Tayshas Reading Lists

TAYSHAS Reading Lists

The objective of the Tayshas project is to motivate young adults to become life-long readers and to participate in the community of readers in Texas.

SUGGEST A TITLE for the next Tayshas List
2009 - 2010 Consideration List (.xls)

Released November 12:
2008-2009 Tayshas Reading List (pdf)

NEW! Annotated 2008-2009 Tayshas Reading List (pdf)

The lists and bookmarks below are all in pdf format. You can view them using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Past Lists

Purpose of the List: The Tayshas High School Reading List (THSRL) is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table (YART). The purpose of the list is to encourage students in grades 9-12 to explore a variety of current books. The Tayshas list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum. Due to the diversity of this age range, Texas librarians should purchase titles on this list according to their individual collection policies. Each book on the list has been favorably reviewed for grades 9-12 in a professional review source.

Target Audience: The list is prepared for use by students in grades 9-12 and annotations will be written to attract the YA reader.

Selection Criteria
Eligibility Time Frame: The Committee will consider and vote on books published within the 2 years prior to the year the list is published. Nominations may be accepted from the field and Committee up to October 1 of that calendar year.

Field Nominations: Field nominations require a second from a THSRL committee member. Nominations must be submitted on the official form, which is available on the YART web site http://www.txla.org/groups/forms/Tayshas_suggest.html . The chair informs the committee of field nominations which remain active until all nominations are closed. If no committee member seconds the field nomination, the title is dropped from consideration.

Nomination criteria: The book must be favorably reviewed in a scholarly journal for grades 9-12. The person making the nomination must have read the book.

Content:

Titles shall be nominated that reflect a variety of difficulty levels for readers in grades 9-12, i.e. a book for unsophisticated readers beginning the ninth grade and one for mature twelfth graders.
The committee strives for a fairly equal distribution of books targeting each of the four grade levels and within each set further seeks balance in areas such as genre, gender appeal, interest, subject, and difficulty.
There will be no limit of titles by a specific author.
A book may not be re-nominated that was considered the previous year by the Tayshas Committee.
A book may be considered even though it was considered or chosen for the Lone Star Reading List the previous year.

'TAYSHAS' takes its name from the Caddo Indian word meaning "friends or allies." Written texas, texios, tejas, teyas or tayshas, the word was applied to the Caddos by the Spanish in eastern Texas, who regarded them as friends and allies against the Apaches . (Newcomb, W.W., Jr. The Indians from Texas: Prehistoric to Modern Times. Univeristy of Texas Press, 1961).