February 2001

• Sat., Feb. 24, 2001 Performers Showcase. San Leandro PL. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Thurs., March 8, 2001 ACL Meeting. Oakland Public Libr. 9 a.m.
• Thurs., April 12, 2001 ACL Institute. San Leandro PL 9 a.m.
• Thurs., May 10, 2001 ACL Meeting. Oakland Public Libr. 9 a.m.

Janet Hellerich: Long-time ACL member Janet Hellerich passed away last month after a long illness. She was the former head of children’s services at the Richmond Public Library. Those wishing to remember Janet are asked to send checks, made out to the STORYTELLING ASSOC. OF ALTA CALIF., but earmarked for the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, to: Ken Stranfeld, Treasurer, Storytelling Assoc. of Alta Calif., 4157 Pickwick Dr., Concord, CA 94521.

SFPL Book Lists: If you haven’t surfed by it lately, check out the website for the San Francisco Public Library at www.sfpl.org. Click on "Kids," then click on Book Lists. You’ll find several useful book lists, ranging in topic from Scary Stories to books to read while waiting for the next Harry Potter. There is an updated list called "Let it Shine: Recent Books about the African-American Experience," as well as book lists celebrating both Asian and Latino heritage. Another new book list covers "Imagination," which includes novels like Tuck Everlasting, I Was A Rat!, and even nonfiction, biography, poetry, and folklore which celebrates the imagination.

"Dreary Newbery"? Check out the recent article at www.salon.com, called "A Gold Star for Tedium," about the Newbery Award. The essay’s author E.J. Graff opines that the Newbery award goes to the "spinach" books – books that are good for you like 1962’s The Bronze Bow instead of The Phantom Tollbooth (no argument here on that specific example). See the site at www.salon.com/books/feature/2001/01/25/newbery/index.html

Illustrator Mary Shepard Dies:

Mary Shepard, the illustrator of P.L. Travers "Mary Poppins," died at age 90 last September in London. Her father was E.H. Shepard, the illustrator of A.A. Milne’s "Winnie the Pooh" books. Travers chose Mary Shepard as the illustrator when she saw a hand-drawn Christmas card Mary had done. Shepard was a graduate of the Slade School of Art, and was married to E.V. Knox, the editor of Punch, the British humor magazine. Her illustrations showing the nanny’s feet in ballet’s fourth position were a request of the author, but Shepard was able to persuade Julie Andrews to have her feet in fifth position, heels together in a straight line.

School Libraries: A recent article, available at the Christian Science Monitor Online, examines the still-sad state of school libraries. For example, in California schools, there is one librarian for every 3,548 students. To see the entire article, try www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/02/06/p13s1.htm

With the increase in interracial marriages, some children will have questions concerning their color, their culture, and their place and that of their parents in society and in the world. Books can provide answers, comfort, relief, and understanding – for these children, but also for their peers.

• Adoff, Arnold. ALL THE COLORS OF THE RACE. Illus. by John Steptoe, Lothrop, 1982.
  A young girl poetically celebrates her colors and her heritage: Black, Polish, Jewish, American – defying attempts to pigeonhole her. Dedicated to "every wonderful combination of races."
• Adoff, Arnold. BLACK IS BROWN IS TAN. Illus. by Emily Arnold McCully, Harper, 1973.
  A simple, loving story that portrays a happy black and white interracial family, the author’s own.
• Ahlberg, Janet and Allan. STARTING SCHOOL. Viking, 1988.
  A wonderfully natural presentation of children beginning school, and the activities of each individual child, parent, and teacher. A multicultural class of which one child is clearly biracial, only evident in pictures.
• Charlip, Remy. WHY I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER HAVE TIME TO READ THIS BOOK. Illus. by John J. Muth, Tricycle Press, 2000.
  A busy girl recounts all of the things she has to do in a day as she tries to find time to read. From the illustrations, this is clearly a multiracial family – black, white, Asian.
• Davol, Marguerite W. BLACK, WHITE, JUST RIGHT! Illus. by Irene Trivas, Whitman, 1993.
  A girl explains how her parents are different in color, have different tastes in art, food, and pets, and how she herself is different, too. Mother is African-American, father is white with blond hair.
• El-Moslimany, Ann. ZOKI’S RAMADAN FEAST.
  Zoki is Muslim with an African-American mother and an East Indian father.
• Friedman, Ina R. HOW MY PARENTS LEARNED TO EAT. Illus. by Allen Say, Houghton, 1984.
  The daughter of a Japanese mother and white American father tells how her parents met, and the varied eating traditions of her family.
• Garland, Sarah. BILLY AND BELLE. Viking, 1992.
  Children of a black father and a white mother have an exciting Pet Day at school while their mother is in the hospital having a baby. The great illustrations are the only indication that this is a biracial family.
• Gray, Nigel. A BALLOON FOR GRANDAD. Illus. by Jane Ray. Orchard, 1988.
  When Sam’s silver and red balloon flies away, he and his father picture it visiting Grandad Abdullah across the sea. Only the illustrations show that Sam’s parents are of different cultures.
• Heath, Amy. SOFIE’S ROLE. Illus. by Sheila Hamanaka. Four Winds, 1992.
  For the first time, Sofie gets to help behind the counter of her parents’ bakery. The illustrations subtly indicate that her parents are of different racial backgrounds.
• Hoffman, Mary. NANCY NO-SIZE. Illus. by Jennifer Northway. Oxford Univ. Press, 1987.
  Nancy feels invisible because she is the middle child - "…wasn’t dark like her big sister. And she wasn’t fair like the baby." The text and illustrations are vague about the father’s race, but it is clear the mother is of African descent.
• Igus, Toyomi. TWO MRS. GIBSONS. Illus. by Daryl Wells. Children’s Book Press, 1996.
  In this autobiographical story, a little girl contrasts her two grandmothers: one Japanese, the other African-American.
• Johnson, Angela. THE AUNT IN OUR HOUSE. Illus. by David Soman. Orchard, 1996.
  A girl and her brother are happy when their sunny, storytelling aunt, their father’s sister, moves in with them. Family ties are stressed in this warm story, where pictures indicate father and aunt are white, mother is black.
• Katz, Karen. THE COLORS OF US. Holt, 1999.
  Lena, an adopted child, walks with her mother through the neighborhood and sees people of all "delicious" shades of brown.
• Lacapa, Kathleen and Michael. LESS THAN HALF, MORE THAN WHOLE. Illus. by Michael Lacapa. Northland, 1994.
  A boy who is part Native American wants to understand why his friends call him "only half, or less than half" Indian. Illustrations contain traditional Indian patterns.
• Loh, Morag. TUCKING MOMMY IN. Illus. by Donna Rawlins. Orchard, 1988.
  Two girls tuck Mommy in when she falls asleep tucking them in. In the illustrations, mother and father appear to be of different racial backgrounds.
• McKay, Lawrence Jr. JOURNEY HOME. Illus. by Dom and Keunhee Lee. Lee and Low, 2000.
  Mai, a biracial girl, gains a new sense of identity when she and her mother travel to Vietnam to find her mother’s birthplace.
• Machado, Ann Maria. NINA BONITA. Illus. by Rosana Faria. Kane Miller, 1994.
  Translated from Portuguese. A white rabbit, taken with Nina Bonita’s dark skin inherited from her black grandmother, wants a daughter with black fur and is determined to "find the right rabbit to marry." Also in Spanish.
• Mandelbaum, Pili. YOU BE ME, I’LL BE YOU. Kane Miller, 1990.
  Translated from the French, this tale depicts a biracial European family. The story plays with and provides commentary on racial characteristics, with charming illustrations.
• Mills, Claudia. A VISIT TO AMY-CLAIRE. Illus. by Sheila Hamanaka. MacMillan, 1992.
  Rachel is jealous when cousin Amy-Claire pays more attention to her little sister. The illustrations show the family to be white/Asian.
• Monk, Isabell. HOPE. Illus. by Janice Lee Porter. Carolrhoda, 1999.
  Hope wonders when her great aunt’s friend asks "Is the child mixed?" so Aunt Poogie tells her of her wonderful heritage from her white father and black mother; faith and love which equals hope.
• Monk, Isabell. FAMILY. Illus. by Janice Lee Porter. Carolrhoda, 2001.
  Hope brings a special dessert to a family feast; something different just like her, a biracial child.
• Nicola-Lisa, W. BEIN’ WITH YOU THIS WAY. Illus. by Michael Bryant. Lee and Low, 1994.
  An exuberant picture book full of children of all backgrounds at play, with a running poetic narrative describing features and proclaiming "Different –Mm-mm, but the same, Ah-ha!"
• Rattigan, Jima Kin. DUMPLING SOUP. Illus. by Lillian Hsu-Flanders. Little Brown, 1998.
  Marisa’s family goes to Grandma’s house in Hawaii for dumpling soup on New Year’s Eve. They are a mixture of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, and white, labeled "chop suey" by Grandma, pidgin for "all mixed up."
• Spohn, David. HOME FIELD. Lothrop, 1983.
  Matt and his father play baseball on their farm diamond, father pitching to son. A quiet story in which father is white, the son is black.
• Spohn, David. WINTER WOOD. Lothrop, 1991.
  Father and son from Home Field enjoy nature as they cut wood on a cold winter day. Only the illustrations show them as a biracial family. They also appear in Starry Night, Lothrop, 1992.
• Williams, Vera. "MORE MORE MORE" SAID THE BABY: THREE LOVE STORIES. Greenwillow, 1990.
  One of three stories features a little African-American boy playing with his white grandmother. A vibrant multicultural picture book with endearing illustrations.

Dorothy Helfeld,
Retired

In this practical handbook for those wishing to get into the children’s book business, author Aaron Shepard describes successful stories and formats, submission of manuscripts, contracts, publishers, children’s writers resources, and he answers the most common questions posed by those endeavoring to become authors of books for children.

Shepard speaks with the authority of one who has seen nearly twenty books published, many of which have made ALA’s Notable booklist. His work includes the texts of original picture books like The Legend of Lightning Larry, but is best-known for his folklore adaptations, including Savitri: A Tale of Ancient India and The Sea King’s Daughter. Bay Area librarians may know Shepard, a local resident, for his author visits, or his reader’s theatre scripts, or his website which features the scripts.

Libraries will want this book on hand for those patrons who request Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market and the like. Shepard’s books is much briefer, and he doesn’t get into a list of publishers or their addresses, but focuses more on how a manuscript should be submitted, not to whom it should be submitted. He gives clear direction without generalizing: for example, he indicates that it is recommended that the main character be the age of the reading audience, but that there are exceptions to this rule.

Shepard also describes useful techniques for promoting a published book, including school visits. The book concludes with lists of organizations like the SCBWI, useful books and periodicals, and websites of interest.

Book Love: Creating Good Books for Children In An Age That Values Neither, edited by Juanita Havill, E&L Books of Phoenix College, 2000, $12.95 (paper), ISBN 0-9657557-1-1.

What is the future of children’s books? On the one hand, "Harry Potter" proves kids are reading; on the other, reading levels are dropping dramatically. These and other similar questions are addressed in this timely and fascinating book. Juanita Havill, author of the picture book series featuring a young girl named Jamaica, has gathered a wealth of essays from several children’s authors, including Judith Gorog, Barry Moser, Marion Dane Bauer, and James Cross Giblin. These essays cover the children’s book world from a variety of viewpoints, including author, illustrator, agent, editor, publisher, bookseller, and librarian. Their concerns include the consolidation of publishers, the struggle of independent booksellers, and the dumbing down of the education system which creates children who can but don’t read.

Some of the essays are really interviews, with various authors and illustrators. Anna Olswanger conducts a lively Q&A with illustrator Barry Moser, who wonders why the Caldecott is given by librarians who may not have enough background knowledge on art technique to be adequate judges. She also talks to Kevin O’Malley, a relatively new on-the-scene illustrator and writer who faced over 100 rejections of his first work, the 1920’s set "Froggie Went A’Courtin’." Havill interviews G. Brian Karas, who remembers the impact the Babar books made on him as a kid.

Editor Harold Underdown’s essay neatly addresses the problem of the consolidation of publishing, leading to more "brand name" items like the endless variations on Little House on the Prairie, and Phoebe Yeh of HarperCollins details how much research goes into a "simple" nonfiction book for primary age students. These are just some of the insightful essays one can dip into. It is especially interesting to hear those in the publishing industry bemoaning several of the same concerns that librarians have been worried about, like the gobbling up of imprints by publishing conglomerates. Unlike some "professional" books, this is breezy but thought-provoking. Many of the essays are quick reads, but you will think about them for days afterward.

Nineteen essays on the joy of books and reading are gathered here, to examine the role of books in these changing times. As the introduction states, "What motivates readers to turn to books in the era of cyberspace? …Does the book have a future? These are among the questions answered in the essays that follow: some personal and anecdotal, some philosophical, others practical." The book works like a box of See’s Candy – you can sample here and there, in no particular order, to experience different sensations, but you don’t need to consume the whole thing in one sitting. In fact, it seems more satisfying to taste a chapter depending on the reader’s mood at the time, not on the order of the essays.

The contributors range from authors to professors of literature, to editors, publishers, even an actor/magician. But the themes are not overly academic, but more personal, explaining the deep need for books, not just a fondness for books. The essay by actor/magician Michael Ellis, perhaps best known as a Broadway producer, is titled "The Performer and the Reader." He explains the importance of reading to the performer, who too often only reads scripts, when any actor should know the history of the theatre, should read reviews, and be constantly educating oneself.

Another interesting essay, "The Sad Demise of the Personal Library" by Columbia University professor James Shapiro describes how the extensive personal library seems to only be important to academics the older baby boomer age group, or pre-boomer. "Hooked," by Nina King, the editor of the Washington Post’s Book World, offers a brief humorous essay on how the Bobbsey Twins made her a book lover. Laura L. Nagy’s essay, "Into Terra Nova: A Crossing With Books," describes how she went from a reader to one who truly understands, which helped her overcome lifelong prejudices. This collection is a pleasure, with some new ideas to reassure us in this electronic age.

Penny Peck,
San Leandro Public Library