship, while “Stargirl” by Jerry Spinelli is about popularity. In “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a high school freshman grapples to find her voice after being raped at a summer party. “Freak the Mighty” by Rodman Philbrick gives an unusual twist to the topic of bullying. “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Munoz Ryan gives voice to a Mexican immigrant. “The First Part Last” by Angela Johnson describes a teenage father caring for his baby. In “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers, a young man creates a screenplay and keeps a journal to describe his court case and prison life. Three books – “Boy Meets Boy” by David Levithan, “My Heartbeat” by Garret Freymann-Weyr, and “Country Girl, City Girl” by Maine’s Lisa Jahn-Clough – all address issues of emerging gender identification.

Many books describe relationships between teens and adults. In “The Wanderer,” Sharon Creech takes several adults and three teenagers on a 45-foot sailboat across the Atlantic. In “The Mozart Season,” Virginia Euwer Wolff writes of music lessons and life lessons, and in “Dave at Night,” Gail Carson Levine writes of the Harlem Renaissance. In “The Fire-Eaters,” David Almond’s protagonist deals with class and power in the era of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In “Memory” by Margaret Mahy, a teenage boy befriends an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease.

If you crave adventure stories, try “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen. The young protagonist finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness. Then there’s “Phoning a Dead Man” by Gillian Cross, a thriller set in Siberia. But maybe what you want is a nice quiet story about springtime hope. Try “Seed Folks” by Paul Fleischman.

The titles described here represent just a few of the many wonderful books available to adults through your libraries and bookstores. Don’t hesitate to ask for advice from children’s librarians and salespeople in the children’s departments. And remember that your independent bookstores have already preselected some of the best books when stocking their relatively small children’s sections. And if you feel you the child within you. Computer users can easily learn more about the titles in this article by going online. If you like listening to books on tape or CD in your car, remember that your libraries and bookstores stock Middle Grade and Young Adult titles.

A word of caution: If you have teenage children at home, don’t try to persuade them to read what you’re reading, and don’t meddle what they’re reading – unless you’re invited, of course. Your enthusiasm alone for certain novels may win over other readers in the family, whether they’re teens or adults. If you do happen to read some of the same books, be prepared for your offspring to have different interpretations from your own. Perhaps you’ll learn from and about each other.

Sarah L. Corson can be reached at slc@acadia.net.