MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's LibrariansVerna Aardema, noted for her many folklore retellings, died at age 88 on May 11, 2000. A graduate of Michigan State University, her first book was Tales from the Story Hat, published in 1960. Her 1975 African folktale picture book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears, was awarded the Caldecott Medal for the illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon.
Boston Globe/Hornbook Awards: The 2000 Boston Globe/Hornbook Awards were announced recently. The Fiction winner is The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley, Atheneum. The Fiction Honor books are Susan Cooper's The King of Shadows, McElderry, and Walter Dean Myers' 145th Street: Short Stories, Delacorte. The Nonfiction winner is Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest for El Dorado by Marc Aronson, Clarion. The Nonfiction Honor books are Alan Govenar's Osciola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, and Albert Marrin's Sitting Bull and His World, Dutton.
The Picture Book winner is Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, written and illustrated by D. B. Johnson. The Picture Book Honor books are Brock Cole's Buttons, Farrar, and Gabrielle Vincent's a day, a dog, Front Street. For more information about the award and a list of past winners, see the website at:
http://www.hbook.com/bghbabout.shtml
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!
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 [email protected] or to Penny at the San Leandro Public Library, 2950 F Alvarado St., San Leandro, CA, 94577.
Crinkles: The Library Media Magazine for Kids! bimonthly, $26.00 for 6 issues (one year), LMS Associates, http://www.crinkles.com or phone (410) 685-8621.
Both public libraries and elementary school libraries will benefit from Crinkles, a new magazine targeted at boys and girls, ages 7-11. Packed with games and crossword puzzles like the old favorite Highlights, and featuring articles on a variety of subjects, Crinkles has a special feature that is perfect for libraries. At the conclusion of each article, there is a thorough list of books and websites on the topic.
I examined the Nov./Dec. 1999 issue, which featured artwork by Robert Sabuda from the popular picture book, The Paper Dragon by Marguerite W. Davol, 1997, S&S. The issue had articles on pandas, walls (including the Great Wall of China), biking, Michelle Kwan, winter holidays with a focus on the Lunar New Year, cooking pot stories, rice, ducks, dragons, Mao Tse Tung, and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860's. Whew! Each article featured at least one puzzle or arts and crafts activity, including paper dolls, board games you can make, a bike puzzle, and a Chinese New Year wheel. The articles were truly multicultural, and the topics seemed to balance appeal to both genders. There is an overall tone of "school" to the magazine, because many of the articles will relate to curriculum topics. Thankfully, there are no advertisements in the magazine.
Every librarian will really appreciate the many booklists featured in the magazine. For example, in the article on bike safety, the booklist featured 17 nonfiction titles, 25 fiction titles from picture books like Allen Say's The Bicycle Man to chapter books like Beverly Cleary's Henry and Beezus. That list also included several relevant videos, and 10 websites. The books mentioned are annotated with one sentence descriptions that include the number of pages, so librarians can guess approximate grade levels.
The magazine's design is not overtly innovative, but there is some color illustrations, sidebars, a variety of typefaces, maps, photos, artwork, and cartoons. The magazine doesn't look "slick," but it has a professional appearance that should appeal to young readers. Librarians and teachers can find it very useful in making book displays or curriculum units, because they include so many books to use with each article, as well as a wealth of activities. For example, the article on dragons featured both European and Chinese dragons, the Draco constellation for a science element, a dragon maze, and lots more!
I was really impressed with the combination of light, energetic writing in each article, and the wealth of suggested reading that accompanied the articles. The article on Mao Tse Tung did not villify or glorify him - it seemed to strike a fair balance. Now, this may not be a magazine that kids grab first, like Disney Adventures, but it certainly will be one that is used if librarians can lead young readers to it. And the title? It is called "Crinkles" because "learning makes crinkles in your brain."
Penny Peck, San Leandro PL
Hopscotch For Girls. bimonthly, $17.00 for 6 issues (one year), Bluffton News, http://www.hopscotchmagazine.com or phone 1-800-358-4732.
Designed specifically for preteen girls, Hopscotch for Girls is an old-fashioned but appealing magazine for girls ages 6 to 9. Since most magazines for girls include information on make-up, clothes, hair, pop music, and other interests of girls over age 8, this magazine is focused on the interests of younger girls, which includes games, reading, art, dolls and toys, and related topics. The issue I examined, Feb./Mar. 2000, had articles related to the theme of "Tea Parties."
The magazine had lots to entice young readers, including several puzzles, short stories and poems, recipes, a comic book-like article, a science project of making disappearing ink, art projects including homemade invitations for a tea party, jokes and riddles, information on Valentine's Day and Leap Year, and an extensive letters column which included pen pal information. Although the magazine's philosophy is that girls often grow up too fast due to the influence of media, there is no specific religion or political slant to the magazine. There are no advertisements, either.
The magazine has received awards from Parent's Choice and other agencies. The publishers also make a magazine for boys of the same age group, called Boys' Quest. This won't leap off the shelves, but it should certainly balance a collection that needs more magazines for girls who are too old for Sesame Street magazine, and too young for Teen People.
Candlewick Press has a new series of very beginning easy reader books called "Brand New Readers." The super-simple stories have very brief texts, with repeated words and simple vocabulary. But the attractive illustrations tell the stories just as well as the words, so children who are pre-readers can enjoy these books.
For example, Winnie's Walk is about a large dog. The entire text consists of the following: "Winnie wants a walk. Winnie wags her tail. Winnie gets her leash. Winnie waits. Winnie barks. Winnie barks MORE. Winnie barks A LOT MORE. Winnie gets a walk." The illustrations are very attractive, similar to picture books, not greeting cards.
The books are available in two formats. For home use, four 8 page paperbacks are in a sturdy slipcase for $4.99. The four books all feature the same character, and would be perfect for Families for Literacy programs because the cost is so low, and the reading level is just right for those entering kindergarten. Each set is also available in a hardback library edition, with 48 pages, at a cost of $10.99. Since very few easy readers are really this easy, librarians will want to review these to meet a hard-to-fill need.
To find out all the details regarding authors, titles, and other information, see the website at http://www.brandnewreaders.com.
"Family Crafts" is easily my favorite craft site, featuring a wealth of crafts on practically any subject. The day before I had to do a "bug" storytime with several crafts, I found all my projects on this site. Most needed only paper or other supplies I had on hand, and kids over age 6 could do the projects without any help at all! After that successful experience, I have returned to this site many times.
Even though the web address includes the words "craftsforkids," it is really for all ages. There are several features of adults including a chat room and a way to request craft ideas that are not listed, and lots of parenting tips, reviews of craft books, and other useful aspects to this extensive website.
Nearly every craft idea is written out on one easy-to-follow page which includes an illustration, so it is easy to print out the instructions. Many are old standards but there were many crafts I haven't seen before. It is obvious these crafts are about the process, not the product, as most take materials that are easily found around the house. No need to run to a craft store for expensive items.
A new feature recently caught my eye. "Story Sacks" are a recent addition. These ideas encourage the parent to use any sack or bag, and put in a book with lots of crafts to go with that book. For the "Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Sack," based on the popular book by Eric Carle, over a dozen crafts were listed, from egg carton caterpillars to a number of butterfly crafts. There are only 5 "Story Sacks" listed so far, but more plan to be added. These can serve as great "emergency" storyhour ideas!
If you are tired of doing the same old holiday crafts, this is the place, as many of their ideas are simple but different. And most can be done for pennies per person, which is perfect for public libraries where we cannot predict how many will come to a craft program. I visit this site weekly and am never disappointed.
Although not as useful as www.craftsforkids, the MakeStuff site is a good supplementary craft site. Not just for kids, it has several categories from which to choose, from homemade bath powder to homemade insect repellant! The kids site offers several useful recipes for homemade silly putty, koolaid play dough, invisible ink, etc. The directions are very simple and straightforward, and there are warnings that kids should seek adult supervision. The crafts are even easier than the art supply recipes. There are old favorites like a peanut butter bird feeder, tissue paper flowers, and some newer ideas. Unfortunately, few of the crafts featured a picture of what was being made, but the instructions were very clear.
If you have children and parents who can't get enough of your summer reading program, here is a site that rewards kids for reading all year long. Sponsored by Sylvan Learning, BookAdventure offers ten-question quizzes on children's books. Kids who pass the quiz receive points, which they can cash in for coupons and gift certificates to restaurants, Barnes and Noble, and other major stores. The quizzes I viewed seem to ask relevant questions, not just trivia, and the prizes also had appeal, although there were not that many from which to choose.
The website's graphics are very appealing, with a cartoon dog and dinosaur serving as the site's mascots. Most of the books seemed to be chapter books for kids about 8-12 years of age, and included the first three Harry Potters, old favorites like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte's Web, and many others. The site requires kids to register and give a password, so this seems more suitable for home computers than for libraries. This may be just right for parents who want more than your summer reading program can provide.
BrainPop is a site run by a company that makes fun documentary films for kids about science, health, and technology. The site was named Yahoo's! "pick of the year," the Exploratorium's "cool site" for the month for February 2000, and received numerous other awards. It is high on colorful, cartoon graphics and animated movement on the site. Its main feature are the 90 plus short (3-5 minute) animated films on different science topics.
The films cover a variety of subjects, and are perfect for kids who cannot handle websites that are text-heavy. The films show and tell about an aspect of science, giving enough information to peak interest, and are aimed at ages 8-11. There are also great "pop" quizzes with several multiple choice questions on the specific topic. Then, a viewer can link to the activity page, where there is a coloring page or puzzle on the topic. The "Cassie & Rita" link goes to a comic strip starring two teen girls on the topic, and the experiment link features a simple science project on the topic.
The film segments allow the viewer to pause, fast-forward, or rewind. There is also a search option, but I didn't find it useful. For example, both AIDS and earthquakes didn't bring up any results, but using the table of contents, I found films on the immune system and on plate techtonics. There is an option for viewers to register, so they can accumulate points for using the site or passing the quizzes, which are redeemable for prizes. This aspect seems best suited to home use, but most of the site is accessible without registering, so libraries will find it useful, too.