Upcoming Events for Children’s Librarians
September Traders: Be sure to save some reading logs, bibliographies, and other promotional materials when you are cleaning up at the end of this year’s Summer Reading Program at your library. Bring approximately 50 copies of anything you would like to share to the September ACL meeting. This way, you can find ideas for the following year’s summer reading program!
Young Adult Award Winner: The 1999 Young Adult Summer Reading Program at the Burlingame Public Library was named "2000 Best of Show" by the American Library Association! Burlingame’s teen reading program was titled "read w+w+w = infinity," with the w’s standing for wherever, whenever, and whatever. Congratulations Burlingame!
Christmas Cookies: A quick note from longtime ACL member Dorothy Dohm offers her apology for forgetting to bring her annual Christmas cookies. She will try to bring them next December. Thanks Dorothy!
Internet Filters: Many members expressed concern that David Burt’s report, "Dangerous Access, 2000 Edition: Uncovering Internet Pornography in America’s Libraries" is full of flaws, errors, and misinformation. For more information, see the article at http://www.trib.com/FACT/
BayNews Needs You: BayNews always welcomes and encourages any ACL member to contribute articles, news, editorials, or anything of interest to BayNews. You could write a review of a website, review a professional book, or write the monthly storytime column. Send any submissions to Penny Peck at Pikly@aol.com or to Penny at the San Leandro Public Library, 2950 F Alvarado St., San Leandro, CA, 94577.
Harrison, Barbara and Gregory Maguire, editors. Origins of Story: On Writing for Children. Margaret McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, 1999. 206 pages, $20.00, ISBN 0-689-82604-4.
As in their previous collection, Innocence and Experience (Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard, 1987), Harrison and Maguire have collected essays from remarks presented at Children’s Literature New England (CLNE) meetings in the 1990’s. The seventeen writers and illustrators discuss their own or others’ stories, articulating the writing process and paths to inspiration. Virginia Hamilton explains how Time shapes her language and characters, as it does her life. Madeline L’Engle discusses the creative spirit and storyteller intrinsic in the heroic, while Ursula K. LeGuin discusses how she worked against prejudice in the heroic through her Earthsea books and how, by the fourth title, she found she was working against own. Maurice Sendak tells the stories behind several of his books, stories that bring the fantastic and the fabulous in ordinary life sharply into focus. Essays by Susan Cooper, Tom Feelings, Katherine Paterson, and others comprise a browseable and provoking collection that many children’s literature enthusiasts will want to dip into.
Time for our semi-annual Board Book Round-up (if you missed the last one, check out the September 1999 issue of BayNews). As usual, there are some wonderful original board books, some picture books "crammed and jammed" into the format, and everything in between. ACL has found that more and more, public libraries are finding that board books are in demand by parents of babies and toddlers, by parents who like the lower price to purchase for home, and by young readers who enjoy the small, hand-held size, so we find this format worth reviewing. Let’s begin with several books that are top choices in the board books published recently.
Every library (and parent) waits for board books as wonderful as Rosemary Wells’ "Max and Ruby" series, and there isn’t anything as good as that. But several new series are solid examples of the genre, and will be popular and worth the money. Anna Grossnickle Hines, whose picture books appeal to the younger preschooler, offers the "What Can You Do..." series about the seasons. A light touch was used in the watercolor illustrations, depicting toddlers of various ethnicities in a variety of situations, with a very brief text. What Can You Do In the Sun? shows a girl and her dog enjoying a treat with the words "Melt a Popsicle" accompanying the picture. In the Snow depicts different children building a snowman, making a snow angel, and throwing a snowball. In each of the four books, the toddlers are not just actively participating but instigating the action; there are no adults here because the focus is on the kids.
Hines, Anna Grossnickle, Greenwillow, $5.95 each:Caldecott Honor recipient Chris Raschka (Yo, Yes!) has created a set of small books, the "Thingy Things" series. Not exactly board books, but small, square picture books, this series features very brief, rhythmic repetitive language that will appeal to toddlers. The impressionistic paintings may look like colorful blobs to babies, but the toddlers with whom I shared the books were fascinated, and they especially liked the title animal characters, even Sluggy Slug! This very endearing series should be popular, so reinforce the bindings.
Raschka, Chris, Hyperion, $3.99 each:HarperCollins Growing Tree Imprint
Just a few years ago, HarperCollins started the Growing Tree Imprint, which publishes affordable books for young children, designed for specific age groups with input from educators and child development specialists. But the authors and illustrators are the books’ originators, and several award-winners are participating in this imprint. For more information about their publications, check out their useful, attractive website at www.harpercollinsgrowingtree.com
In the newborn category, one of the best board books comes from Berkeley resident Joyce Carol Brown, You Are My Perfect Baby, with illustrations by Nneka Bennett. The rhyming text welcomes baby into the family, with lovely colored pencil illustrations. Jean Marzollo’s Mama Mama shows mother and child animals, including pandas, otters, lions, and others with a rhyming text.
In the category for one-year-olds, First Steps shows a child succeeding in learning how to walk. Bumble Bee, with illustrations made out of craft dough and cloth, offers a rhyme by Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon. In the category for one and a half year olds, Pat Cummings’ beautiful airbrushed paintings accompany her own rhythmic story Purrrrr, about a very realistic cat. All of these books have plastic coated pages and thick "board" pages, so they should last a while. These are all published by HarperCollins, priced at $5.95:
Thomas, Joyce Carol. You Are My Perfect Baby, illustrated by Nneka Bennett, ISBN 0-694-01096-0.
Marzollo, Jean. Mama Mama, illustrated by Laura Regan, ISBN 0-694-01245-9.
Wardlaw, Lee. First Steps, illustrated by Julie Paschkis, ISBN 0-694-01293-9.
Brown, Margaret Wise. Bumble Bee, illustrated by Victoria Raymond, ISBN 0-694-01749-3.
Mother Goose
Jeanette Winter, best known for her easy to read biographies on Georgia O’Keeffe, Bach, and many others, has four new board book versions of Mother Goose rhymes. Her solid color artwork should appeal to babies and toddlers, and the chunky books depict the rhymes in a straightforward way.
Winter, Jeanette, Red Wagon Books/Harcourt Brace, all $4.95:
Hey Diddle Diddle, ISBN 0-15-202133-7,
Itsy Bitsy Spider, ISBN 0-15-202130-2,
Rock-A-Bye Baby, ISBN 0-15-202132-9, and
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, ISBN 0-15-202131-0.
There are some other original board books that may appeal to families, but are not necessarily first-choice purchases. One series that has worked well is the "Talk About/Hablemos" books from Annick Press. These feature color photos describing what is occurring in the photos. They come in English or Spanish:
Bailey, Debbie, photos by Susan Huszar, Annick Press, 1999, all $5.95 each:
Let’s Pretend, ISBN 1-55037-558-X,
Hagamos de cuenta!, ISBN 1-55037-574-1,
Happy Birthday, ISBN 1-55037-559-8, and
Feliz cumpleanos!, ISBN 1-55037-575-X.
Less successful is a series from Great Britain, featuring Teddy Bear. The stories are good, but the oil painting illustrations are fuzzy. The newest titles in this series by Jacqueline McQuade, Dial, 1999, both $5.99, are:
At Preschool with Teddy Bear, ISBN 0-8037-2394-6, and
At the Petting Zoo with Teddy Bear, ISBN 0-8037-2395-4.
Monica Wellington’s artwork has always used solid colors and shapes, so the board book format is appropriate for her newest book, Bunny’s Rainbow Day, Dutton, 1999, $7.99, ISBN 0-525-46047-0. The story was a little too sweet, but the onomatopoeia is appealing in this larger size board book.
Sam Williams’ The Baby’s Word Book, Greenwillow, 1999, $9.95, ISBN 0-688-16834-5, first appeared in the United Kingdom. As large as a picture book, this features cartoon-like artwork of babies, with one word captions describing what is pictured.
Since baby talk isn’t one of my personal favorites, I didn’t care for the "Baby Bunny Board Book" series. The lightly colored watercolors had a greeting card look, but some may like this new large-sized series by Dawn Apperley, Little, Brown, 1999, both $5.95:
Wakey - Wakey, ISBN 0-316-60504-2, and Nighty - Night, ISBN 0-316-60427-5.
Rather than reducing a perfectly fine picture book into a less-than mediocre board book, some authors have created original board books using favorite, established characters. Two familiar fowl star in new board books series: Janet Morgan Stoeke’s "Minerva Louise," the adventurous white chicken first seen in Minerva Louis, Dutton, 1988, and Jane Simmons’ "Daisy," the independent yellow duckling first seen in Come Along, Daisy , Little Brown 1998. Each series has two offerings so far, with brightly colored illustrations and brief but logical stories. "A Minerva Louise Board Book" series shows our hen heroine trying to get out of the rain, and playing hide and seek. The blocks of color should appeal to very small children, and the humor in the stories will appeal to all ages. "A First Daisy Book" series is done in a larger board book size, 8 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches, and with slightly impressionistic paintings. The stories are engaging and joyful, just like the original.
Stoeke, Janet Morgan. Hide and Seek, Dutton, $4.99, ISBN 0-525-46189-2 and Rainy Day, ISBN 0-525-46188-4.
Simmons, Jane. Daisy’s Favorite Things, Little Brown, $5.95, ISBN 0-316-79762-6 and Go To Sleep, Daisy, ISBN 0-316-79761-8.
There are several recent board books that use snippets of previously published picture books for their content. These are not picture books made into board book size, but pieces from a book. Sometimes this formula is successful. For example, the four "Baby’s Catalogue" books, taken from Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s 1982 picture book The Baby’s Catalogue, feature watercolor pictures set on white backgrounds with just a few words as a caption. In the original, there were up to a dozen items per page. This new version works quite well as each item is something a toddler can relate to, and preschoolers will find subtle humor and action. For example, in Blue Buggy, a page captioned "Pink Overalls" features a child holding a baby, with an obvious wet spot on her lap caused by that baby. These can even serve as very easy readers. This enjoyable series can be a little pricey compared to the original, but it will be popular with families.
Ahlberg, Janet and Allan, Little, Brown, 1998, all $5.95:
Blue Buggy, ISBN 0-316-03848-2,
Doll and Teddy, ISBN 0-316-03846-6,
Baby Sleeps, ISBN 0-316-03845-8, and
See the Rabbit, ISBN 0-316-03847-4
Based on the Nick Jr. cable television program "Kipper," the Kipper board books star the beagle-like dog, depicted in watercolors on white backgrounds. The text is usually only a word or two, describing the concept pictured. More appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers than babies, the concepts of opposites, numbers, colors, and weather are depicted. This series could also work as a very easy reader. Originally published in 1994 as picture books, these board book versions will be as popular as the TV show.
Inkpen, Mick, Red Wagon/Harcourt Brace, $4.95 each:
Kipper’s Book of Numbers, ISBN 0-15-202286-4,
Kipper’s Book of Weather, ISBN 0-15-202295-3,
Kipper’s Book of Colors, ISBN 0-15-202285-6, and Kipper’s Book of Opposites, ISBN 0-15-202297-X.
Candlewick has handled the "cut and paste" board books differently by collecting snippets of several different books by various authors and illustrators. These oversized board books gather material according to theme. For example, Bedtime has a Mother Goose rhyme, "Wee Willie Winkie" from My Very First Mother Goose, with illustrations by Rosemary Wells. It also contains Dennis Lee’s poem "Good Night, Good Night," with illustrations by Marc Brown, which first appeared in The Random House Book of Read-Aloud Rhymes. One hope it will inspire parents to check-out the original books.
Bedtime: First Words, Rhymes, and Actions, Candlewick, 1999, $7.99, ISBN 0-7636-0932-3, and Playtime: First Words, Rhymes, and Actions, Candlewick, 1999, $7.99, ISBN 0-7636-0933-1.
One book that may not work with young toddlers, is Miela Ford’s On My Own, because the color photos of cute polar bears may be confusing. The photos are dominated by the gray rock of the zoo habitat, and the off-white color of the bear’s fur. It may be preferable for toddlers to wait until they are old enough for Ford’s picture books, Follow the Leader and Bear Play, which featured similar photos.
Ford, Miela. On My Own. Greenwillow, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-688-16452-8. Another unsuccessful adaptation is Jean Marzollo’s I Spy Little Christmas, with photos by Walter Wick, Scholastic, 1999, $6.99, ISBN 0-439-08331-1. The items pictured are easier to identify than in the original picture book, but it is still too difficult for the intended audience.
One of the more problematic categories in the board book format occurs when a full-sized picture book is reduced to the board book size. Thankfully, the text is usually not abridged, but often illustrations are left out to compensate for fewer pages, or the illustrations are too small and detailed to see clearly, or the story is too complex or too long for the board book audience. However, some libraries may want to check into these for Families for Literacy or other programs were parents prefer the cheaper but stronger board books, when compared to costly hardbound picture books or the flimsy paperback versions.
Marc Brown’s "Arthur" series just does not work in the board book format. The pictures lose something in the smaller size, and the humor and references are really most appropriate to schoolage children who may be put off by the board book format. But if you really need them, the two newest are:
Brown, Marc, Little, Brown, 1999, $5.95 each,
Arthur’s Chicken Pox, ISBN 0-316-11953-9, and Arthur’s First Sleepover, ISBN 0-316-10560-0.
Some of the more successful "picture books as board books" are works that were originally intended for toddlers and young preschoolers. The stories and artwork were designed for that age group in the first place, so the smaller versions still have those inherent attributes. These include:
Peek, Merle. Roll Over! A Counting Song, Clarion, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-395-98037-2.
Christelow, Eileen. Five Little Monkeys Sitting In A Tree, Clarion, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-395-98033-X.
Bond, Felicia. Tumble Bumble, HarperFestival, 1999, $7.95, ISBN 0-694-01344-7.
Hines, Anna Grossnickle. Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti, Clarion, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-395-98036-4.
Berger, Barbara. Grandfather Twilight, Philomel, 1999, $6.99, ISBN 0-399-23421-7.
Krauss, Ruth. You’re Just What I Need, (originally titled The Bundle Book), illustrated by Julia Noonan, HarperFestival, 1999, $6.95, ISBN 0-694-01304-8.
Degan, Bruce. Sailaway Home, HarperFestival, 2000, $7.95, ISBN 0-694-01448-6.
Walton, Rick. So Many Bunnies: A Bedtime ABC, illustrated by Paige Miglio, HarperFestival, 2000, $6.95, ISBN 0-688-17364-0.
Unfortunately, the board book versions are rarely as successful as those listed above. It is more likely that the smaller size will account for less distinction in the artwork, a fault with Kathleen and Michael Hague’s Numbears, and Keith Baker’s Hide and Snake; both work much better as picture books. Or the original book wasn’t really intended for the toddler audience, so the board book version is inappropriate; that is the problem with Woody Jackson’s Counting Cows. But if there is huge patron demand, here is the information:
Hague, Kathleen and Michael. Numbears: A Counting Book, Holt, 1999, $6.95, ISBN 0-8050-6207-6.
Baker, Keith. Hide and Snake. Red Wagon/Harcourt Brace, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-15-202229-5.
Jackson, Woody. Counting Cows. Red Wagon/Harcourt Brace, 1999, $5.95, ISBN 0-15-202174-4.
Kimmelman, Leslie and John. Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights. HarperFestival, 1999, $6.95, ISBN 0-694-01437-0.
Carle, Eric. The Grouchy Ladybug. HarperFestival, 1999, $7.95, ISBN 0-694-01320-X.
Carle, Eric. The Very Lonely Firefly, HarperFestival, 1999, $10.99, ISBN 0-399-23427-6.
Finally, some books in the board book format are inappropriate for public libraries, and some are not even recommended for home use. Tonka Look Inside Trucks, by Patricia Relf with illustrations by Thomas LaPadula, Cartwheel/Scholastic, 1999, $9.95, ISBN 0-439-05020-0, may work for use at home for a young truck fanatic. It has "more than 50 flaps to peek under" as it says on the cover, but the flaps won’t hold up to library circulation.
Star Wars Episode I: Anakin Skywalker by Kerry Milliron, illustrated by Ken Steacy, Random House, 1999, $7.99, ISBN 0-375-80012-3, is inappropriate for young children due to the violence and the gunplay in the illustrations. The story is uncomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, and the flaps and lift-outs won’t last.