October 2005

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians

NEWS AND NOTES

Special ACL Meeting Details: At the ACL meeting on Nov. 10 at 10:30am, we will have a special half-hour program discussing the more "contested" Distinguished Books nominees (those will multiple Yes and No votes). At the Dec. 8 meeting, also at 10:30am, we will have a mini-workshop on reviewing. Everyone should bring their reviews of The Stinky Cheese Man.!

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!

The following books were nominated as finalists for the Young People's Literature category of the National Book Award:

Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwicks (Alfred A. Knopf).
Adele Griffin. Where I Want to Be (Putnam).
Chris Lynch. Inexcusable (Atheneum).
Walter Dean Myers. Autobiography of My Dead Brother (HarperTempest).
Deborah Wiles, Each Little Bird That Sings (Harcourt).

More information can be found at: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2005_finalistlist.html

Boswick the Clown DVD: Who's ready for some clowning around?

One of Northern California's most popular library performers, Boswick the Clown, has a new DVD arriving on store shelves October 25th. Boswick is a former Ringling Brothers Circus clown and has been performing throughout the world for the past 18 years. Many librarians are familiar with his gentle loveable character and the look of wonder as the children watch his show.

This new DVD is titled "Here Comes the Clown" and is a great way to bring the wonder of the clowns into children's living rooms. The DVD follows one crazy fun-filled day with Boswick and his pal Phoebe the duck, as they go through wild adventures on their way to doing a clown show. "Here Comes the Clown" is targeted at 3-7 year olds, includes extras such as "bloopers" and coloring pages. To order the $19.95 DVD, which includes public performance rights, go to www.herecomestheclown.com.

Now Hear This!

Try to avoid beginning your reviews with the word "This." There is almost always a way to rework the first line into a more engaging lead in. Would you rather read a review that begins:

This moving adventure involves and orphan and a scarecrow.

Or

A scarecrow and an orphan join forces in this moving adventure.

Just reversing the order of the words in the sentence gives the reader of the review and instant picture. Notice "this" is still there, just residing in the middle.

How about:

This chapter book for young readers deals with a parent having a miscarriage, a subject not easily found in books for children this age.

Or

Miscarriage is a subject not easily found in chapter books for young readers.

The whole beginning of the first sentence was cut, since the description of the book's audience was already taken care of at the end of the sentence. "This" no longer appears in the sentence at all, which is now a direct statement letting the reader of the review know exactly what to expect. The direct opening makes the reader feel she's been treated to a booktalk rather than reading a book report. It takes just a little time to make the fix, though it can be hard to catch-this reviewer started every paragraph of this article with the word "this" before editing.
The Editors
Nina Lindsay, Librarian
Children's Room, Oakland Public Library

Generational Fiction

Here is a great list of fiction that feature multi-generations. Much of this is historical fiction that with go along with the Social Studies curriculum.

American Quilts series - Susan Kirby
Anne of Green Gables series - L.M. Montgomery
Betsy-Tacy books - Maud Lovelace
Century Kids series - Dorothy Hoobler
Christian Heritage series - Nancy Rue
Ellie's People series - Mary Borntrager
Hollywood Daughters series - Joan Lowry Nixon
Last Treasure - Janet Anderson
Little House series - Laura Ingalls Wilder, Maria Wilkes, Roger MacBride, etc.
Love Comes Softly series - Janette Oak
Little Women/ Little Men/ Jo's Boys - Louisa May Alcott
Plantation Trilogy - Gwen Bristow
Poldark series - Winston Graham
Polish American Girls - Anne Pellowski
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry series - Mildred Taylor
Sarah, Plain and Tall series - Patricia MacLachlan
Savannah Quartet - Eugenia Price
Tilly Trotter series - Catherine Cookson
Wild Rose Inn - Jennifer Armstrong
Williamsburg series - Elswyth Thane
Wrinkle in Time series - Madeleine L'Engle

Errata:
Corrections to the August 2005 BayViews:

p. 271 Scott Should read, line 3, Robert Falcon SCOTT

p. 273 Steinhoffel rev., Jaffa is TRANSLATOR, not Illus.

GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR KIDS

Petrucha, Stefan. NANCY DREW #1: THE DEMON OF RIVER HEIGHTS. Illus. by Sho Muraase. Papercutz, 2005. $12.95HB, ISBN 1-59707-004-1, $7.95PB, ISBN 1-59707-000-9.

Lobdell, Scott. HARDY BOYS #1: THE OCEAN OF OSYRIA. Illus. by Lea Hernandez. Papercutz, 2005. $12.95HB, ISBN 1-59707-005-X, $7.95PB, ISBN 1-59707-001-7.

Blackman, Haden. STAR WARS: CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 1. Various illustrators. Dark Horse Books, 2004. $6.95 , ISBN 1-59307-243-0.

Blackman, Haden, et. al. STAR WARS: CLONE WARS ADVENTURES, VOL. 2. Various illustrators. Dark Horse Books, 2004. $6.95, ISBN 1-59307-271-6.

Millar, Mark. SUPERMAN ADVENTURES: THE NEVER-ENDING BATTLE. Various illustrators. DC Comics, 2004. $6.95, ISBN 1-4012-0332-9.

Millar, Mark. SUPERMAN ADVENTURES: UP, UP, AND AWAY! Various illustrators. DC Comics, 2004. $6.95, ISBN 1-4012-0331-0.

Peterson, Scott, et. al. BATMAN ADVENTURES: ROGUES GALLERY. Various illustrators. DC Comics, 2004. $6.95, ISBN 1-4012-0329-9.

Delsante, Vito. BATMAN ADVENTURES, SHADOWS & MASKS. Various illustrators, DC Comics, 2004. $6.95, ISBN 1-4012-0330-2.

When many children's librarians hear "Graphic Novels," they often think "Young Adult." There are some graphic novels, like TinTin, that can be found in the Children's Section, but most graphic novels seemed to be shelved in the Young Adult area. But there are some new graphic novels aimed at grades 3-6 that seem better suited to the Children's area.

Where should these be shelved? In many ways, they would be lost in the Dewey number for cartoons, J 741.5, which would put them next to the drawing books. They are not suitable for the picture book area; in fact, many of these are "digest" sized: the size and shape of most children's paperback novels (like "Goosebumps"). Perhaps there needs to be a Graphic Novel area near the children's fiction or children's paperbacks; the same kids that read Lemony Snicket will want these.

How about shelving them in the fiction, next to the Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books? Then they would really be lost - they probably need a section all their own. Listed above are some of the new graphic novels, aimed at upper elementary grade students and middle schoolers. They are available in both paperbound edition or library bindings if purchased from vendors like BWIBooks or Penworthy books.

All of these will fit nicely on a fiction or paperback shelf, because these are all digest-sized, but they may not be found by those seeking out graphic novels. Also, if you shelved them in their own children's graphic novels section, those reluctant readers who won't read anything except comic books will find them; they won't if they have to look through the regular chapter books.

Depending on the publisher, some of artwork is influenced by manga, while others look more like traditional superhero comic book illustrations. The "Nancy Drew" and "Hardy Boys" look more like manga, the popular Japanese style of comic book art, with characters with large eyes; everyone looks like a fashion model. These have fewer panels than the ones that resemble American comic books, and have an almost airbrushed look to the full color illustrations. Many of the illustrations depict nighttime, with a shadowing "film noir" look.

Both "Nancy Drew" and "The Hardy Boys" are real graphic novels, with just one story told throughout the length of the book. These teen detectives still solve crimes and are upright citizens, but now they have the Internet and cell phones to help them in their crime-stopping. "Nancy Drew" is a three-chapter novel, not a series of stories like in a comic book, making these closer to the graphic novel experience. The illustrations in "Nancy Drew" are dark and angular (after all, it is set at nighttime), giving them a manga look, but the dialogue is straight-up Nancy Drew, with puns, snappy patter, and cliff-hanging chapter endings. The illustrations in "Hardy Boys" are less noir-ish but the story is set in the desert. "Hardy Boys" has twelve very brief chapters, so it seems better suited to a slightly younger audience than the "Nancy Drew." Both have more violence then I remember from the originals; did Nancy, Joe, and Frank engage in fistfights on a regular basis? Also, some folks may be tired of seeing Middle Eastern people as the villains which occurs in the "Hardy Boys."

The "Star Wars" graphic novels look more like American animated cartoon artwork; no wonder, they are "spun off" from a TV series based on the popular film series by George Lucas. The characters slightly resemble the actors who played them in the films, like Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan McGregor, but fans won't be disappointed. Each volume contains three "episodes," making them seem even more like a book version of a Saturday Morning cartoon show. Many of the stories feature action, like light saber duels, which don't translate well into still pictures; they just don't have the excitement.

The "Batman" and "Superman" series strongly resemble traditional comic books; only the smaller, thicker digest size make them seem more like a graphic novel and less like a comic book. Each contains four or five different stories, making them appear to be a collection of comic books bound in one edition. They feature several of the popular villains, like the Penguin, the Riddler, and Lex Luthor, so those who have only seen the films will enjoy these as an introduction to the comic books.

Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library

Board Book Round-up 2005

The new Fall board book releases seem to be coming in sets - there are few individual titles and more titles that come in pairs. Thankfully, there are fewer board books that started out as picture books! Too often these would shrink the pictures until they were difficult to view and abridged the text. Also, there are fewer board books based on TV characters and some new ones based on book characters. Check out some of these:

Board Book Sets and Series

Wright, Cliff. BEAR AND KITE. ISBN 0-8118-4820-5.
BEAR AND BALL. ISBN 0-8118-4819-1. Chronicle Books, 2004. $5.95 each.

BEAR AND KITE demonstrates opposites, like black and white, play and fight, day and night, in contrasting pairs that all fit the same rhyme. The deep watercolor illustrations are set on cream colored pages, and the end of the book shows all the pairings.

BEAR AND BALL also shows opposites, using a different rhyme but the same repetition: run and crawl, short and tall, stand and fall, etc. These will work as early readers, too.

 

No author listed. PLAYTIME PEEKABOO! ISBN 0-7566-1144-X.
BATHTIME PEEKABOO! ISBN 0-7566-1145-8. DK Children, 2005, $6.99 each.

Kinetic learners, babies, and toddlers will flock to these interactive board books. Both have inserts of things to touch or feel, as well as flaps to open. BATHTIME has items that you would use in a bath, like a photo of a rubber ducky with a plastic insert to touch, or a toy fish with "scales" you can feel. Each opening shows a baby across from a flap hiding the bathtime toy or item to touch. As always, DK photos are very clear and set on white backgrounds, and feature babies of all ethnic groups.

PLAYTIME includes some plush fabric to touch, inserted into the photos of a toy elephant and a teddy bear. There are also toy blocks, trains, and other toys that most kids can guess. Although these may not hold up to library circulation, the flaps are heavy duty and the inserts are well-made.

Lloyd, Sam. HAPPY DOG SAD DOG. ISBN 1-56148-455-5.
WHOSE TAIL? ISBN 1-56148-454-7. Good Books, 2004, $5.95 each.

Opposites are demonstrated in HAPPY DOG SAD DOG. The very simple text just lists the opposites pictured, and the brightly saturated primary and secondary colors with black outlines will appeal to babies and toddlers. WHOSE TAIL? can work as a guessing game. We see the monkey swinging on a black and white striped tail; turn the page to see it is a zebra. Toddlers can use the visual and verbal clues to guess which animal is coming next.

Bolam, Emily. CAT GOES FIDDLE-I-FEE. ISBN 1-4027-2293-1.
KNICK-KNACK PADDYWHACK. ISBN 1-4027-2292-3. Sterling Publishing, 2005, $5.95 each.

Bright schoolbus yellow serves as the background color to the farm animals who demonstrate the lyrics to this traditional song. Great for lapsit storytimes, CAT GOES FIDDLE-I-FEE may not be as well known as some songs but listeners will quickly pick up the words using this dynamically illustrated board book.

KNICK KNACK PADDYWHACK shows a boy in a red and white striped shirt and his grandpa (the old man in the lyrics) demonstrating the lyrics in their house and backyard. This modern interpretation works great and is an original way to show the song. Set on cornflower blue backgrounds, the lyrics are written out, showing both the numeral and the word for each number. Sure storytime hits!

Individual Board Book Titles

McGuirk, Leslie. HO, HO, HO, TUCKER! Candlewick, 2005. $7.99, ISBN 076362582-5.
Tucker, a little white terrier, loves Christmastime with the decorations, cookie baking, etc. He accompanies Santa on his rounds in this board book with a plot best suited to toddlers and preschoolers.

Alborough, Jez. HUG. Candlewick, 2002. $9.99. ISBN 076362893-X.
In this large board book based on the picture book, a little chimp sees all the parent and child pairs in the jungle getting a hug. The only text is the dialogue balloon with the word "hug" that appears every few pages, until we see a bigger ape say "Bobo;" this sweet nearly-wordless book has very wide appeal.

The Dog Artist Collection (author). THE DOG FROM ARF! ARF! TO ZZZZZZ. HarperFestival, 2005. $6.99. ISBN 0-06-077181-X.
Color photos of puppies, set on white backgrounds, add humor to this alphabet book. The words will be clear to even young toddlers - C for Come, D for Down, E for Eat - demonstrated by the dog in the photo. At the back, there is a list of which breed of dog is featured under which letter of the alphabet.

Weber, Vicky. ANIMAL BABIES ON THE FARM. Kingfisher, 2005. $6.95. ISBN 0-7534-5838-1.
Close up color photos of an animal, like a pig's curly tail, is followed by the question "Who is my mommy?" The next page shows the mother pig and piglet. The clear photos make this a fun guessing game, and the animal's sound is also featured. A winner for toddlers and preschoolers.

Inspired by Book Characters

Willems, Mo. THE PIGEON LOVES THINGS THAT GO! ISBN 0-786-83651-2.
THE PIGEON HAS FEELINGS, TOO! ISBN 0-786-83650-4. Hyperion, 2005, $6.99 each.

Mo Willems' Caldecott Honor Pigeon is back in two funny vignettes. In THE PIGEON LOVES THINGS THAT GO he sees a bus, train and plane. But a hot dog, how does that "go?" In PIGEON HAS FEELINGS, TOO the bus driver coaxes a smile out of pigeon. The simple (but hilarious) cartoon illustrations and done in black crayon on muted gray, green, or pink backgrounds and will be easy for toddlers to see what is happening. Older preschoolers will appreciate the cartoon balloon dialogue and may even be able to read these very short stories.

Tripathi, Namrata. BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST. ISBN 0-06-054368-X
ANIMAL SOUNDS. ISBN 0-06-054370-1.
Illustrated by Kevin Murawski, "Harold and the Purple Crayon" board book series, HarperFestival, 2005, $5.99 each.

Huelin, Jodi. THINGS THAT GO. ISBN 0-06-054369-8.
THE FIVE SENSES. ISBN 0-06-054371-X.
Illustrated by Kevin Murawski, "Harold and the Purple Crayon" board book series, HarperFestival, 2005, $5.99 each.

These four board books, by two authors and one illustrator, are based on Crockett Johnson's famous character that is now seen in his own animated television series. The artwork is very similar to Johnson's with bald baby Harold in his jammies. The color palette is muted pastels with no white or black; even the outlines are done in purple.

The topics of two of the books may be better suited to older toddlers and preschoolers than babies. Harold learns about the five senses and superlatives, which may be out of the range of babies. The younger ones will enjoy the book on animals sounds, which includes some wild animals like a lion along with farm animals. Babies will also appreciate the book on vehicles and will identify the motorcycle, boat, fire truck, etc.

Hurricane Katrina -How to Help

The Texas Library Association is accepting book donations (can be from anywhere) to help the Gulf libraries prepare to re-open for business. The Association is accepting book collections to help libraries fill their shelves.

TLA will ship the donated materials to Gulf Coast states as soon as libraries are ready to receive the materials. To make a book donation, you can ship materials to Braker Self Storage, ATTN: Katrina Book Drive, 2607 West Braker Lane, Austin, Texas 78758.

State library officials in the Gulf Coast report that many libraries have been completely demolished. Those facilities will have to be completely rebuilt and re-equipped. The items most needed include new or very lightly used children's books, adult fiction and nonfiction, reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, almanacs), and Gulf Coast-area collections. They ask that materials have recent publication dates.

Since it will likely be several months-perhaps even a year or two-before libraries are able to take these collections, the Association has partnered with the Texas Mini Storage Association (TMSA) to collect the books and store them in climate-controlled facilities until area libraries are able to receive collections.

Ginny Sutton, executive director of the TMSA, said "We are thrilled to help in any way we can. We want to let our Gulf Coast neighbors know that we are here for them over the long term. We want library officials to know that our member facilities, led by Braker Self Storage in Austin, are very happy to help in this noble effort to replenish the libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama."

Additional information, including information about local relief programs in the affected states, can be found at www.txla.org..

Toni Trent Parker Dies at 58;Promoted Black Children in Books

Toni Trent Parker, an author who helped advance the cause of books featuring African-American children, died in September, 2005, at her home in Stamford, Conn. She was 58. The cause was a brain tumor, her family said.

To increase the visibility of black children in children's books, Ms. Parker and two friends, Donna Rand and Sheila Foster, established a company to help promote such books and later wrote a series of four guides, "Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children's Books." The guides, first published in 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, are available at www.blackbooksgalore.com.

Ms. Parker wrote six children's picture books, including holiday books and a keepsake book, all picturing black children. Her most recent title, "Sienna's Scrapbook" (Chronicle Books, 2005), portrays a young African-American girl and her family visiting black cultural and historical sites in the United States.


Award-winning author Helen Cresswell, died at the age of 71

Author Helen Cresswell has died at age 71. The writer died at her home in Eakring, in Nottinghamshire, in September, 2005. She had been suffering from cancer for some time.

Ms Cresswell was best-known for her children's book Lizzie Dripping, about a girl and her witch friend, which was later made into a BBC TV series. Her other books include The Bagthorpe Saga, Moondial, The Piemakers, The Bongleweed and Stonestruck.

During her career, she wrote more than 100 children's books. In 1989 she won The Phoenix Award for her book The Night Watchmen, while four of her books have been runners-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 2000 she was awarded a Bafta Children's Writers' Award.