BayNews September 2003

NEWS AND NOTES

Mark these meeting dates:

Distinguished Round-up: Sunday, February 8, 2004, noon - 4pm at the home of Penny Peck. Note this is a new date from the one in last month's BayNews.

Performers' Showcase: Saturday, February 28, 2004, at the San Leandro Public Library.
ACL Meeting in February: At the Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004 ACL meeting, note this new meeting place-Berkeley Main Library.

Reading the World Conference: The sixth annual "Reading the World" conference will be held at the University of San Francisco on March 13 & 14, 2004. To find out more about this celebration of multicultural literature, see their website at www.soe.usfca.edu/institutes/childlit

Illustrator Tom Feelings Dies: Tom Feelings, award-winning illustrator of many children's books on African-American culture, died on Sept. 1 at age 70. His many books include The Middle Passage, a dramatic book on slavery, and the Caldecott Honor books Jambo Means Hello and Moja Means One.
Martha Weston Dies: Bay Area children's book illustrator Martha Weston died at age 56 at her Fairfax home in early September. Although colorblind, she illustrated over 60 children's books, many written by Marilyn Burns.

New book by Carolyn Edwards: ACL member Carolyn McVickar Edwards has a new book coming out Sept. 30, 2003 - In the Light of the Moon: Thirteen Lunar Tales from Around the World Illuminating Life's Mysteries. Her previous books of folktales, The Return of the Light and The Storyteller's Goddess were also published by Marlowe and Co., New York.

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS

Baker, Deirdre and Setterington, Kenneth. A GUIDE TO CANADIAN CHILDREN'S BOOKS. McClelland & Stewart, 2003. $24.95, ISBN 0-7710-1064-8.

Over 500 books for children are listed here, from board books, to novels, to nonfiction, in this breezy guide to Canadian Children's literature. Arranged by age and genre, this guide also has a wealth of useful indexes that help librarians find books on Canadian Indian tribes, historical fiction set in specific time periods, books set in specific cities or provinces, and by subject.
The book's strength is its organization: the book is divided into specific genres, from traditional tales to easy readers, from poetry to series books, and lots of other topics. Plus, the indexes make it very easy to find specific topics, so teachers wanting a read-aloud to go with a social studies unit will have an easy time finding something appropriate.
The introduction lays out the "how and why" books were selected. They include only English, not French books. Authors and illustrators who were born in Canada, and those born elsewhere but live in Canada, are included. The former includes the well-known Jean Little, L.M. Montgomery, Robert Munsch, and Brian Doyle. The later includes Peggy Horvath and Christopher Paul Curtis, Americans now living in Canada. The selectors chose books that are in print, and of high literary quality.
Each book receives a paragraph-long annotation, giving a brief plot description and evaluation of why the book is superior, who it will appeal to, and how a teacher might use it. Reading these, I was struck by how many books feature "multicultural" characters - many Native American, but also Asian, African American, Jewish, Middle Eastern, and many other ethnicities are represented. Also, it reminded me of some of my favorite classics, like Burnford's Incredible Journey. Main libraries will find this useful, but also an enjoyable read.
Penny Peck,
San Leandro PL

Lemony Snicket Program Ideas

Need some new "scary" programming ideas that are not just for Halloween? Try a Lemony Snicket party. Due to the current situation for many library budgets, here is another idea for a "do it yourself" program that is very inexpensive.
First, visit the Lemony Snicket website at www.lemonysnicket.com to get some ideas for graphics to use on your flyers, ideas for some games, and some print outs you can use. Next, don't forget to include refreshments - a must for a successful program - which could include lemonade, lemon cake, cookies, or pie, or other lemony treats, the more bitter the better!
I found a few ideas on PUBYAC, that indispensible listserv. The Count Olaf Eyeball Race sounds fun and easy - it is the traditional "egg on spoon" relay race, with an eyeball drawn on each egg. Another suggestion was the Violet Inventions game - divide kids into small teams of 3 or 4, and then they make "inventions" out of materials including pipecleaners, popsicle sticks, yarn, etc. Don't forget that book nine was called The Carnivorous Carnival, which could inspire lots of simple carnival games. For example, get a plastic witch's cauldron at the Halloween store and fill it with water. Then get a few rubber spiders, frogs, and other critters, and write a number from 1 to 10 on each. Then, kids get a prize that corresponds with that number when they take the critter out of the cauldron.
Of course, you'll want the kids to check out lots of books by Lemony Snicket or other books that appeal to the same audience. Try these:

Aiken, Joan. THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE and others.
Ardagh, Philip. Eddie Dickens "Dreadful Acts" series.
Bellairs, John. THE HOUSE WITH THE CLOCK IN ITS WALLS.
Colfer, Eoin. "Artemis Fowl" series.
Dahl, Roald. THE WITCHES and others.
Ibbotson, Eva. DIAL-A-GHOST and others.
Maguire, Gregory. SEVEN SPIDERS SPINNING and others.
Pullman, Philip. COUNT KARLSTEIN.
Wallace, Barbara Brooks. THE COUSINS IN THE CASTLE and others.

Old Favorites revisited

McCloskey, Robert. HOMER PRICE. Viking/Penguin, 1943.

McCloskey, Robert. CENTERBURG TALES. Viking/Penguin, 1951.

When Robert McCloskey, Caldecott winning author/illustrator, died this summer, many of his obituaries only mentioned his picture books. I was surprised so few of the articles mentioned his episodic, humorous novel HOMER PRICE. It was one of my childhood favorites; a popular read-aloud with many teachers, and widely read by boys and girls. Is this a forgotten "classic?"
So, I re-read HOMER PRICE, and was surprised to find that it still holds up. There isn't anything that stands out as politically incorrect; in fact, there are African-Americans depicted as members of the Centerburg community. The stories do have a nostalgic tone, but will still be popular. It reminded me of the "Christmas Story" movie, based on the Jean Shepard stories, about the little boy who wants a gun for Christmas. Kids love that movie; and they will like HOMER PRICE if they are led to it.
As you may remember, each chapter in HOMER PRICE is a self-contained story, set at the tourist camp run by Homer and his parents. The stories include his extended family, like his uncles, the sheriff, and some friends. The most memorable episode takes place at his uncle's diner, where the donut machine won't turn off and makes thousands of donuts.
CENTERBURG TALES isn't as popular, and upon re-reading, just doesn't have the charm of the original. Too many of the stories don't focus on Homer, they focus on the adults. And many just go on for too long, and with humor, timing is everything. Still, I would recommend both to kids looking for a funny chapter book.

Study Guides to Children's Novels

Scholastic has a new series of study guides called "Scholastic BookFiles." These are not really "Clift Notes," for the younger reader, but are for teachers and librarians to use for reading circles, etc. The guides have very brief plot summaries, so they don't work as substitutes for reading the real books. Each guide received input from the author of the book being profiled.
Each guide contains an author biography and interview, study questions divided by chapter, examinations of the book's theme and characters, and suggested activities and further reading.
For those librarians just starting reading circles, these will be invaluable. The books examined in each guide would be great for either a 4th/5th grade reading group, or a middle school group. All the guides are from Scholastic Press, 2003, 64 pages, $4.99 each, and begin with the title Scholastic BookFiles: a Reading Guide to, followed by the focus book's title:

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. ISBN 0-439-46375-0.
ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY. ISBN 0-439-46343-2.
SHILOH. ISBN 0-439-46329-7.
SOUNDER. ISBN 0-439-29797-4.
THE GIVER. ISBN 0-439-46356-4.
ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS. ISBN 0-439-46369-6.
A WRINKLE IN TIME. ISBN 0-439-46364-5.
HOLES. ISBN 0-439-46996-X.

Reissues and Anniversary Editions

Lenski, Lois. THE LITTLE AIRPLANE. Random House, 1938, $11.95. ISBN 0-375-81079-X.
Lenski, Lois. THE LITTLE SAILBOAT. Random House, 1937. $11.95. ISBN 0-375-810-78-1.
Lenski's illustration style would be considered "retro" now, but the pictures actually seem quite contemporary with the rounded figures and the bold colors. The bright red biplane figures prominently in all the illustrations in The Little Airplane. The story covers one flight, where the pilot does a loop the loop. In The Little Sailboat, a blue blazer clad yachtsman and his dog Tinker take his sailboat out fishing. Both stories are somewhat uneventful in comparison to newer stories, but many children will enjoy these because they like "vehicle" books.

Eastman, P.D. BIG DOG...LITTLE DOG. Random House, 1973. $8.99. ISBN 0-375-82297-6.
Like Eastman's Go Dog, Go!, this easy reader in the Dr. Seuss style will be as popular as it was 30 years ago. Reformatted into the Easy Reader format, two dogs Ted and Fred have adventures. These activities help demonstrate the concept of opposites, but there is a fun story as well as the concept. The color cartoon illustrations have a timeless feel, similar to Eastman's work in Are You My Mother? A winner.

Bang, Molly. TEN, NINE, EIGHT. Greenwillow, 1983. $15.99. ISBN 0-688-00906-9.
Twenty years ago, this simple but charming counting story almost seemed revolutionary, because of its African-American protagonist. The vivid, colorful paintings depict a little girl and her father, counting the things around the house at bedtime. The Caldecott Honor book is reissued with no revisions or changes, as none are needed.

Crews, Donald. FREIGHT TRAIN. Greenwillow, 1978. $15.99. ISBN 0-688-801-65-X.
Crews, Donald. FREIGHT TRAIN/TREN DE CARGA. Greenwillow, 1978, Spanish text 2003. $15.99. ISBN 0-06-056-202-1.
The 25th anniversary edition of this Caldecott Honor book hasn't changed a thing - which is great, as nothing needed to be approved upon. The clear blocks of color on white space demonstrate the concept of colors, and the theme of trains is always appealing to toddlers and preschoolers. There is also a new bilingual edition, with both the English and Spanish text on the same page. Be sure to notify your Families for Literacy person of this bilingual edition; they are always in need of more bilingual picture books.

Peck, Richard. MONSTER NIGHT AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE. Illus. by Don Freeman. Dial, 1977, 2003. $12.99, ISBN 0-8037-2904-9.
Richard Peck's only picture book, (and first published book), illustrated by the creator of Corduroy, has been reissued with a new introduction. Peck describes how this story, set at Grandma's house, has the same roots as his two Grandma Dowdel novels, A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder.
The illustrations, which are ink sketches with blue highlights, have a great ability to show the scary, dark house at midnight without being too dark. This was the last book Don Freeman completed before his death in 1978.
The text is rather long for a picture book but moves quite briskly. The story describes Toby's summer vacation visit to Grandma's, where he thinks he hears a monster at nighttime. He sleeps out on the porch swing to guard the house from the monster. The story's open-ended conclusion doesn't spell out whether or not there is a monster, but kids will be comforted.