MARK YOUR CALENDAR
15th Bay Area Storytelling Festival
The 15th Bay Area Storytelling Festival will be held May 20 ’21, 2000, in Kennedy Grove Regional Park. See performances by Judith Black, Willy Claflin, Janice Del Negro, Charlie Chin, and others. There will also be workshops on storytelling and puppetry, as well as musical performances.
There will also be sessions with California storytellers, including The Storyquilters, Michael D. McCarty, and John Dobby Boe. For registration information, phone 650-952-3397, or 510-869-4946.
USF SCHEDULES "READING THE WORLD III" FOR OCTOBER 2000
The University of San Francisco has scheduled its annual multicultural children’s literature conference, "Reading the World III," for October 14 &15, 2000, on its campus in San Francisco. Speakers scheduled to appear include Alma Flor Ada, Ashley Bryan, Nikki Giovanni, Ken Mochizuki, Anne Pellowski, Gayle Ross, and Gary Soto.
For the first time, the conference will be held in October instead of February. This schedule change is to adjust the calendar in anticipation of the 2001 conference, which will be cosponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
The two-day conference, designed for teachers and childrens’ librarians, will include keynote speeches and presentations, an art exhibit, smaller workshops, storytelling, and a childrens’ bookstore. Call (415) 422-6878 for registration information., or visit the website at www.soe.usfca.edu/childlit
There are special lower rates for early registration and groups.
Local Author Wins Woodson Award
Rinna Evelyn Wolfe has been awarded the 1999 Carter Woodson Award for the biography Edmonia Lewis: Wildfire In Marble, Silver Burdett/MacMillan, 1998. The biography celebrates Lewis, a African-American/Chippewa scultress. The book received the award in the Best Secondary Book category, and is awarded by the National Council for the Social Studies.
The book is available at a 20% discount from Cody’s Books; call (510) 845-3752 for ordering information. Wolfe is also available for author visits and young writers’ workshops; call (510) 845-0507 for information. The book may be out of stock at most major vendors, so Cody’s Books is the most likely source for copies of Edmonia Lewis: Wildfire in Marble.
The awards are presented annually to the most distinguished social science books depicting ethnicity in the United States that are appropriate for young people.
The award for Best Elementary Book was given to John Duggleby for Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence, Chronicle Books, 1999. The awards are given in honor of Carter G. Woodson, (1875-1950), founding editor of The Journal of Negro History, and founder of what was to become Black History Month.
Rinna Evelyn Wolfe, who is a Berkeley, CA, resident, has written four other books for young people, and is currently working on a biography of Dr. Charles Drew. She obviously has a great passion for her work, and is very excited that this award will help bring the forgotten Lewis back into the public eye. This is the only biography written about Lewis for either adults or children, and it is copiously illustrated.
Bay Area Book Reviewer’s Award Nominations
The 19th annual Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Association awards, honoring books by Northern California writers, will be announced on March 15th at a ceremony at the San Francisco Public Library. The nominees in the Children’s Literature category are: Sleepytime Rhyme, written and illustrated by Remy Charlip, Dive! My Adventures in the Deep Frontier by Sylvia A. Earle, Francie by Karen English, Westlandia, written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, and The Peddler’s Gift, written by Maxine Rose Schur and illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root.
CLEARY’S "HENRY HUGGINS" TURNS 50
Can you believe it was 50 years ago that Beverly Cleary published her first book, the novel Henry Huggins, Morrow, 1950? Just last year, she published Ramona’s World, Morrow, 1999, which has proven to be just as popular with children as her first books.
Henry Huggins, where we are introduced to Henry, his dog Ribsy, Beezus and Ramona, and Klickitat Street, still holds up for third and fourth grade readers. It also works well as a read-aloud to younger children. There are a few references that seem dated, resembling an old rerun of "Leave it to Beaver:" Henry’s stay-at-home mom, and the reference to Henry’s role in a school play as an Indian that says "ugh!" on page 81. These are the only noticable anachronisms for today’s kids. Readers will enjoy the novel’s humor and Henry’s realistic quirks and problems.
Cleary began her career as an author after having been a librarian and mother of twins (a boy and a girl). Ironically, her books seem to appeal to boys and girls on an equal basis, a distinction which is becoming more rare in the world of children’s literature. She stated in an interview that she was placed in a remedial reading group in the first grade called "The Blackbirds." This group was mostly boys, and Cleary believes her ability to write for and about boys comes from her friendships formed in that reading group.
There were a total of six books focusing on Henry, published between 1950 and 1962, including Henry Huggins, Henry and Beezus, Henry and Ribsy, Henry and the Clubhouse, Henry and the Paper Route, and Ribsy. During that time Cleary also published several other books, including a few picture books, and the first of the Beezus and Ramona novels. Librarians my wish to promote Henry, Beezus, Ramona, Ralph S. Mouse, and Leigh Botts in celebration of Clearly’s golden anniversary as a writer for children with displays, bookmarks, handouts, and programming. Cleary lives in Carmel, California.
Books of Interest to Children’s Librarians
Fricke, John. 100 Years of Oz: A Century of Classic Images from The Wizard of Oz Collection of Willard Carroll. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999. $29.99. ISBN 1-55670-940-4.
L. Frank Baum brought the denizens of Oz to life 100 years ago, with the publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900. It was a hit almost immediately, partly due to the silent film version released in 1902, the 13 sequels Baum wrote, and of course, the 1939 musical film version. Many consider Oz one of the first multi-media pop culture phenomenons, due to its spread from book to film to collectible merchandise to television.
Baum first told the original tale to his children as a way to amuse them, then he wrote down the story. Its success inspired him to write a total of fourteen Oz books; later, other authors added to the series, with over 40 books, the last written by Baum’s great-grandson Roger Baum. Appartently it is just a coincidence that the original tale works as an allegory for the Populist politics of the time. Many thought the Wizard resembled William Jennings Bryan.
Baum purposely avoided the morals of European folk and fairytales, deciding instead to write books only for their entertainment value. In fact, the Detroit Public Library banned the books in the mid-50’s because there was "nothing uplifting or elevating" in the books. If you have read William Safire’s recent criticism of the Harry Potter books’ lack of an "uplifting" message, you will know this debate is still going on.
This beautifully designed tribute to Oz has an enthralling text by John Fricke, which is brief but clear, with plenty of anecdotes to hold the interest of even cursory Oz fans. The color photos show a wide variety of Oz memorabilia, from the books’ original artwork, to mementos given out at the 1903 stage show, to dolls, stuffed animals, and music boxes which are currently sold. The book has a chapter for each decade in the 20th century, describing Oz’s history and influence over the years.
Many libraries will be interested in celebrating Oz’s centennial with displays and programs. This book will be a great addition to the celebration.
WEBSITES WORTH BOOKMARKING
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has a handy website that includes much of the same information that is in their bimonthly newsletter. Even if you are not interested in writing your own books, librarians will find this website very useful.
There is an events calendar for upcoming workshops sponsered by the SCBWI, and a "store" where you can order their publications, T-shirts, and other merchandise. There is also a list of the annual awards given by the organization, most notably the Golden Kite Awards. The listing begins with the most recent, and goes backwards, and includes the acceptance speeches.
But most librarians will find the members’ list to be the most valuable part of the website. It lists some (not all) of the members, and has a link to each person’s website! This is very handy, as a person’s website lists his or her books, and describes how to get in touch for school or library visits, etc. Many of the websites are designed for kids, like Vicki Cobb’s site, which includes science experiments and tricks. Many of the members listed here are not the "stars" of children’s literature, but are well-respected writers and illustrators whose books are popular with kids, and they may be affordable for author visits.
http://www.lib.umn.edu/special/kerlan
The Kerlan Collection is a special library of the University of Minnesota, and this professional website contains a lot of useful information. The Kerlan Collection houses over 70,000 children’s books and 9,000 manuscripts; it is a research library for those doing graduate work in the field of children’s literature.
The website contains information about the library’s hours, policies, etc. It also has a "store" for anyone who wants to order its merchandise: greeting cards, posters, etc. There is also a Newsletter Archive, which contains issues of the organizations bimonthly newsletter. For anyone doing work in this field, it will be useful.
NEWS AND NOTES
Author of "Orlando" dies - Author and illustrator Kathleen Hale, whose books included Orlando, the Marmalade Cat, died at age 101 at her home in Bristol, England. The series of picture books were based on the real family cat, and she began the stories to entertain her eldest son, who was then 4 years of age. She published 19 picture books in all.
Balkin moves to Hyperion - Catherine Balkin, who has been at HarperCollins, just left to join Hyperion Books for Children, to handle library promotion and educational marketing. When she was at HarperCollins, Balkin was assistant to Bill Morris in marketing of children’s books. Her replacement at HarperCollins will be Kristen Lynch, formerly from Morrow.
BOOKS LIKE THOSE BY LURLENE MCDANIELS
Many young adults enjoy the books by Lurlene McDaniels, which often feature a character dealing with the fatal illness of a friend or familiy member. Thanks to Miriam Neiman for this list, which was posted on PUBYAC:
FILMS FOR BIBLIOPHILES
NO MAN OF HER OWN. Paramount, 1933, $14.95 VHS. - In the only movie to co-star future husband and wife Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Lombard plays a small town librarian who marries professional con man and gambler Gable. Both dramatic and funny, the movie captured the couple’s famous chemistry.
In the sequence where Gable meets Lombard in the town library, Lombard plays an intelligent, somewhat cynical, non-naive librarian who quickly picks up on the fact that Gable is there to flirt with her, not to find a book. In an infamous scene that contributed to the Hays Code (a list of censorship rules), Gable looks up Lombard’s dress while she is on a bookcase ladder, retrieving a book he has requested. Lombard had the unique ability to convey the intelligence needed to play a librarian; what other Hollywood blonde would have been believable in the part?
Although the scene in the library comes in the early part of the film, many of the personality traits Lombard displays as a librarian come in to play later when she discovers Gable is a con man. The library scenes seem very convincing. For example, she isn’t there alone, but works with another woman, and she isn’t just checking out books, but is doing reference. It is refreshing to see her as a whole person - beautiful, with fashionable clothes, but also quite perceptive, quick-witted, loyal, and with a solid wit and charm.