March 2002

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians

OBITUARIES

Virginia Hamilton: Newbery Medalist Virginia Hamilton died in February at the age of 65 after a 10 year fight with breast cancer. Known for her wide variety of books, from novels like M.C. Higgins the Great and Zeely, as well as adaptations of folktales, picture books, and nonfiction, Hamilton was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal and a MacArthur Genius Grant. She also received many Coretta Scott King awards and honors, as well as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for her body of work. She is survived by her husband, poet Arnold Adoff, and their children.

Carol Fenner: Author Carol Fenner died in February at age 72 from cancer. Her book, Yolanda's Genius was named a Newbery Honor book.

WEST COAST PUPPET FEST WORKSHOP

Learn the art of puppetry at the West Coast PuppetFest, sponsored by the Puppeteers of America, Inc., especially designed for adults who work with children including teachers and librarians.

The PuppetFest is scheduled for August 23 - 26, at the Asilomar Conference Center near Monterey, Calif. The registration deadline is June 15th, and the registration cost for the four-day event is $125 for members, $165 for nonmembers. Room and board are separate: $231 triple occupancy, $295 double.

Workshops include puppet construction, manipulation, video production, character design, script writing, costuming, performance analysis, power tools, business aspects, and history of puppetry. Ronnie Burkett, one of Canada's leading puppet theatre artists, will give a special illustrated lecture.

There will also be a wealth of performances. Scheduled to perform are Hand to Mouth Theatre from England, Frank Meschkuleit from Canada, Oregon Shadow Theatre, Snapdragon Puppets, Other Hand Productions, and Bob Hartmann.
For complete information on registration, fees, details on the workshops, and more, visit their website www.westcoastpuppet.com or phone Mary Decker at 650-361-1310, or email assistant@westcoastpuppet.com.

PERFORMERS' WEBSITES

Many performers who do library programs have their own websites. BayNews will start to profile at least one website each month. Using these websites can be an easy way for librarians to "meet" a new performer who can offer a quality library program. First up,

www.LariatLarry.com

Most Bay Area librarians know Larry Kluger, who has been doing juggling for over 20 year, and Wild West storytelling with lariat tricks for the past few years. His website offers all the relevant information, including descriptions of both his juggling and lariat storytelling shows, photographs, contact information, a short biography of Larry, links to other Wild West and storytelling websites, and more.

Lariat Larry's website is easy to navigate, and offers his email address. It also describes his talent as a unicycle rider, and his popular instructional workshops on juggling. You may not know that Larry is a credentialed teacher, and taught Math for 10 years before becoming a full-time performer.

Books of Interest to Children's Librarians

Pinkney, Gloria Jean. In the Forest of Your Remembrance. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney, and Miles Pinkney. Phyllis Fogelman Books/Penguin Putnam, 2001. $16.99, ISBN 0-8037-2643-0.

Author Gloria Jean Pinkney, well-known for her picture books including Back Home, Dial, 1992, and Sunday Outing, Dial, 1994, offers a book for Christian adults. In the Forest of Your Remembrance is a collection of brief, personal stories, relating how Pinkney felt a spiritual presence, or believes she experienced a divine intervention. Each vignette is just a few pages long, and is followed by a quotation from the New Testament that relates to the vignette. The stories have common threads that most people can relate to - a stranger who stops during a traffic accident is the same person Pinkney's husband has a meeting with that same day. Pinkney sees other everyday events in nature, or in the kindness of other people, as demonstrations of her faith.

Gloria Pinkney's book features drawings by her husband Jerry, photos by her son Miles, and scratchboard illustrations by her other son Brian. All three of these men have illustrated many books for children, receiving numerous awards. This book seems best suited as a gift book to a Christian teacher or librarian who will appreciate the stories and recognize the talented Pinkney family.

New Editions of Old Favorites

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Mad About Madeline: The Complete Tales. Viking, 2001. $35. ISBN 0-670-88816-8.

Not intended for libraries but perfect as a gift book, this compilation collects all six of the original Madeline books. And these are page-by-page, not abridged or adapted. All of the illustrations as well as the complete texts are here.

Madeline is still a very popular character, and it is a pleasure to see all six of her tales collected, because of the non-crowded, "complete" versions here. There are little extras, too, like the introduction by journalist Anna Quindlen, and an endpiece with family photos, about Bemelmans. Kids may want to skip the introduction, but older students can appreciate the endnote, and adults will like both. This book doesn't exploit the late author/illustrator, it honors him as well as the inimitable Madeline.