August 2005
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians
"Wining Author/Illustrator Visits": The Northern California Children's Booksellers Association is presenting a workshop on Sat., Sept. 17, 2005, 1:00-4:00pm, at the Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Rd. "How to Host a Successful Author & Illustrator Visit" will include brief presentations by more than 20 children's authors and illustrators. There is no registration fee but attendees pay $10 and receive the resource guide "Writer's and Illustrator's Network: The San Francisco Bay Area's Definitive Guide to Hosting a Successful Author & Illustrator Visit." RSVP to Kathryn Shepler at KBShepler@aol.com.
BayNews needs you! BayNews welcomes any articles, news, ideas on storytime or programs, etc. Just send any articles as a Word attachment to email, to Penny Peck at Pikly@aol.com. Thanks!
Catherine Woolley, Author, Dies at 100
Catherine Woolley, who wrote 87 children's books under her own name and the pen name Jane Thayer, died on Saturday at her home. She was 100. She was so prolific that her publisher advised her to use the pen name. For older children, Ms. Woolley used her real name on books like the "Ginnie and Geneva" series, about the adventures of two girls. She used her grandmother's name on the many picture books she wrote for younger readers.
Her first book, "I Like Trains," was published in 1944; her last, "Writing for Children," in 1989. Ms. Woolley, who did not marry or have children, often drew on her experiences and world travels in her writings. She wrote on a Remington typewriter and never used a computer. Born in Chicago, Ms. Woolley grew up in Passaic, N.J., then attended Barnard College and the University of California, Los Angeles, earning her bachelor's degree from U.C.L.A. in 1927.
New Pop-up Books
Sabuda, Robert, and Reinhart, Matthew. Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs. Candlewick, 2005, $26.99, ISBN 076362228-1.
Sabuda, the gift popup artist who created The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Commemorative Pop-up, Little Simon, 2001, has created an equally exciting nonfiction book. Partnered with Reinhart who did the painting and writing, Sabuda’s pop-ups are very intricate, and serve as a mini-museum of dinosaur models and skeletons. There are only six spreads, with large dramatic pop-ups, but each spread also contains mini-books like in Sabuda’s previous works. These mini-books contain more small pop-ups as well as text about the dinosaurs.
The first large pop-up depicts a T Rex skeleton, another later large pop-up shows a model T Rex from the front, as if the reader were falling into his gaping mouth. The other large pop-ups are of a bird-like creature called an archaeopteryx, a brachiosaurus, triceratops twins, and an ankylosaurus. The brightly colored dinosaurs almost looked like they were tie-dyed but the colors work.
The mini-books explain how most dinosaurs came from eggs, and possible theories on why they are extinct. A nice addition is a discussion of how paleontologists first wrote up theories on dinosaurs, include mistakes they made, and how fossils are essential to their work. Too many dinosaur books for younger children only show them as big “monsters,” and don’t explain the scientific research behind them; this book corrects that omission.
One of the best mini pop-ups depicts the 1853 dinner held in one of Waterhouse Hawkins’ huge dinosaur models; the reader can see eight little men holding up glasses in a toast. There are many small dinosaur pop-ups in the mini-books, along with a smattering of facts. The pop-ups have humorous captions like “Surf or Turf?” and “The Original Headbangers, ” the latter referring to the thick-skulled dinosaurs.
Readers will get a brief introduction to the different eras: Mesozoic, Triassic, etc., and learn about herbivores and carnivores, but not too many details on individual dinosaurs. The factoids are interesting, and this can serve as a supplementary source, but report-writers will need other books. This is a great browsing item, of course, but probably works better as a gift book. Or, a library could have it on a shelf of non-circulating pop-up books that are for library use only; a second or third grader could easily read the whole book in one sitting.
Do-It-Yourself Programming: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
With the release of the new film version starring Johnny Depp, children will flock to a program based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Just last month my 4 th and 5 th grade book discussion group, the Xtreme Readers, read the book and watched a portion of the older movie version. We discussed the similarities and differences between the book and both movie versions, but the highlight of the meeting was a cooking activity! The kids had a great time making no-bake chocolate cookies. Even though the recipe involved melting butter and sugar on the stove, safety rules were followed and all the kids were able to participate. Here is the recipe, along with a host of other “chocolate” programming ideas suggested by members of the PUBYAC listserv:
No Bake Chocolate Cookies:
2 c sugar
1/2 c milk
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1/2 c butter
3 c quick oats
1/2 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
Place oats, peanut butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute (no longer!). Remove from heat. Pour over oat mixture; stir well. Drop by large spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool.
Chocolate-themed Books:
Cocoa Ice by Diana Appelbaum
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling
The M&M's brand Counting Book by Barbara McGrath
April, Bubbles, Chocolate [an alphabet book]
Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate by Carol Diggory Shields
How Monkeys Make Chocolate by Adrian Forsyth
The Chocolate Sundae Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar Fractions Book by Jerry Pallotta
Max's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells
Chocolate Chippo Hippo by Vincent Adriani
Chocolate Covered Cookie Tantrum by Deborah Blumental
Chocolate Mud Cake by Harriet Ziefert
Chocolate Dreams: Poems by Arnold Adoff
A Chocolate Moose for Dinner by Fred Gwynne
Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery by David A. Adler
Icebreaker:
We sat in a circle and I passed around a bowl of Hershey kisses. They could take between 1-5 pieces. Once the bowl had come back to me, I told them that for each piece of candy they have they must tell something about themselves. For example: Their name, age, where they attend school, their favorite color, etc.
Chocolate Games:
1. Have unwrapped candy bars and have the kids try to identify them.
2. Buy a lot of items related to chocolate but not necessarily candy, like Hershey pencils, M&M school folders and some candy bars, of course. Give each child an item to hold and then I read the first chapter of the book Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith. Every time you say the word "chocolate" they pass their item to the right. At the end of the reading they get to keep what they are holding.
3. Fizzy lifting Soda burping contest –Drink some 7up soda. See who can make the loudest burp, longest burp, etc.
4. Bubble Gum Blowing Contest - Buy sour gum and see who can blow a bubble: first, biggest, smallest, etc.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Trivia
1. How many children were going to be allowed in the factory?
Answer- 5
2. How many rooms are in Charlie’s house?
Answer-2
3. Prince Pondicherry asked Mr. Wonka to build him a palace made out of what?
Answer-Chocolate
4. What are the little people who work in the factory called?
Answer- Oompa-loompas
5. What is Charlie’s last name?
Answer- Bucket
6. Who goes to the factory with Charlie?
Answer-Grandpa Joe
7. What did Charlie’s father do before he got laid off?
Answer-Screwed on the caps of Toothpaste tubes.
8. Who are the five children who find golden tickets?
Answer-Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, Charlie Bucket
9. How many people live in Charlies house?
Answer- 7
10. Who is sent by television?
Answer- Mike Teavee
11. What happens to Mike Teavee?
Answer-He shrinks
12. What day do they show up to the factory?
Answer-February 1
13. What time?
Answer-10:00 am
14. Who falls in the chocolate river?
Answer-Augustus Gloop
15. What made Violet turn purple?
Answer-Gum
16. Who gets rid of Veruca Salt?
Answer- Squirrels
17. What do all the children win?
Answer- Lifetime supply of candy
18. How do Charlie, Grandpa Joe and Wonka get to Charlie’s house?
Answer-Glass elevator
19. Who plays Willy Wonka in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Answer-Johnny Depp
20. When does the movie come out
Answer- Friday July 15, 2005
Websites:
http://www.hersheys.com/discover/tour_video.asp
A tour of the Hershey factory and how chocolate is made.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Chocolate/history.html
From the Field Museum in Chicago, this is a brief history of Chocolate.
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/c/crosssection/namethatbar.html
A guessing game showing the insides of popular candy bars!
Learn more about Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Chocolate Trivia
• Chocolate was probably first eaten by the Olmec tribes about 3500 years ago in Mexico near the equator. They crushed cacao or cocoa beans, and mixed them with water, spices, chilies, and herbs…more spicy than sweet!
• The Aztecs came along about 2000 years after the Olmecs, and they used chocolate only for sacred religious ceremonies. The cacao beans were so valuable, they used them as money: a rabbit was worth 10 beans and a mule
was worth 50.
• "Chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl," which means "bitter water."
• The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other nation on Earth--22 pounds each compared to 12 pounds per person in the United States - approximately 22 bags, or 2,178 Hershey’s kisses.
• African countries grow the most cocoa beans, double that of South America, the next big producer, but the U.S. produces the most chocolate.
• For Valentine’s Day, people spend about $1 billion on chocolates.
• Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the “Psycho” famous 45-second shower scene because it showed up well on the black and white film.
• Largest chocolate bar that you can buy ready made is from Toblarone and weighs ten pounds. (have participants guess how big)