September 2011 Calendar / News & Notes / Professional Reading / Board Books MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians

ACL Meetings Move to Berkeley:
Because the Oakland Library will be closed on some of the upcoming ACL meeting dates, our meetings have moved to the Berkeley Main Library beginning with the September 9, 2011 meeting. If you attend the meetings in Berkeley, enter through the employee door on Bancroft Ave. from 9:00-9:15am. If you are coming later than 9:15, use the regular entrance on Kittredge when the library opens to the public at 10am. Thanks to both the Oakland and Berkeley public libraries for hosting ACL meetings.

Also note: since the second Friday in November falls on Veterans Day, we will be meeting on Friday, November 4, 2011 instead of Nov. 11th. See calendar above for Nov 4 date and 10 AM time.

"Who's Afraid of Comic Books?! Building and Maintaining Graphic Novel Collections at Your Library"
Workshop that will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 9am-Noon, at the San Leandro Public Library, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577 (a five minute walk from the San Leandro BART station). Cost is $25 advance registration, $35 at the door. For registration information, e-mail Jack Baur at [email protected] or visit baya.org for more information.

Bay Area Young Adult Librarians (BAYA) presents a unique opportunity for librarians of all stripes to learn the ins and outs of the world of comics from the perspective of libraries, users, and industry professionals. Everyone who works with graphic novels in their library - or wants to learn more about these wildly popular materials - will have something to gain at this half-day workshop. It will begin with a presentation by Jack Baur (Berkeley Public Library) and Amanda Jacobs Foust (Marin County Free Library), two longtime graphic novel selectors who will share the secrets of purchasing, organizing, and preserving graphic novels in the library and provide attendees a glimpse of the future of digital comics. This will be followed by a video of manga reading teens, discussing what draws them to Japanese comics.

The second half of our program will feature a special panel of comic book professionals who will share their creative process and views on the power of comics as a means of telling stories, and as an educational tool. Guests on the panel will be Jason Shiga (writer and illustrator of Meanwhile and Empire State), Derek McCulloch (writer of Stagger Lee and T. Runt!), and Tyler Ortman (editor of the Manga Guide to� series). In addition, BAYA will be hosting a "Comic Book Petting Zoo," featuring favorite comics for a hands-on look in their traditional book form, as well as digital comics and reader apps for iPads. Books will be available to purchase for your library (home or otherwise). All this for just $25 ($35 at the door)! For registration information, e-mail Jack Baur at [email protected] or visit baya.org for more information.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales. Houghton Mifflin, 2011. $24.99. ISBN 978054754810.

The original picture book The Chronicles of Harris Burdick was first published in 1984, and this edition celebrates the book by having award-winning children's authors write short stories to accompany Van Allsburg's dramatic illustrations. The original was a series of charcoal and pencil illustrations, each with a title and one-sentence phrase (or caption) commenting on the picture. Librarians have recommended the picture book to teachers, to use for a creative writing unit with grades 4 and up, but it was often "lost" on the picture book shelves since it was one of the first "picture books for older readers."

In this new book, Van Allsburg and his editor asked authors to write a short story to go along with one of the illustrations; the authors were allowed to choose which picture spoke to them. Stephen King is the only author who doesn't specialize in books for children or teens, and his story is the longest (and my personal favorite). The last story in the book, King writes about "The House on Maple Street," which would make a wonderful "Twilight Zone" episode. His story really relates to the illustration - others often do not seem to be inspired by the drawing, and only tangentially relate, but not King's story. He also is simple and straightforward, building tension, creating a clear plot with sympathetic characters. It makes me wish he would write novels for tweens as he has the knack of writing in a very accessible way while not "talking down" to kids.

His wife Tabitha King also wrote one of the stories, hers has a baseball theme, and it is brief but memorable. Another standout is Lois Lowry's story about a girl's magical ability to levitate - it also seems clearly to interpret the illustration, and does so in an original, spooky, and humorous way. Kate DiCamillo's story is written as a series of letters, which makes it stand out from the rest. It concerns a girl who is sick, and imagines the birds on the wallpaper come to life and fly out the window. Jon Scieszka's story is about a lump of dust under the carpet, that comes to life - a humorous take on common adages that might inspire some kids to clean their rooms.

Van Allsburg's original introduction said the drawings were left 30 years ago at the publisher's office, and were done by Harris Burdick, but most older children reading the book knew it was done by Van Allsburg because the artistic style is the same as his previous books. Lemony Snicket's introduction in this new edition repeats the same legend, then elaborates on the authors included in the book, written in his usual humorous tone. In one way, this new version means the book will be shelved where it belongs - in juvenile fiction and not in the picture book area. It will appeal to the same audience that enjoys Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 2007), and to those looking for "scary" books because several of the stories have a horror or mystery element.

But will tween readers seek out, and enjoy the book? Short story collections usually suffer from the problem that some stories are great, and others mediocre, making the collection a mixed bag. That is true here. The stories by Cory Doctorow and (ironically) Chris Van Allsburg are not as strong as some of the other stories. Stephen King's story will attract readers - it also makes for a great read-aloud, but this book will need booktalking. Teachers are also a great audience for the book, as they can still use it to inspire a creative writing lesson (as the original does), with the plus that many of the stories can be read-alouds.

Carle, Eric. Mister Seahorse. Philomel, 2011/2004. $8.99. ISBN 9780399254901.
With Carle's signature tissue paper collage and watercolor illustrations, Mister Seahorse also benefits from a strong story. The seahorse meets several other male fish who help to incubate their mates' eggs in this celebration of fatherhood. There is some repetition, and this book has always been a hit at Father's Day storytime. So how does the board book hold up? It is complete - no illustrations or text are deleted to fit this smaller size. The clear plastic overlay pages, which depict how some fish "hide" under the ocean, appear in the board book, too. Only this time, the plastic page has a cardboard frame, make the board book version sturdier than the original picture book, where the plastic pages are somewhat fragile. Although the story is a little longer than most board books, this is still successful, but not a replacement for the original version. The picture book version is much better for a group, but the board book works for one-on-one reading.

Formento, Alison. This Tree, 1, 2, 3. Illus. by Sarah Snow. Whitman, 2010/2011. $7.99. ISBN 9780807578919.
Based on a picture book, this medium-sized board book is large enough to carry to a baby storytime. An oak tree is the narrator, counting various animals and insects that live in the tree, from one owl to ten worms. Although the children depicted in the illustrations are cartoon-like, both the tree and the animals look very realistic, making this a good choice for a nature, Fall, or tree-themed storytime.

Wellington, Monica. Firefighter Frank. Dutton, 2002/2011. $5.99. ISBN 9780525423737.
Readers will see what a firefighter does on an average day in this engaging book. Wellington's colorful cartoon illustrations work in this smaller format, so the board book is a nice substitute for the larger picture book if read one-on-one. The picture book is preferable if reading to a crowd, such as storytime. The board book would be very useful if you are doing a special storytime where each child receives a free book - invite a local firefighter to read to the children, and show them the fire truck and gear.

O'Connell, Rebecca. Done with Diapers! A Potty ABC. Illus. by Amanda Gulliver. Whitman, 2010/2011. $9.99. ISBN 9780807514689.
Sure to be popular, this oversized board book is the same size as the picture book version, and sure to be sturdier. Libraries may want several copies because this does an effective job of introducing several potty training topics in a useful alphabet book. For each letter, there is a child whose name begins with the letter, and a highlighted word related to potty training. For example, "H is for Hands: Hey Hannah, wash your hands!" Parents can elaborate on how the word relates to potty training, and both boys and girls are featured. The colorful illustrations feature multicultural children, all with dots for eyes, in household settings. Because of its usefulness as an alphabet book and the popular topic, this is highly recommended.

Long, Loren. Otis. Philomel, 2009/2010. $8.99. ISBN 9780399256004.
With a text longer than many picture books (a paragraph per spread), and the retro illustrations dominated by gray, brown, with some brick red highlights, this works better as a picture book than a board book. Babies and toddlers will find the illustrations muddy and the tale boring, but older preschoolers and Kindergarteners will enjoy the story in the picture book format. Otis is an endearing tractor who mothers a calf, repeating a soothing "Putt puff putted chuff." Comparing the picture book to the board edition, one notices that all the illustrations are included, but a few words have been edited from the text (which is still relatively lengthy for a board book). Find more colorful, briefer stories with vehicles for the board book audience.

Brett, Jan. The Umbrella. Putman, 2004/2011. $7.99. ISBN 9780399255403.
Brett's colorful, detailed illustrations do not benefit from the reduction a board book version requires. In this tale, Carlos climbs a tree to see animals in the rain forest, but they have scampered into his umbrella and floated down the river. Even though the tale has repetition it is too long for the board book audience. Stick with the picture book version, where the artwork has a better showcase.

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!

Submitted by : Penny Peck

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