KIDSREAD

This week’s New York Times best seller list for children’s books lists 5 picture books & 5 chapter books.  I can recommend only one of the 10!

It’s FLOTSUM by David Wiesner which won the 2007 Caldecott Medal for most distinguished children’s book illustration.  It’s a wordless book!!  But it’s the most intriguing book out in a long time.  Pour over it & consider each & every bit of it beginning with the embossed cover under the dust jacket.  Those of us in libraries don’t often get to see the actual trade book editions as the jobbers from whom we order library bind books & seal the colorful dust jacket to the cover so that sometimes exquisite art is lost to the library reader.

Don’t look up the word flotsum with your readers but turn to the title page & see if they can guess the meaning from all the items pictured there.  Don’t forget the endpapers!!  Doesn’t it set the mood for the setting of the story?  Ask for predictions–why did the boy bring all those things to the beach with him?  What is that thing that washed up on the shore.  Be sure to look carefully at the art style–panels over a background.  AND, be sure to look carefully at the film shop sequence–one small box in the panels is a very important aspect to make the rest of the book make sense.  Just enjoy this very outstanding book, then go look for more of David Wiesner & his wonderful imagination.

Have fun!  Cathy

I love the start of a new school year!! Bet you can guess why–as a librarian I get a shipment of new books to unpack & savor.  This was a week of meetings & work to get ready for the 07-08 school year & I unpacked about 500 new books for the school library where I work.  It takes a long time as I am sidetracked to look them over, read a few on the spot, smell them & bring home to read–I think I restrained myself & only brought home about 30.

Some of the new books I brought home to read are the nominees for the Grand Canyon Reader Award, a children’s choice award sponsored by the AZ Library Association.  As a previous chair of this program for 10 years, this is a program I believe in.  Kids of all ages read or have read to them the nominees & then vote for their favorite by March 1st each year & when the votes are all tabulated the winning author is invited to AZ to receive the award.  The goal is to get kids to read or be exposed to good quality new literature & be able to pick their favorite.   If your child’s school doesn’t participate in the program, go in & ask the librarian about it.  So those are the novels I’m reading now.

Every morning I tear off a page from my Mary Englebreit calendar & often get my inspiration for the day.  My first day back to work on August 6 the calendar had a delightful picture of a child sitting at the foot of her father reading a book & the anoymous quote said “Good children’s literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.”  We often sell our children short in what we think they can read & understand.  That’s why it’s so important to let children self-select some of what they read.  They will discover what’s too hard or decide they can’t understand very quickly. 

One of the books I brought home to read is KING MATT THE FIRST:  A NOVEL by Janusz Korczak, a book I had heard about several years ago & was just now able to get ordered.  This sophisticated book was translated  in 1986 from the Polish by Richard Lourie but originally published in 1923.  It’s basically about a child king who introduces reforms to give children the same rights as adults.  The introduction by Esme Codell, an author I told you about last time, says this book is one of the greatest of all time because it has humor, adventure, excitement, friendship (romance is optional, and only in small doses).  The main character must be one that the reader mourns the loss of upon closing the cover.  It must have mischief and naughtiness, but placate adults with a lesson or two so that the child may read in peace.  Any profanity ought to be hidden in the middle, further along than most grown-ups are likely to read  (tee hee).  If it has the effrontery to lack pictures, it must compensate with lots of lively conversation.  the bad must be punished and the good rewarded; enemies are those who misunderstand children.  Wishes should be granted, unless they are too greedy.  There should be animals.  And sweets.  And days off from school.  And some absence of parents.  Think of your favorite children’s book & see if these elements aren’t present.

You won’t hear from me for awhile as I have a lot of reading to do!!

Cathy

Tomorrow I’ll start my 27th year as a school librarian in the Washington Elementary School District at Ocotillo School, I look back at my summer of rest, professional development, reading & work.  I’m anxious to get back to the kids, the books, the exhilaration of putting those two things together.

I want to go back & tell you about a conference I attended in June:  Association of Jewish Libraries which was held in Scottsdale at which I volunteered in order to be able to hear the speakers for free.  It was a small conference but packed with notable authors for children.  This association gives the Sydney Taylor Book Award in various categories of the best in Jewish children’s literature.  I didn’t get to hear all the authors speak but those I did hear were exceptional.

The winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award winner for younger readers (picture book) were author Stephen Krensky and illustrator Greg Harlin for HANUKKAH AT VALLEY FORGE a very moving story of a young Jewish soldier who meets George Washington during the holidays.

Brenda Ferber, author of the novel JULIA’S KITCHEN, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award for older readers.  This “chapter book” deals not only with being a young girl trying to stay true to her family’s Jewish traditions but struggling with the death of her mother & sister in a house fire.  Very few books for older readers deal with a topic this important in such a frank manner.

Esme Raji Codell is one of my favorite authors & a most enjoyable speaker.  Maybe it’s because she is also a school librarian & knows what she’s talking about.  Her previous titles including EDUCATING ESME:  A DIARY OF A TEACHER’S FIRST YEAR is an inspiring and helpful tool for teachers; SAHARA SPECIAL, a semi-autobiographical story of growing up with unusual parents; & SING A SONG OF TUNA FISH, a very funny school story.  Her book VIVE LA PARIS won the Sydney Taylor honor award for older readers.  Sahara learns much about the world in which she lives as well as the world as it was for her elderly piano teacher who survived the Holocaust.  Go to planetesme.com for much more information from & about this talented author.

Jennifer Roy wrote the compelling story of her aunt in YELLOW STAR who was one of 12 children who survived the ghetto of Lodz Poland where 270,000 Jews were forced to live during World War II.  Winner of the Sydney Taylor honor book for older readers, Jennifer Roy listened to her aunt’s story told in narrative through her childhood memories.  A very compelling read for older readers as well as adults.

Another compelling story of a Holocaust survivor was written by Linda Press Wulf, winner of the Sydney Taylor honor award for older readers.  THE NIGHT OF THE BURNING:  DEVORAH’S STORY focuses on the aftermath of World War II when South African philanthropist Isaac Ochberg travels to Poland & chooses 200 orphans to relocate to the safety of South Africa.  The author did not know her main character, her future mother-in-law, but conducted extensive interviews with other orphans & historical accounts of Ochberg’s historical trek.  It is a story about the anguish of losing family & home but the importance of remembering.  An excellent adult read.

Brynn Sugarman was the Taylor honor award for younger readers (picture book) for REBECCAH’S JOURNEY HOME the incredible story of her Vietnamese adopted daughter brought to the US & raised Jewish & now living in Israel with her adoptive family.

AND, finally Marcus Zuzack traveled from Australia to receive the new Sydney Taylor award for teen literature for his controversial book titled THE BOOK THIEF.  Many have catagorized this book for adults & as soon as I finish the new Harry Potter, I’m going to dig into it.  I believe what he told us that if you love a book, it ceases to be catagorized.  We need to publish more Young Adult books to raise the level of what kids read without pushing them into actual adult books.

While these speakers were very catagorized writing about the Jewish experience, I don’t think we can ever have too many books to help us understand another culture or time in history.  Some of these titles will ensure much discussion in your family!

Cathy

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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