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March 2008
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians
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March 2008MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians |
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ACL Member Dorothy Helfeld Dies:
Dorothy Helfeld of San Francisco died at home February 27, 2008 of bile duct cancer, at the age of 80. She was a dedicated children's librarian in four communities - Pittsburgh, PA, St. Paul, MN, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area - over a 45-year career. She also was on the staff of SCAN (Southern California Answering Network), the ultimate public library reference authority in the state. Throughout her career, her greatest joy with both adults and children was finding the right books for people. Even when in the hospital, she advised medical staff about books. She brought joy to many people in both her professional and personal life. In recent years, she was an active and enthusiastic member of ACL (The Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California), a group that has met monthly since the 1930s, and was devoted to reviewing new children's books. Dorothy grew up in New York City and attended Queens College, receiving a B.A. in 1949. In 1962, she received a Masters in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She is survived by her husband, Edward of San Francisco; daughters, Deborah of Silver Spring, MD, and Ruth of Brookline, MA; two sisters, Edith Selig and Ruth Connell; a brother, Morris Gordon, and four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest contributions to Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, or a charity of your choice.
Phyllis A. Whitney Dies at age 104
Author of young adult novels and mysteries for children, Phyllis A. Whitney died at age 104 in February 2008. Her first book was published in 1941, A Place for Ann, a teen novel about a girl who starts a dog walking business. Her final book was published in 1997, Amethyst Dreams, a teen mystery novel. In 1988, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Mystery Writers of America. Born in Japan to American parents, Whitney lived in several places, including China, Berkeley, CA, Chicago, IL, and Staten Island, NY.
BAY AREA STORYTELLING FESTIVAL SCHEDULED FOR MAY 17 & 18, 2008
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 baynews@bayviews.org. Thanks! Board Book Roundup It is time again for the semi-annual Board Book Roundup! As our regular readers know, we try to schedule a column on board books every March and October, to give a very brief review to new board books. In fact, we are one of the only reviewing journals that review board books, which is a shame. More libraries are doing an infant storytime and buying board books, so it is important that they are reviewed since they can range from outstanding to intolerable. So here goes!
Muldrow, Diane. Mama, Where Are You? Illus. by Rick Peterson. Random House/Golden Books, 2007. $7.99, ISBN 9780375842818.
Steckel, Richard. Happy Birthday! Tricycle Press, 2007. $6.95, ISBN 9781582462103.
Ceelen, Vicky. Baby! Baby! Random House, 2008. $6.99, ISBN 9780375842078.
Novak, Matt. Rock-a-bye Christmas. Roaring Brook, 2007. $795, ISBN 9781596431874.
Gray, Nigel. My Dog, My Cat, My Mama, and Me! Illus. by Bob Graham. Candlewick, 2008. $8.99, ISBN 9780763636395.
You Are Important series by Todd Snow, Illus. by Melodee Strong. Maren Green Publishing, 2007, $6.99 each.
Hills, Tad. What's Up, Duck? A Book of Opposites. Schwartz & Wade, 2008. $6.99, ISBN 9780375847387.
Guess How Much I Love You Storybook series by Sam McBratney. Illus. by Anita Jeram. Candlewick, 2007. $7.99 each.
Sesame Street. Baby Love. Random House, 2007. $4.99, ISBN 9780375842009.
With only four spreads, this seems like a minimal purchase. Babies interact with Sesame Street Puppets in this dull offering. Others in the series include Baby Party, Baby Play, and Baby Says.
Submitted by : Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library Copyright © 1999-2008 Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California. All rights reserved.
The 23rd Annual Bay Area Storytelling Festival will be held May 17 & 18, 2008 (Saturday and Sunday), at Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area in El Sobrante, California. Featured performers include Carol Birch from Connecticut, Derek Burrows with Bahamian stories, Baba Jamal Koram with traditional African tales, and Olga Loya, with Latino stories. Other storytellers appearing at the event are Olive Hackett-Shaughnessy, Rick Huddle, Gay Ducey, and Linda Yemoto. For prices, registration information, and the complete schedule, go to www.bayareastorytelling.org
New Single Title Board Books
With a patterned text and flaps, this board book invites participation and would be great for storytime. The title phrase is repeated by a baby animal; when you lift the flap, you see the parent animal reassuring the baby. The toddlers can chant the title question, and the rhyming answers from the mother animals is brief and engaging. The muted earth-tone illustrations are also toddler-friendly.
Photos of babies from various countries who are celebrating their birthdays are the highlight of this small board book. The text is brief, almost a caption: “Put on party clothes.” This is part of the Milestones Project, a nonprofit with the goal of world peace which uses photos of children around the world in their books, exhibits, and website. The color photos, subject matter, brief text, and “chewable” thick board pages are all age appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Color photos framed by pastels depict a baby and an animal, both posed in the same position. For example, a baby yawning is shown next to a photo of a lion (I think) yawning, both with their tongues out. There are no captions so you have to guess what the animal is; I'm not sure toddlers will understand the concept.
Farmer Ben brings the animals inside when it is too cold to be outside in this small book with die cut pages. The color cartoon illustrations are attractive but the story is a little long for babies or toddlers.
In this oversized board book with thin but sturdy pages, a little girl describes how her dog, cat, and mom all got “fatter and fatter” and had babies. The rhyming text, surprise ending, and cartoon illustrations on white backgrounds all are great fun. I wonder if some moms will object to being compared to a pet having babies?
Series Board Books
You Are Beautiful, ISBN 9781934277102.
You Are Friendly, ISBN 9781934277096.
You Are Brave, ISBN 9781934277089.
You Are Important, ISBN 9781934277065.
You Are Creative, ISBN 9781934277072.
Manners Are Important, ISBN 9781934277058.
Feelings to Share, ISBN 9781934277010.
The straightforward texts of these books explain how you exemplify the title qualities: “You are brave when you try a new food…” The deeply colored paintings with brush strokes depict a multicultural group of children, including one who uses a wheelchair. The ideas presented make this best suited to preschoolers and emergent readers, and teachers will find this very useful for units on self-esteem and positive behavior. The last two books listed in the series, Manners are Important and Feelings to Share, originally appeared as 32-page picture books. I did not have the originals to see a comparison and to find out what was left out. These two were illustrated by Carrie Hartman, but the style is the same.
Favorite Characters
First seen in Hills' Duck & Goose (S&W, 2006), the feathered characters demonstrate simple opposites like front and back, slow and fast, etc. The closeup view in the cartoon paintings make the concept clear to toddlers, and the “one word per page” text is great for emergent readers. A very successful spinoff from the picture book.
When I'm Big, ISBN 9780763635466.
Colors Everywhere, ISBN 9780763635459.
The nutbrown hares from Guess How Much I Love You, (Candlewick, 1995), star in this series of gentle board books. These are not abridgements of the picture book, but new stories with the popular characters. Soft pastel illustrations with cream-colored backgrounds are a little too “greeting card” for me but some parents like them. The stories are a little long for board books, but are serviceable. They discuss colors in nature, and things that grow.
TV Spinoffs
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