This document discusses street literature and its appeal to African American girls. It begins with an overview of street literature as a genre that depicts life in urban communities. It then discusses why street literature appeals to African American teen girls, including that the stories are relatable and challenging. It provides examples of popular street literature authors and describes establishing a street literature book club. It addresses criticisms of the genre from parents and teachers but advocates that street literature has value and should be included in library collections.

1. Street Lit. and African-
American Girls
K.C. Boyd
Library Media Specialist-Educator-Advocate

2. This Presentation Is Dedicated To The Memory Of:
Tamir Rice Laquan McDonald

3. Street Lit. and African-
American Girls
K.C. Boyd
Library Media Specialist-Educator-Advocate

5. Women’s History Month

6. Women’s History Month
Dr. Carla Hayden
Former ALA President
Director of the Pratt Library in Baltimore
Librarian of Congress Nominee

7. Women’s History Month
https://www.pinterest.com/boydkc

8. MY STORY…

9. East St. Louis School District #189
East St. Louis, Illinois
Wendell Phillips Academy High School
Chicago, Illinois
HIGH SCHOOLS

11. Listen
Be Patient
Establish Trust
Keep Listening
Identify Resources
Deliver and Observe

12. THEORY AND PRACTICE

13. Accelerated Reader Lexile Scores
Common Core PARCC

14. Free Voluntary Reading - (FVR)
Reading because you want to. For school age
children there is no book report, questions at
the end of the chapter, and no looking up every
vocabulary word. Children simply read for
pleasure.
Stephen D. Krashen

15. GENRES

16. FAVORITE GENRES
Anime/Manga
Street Literature/Street Lit.

17. Phillips Anime Club Website
http://ninjahouse.weebly.com
Members Only Page
Phillips Anime/Manga Website
http://ninjahouse.weebly.com

18. POPULAR ANIME BOOK SERIES
Bleach
Dragon Ball Z
Naruto
One Piece
Wolf Children

19. TECHNOLOGY - Animation Creator
Anime Manga Club Meeting - February
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlhlJFujLk

20. Anime Manga Club Meeting - February
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlhlJFujLk

21. BLACK HISTORY MONTH MUSIC VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlhlJFujLk

22. MID-WEST ANIME CONVENTION
Rosemont, Illinois

23. BENEFITS OF READING ANIME/MANGA
Celebrate Anime/Manga, and learn about Japanese culture.
Interaction with fellow Anime/Manga enthusiasts.
The genre is directly related to the interests of this special group of teens.
By reading this genre of books, the teens reading fluency will increase.

24. GENRES

25. BACK IN THE DAY...
First began using the genre with my 6th, 7th and
8th grade students.
Began blogging about Street Literature because
of the lack of critical reviews. (i.e. School
Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly
etc.) and other librarians requested my opinion
about the books.

26. THEORY AND PRACTICE

27. Street Literature is a literary genre "where the stories, be they
fiction or nonfiction,” are consistently set in urban, inner-city enclaves.
Street Literature of yesteryear and today, by and large, depicts tales
about the daily lives of people living in lower income city
neighborhoods. This characteristic spans historical timelines, varying
cultural identifications, linguistic associations, and various format
designations."
Dr. Vanessa Irvin
The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, 2011
Street Literature Book Award Medal
http://www.streetliterature.com/p/slbam.html

28. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

29. Conversations at the Circulation Desk #4
Peer Reader’s Advisory

30. WHY IS STREET LITERATURE
SO APPEALING TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEEN GIRLS?
.
The stories reflect the communities that the students
reside in.
The stories are relatable and describe the struggle
and life experience of today’s tees.
The stories serve as cautionary tales.
The stories are complex and challenge advanced
and struggling readers

31. WHY IS STREET LITERATURE
SO APPEALING TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEEN GIRLS?
They possess the emotional maturity to handle and
understand the content of the genre.
Discussions about boyfriends, sex and life’s
challenges are dominant themes.
This genre meets the needs of a group of library
patrons that have been historically ignored.

32. STREET LIT. NOOK CLUB

33. FAVORITE YOUNG ADULT AUTHORS
Earl Sewell
Kelli London
Nikki Carter
Ni-Ni Simone
Paul Langan
Peggy Kern
RaShonda Tate Billingsly

34. SKYPE SESSION WITH AUTHOR NI-NI SIMONE

35. FAVORITE ADULT AUTHORS
Ashley and JaQuavis
K’wan
Nikki Turner
Omar Tyree
Sista Souljah
Teri Woods
Treasure Blue
Wahida Clark

36. Challenges Using Street Lit.
Parents dislike of the genre.
Teachers complained that the students were
reading the books.
Library selection policy must reflect the use of
the books for middle and high school readers.
Circulation issues i.e. damaged books,
lost/stolen books

37. Conversations at the Circulation Desk #1
Peer Reader’s Advisory -

38. Ten Points About Street Literature
1. All stories have VALUE, regardless of the lens/perspective it's told from.
2. Who are any of us (librarians/reading specialists/educators) to say Street
Literature is not a genre?
3. Street Literature is a genre that should be in all library collections for
teens and adults. As should other books that celebrate various subjects and
cultures.
4. To make excuses (I've heard many of them) not to include them is just
plain sad and a disservice to your patrons.
5. Street Literature is a genre that should not be ignored by librarians. This
genre has served as a catalyst to jump start reluctant readers to read more
frequently.

39. Ten Points About Street Literature
6. Street Literature has provided a pipeline for readers to learn/understand
communities unlike their own.
7. From my personal experience, many critics of Street Literature have not
read one book within the genre or a body of work representing various
authors and reading levels.
8. Many critics of Street Literature just don't understand it. Just think
about it: What happens when we don't understand something....We reject it.
9. Many librarians have Young Adult Street Literature books within their
collections, and are unaware of their genre classification.
10. Urban Fiction/Street Literature is here to stay....deal with it.

40. ADVOCACY

43. TOOLS AND RESOURCES

44. TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Street Lit. Book Award Medal
http://www.streetliterature.com/p/slbam.html

45. TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Streetfiction.org
http://streetfiction.org

46. TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Collection Development for
School Libraries
http://www.slideshare.net/kcboyd

47. Twitter: @Boss_Librarian
Instagram: @Boss_Librarian
Pinterest: BoydKC