Is this odd?

[*Lulu*]

I was searching for titles from the Anne of Green Gables series in our local library system and discovered that only the first three are available. I've always considered them standard reading, but now I'm wondering if they are just out of literary vogue or if I had misjudged their standing in the literary realm. What says the hive?

 

I also discovered that they are shelved in the YA section. :confused: Any guesses as to why?

[dcjlkplus3]

I was searching for titles from the Anne of Green Gables series in our local library system and discovered that only the first three are available. I've always considered them standard reading, but now I'm wondering if they are just out of literary vogue or if I had misjudged their standing in the literary realm. What says the hive?

 

I also discovered that they are shelved in the YA section. :confused: Any guesses as to why?

 

I would guess they are shelved YA because by the end of the first book Anne is 16 or 17 - she is a young adult. My dd(almost 10) read the 1st one this year and she didn't like it by the end because Anne was getting too old for er to relate to/be interested in.

[*Lulu*]

I would guess they are shelved YA because by the end of the first book Anne is 16 or 17 - she is a young adult. My dd(almost 10) read the 1st one this year and she didn't like it by the end because Anne was getting too old for er to relate to/be interested in.

 

I can see what you mean about her age. I guess it just had me puzzled because we've been reading it/listening to the audio and all of mine except the 4yo are begging for more.

[chepyl]

I love the books! I have read the first one multiple times. I can't seem to get through Rainbow Valley and I have never started Rilla of Ingleside. I lost interest when they were no longer about Anne and Gilbert ;)

 

I would consider them standard reading. I think they are well written, beautiful stories!

[dangermom]

Request that the library buy the rest of the series. They are classics, but they aren't quite as in vogue with teens as they were a few years ago, so the library might not have gotten around to buying replacements as the old copies wore out.

 

Anne of Green Gables is usually considered to be mainly a YA series, as is the rest of Montgomery's work. You could find a copy of the first volume in many library children's rooms too, but as a whole the series goes in the YA section.

 

Chepyl, read Rilla's story--it's wonderful! One of my favorites. :)

[LucyStoner]

I bet that the other copies wore out or they were stolen/lost and they never replaced them because they were buying vampire romance books instead. :glare:

 

I consider them all must reads but I agree that after the first book, the topics get a little old for kids under age 10-11. I must have read the first at 8 but I don't think I got into finishing the rest until closer to 12-13. I reread them a lot later on.

[Margo out of lurking]

I bet that the other copies wore out or they were stolen/lost and they never replaced them because they were buying vampire romance books instead. :glare:

 

Yes. I work in the children's/young adult section of our library. We make a conscious effort to keep classic books on the shelves. They can be very difficult to replace, however, as we order through a large vendor who typically stocks the more popular/newer books.

 

When you see old, tattered good books, it's probably because your librarian knows it's better to have this than nothing.

 

And let's not even go into the fact that most of the young adult fiction these days rates a fourth to fifth grade reading level. That rating is given by Accelerated Reader, another nasty can of worms.

[LaxMom]

Yes. I work in the children's/young adult section of our library. We make a conscious effort to keep classic books on the shelves. They can be very difficult to replace, however, as we order through a large vendor who typically stocks the more popular/newer books.

 

When you see old, tattered good books, it's probably because your librarian knows it's better to have this than nothing.

 

And let's not even go into the fact that most of the young adult fiction these days rates a fourth to fifth grade reading level. That rating is given by Accelerated Reader, another nasty can of worms.

 

No joke! And our neighboring county's summer reading list for 5th graders? Captain Underpants and Magic Tree House. (Nothing against either of them, per se, but they do not belong on a 5th grade reading list IMO)

 

Thankfully, our tiny, rural library system seems to have a great selection of more challenging reads for the younger set. I'm not even sure if we have a stand-alone YA section... it may be that I just haven't looked, though.

[Mama Geek]

I stumbled across the movies a few years ago and loved them. I haven't read the books, but I will eventually read them to dd.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I bought the local library's copy (singular) when it was weeded from the shelves several years ago. It is a small, rural library with limited space. If something hasn't been checked out in 3 years it's taken off the shelf. That's right, no one had checked it out in 3 years. There are not many classics left there. No Shakespeare, no original Beatrix Potter (lots of adaptations of Peter Rabbit), etc. :sad:

[Upward Journey]

I bought the local library's copy (singular) when it was weeded from the shelves several years ago. It is a small, rural library with limited space. If something hasn't been checked out in 3 years it's taken off the shelf. That's right, no one had checked it out in 3 years. There are not many classics left there. No Shakespeare, no original Beatrix Potter (lots of adaptations of Peter Rabbit), etc. :sad:

 

That's so sad. The big city that we used to live got rid of books like that. It was disheartening. The little town that we live in now has lots of older books because they don't have the budget to buy many new ones at the moment. It looks like they had started on the winnowing process, but then the recession hit.

[*Lulu*]

Yes. I work in the children's/young adult section of our library. We make a conscious effort to keep classic books on the shelves. They can be very difficult to replace, however, as we order through a large vendor who typically stocks the more popular/newer books.

 

When you see old, tattered good books, it's probably because your librarian knows it's better to have this than nothing.

 

And let's not even go into the fact that most of the young adult fiction these days rates a fourth to fifth grade reading level. That rating is given by Accelerated Reader, another nasty can of worms.

 

 

I have wondered about that. I see books labeled 6,7, and 8 in the children's section, (classics mostly), but most of the YA books DS#1 has wanted are the same number as Hank the Cowdog. Are those numbers really an accurate guide to the reading level of the books?

[*Lulu*]

I bought the local library's copy (singular) when it was weeded from the shelves several years ago. It is a small, rural library with limited space. If something hasn't been checked out in 3 years it's taken off the shelf. That's right, no one had checked it out in 3 years. There are not many classics left there. No Shakespeare, no original Beatrix Potter (lots of adaptations of Peter Rabbit), etc. :sad:

 

Our library has the most beautiful Beatrix Potter collection, but I am convinced we are the only ones who check it out. I enjoy being able to check it out so frequently that I feel no need to purchase it, but it makes me sad that no one else is enjoying it. Truth be told, it also makes me a little frustrated because I know we have a decent number of homeschool families who utilize this library. I just keep telling myself that they must already own the collection. :tongue_smilie: :chillpill:

[beaners]

Over the last two months I have almost completely stopped picking out books ahead of time from our local library and this county's system. It's very hard to find classic picture books or novels. Now I order all of my books from Pittsburgh and my husband picks them up for me. When we go to the local library I just let my children grab whatever interests them from the shelves. We still get a lot of interesting books. I do feel bad that we aren't putting the classic books into circulation, but since the librarian said she wouldn't raise our checkout limit it's easier this way. Now I can request the books I need on a card that has no limit, and my children can pull books from the shelves without me worrying if we can check everything out.

 

We are also slowly accumulating the books that are being cast off in the library sale. It was $1 per bag last time, and we filled quite a few.

[Margo out of lurking]

I have wondered about that. I see books labeled 6,7, and 8 in the children's section, (classics mostly), but most of the YA books DS#1 has wanted are the same number as Hank the Cowdog. Are those numbers really an accurate guide to the reading level of the books?

 

The numbers are based on a formula that determines average sentence length, word difficulty and word length. We see many of the books individually as rated somewhat arbitrarily; overall though, the ratings seem mostly accurate. The fact is that much of what is written now is garbage, more of the dumbing of America.

 

I have issues with the whole AR thing.

 

Oh, this thread is so disheartening. What are these kids growing up to read? My library is a little different. Our children's librarian values good literature. When I first moved to this little town and saw the tattered Thornton Burgess books, I cried, because I knew we'd be okay here! We're very conscientious to keep the classics unless they are literally falling apart, Laura Lee Hope, Beverly Cleary, Meindert DeJong . . .

 

Instead of weeding out good books that haven't been read in three years, the libraries should be doing what they can to promote those books and get them into the hands of kids.

[SeekingHim77]

From my experience, the first book-Anne of Green Gables, is considered a classic more so than the rest of the series. I love them all but my 9 year old daughter didn't want to read past the first book since Anne had grown too old for her to relate to. She adored the first book though. Both the movie and book are some of our all time favorites. I need to read the Rilla series.

 

Our small town library often has a better selection of older, classic books than large libraries since the budget is smaller and they can't afford to replace books too often.

 

However, I have caught them throwing old classics in the GARBAGE! I was mortified! Throwing classics away!!! I begged them to call me before they throw away any more but they never have and I've seen many books missing from their shelves that I used with my son when he was my daughter's age but now are nowhere to be found. I think it has something to do with the grants they receive. I know the local public schools and other government offices throw out all kinds of good furniture, computers, etc. and it seems to be about getting grants.