June 2001

• Thurs., July 12, 2001. ACL Meeting. 9 a.m. Oakland Public Libr.
• Thurs., Aug. 9, 2001. ACL Meeting. 9 a.m. Oakland Public Libr.

Harriet Rohmer Lessens Workload: Harriet Rohmer, founder and publisher of Children's Book Press, has decided to move into an advisory role at the publishing house, rather than the hands-on role as writer, editor, and publisher which she has held since the beginning of Children's Book Press 26 years ago. This nonprofit press has published more than 60 multicultural books which included several award-winners.

Author Jamake Highwater dies: Award-winning Native American author Jamake Highwater died in June, at the age of 59. He wrote for both adults and children, including the book Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey. Anpao was named a Newbery Honor book in 1978, and was published by Lippincott. The novel wove Native American legends and folktales into the story. Highwater was also the host of educational television shows.

Betty Schwabacher: Longtime former ACL Treasurer Betty Schwabacher died in May 2001. Retired, she had been a children's librarian with the San Francisco Public Library. Many of us remember Betty's sardonic humor and her great ability to predict whether the annual ACL Institute would make money.

Time-Life Books Go Out of Business: The popular series of nonfiction books, Time Life Books, has gone out of business. Long a staple of most households, the books were sold by direct mail or by television commercials, on topics ranging from dinosaurs to UFO's to World War II. With abundant b&w photos, the Time-Life Books, although intended for adults, had great appeal to middle and high school students. Begun in 1961, the publishing niche had 64 employees, and sold over 30 million books per year on average.

Elementary School Library Collection: The venerated children's librarians' reference book, the Elementary School Library Collection (ESLC), will no longer be published. Brodart has announced this important reference tool will no longer continue; not even the supplements will be produced.

Freedom to Read: The Freedom to Read Foundation, which serves as the ACLU does in lawsuits counteracting censorship in libraries and schools, is looking for support. The rash of lawsuits mandating Internet policies and the increase in calls for school library restrictions has demonstrated the need for the Freedom to Read Foundation. To find out how to lend your financial support to this organization, check out their website at www.ftrf.org.

AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The 2001 Boston-Horn Book Children's Award Winners were announced June 11th. The awards are celebrating their 35th anniversary, and name children's books in the categories of fiction and poetry, nonfiction, and picture book. This year, a winner and two honor books were named in each category. They are:

Fiction and Poetry Winner:
Carver: A Life In Poems by Marilyn Nelson, Front Street, 2001, $16.95, ISBN 1-8869-1053-7.

Honor Books:
* Everything On A Waffle by Polly Horvath, FSG, 2001, $16, ISBN 0-374-32236-8.
* Troy by Adele Geras, Harcourt, 2001, $17, ISBN 0-15216-492-8.

Nonfiction Winner:
The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash, illustrated by Dusan Petricic, FSG, 2000, $16, ISBN 0-374-34636-4.

Honor Books:
* Rocks In His Head by Carol Otis Hurst, illustrated by James Stevenson, Greenwillow, 2001, $15.89, ISBN 0-060-29404-3.
* Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa written and illustrated by Don Brown, Houghton, 2000, $16, ISBN 0-618-00273-1.

Picture Book Winner:
Cold Feet by Cynthia DeFelice, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker, DK Ink, 2000, $15.95, ISBN 0-78942-636-6.

Honor Books:
* Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Tomek Bogacki, FSG, 2001, $16, ISBN 0-374-32341-0.
* The Stray Dog by Marc Simont, HarperCollins, 2001m $15.95, ISBN 0-06-028933-3.

The Americas Award for Children and Young Adult Literature has announced its winners and commended list, which are scheduled to be presented on June 29th at the Library of Congress. The Americas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or nonfiction, published in English or Spanish, that authentically and engaging portray Latinos in the Western Hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

Picture Book Winner:
The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta, illustrated by Alfonso Ruano, Groundwood, $16.95, ISBN 0-88899-390-0.

Honor Book:
My Very Own Room/Mi Propio Cuartito by Amada Irma Perez, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez, Children's Book Press, $15.95, ISBN 0-89239-164-2.

Fiction Winner:
The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph, HarperCollins, $14.95, ISBN 0-06-028232-0.

Honor Book:
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Scholastic, $15.95, ISBN 0-439-12041-1.

Highly Recommended:
* The Christmas Gift/El Regalo De Navidad by Francisco Jimenez, illustrated by Claire B. Cotts, Houghton Mifflin, $15.00, ISBN 0-395-92869-9.
* Cuban Kids by George Ancona, Marshall Cavendish, $15.95, ISBN 0-7614-5077-7.
* Icy Watermelon/Sandia Fria by Mary Sue Galindo, illustrated by Pauline Rodriguez Howard, Pinata Books, $14.95, ISBN 1-55885-306-5.
* Mi Hija, Mi Hijo, El Aguila, La Paloma: Un Canto Azteca/My Daughter, My Son, The Eagle, The Dove: An Aztec Chant by Ana Castillo, illustrated by Susan Guevara, Dutton, $12.99, ISBN 0-523-45867-0 (Spanish), 0-525-45856-2 (English).
* Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick, Henry Holt, $15.00, ISBN 0-8050-6403-6.
* Roadrunner's Dance by Rudolfo Anaya, illustrated by David Diaz, Hyperion, $15.99, ISBN 0-7868-80254-5.
* Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre, Scholastic, $15.95, ISBN 0-590-63118-7.

ALA CONFERENCE DRAWS 20,000 TO SF

The annual American Library Association Conference was held in June in San Francisco, drawing over 20,000 librarians to the many meetings, programs, special events, and a busy exhibit floor. The weather was unusually warm for foggy San Francisco, and those from other states were thrilled with the vacation atmosphere of the city.

A big crowd attended the Opening Session, where Mayor Willie Brown gave a short, funny speech welcoming "librarians and their credit cards." ALA President Nancy Kranich presented several awards, including ALA’s highest honor, Honorary Membership, which was presented to Arnulfo D. Trejo, founder of REFORMA. Dr. Trejo gave a moving speech about the importance of our profession.

One disappointing aspect of the conference was the labor dispute at the Marriott Hotel, which is only one block from the Moscone Convention Center. The hotel was the site of many meetings and special events, and near - daily picket lines made it awkward for attendees. There were no pickets the evening of the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet, which was attended by more than 1,200 people. But the labor dispute caused the cancellation of the Coretta Scott King Breakfast, which is an awards breakfast. Coretta Scott King had written a letter to ALA asking that the breakfast be moved to a different site, because she and her husband always supported the quest for fair wages and working condition. The committee felt obligated to cancel the event.

Many local children’s librarians who don’t always get to attend the ALA Conference when it is out-of-state took this opportunity to walk the crowded exhibit floor, where there were busy book displays from publishers, and many authors and illustrators appearing at autograph signings. The Preconference on "Future: Tense?" was a big hit, offering a variety of new library programs involving the use of the Internet to connect kids with reading.

Other popular programs included a presentation on school-age programming, which was standing room only. Programs were as simple as planting a library garden in partnership with a local garden club, or holding weekly play readings and oral interpretation performances with teens. This last program featured teens from the Berkeley Public Library where the program is held. Another well-attended program offered several librarians describing how they partner with museums to bring a new cultural experience to the library.

ACL members were everywhere, from serving on award committees to speaking at the programs. A special thanks to all members who served as Local Arrangements assistants, acting as hostesses and ushers at the many meetings and programs.

www.trelease-on-reading.com
Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook and cheerleader for libraries, has a website that will be of great use to children’s librarians. Whenever I am called on to make a speech for a parents group on the importance of reading to children, I use his book and website for statistics and snappy quotations. He cites studies that demonstrate the relationship of reading ability to success in school, and the lack of reading ability to the juvenile prison population, for example.

There is a fun multiple choice quiz on children’s authors, and a bibliography of all the books Trelease mentions when he gives speeches to PTA’s, teacher’s groups, and others.

One of the most exciting sections contains new essays he plans to incorporate into a new book, scheduled for Fall 2001 publication, all gathered in a "What’s New?" section of the website. One essay describes how libraries can use marketing strategies to get kids to check out books, and to read them, even using techniques borrowed from Oprah Winfrey’s television book club. Another essay explains why Harry Potter is good reading – not just that kids like it, but for concerned parents, the fact that the vocabulary is demanding and other "academic" reasons.

Another essential section of the website is Trelease’s common-sense take on book censorship. For example, there are school library studies proving that "banned" books immediately become the books students ask for or "sneak" to read. Also, that many adult life-long readers with advanced college degrees enjoyed reading series books like Nancy Drew or comic books when they were kids; they all grew up to read the classics and not just "junk."

The website isn’t filled with glitzy graphics although it does have many photos and a nice, large typeface that is very clear and easy to read. It is just right for the library commissioner who suddenly needs to make a presentation, or even children’s librarian who wants to freshen up the speech one gives to adult groups on why we need more money. Inspiring essays on an easy-to-use website.

HAVE YOU HEARD?
Trends in children’s literature

The new Harry Potter movie is not due in theatres until November, and the fifth book won’t be out until 2002, so what are we to do for our Harry Potter summer reading fix? Of course, many kids are re-reading the first four books. They (and adults) will also enjoy the two new paperback "spoofs" that J.K. Rowling has written as a fundraising effort for the charity Comic Relief U.K.

Writing under pseudonyms, Rowling has created two books that could be found in Harry Potter’s school bag: Quidditch Though the Ages and Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them. The Quidditch book is supposedly from the Hogwarts school library, and has a check-out slip in the front inside page. On it is a warning from the Hogwarts school librarian, Irma Pince, reminding readers not to deface the book. Too late! The book has amusing handwritten comments in the margins, from Harry or his friend Ron Weasley.

The other book is Harry’s textbook for the beasts class taught by Hagrid. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also has handwritten margin notes. Both books have introductions by Professor Dumbledore. The Quidditch book is funny if you realize its overly serious style is comparable to other sports history books, which take their subjects far too seriously.

The beasts book is more like the Harry Potter books, with imaginative descriptions of the creatures found in Harry’s world. There is even a wry description of how some creatures are "beings" (like giants) because they speak and think, others are beasts (like dragons). The humor lies in the few categories that choose not to be beings, like werewolves.

The last half of the beasts book is a dictionary of creatures, mixing both the Muggle-known beasts like griffins and fairies and the Rowling created Hippogriff and Flobberworm. This section would have benefited from illustrations of each beast, but perhaps that would make it too costly to work as a fund-raiser.

Despite the few inadequacies, these two paperbacks will be great fun for any Harry Potter fan, and great summer reads as they are brief.

Rowling, J.K., writing as Kennilworthy Whisp. Quidditch Through The Ages, Scholastic/Obscurus, 2001, 56p. $3.99, ISBN 0-439-29502-5.

Penny Peck,
San Leandro Public Library