KIDSREAD

Recently, AZ Republic reporter, Karina Bland has had a couple of good book articles.  If you don't take the Republic, you can probably Google her name & find them. 

On the day the article "Boyhood Rules" appeared I had relatives visiting from El Paso & Houston.  The 13 year old was reading THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS and the title intrigued me.  Last summer when he visited, he recited the long list of adult books he'd been reading & I set forth to get him back to young adult literature which I did with some success suggesting books by Jack Gantos & the Artemis Fowl series by Ireland's Eoin Colfer.  When I picked up his current read, I first noticed the endpapers which is something I have a "thing" for in children's books.  Many times the sight of first turning the cover sets the tone for the books as it did for THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS.  Opening the cover, gorgeous marbled paper strikes your eye, something I didn't expect to see.  Without giving away too much about the book, it's a nostaglic look at all the things your Mom & Dad, Grandparents & others did to pass the time before TV & video games, like learn how to skip rocks, make a fort, & yes how to make marbled paper.  It's by British brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden.

 Previously Karina wrote about a web site I've been exploring called mommytrackd.com which contains an anti-princess reading list.  This happens to be the #1 subject request I get at school from 2nd & 3rd grade girls--a book about princesses. I confess I do help them find what they want but I also try to give them books that feature strong girl characters who are not all rescued by prince charming like THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS by Robert Munsch, OLIVIA by Ian Falconer, LILY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE and others about Lily by Kevin Henkes, and for slightly older readers, the JUDY MOODY series by Megan MacDonald, and of course, the JUNIE B. JONES series by Barbara Park.

BUTTTTTTT......................the New York Times Style section ran an article on this past Thursday criticizing the Junie B. series because Junie (who is a strong girl character) calls people stupid, gets in lots of mischief, and worst of all uses improper grammar!!  Well, in fairness, that reported tried to stay neutral but it came through loud and clear that many parents object to the series for this style of grammar.  We all talked like that at one time & I don't hear any of my colleagues saying they "runned" in out of the rain in their current speech patterns.  Junie B. is a spunky kindergartener & now has moved up to first grade & is exploring her world & trying to make sense of it.  Let's just let our kids enjoy books & reading without over analyzing everything! The Junie B. Jones series makes a good read aloud for the youngest kids so they aren't struggling over the irregular speech & spelling patterns but I have 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders still reading them for the sheer enjoyment of it.  I hear lots of laughing from those readers!!

I know Changing Hands Book store in Tempe might be a bit far to go for an event but as one of the few independent bookstores left in big cities, they get a good share of visiting authors & illustrators for children.  You can subscribe to their online newsletter to hear about upcoming events like Doreen Cronin visiting on Wed. 8-22-07 at 4PM.  She is the author of the wildly popular CLICK CLACK MOO, COWS THAT TYPE series with a new title out, thus the book tour.  I'll be there!! 

Also, for older readers, Pam Munoz Ryan will appear on Sept. 20 at 4PM to talk about her new book PAINT THE WIND, which I just read recently.  Strong girl character who's been pampered all her life, then goes to live on a ranch and comes to love learning about the outdoors & horses.  There's a boy character too who tries his best to outdo his cousin & they do become good friends.  Some of Pam Ryan's other books that are all excellent for upper grade readers are BECOMING NAOMI LEON, ESPERANZA RISING, and RIDING FREEDOM.  My favorite picture book of hers is MICE AND BEANS in which a family of mice helps an old Grandma prepare for her grandaughter's birthday party--lots of Spanish words sprinkled in.  AND, a 2005 longer picture book is NACHO AND LOLITA, the story from a Mexican folktale about a rare bird who falls in love with a swallow when she arrives in Capistrano.  Pam Ryan is known for her massive personal research that goes into each book.

Happy reading to you all!

Cathy

Just back from a week at the Mazza Institute at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio!  This is my second time attending & this year I presented a session titled Using Picture Books With Older Students.  Frankly I don't know why anyone came to my session when they had the choice to attend a session with a published children's book author/illustrator but I was happy to talk about what I love & find useful in children's books.  I will write about that content next time but now I want to recommend  the works of many of the speakers I heard.  OH--but first let me tell you about the Mazza Museum:

 The largest collection of original picture book art in the country housed in a beautiful facility of 5 galleries including important historical works from the likes of Randolff Caldecott (yes, of the Caldecott award fame), Kate Greenaway, Tasha Tudor & many more to current & popular illustrators working & publishing today.  A huge arsenal of volunteers lead docent tours of the galleries, run the well stocked gift shops & arrange dinners of out of town visitors!  Each of the 5 days there I spent time in the galleries pouring over the art which is just packed onto the walls.  All funded by private donations but attached to the University.

 As a presenter I was asked to try to use the works of the authors & illustrators in my presentation so many of the books that were talked about I had already studied.  How fun to know the story behind the scenes & learn about the illustration style of each.

BARBARA MCGRATH --very popular & useful series of books using M & M's & Cheerios to learn & teach math concepts.  Her newest offering is THE STORM, writings & art by kids who lived through the terrible hurricane in Biloxi MS.  She had a very moving slide show of her visit there as schools tried to reopen & then her visit a year later.  This book's profits go to those schools.

KEVIN O'MALLEY illustrates the numerous books in the Miss Malarkey series of picture books by Judy Finchler which are stories about a teacher.  His life information was so interesting--knew he wanted to write & illustrate children's books since 2nd grade & submitted his first manuscript in 9th grade.  Even though it was rejected, he didn't give up.  Mr. O'Malley was constantly drawing & I came home with 2 of his doodled pages that he just handed to people sitting near him.  My favorite of his books is SLUGS IN LOVE by Susan Pearson.  This is what I call a "fact-tion" book where many of the details are actually facts about the animal characters but written & illustrated in a fiction format.  What a great way to get kids into research and checking to see if slugs really eat strawberries, etc.

JAN SPIVEY GILCHRIST, the daughter of a Baptist preacher, also always knew she wanted to be an artist.  As a child she had a debiliting disease that kept her on the porch watching the other kids play.  She began to draw them & their games & soon kids were bringing her paper to draw them something.  This gift of drawing made her feel important she said.  She illustrates many poetry books by Eloise Greenfield & about the Black experience.  Her new book with Ashley Bryan is called MY AMERICA, a brief text depicting all that's beautiful about our land.

E.B.LEWIS says he was saved by his uncle who took him to art classes every Sat. morning for 6 years.  His father worked as a securtiy guard in an art museum in Philadelphia who took him to work with him many times & introduced him to great works of art & gave him books about great artitsts.  Lewis' newest book is LILY BROWN'S PAINTINGS whose art imitates many great artists like Picasso & Gaugin.  Instead of a dedication, Lewis quotes Picasso:  All children are artists.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Maybe you have read one of the adult books by HANS WILHELM who has much to say about courage.  He also encouraged all of us to write down our life strories, if not for our children, then for our grandchildren who will really be interested.  His many delightful illustrations in books for very young readers cannot help but bring a smile to your face or that of your child.  As an avid collector of sun faces I love his new book HELLO SUN! Delightfully illustrated animals can't see the sun in the forest so they work together to build a tower to watch the sun come up each day.

If BRAD SNEED's parents had not encouraged him to take a summer off from working & college summer school classes to just work on his art, he thinks he would not now be where he is having written & illustrated almost 25 children's books.  Known for his unique perspective in illustration, Brad's new book BIG BAD WOLVES AT SCHOOL by Stephen Krensky shows the lone wolf who does not want to learn how to bad but to enjoy life & stop to blow the dandelion seeds.  Reminds me of THE STORY OF FERDINAND--more about that book later.

One of the last books illustrated by Ted Rand before he died 2 years ago is A PEN PAL FOR MAX written by his wife Gloria Rand who told us about her life as a writer & living with her artist husband for 40 some years.  In the book, Max, who lives in Chile writes a note in Spanish & has his father put it in a box of grapes headed for the US.  It is found by a man who takes it to his daughter who then begins to correspond with Max.  An international friendship is formed & a simple recipe for peace is written.

As I said, what an exhilarating week I had.  Really makes me anxious to get back to school to share with kids & teachers.

More later!

Cathy Bonnell

It's not too hard to get kids out of the AZ summer heat, rest for a bit & read!  But with all summer relaxation has to offer, kids might not be chosing to read.  YOU CAN HELP!

     *set aside time every day for the whole family to read (adults set the example by letting the kids see you read), have lots of reading material in your home

     *read aloud to your kids even if they can read themselves (not just for them to hear reading with expression & help with their fluency--you'll enjoy it too & it's quiet time together)

     *participate in community activities that relate to literacy--check the newspaper for public library happenings or local book store events (yes, take them to the midnight Harry Potter new book release parties)

     *let kids "self select" some books at the library or book store--even if it isn't YOUR choice, kids will read the books they can choose themselves

     *discuss the books they read or you to them--get their opinion & ask for reasons to back that opinion up--ask open ended questions such as "what do you think the author's purpose was" or "what's the big picture--main idea"  BUT don't over analyze every book

     *give books as gifts & let the kids help pick out the title

     *watch the movie AFTER you read the book together then compare the two--similarities & differences which is higher level thinking

     *keep a reading journal or log--an inexpensive composition book or some paper stapled together will do--to let kids think about their reactions to books (younger kids can draw a picture of their reaction & copy down the title)

     *point out interesting art in children's books & look for an explanation of the mediums within the fine print--it's often explained

     *as you develop favorite authors and illustrators, check for web sites about them on the internet--of course, parents you will supervise

On exhibit now at the Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix is a small exhibit of original art from children's books including art by David Wiesner (Caldecott winner x 3), David Shannon of NO DAVID fame, Ted & Betsy Lewin (Betsy illustrated the wildly popular CLICK CLACK MOO:  COWS THAT TYPE), Brian Pinkney, and Scottsdale's own Sylvia Long.  (In a later entry I will talk more about Sylvia Long's work).  Be sure to attend & introduce your kids to the beautiful world of children's book art.

TA TA for now! Cathy 

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