BayNews January 2004

NEWS AND NOTES

Mail returned?: If you sent any mail to the Association of Children’s Librarians, and it was returned, please resend. We had a problem with our Post Office Box, but it has been resolved.

NCCBA OTTER DINNER:
The 18th Annual Northern California Children’s Booksellers Dinner will be held on March 12, 2005, at the Radisson Miyako Hotel in San Francisco. For tickets, which cost $50, contact your local independent children’s bookseller.

Guest speakers for the event include Cornelia Funke, author of The Thief Lord, Inkheart, and Dragon Rider, and Joe Cepeda, illustrator of Mice and Beans, Gracias the Thanksgiving Turkey, and several other picture books.

At the event, the recipients of the 2005 Literacy Grants will be announced, Kay Goines will be honored, and more than 50 children’s authors and illustrators will be in attendance.

ALSC announces new children's book award named for Theodor Seuss Geisel

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is delighted to announce the creation of a new award for outstanding children's literature. Named for the world-renowned children's author, the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award joins ALSC's prestigious family of awards recognizing the most distinguished children's literature published each year.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award will be presented annually to both the author(s) and illustrator(s) of an outstanding book for beginning readers published in the past calendar year. The winning author[s] and illustrator[s] must demonstrate great creativity to engage children in reading. The first winner[s] of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award will be announced during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January 2006.

"There is a true magic to Geisel's work, which is clear in the enduring power of such classics as 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'Green Eggs and Ham,'" said ALSC President Gretchen Wronka. "This new award honors that spirit and the authors and illustrators that delight and engage children in reading."

"This is such a wonderful tribute to my husband," said Audrey Geisel, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. "Librarians are critical to instilling a love of reading in young people, and I'm so pleased the ALA and children's librarians will be selecting the best of the best in Dr. Seuss' name." Dr. Seuss would say, "A person's a person no matter how small. Children want the same things we want: to laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted." Brilliant, playful and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped them to read.

The award committee will hold its inaugural meeting at the 2005 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston, January 14-19. Caroline Ward, Ferguson Public Library (Conn.), will chair the committee, which also includes: Carole D. Fiore, State Library and Archives of Florida; Barbara Genco, Brooklyn Public Library (N.Y.); Nancy Green, Grand Canyon School (Ariz.); Leslie Holt, library consultant; Lynne Russo, National City Public Library (San Diego, Calif.); and Marilyn Sobotincic, Medina County District Library (Ohio).

ALSC is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of service to children in all types of libraries. ALSC sets the agenda for the future of children's library service and acts as a children's advocate urging policy makers to support library service for children.

Pop-up and Board Books

Popup Books:

Carter, David A. Birthday Bugs. S&S, 2004. $10.95, ISBN 0-689-81858-0.
This is more an elaborate greeting card than a popup book. The openings contain a birthday hat you can wear (and it will get lost from the book), candles that you place in the popup cake (these will get lost, too), and some popup “bugs” that give out birthday kisses and songs. Not for library’s or even for storytime.

Faulkner, Keith and Lambert, Jonathan. The Hiccuping Hippo. Dial, 2004. $12.99, ISBN 0-8037-2963-4.
Hippo’s friends Orangutan, Python, and Stork try the traditional remedies, until finally they scare the hiccups out of Hippo. Not as funny or clever as Faulkner’s bestselling popup, The Wide-Mouthed Frog, this has brightly colored pictures and large popup animals. But it is just “okay,” and too delicate for library circulation.

Schulz, Charles M. Peanuts: A Pop-up Celebration. S&S, 2004. $19.95, ISBN 0-689-85453-6.
Eight vintage “Peanuts” comic strips are depicted in the first opening, followed by popup versions of those strips in this celebration of fifty years of these classic characters.
We see the gang at school, on the football field, at the psychiatrist’s booth, and at Snoopy’s and Schoeder’s places. You only get a taste of their personalities, but most fans will know that Lucy is cranky, Charlie Brown in insecure, etc.
The final opening shows how each character defines “Happiness:” for Snoopy, it’s defeating the Red Baron, for Linus, it’s his security blanket, for Charlie Brown, it’s his dog. The paper engineering by Bruce Foster keeps the well-known cartoon art intact and conveys much of the dynamic energy of the strip. Too delicate for libraries but a great gift item for fans.

Large Board Books:

Boynton, Sandra. Moo, Baa, La La La! S&S, 1982/2004. $9.99, ISBN 0-689-87027-2.
First seen in 1982 as a small four-inch-square board book, this is double in size, but still with cardboard pages. The humorous rhyme describes animal sounds in a clever way, with Boynton’s signature cartoons. My favorites are the tap dancing pigs.

Browne, Anthony. I Like Books. Candlewick, 1988/2004. $8.99, ISBN 076362162-5.
Not really a board book, this bound book has thick paper pages, coated in plastic, so it should stand up to both library circulation and the energy of a toddler. The story concerns a chimp, who could be the baby brother of Willy the Wimp, describing how much he loves books. A great choice for a lapsit or toddler storytime about the library or a Families for Literacy giveaway book.

Carle, Eric. A House for Hermit Crab. S&S, 1987/2004. $7.99, 0-689-87064-7.
In this board book shrunk down from its original picture book, all of the text and illustrations are here, just in a smaller size. In fact, the typeface is so small it may be difficult for parents to read, and impossible for kids.
The illustrations work fine in this smaller size, however, showing the paper collage undersea life; only some of the finer details are missing. The brief glossary in the back is still here, defining six of the ocean creatures.
The story is great at combining the months of the year with facts about hermit crabs and ocean life; libraries should stick to the original picture book size.

Katz, Karen. Grandpa and Me. S&S, 2004. $5.99, ISBN 0-689-86644-5.
Grandpa and a toddler girl make pizza in this board book that also has flaps, similar to the popular Eric Hill “Spot” books. There are flaps that work as cupboard doors, egg carton, mixing bowl, and refrigerator door, and the listener guesses what is under the flap. Although it is not mentioned in the text, the colorful cartoon illustrations depict an Asian-American child.

Favorite TV Characters:

Fremont, Eleanor. Colors With Oswald, illustrated by Gregg Schigiel. S&S, 2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86483-3.
Oswald, a big blue octopus seen on the Nick Jr. cable TV network, goes with his friends to the diner. There, they order food that is of a specific color, like Plumberry Root Bear and Licorice Lollapalooza, but the color is not spelled out in words. At the end of the book, each food item is paired with the word for the related color. A little too complicated for a first book on colors.

Driscoll, Laura. A World of Numbers. S&S, 2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86671-2.
Valdes, Leslie. A World of Colors. S&S, 2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86670-4.
Two small board books featuring the Rubbadubbers, bathtub toys made out of a Playdoh like material, that star in a new TV show on Nick Jr. The book is illustrated with color photos from the series, demonstrating the concepts of numbers and colors. I haven’t seen this show, but the books are not that appealing as it can be difficult to discern the concept in the small photos.

Beinstein, Phoebe. What Will I Be? Dora’s Book About Jobs, illustrated by Zina Saunders. S&S, 2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86501-5.
Dora and her friends express interest in being a soccer player, astronomer, archaeologist, architect, fire fighter, teacher, baseball player, etc. A pleasant listing of careers, with color cartoon illustrations.

Niehaus, Alisha. Baby Snoopy: Colors, illustrations by Tom Brannon (adapted from the works of Charles M. Schulz). S&S, 2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86998-3.
Set at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, Snoopy and his siblings are in the red barn, see the yellow sun, play with an orange ball, etc. Although illustrated in pen and ink with light watercolor wash, the colors are clearly depicted. Sweet.

Board Books in Spanish:

Katz, Karen. Donde esta el ombliguito? S&S, 200/2004. $5.99, ISBN 0-689-86977-0.
Similar to Katz’s Grandpa and Me, reviewed above, this has flaps that lift to reveal different facial features including eyes, mouth, etc. The brightly colored cartoon illustrations are bold and not so detailed so they should appeal to babies and toddlers.

Boynton, Sandra. Opuestos. S&S, 1982/2004. $5.99, ISBN 0-689-86978-9.
Boynton’s signature cartoon animals demonstrate opposites, like a large rhino and a small bird, a fast dog and a slow snail, etc. Funny in any language!

Silverhardt, Lauryn. Un Dia En La Playa, illustrated by Jason Fruchter. S&S, 2003/2004. $4.99, ISBN 0-689-86976-2.
TV’s “Dora the Explorer” goes to the beach. She puts on sunscreen, builds a sandcastle, and swims, accompanied by her monkey Boots and her helpful backpack. Serviceable but not really exciting.

Of Special Interest

Stamaty, Mark Alan. Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq. Knopf, 2004. $12.95, ISBN 0-375-83217-3.

Done in graphic novel format (but with a hardcover binding), this true story concerns the Central Library in Basra, Iraq. In 2003, chief librarian Alia Muhammad Baker smuggled over 30,000 books to safety, just as the combat approached Basra.

Baker saw the incoming coalition troops in April 2003, and was concerned that the library could be a target for bombing, because Saddam Hussein had anti-aircraft guns set up on the library’s roof. Assisted by a nearby restaurant owner and friends, they moved the books from the already looted library to the restaurant and their homes. Nine days later the library burned to the ground.

The brown ink on beige pages gives the look of the past, the way Sepia-toned photos do. But the cartoon style should appeal to a wide age range; even 3rd graders could read this without any assistance. The story has a happy ending (at least as of this writing): a new library is being planned for Basra .

The endnote describes other Middle Eastern libraries throughout history, including libraries in Egypt and Syria.

Stamaty is probably best known as the creator of the “Boox” comic strip, seen in the New York Times Book Review. Some of the profits from the book will go to ALA’s Iraq Book Program to purchase new children’s books for the country’s libraries.
Penny Peck,
San Leandro PL

2005 American Library Association
Award Winners in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Newbery Medal

January 2005

NEWS AND NOTES