September 2001

• Thurs., Oct. 11, 2001. ACL Meeting. 9 a.m. Oakland Public Libr.
• Thurs., Oct. 11, 2001. Reading the Pictures. (209) 937-8649
• Oct. 12-14, 2001. Reading the World. Univ. San Francisco www.soe.usfca.edu/childlit
• Oct. 12-14, 2001. Children's Music Network Gathering. (847) 733-8003 www.cmnonline.org
• Nov. 2-5, 2001. CLA Conference. Long Beach, CA www.cla-net.org
• Thurs., Nov. 8, 2001. ACL Meeting. 9 a.m. Oakland Public Libr.

Weekes Branch in Hayward: Congratulations to our friends at the Weekes Branch of the Hayward Public Library. It has been remodeled and the grand opening celebration is scheduled for September 30th from 1-4pm. Also, best wishes to Melesha Johnny, the new branch librarian at Weekes.

Arne Nixon Center: Author Evelyn Coleman will be speaking at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Fresno State on Sept. 29th. Coleman’s many picture books include To Be A Drum and White Socks Only. For more information on her appearance, phone 559-278-8116.

Performers’ Showcase: Mark your calendars! ACL’s next Performers’ Showcase is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23, 2002, and will be held at the San Leandro Public Library. Can you believe it is the 16th year of the Showcase? Look for a registration form and more information in the next issue of BayNews and BayViews.

To Kill A Mockingbird: Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird has been has been removed from the required reading list for high school freshmen in Muskogee, Oklahoma. School officials made the decision because the book "could be offensive to some students." The book contains "racially charged language," and the administrators "didn’t want to put the kids in an uncomfortable situation." Does that mean algebra and geometry will be stricken from the curriculum? Both those subjects make me "uncomfortable."

The 7th annual California Indian Storytelling Festival of Northern California will be held on Sept. 29-30, 2001, at Ohlone College in Fremont. The festival will have many guest storytellers, workshops, performances, and more. Check out their website at www.cistory.org.

The 59-99 Cooperative Library System will present "Reading the Pictures," a collection development workshop led by Gratia Banta, on Thursday, Oct. 11th. Speaking about a variety of art mediums, styles, and techniques, Gratia will introduce picture books that capture children and adults with their sense of wonder. Learn about the elements of design, color, space, and style while becoming better at evaluating and enjoying the art of the picture book. The keynote speaker at the 2000 ALA/ALSC Preconference in Chicago, Gratia is a working librarian who has served on the Caldecott Committee and has reviewed picture books for Booklist, School Library Journal, and local newspapers.

The workshop will be held at the Cesar Chavez Central Library of the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library from 9-Noon on Oct. 11, 2001. Cost is $10, box lunch is $7.50. Make checks payable to "49/99 Cooperative Library System," 605 N. El Dorado St., Stockton, CA, 95202-1999. The registration deadline is Oct. 1st. For more information, phone 209-937-8649.

The Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose was named one of the winners of the National Award for Museum and Library Service. The awards are given annually to libraries and museums that make exceptional social, economic, or environmental contributions to their communities. The awards are made by the federal agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The other museums named were the Alaska Resources Library and Information Service, Hancock County Library system in Mississippi, the Miami Museum of Science, the New England Aquarium, and the Providence Public Library in Rhode Island.

The Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose serves a community with that speaks 144 languages, is a model of diversity, and where one in five children lives in poverty. The museum has over 150 exhibits and programs, from helping children develop websites to traditional evening storytelling.

The awards ceremony was scheduled for September 17th in Washington, D.C. It was canceled due to the World Trade Center and Pentagon destruction. However, many of us in the Bay Area can congratulate the Discovery Museum by visiting it in San Jose.

Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, California is the site of the 11th annual gathering of the Children’s Music Network. The three day gathering, Oct. 12-14, will be highlighted by the Magic Penny Award presentation to Ella Jenkins, noted children’s music presenter. Jenkins is known to many from her appearances on "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" and by her concerts.

The weekend will feature workshops on songwriting with children, playparty games and dances, homemade percussion, playing the saw, songs about difficult issues, song swaps, and much more. A special presentation by Austin Willacy & ‘Til Dawn, a teen vocal group, is scheduled. For information on registration, phone 847-733-8003, or see the website www.cmnonline.org.

Betty Cavanna: Elizabeth Cavanna Harrison, known as Betty Cavanna, died at age 92 last month in France. She began her writing career in the 1940’s, with books like Going On Sixteen (1944) and A Girl Can Dream (1947). Two of her books were runners-up for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for mysteries: Spice Island Mystery (1970) and The Ghost of Ballyhooly (1972). Her last book was Banner Year (1987).

When you have read more than your share of lackluster review books, just sing the following to yourself:

"Forgettable" (sung to the tune of "Unforgettable" by Irving Gordon)

All forgettable, that’s what they are –
All forgettable, no point or star –
Pictures fuzzy, type illegible,
Never before
Has a book been more
So forgettable, in ev’ry way –
So forgettable, not worth its weight in hay –
That’s way, darling,
Since you asked me,
I say this book’s a catastrophe,
And I’ll rate it "unsatisfactory" too—

Compared to the subsequent "Arthur" books, the characters in Arthur’s Nose aren’t "cute." The story is also told in an unusual manner: The text is briefer, there are dialogue balloons, and the story leans more heavily on the illustrations than in later books. But children will still enjoy this "Arthur" tale as a way of discovering the origins of their favorite characters.

The book begins with an introduction about the "Arthur" series, and 6 portraits showing how Arthur has changed over the years. There is also a "fun facts" page of trivia: did you know The Brain’s real name is Alan? A scrapbook-like section shows real b&w photos of Marc Brown as a child, paired with illustrations from the Arthur stories. We find out that both D.W. and Francine are based on Brown’s sister Bonnie, who is just a few years younger than himself, and has much of the spunky determination of those two characters. The book also includes samples from the original draft.

The book’s final half is a reprint of the original Arthur’s Nose. It has never been as popular as Arthur’s Eyes, or some of the later books, but it will circulate. You may wish to purchase this 25th anniversary edition to replace worn copies of the original.

Although this has biographical information on author/illustrator Johnny Gruelle, this is accurately subtitled a "celebration" of Raggedy Ann. This brief tribute is written by Patricia Hall, who is the historical consultant to the Johnny Gruelle Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. There is also a nice introduction written by Gruelle’s granddaughter, Joni Gruelle Wannamaker. Filled with reproductions of Gruelle’s art, this book traces the origins of the both the Raggedy Ann doll and the books, which came about at the same time. Gruelle was one of the first to design a doll based on a storybook character, and to write stories about the doll, so the two items would be marketed together.

Gruelle originally made up the character and stories to entertain his daughter Marcella, who was bedridden and eventually died at age 13. The books and dolls grew into a phenomenon, which included lots of merchandise like valentine cards. But this book concentrates on celebrating the stories. Many of his characters had unusual names, like Snitznoodle, Cleety the Clown, and Geewhiliker – they remind me of Baum’s "Oz" characters. Ironically, Baum also created his children’s stories for his own children.

This tribute book may have more appeal to adults, especially those that collect antique dolls, but if you have children who still read the Raggedy Ann stories, they will appreciate this book.

When a familiar character appears in a book written by a new author, it usually means disaster. The new "Madeline" books may be the exception that proves the rule; they seem so "in tune" with the originals in both text and illustration that children and adults will enjoy them. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the new author/illustrator is Ludwig Bemelman’ grandson; Ludwig Bemelmans died in 1962.

Many of us still have copies of What Do You Say Dear? and What Do You Do Dear? by Sessele Joslin, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, two picture books from the 1960’s that talk about etiquette. They are so much fun that the lesson goes down easy; this new Madeline manners book has the same tone. There is a wry humor in some of the advice: "Excuse me! Pardon me! Sorry! Does not mean that you are free to push or shove obnoxiously." Other examples are paired with a humorous illustration: "If you do something you know is wrong, Such as going where you don’t belong, Don’t make it worse by telling lies; Say you’re sorry and apologize," is matched with a picture of three girls dressed in Miss Clavell’s nun’s habit.

The pictures have a nice light touch, in both the slender outlines and the modest use of color. There is plenty of white space in many of the illustrations. Madeline and the girls still wear the same clothes, and live in the same Parisian suburb; there is no modernization here. Children will enjoy these new stories, and parents won’t feel as if someone is exploiting a classic.

If you notice a pediatrician or nurse wandering the picture book area of your library, they may be part of a program called "Reach Out and Read," or ROR. The ROR program isn’t new, but is really starting to take off with health care providers in California, following the lead of medical professionals in Maryland, Massachusetts, and a few other states.

The ROR program is relatively simple: clinics, hospitals, and doctors’ offices are giving books to families when they bring in their infants for "well baby" visits. These free books are given at each visit until the child is 5 years of age, and the visits are usually scheduled for every six months. Since nearly every baby visits a clinic or doctor to get inoculated, the health care professionals can remind parents that reading to your baby is fundamental to his or her brain development.

Many parents are already aware of the importance of reading to their children. But many of those parents who don’t read a daily newspaper, or who speak limited English, may not have heard about the recent research in this area. So the doctor’s advice that a baby or child should be read to 20 minutes a day works like a prescription – especially when it comes to school readiness.

Doctors and clinics find that economically disadvantaged families are in the most need, yet these clinics have no budgets. Many of the books they give out were obtained by donations, or by special programs like First Book or through grants. One of the greatest needs are bilingual books, to help families read to their children in the home language, which is usually Spanish, and to read in the new language of English which the child will need for school.

The first ROR conference held in California took place on Sept. 8th in Sacramento. Nearly 100 of those involved in the program met to exchange ideas on providing good books to infants and toddlers. Many Project Literacy and Families for Literacy departments in public libraries are partnering with clinics and hospitals to make ROR work. The literacy groups provide the books given at the well baby visits, order the books for the clinics, or assist with finding and training volunteers who read to children in the doctors’ waiting rooms. This partnership serves both groups, as doctors often refer the parents to a Project Literacy when they know the parent can use assistance in reading and writing in English. The volunteers keep the child occupied while they wait for the doctor, and model read-aloud techniques and fingerplays and songs. Many health care providers commented on how peaceful and happy the waiting room has become due to the influence of the volunteer readers.

The conference had many inspiring speakers, including Dr. Robert Needleman who developed Reach Out and Read in Baltimore. Some children’s librarians may remember Dr. Needleman’s presentation at an ALA/ALSC conference a few years ago, which helped spread the word about ROR to California for the first time.

California’s largest ROR program is in Stockton, run by librarian Jane Cook. The Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library’s Families for Literacy program partners with eleven health care sites to give books to those under five and to provide train volunteers to read to kids. Other libraries are using the Stockton model, by partnering the library’s literacy program with the health care providers.

What can a children’s librarian do to help? Your literacy office may need help with book recommendations – which are the best English/Spanish books for kids under age 3? Which are the best board books out right now? Children’s librarians are the best people to ask concerning book recommendations, and ROR needs our expertise. We can also help when volunteers need to borrow books of children’s songs, fingerplays, and favorite picture books, similar to the types we use at our toddler times and lapsit storytimes.

Doctors are also looking for ideas for simple books on health issues to recommend based on specific need; for example, a book on asthma, nutrition, or other topics that certain families need based on a child’s health problem. Doctors cannot find enough on these topics in Spanish, or written at a simple reading level. The first thing we can do is let our literacy programs and local clinics and hospitals know that we are aware of Reach Out and Read, that we have the same mission, and that we are available to give book recommendations. A few simple phone calls may be all we need to do to let those in ROR programs know we are one of their strongest allies.

If the idea of anything "Martha Stewart" makes you cringe, don’t be alarmed. This music CD is wonderful, despite Martha Stewart’s name on the cover. Her influence can only be seen on the liner notes, with ideas for baby lampshades and such (I kid you not). Throw out the liner notes, and listen to this CD. Your blood pressure will go down about 20 points, the music is that good.

Some of the best recording artists can be found on this CD. From Alison Kraus singing "Baby Mine" from the Disney film Dumbo, to Linda Ronstadt cooing Lennon and McCartney’s "Good Night," even people without kids will enjoy this CD. Most of the songs would classify as "classic" pop, but the recording artists are all cutting edge. This is the fourth music CD in the "Martha Stewart" series.

Some of the songs are so familiar that parents can sing along from first listening, like the Barenaked Ladies cover of the Carpenter’s "Close to You." Others, like the haunting "Takes My Breath Away" by Tuck and Patti are new to most of us; it stopped me in the middle of folding laundry with its depth and passion. Many are "not just for kids" like Lucinda Williams’ "Which Will," which features her fine guitar playing. Perhaps the most moving cut is from the late Eva Cassidy, who does a bluesy version of "Over the Rainbow." Recommend this to any tired-looking parent.