 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
June 2010
Awards / Professional Reading / Media Watch / Reissues
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians
|
June 2010Awards / Professional Reading / Media Watch / Reissues MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians |
|
Members Only: How to Subscribe to our ACL Member Listerv -
When a new member joining ACL provides us with an email address on their application, we automatically send an invitation to join our listserv, the ACLNC Yahoo! Group. (Sometimes these invitations are not received because a library's security systems may see it as spam or junk mail and filter it out. The member may need to work with their IT department to receive the emails from ACLNC.) Members may also subscribe to the listserv using the email address at which they wish to receive the listserv emails.
The addresses for the ACLNC Yahoo! Group are:
Members Only: How to Use the ACL Wiki :
Go to http://bayareachlibs.pbworks.com/ and request access (see upper right corner). Then you will receive an email on how to log in. There are extensive instructions on using the Wiki; the PDF of those instructions will be copied and made available at all the meetings, or email [email protected] to receive the handout electronically.
Author Ruth Chew Dies :
Ruth Chew, author of several transitional novels for grades 3-5 died May 13 in Castro Valley, CA at age 90. Chew published 29 children's books, many fantasy with magic and witches. She also illustrated her books, having graduated from Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC. Her many books included No Such Thing as a Witch, The Magic Coin, Trapped in Time, and her first book, The Wednesday Witch.
Americas Awards Announced:
The Am�ricas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).
2010 Am�ricas Award Winners:
Am�ricas Award Honorable Mentions:
The full commended list can be found at: http://www4.uwm.edu/clacs/aa/pdf/aa10final.pdf
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 [email protected]. Thanks!
Professional Reading
by Martha Shogren
Hamilton, Virginia. Speeches, Essays, and Conversations. Edited by Arnold Adoff and Kacy Cook. Blue Sky Press, 2010. 368p. $29.99, ISBN 97804390271936.
Arnold Adoff, with the help of writer and editor Kacy Cook, has sifted through the many, many papers that Virginia Hamilton left behind and chosen from speeches, essays, and other writings that paint a marvelous portrait of the writer. Some have appeared in print before - in Horn Book, School Library Journal, and other publications - but most have not been in print before. They are arranged in chronological order from April 1971 to May 2001.
As you read through the entries you observe a powerful, thoughtful writer whose masterful use of words to create time, place, and characters illumined the African American experience from her first book Zeely through all the books to follow. She knew from her first experience as a writer where she was going with her writing and why. Through these entries you see her become more solidly aware of that journey and exactly where it was taking her. The scope of her writing includes African American folklore and biographies as well as her large body of fiction. Her own life experiences, growing up in rural Ohio with a grandfather who escaped as an infant with his family on the Underground Railroad, shaped her approach to writing as did the many legends that were part of the Perry clan.
In several of the writings she tells some of the family stories, using the colorful phrasing of her mother, aunts, and uncles. She speaks of "rememory": a textured recollection which is otherwise indescribable - the way she remembers everything in her life that awakens a spark, a memory, real or imagined, of special moments, stories, actions that flavor her writings and give her characters meaning. She refers often to a "hopescape," a vision of African-American people succeeding, living with a well-earned freedom that comes from overcoming odds.
She prefers the term "parallel culture" to "minority" and emphasizes that multiculturalism means white people, too. Time and again she repeats and amplifies her approach to writing whatever she writes - fiction, folklore, biography - and what makes it important and creative for her so that it will speak to the reader as much as it spoke to her. She noticed early on that many of her requests to speak were for February - African-American History Month - the same month in where her books would be read in schools. She would like books from an African-American perspective, or Latino perspective or an Asian-American perspective to be read all year round along with those by whites to enlarge the readers knowledge of the life experiences of all peoples.
This is truly a fitting tribute to a woman whose writings have set the bar for many writers and readers today. Look at the majestic woman on the book jacket; a beautiful painting done by the Dillons. Examine the figures on the robe - Dillon illustrations from her books. The back of the books has a "rememory" from each of her children, a chronological listing of all her books, a listing of major awards she won, and two tributes from her memorial service and a note from her editor at Blue Sky Press.
MEDIA WATCH
by Penny Peck
Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak. Directed by Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze. Oscilloscope Productions, 2009. 88 minutes. DVD $24.99.
In this frank and funny documentary, Maurice Sendak tells about his life and work. Not for children's ears due to the cursing, the curmudgeonly and charming author talks about his childhood, success, controversy his work has attracted, and his old age. There is less of his private life, but viewers will find plenty to enjoy in this affectionate tribute. Co-director Jonze is also the director of the award-winning film version of Where the Wild Things Are, which came out last year. Jonze has been friends with Sendak since 2003, so the documentary is more to honor Sendak than to analyze him, but that is fine.
Teachers, librarians, and adult fans of Sendak's work will appreciate his honesty; he felt his parents didn't really want him (he was the youngest), but he felt great love and attachment to his brother and sister. He also talks about his process at work, his editor Ursula Nordstrom who was his mentor, and what he is currently doing.
Extras include "home movies" made at his birthday tribute, where Meryl Streep, James Gandolfini, and others read from his books. Another extra is his interview at the Museum of Modern Art, where he appeared with Jonze. Made when Sendak was 81 years of age, this film really lets the viewer get to know this legend in children's literature.
Reissues Worth Considering
by Penny Peck
Steig, William. Shrek! (20th anniversary edition). FSG, 1990/2010. $16.99, ISBN 9780374368791.
When the book Shrek first came out, it wasn't a huge hit. It didn't win any awards, wasn't on many "best of the year" lists, and wasn't a bestseller. Steig was a well respected picture book author/illustrator, and this book did make it to many libraries, but it wasn't as popular as his previous books The Amazing Bone, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, or Doctor DeSoto. So when the movie debuted to huge audience, wildly popular reviews, and an Oscar nomination, even some librarians were unaware it had been a picture book first. This 20th anniversary edition gives libraries the opportunity to purchase the book which now has a built-in audience.
One reason many people don't associate the book and movie is that the book's illustrations are vastly different from the animation in the film. The book has Steig's signature color cartoon illustrations, with squiggly black lined figures filled in with light watercolors. Steig was also a popular cartoonist for the magazine The New Yorker. The film's illustrations were computer-generated and had a more realistic feeling, with deep colors; in fact, the movie is quite dark due to the forest setting of many scenes.
The book has a plot similar to that of the film, although without as many characters and side trips needed to flesh out a 90 minute film. The other fairy tale characters and the spoof of such are also missing, and the princess is never beautiful - she is ugly from the start. One thing that stands out in the book is the richness of the vocabulary, with words like varlet, copse, blithe, and more.
Although the book is vastly different from the film experience, libraries will still want to have it to show readers the differences, and to have as an enjoyable story on its own.
Submitted by : Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library
Copyright � 1999-2011 Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California. All rights reserved.