Cookies in the library???

Ran across this classic segment from Sesame Street on a library site and it made me smile! just what I needed . . . and I hope you enjoy it too.

 

Watching the awards together

For the past several years I’ve enjoyed watching the webcast of the ALA Youth Media Awards. Usually I get the webcast started, feed the kids breakfast and get them on the bus, and watch the announcements. This year they were out of school, and my first thoughts were, gee, what can I do with them while I watch? Let them watch something or play the Wii? Still, the timing was difficult — at 7:45 a.m. they need breakfast. And this year my eleven year old had read many of the contenders with me. Finally, the obvious occurred to me — this is important to me, so why don’t we all watch it together? So I set up my computer in the kitchen, though I had to add speakers as the volume wasn’t loud enough, and we watched it together over bowls of oatmeal. I was delighted to see Francisco X. Stork’s amazing Marcelo and the Real World win the Schneider Family Book Award, as it was easily my favorite of the year. When the clip of  the Carnegie Medal winning Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus was shown, the younger two leaped out of their seats and practically danced in front of the computer. Incredible child appeal. All of us cheered for Moonshot and Almost Astronauts together. I was happy to see Jerry Pinkney win the Caldecott for The Lion and the Mouse and thrilled to see Red Sings from the Treetops recognized as an honor book — I love the poetry of Joyce Sidman and the illustrations by Pamela Zagarinski are a perfect match.  I was also excited to see The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and Charles and Emma receive awards — a Darwin year. And the oldest and I high-fived as When You Reach Me received the Newbery. Though I loved the experience of actually being in the room when the award was announced and hope to have that experience again, it was exciting to share the excitement at home with my children. The oldest is now off reading the multiply honored Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (Newbery honor, Sibert honor , YA Nonfiction honor). Meanwhile I’m trying to finish the Newbery honor winning Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, a simply beautiful piece of bookmanship — thick paper, gold accents, lovely illustrations combined with great storytelling. And the five year old is inspecting his books for gold and silver medals.

For a complete list of the awards announced today, see the ALA website: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/ymawrap2010.cfm.

 

Haiti

There are many worthy organizations working to aid the people of Haiti right now, and for book lovers, here is information I just received from USBBY (The US Board on Books for Young People):

This week’s earthquake in Haiti has left us all shaken and shocked; our friends are there. Yet another tragic disaster has hit the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Thousands have been killed and the destruction has been devastating. Those that were spared are in critical need. We have already seen the nations of the world pledging help with basic medical and food aid. But Haiti needs more than that.

For the past year our colleagues at IBBY Haiti have been running a Children in Crisis project to train teachers, librarians and care-givers how to use the healing power of storytelling and books after natural environmental disasters, such as the series of enormous storms that hit Haiti in recent years and the collapse of a school that killed many children in 2008. The earthquake on January 12th has wreaked so much more havoc and brought death to thousands, and a very uncertain future to millions more.

As you may be aware, the USBBY has a very special twinning partnership with IBBY Haiti through its President Jocelyne Trouillot. Some of you may have met her when she recently spoke at the 8th IBBY Regional Conference in St. Charles about the projects in Haiti schools and libraries funded by the Children in Crisis Fund and USBBY support.

After trying to reach Ms. Trouillot for several days, we are happy to report that we received a message from her early this morning. She reports that: “The University Caraibe and most universities in Port au Prince are completely destroyed. Most schools too. Thousands of school children and university students are under those buildings.Thousands of houses have collapsed. Rich and poor and middle class have lost families and houses. I cannot describe the horrors. I have seen so many corpses today, many of my own students dead or injured. I don’t want to describe it. My house is partially destroyed but we hope to make it. I hope to coordinate some help next week. For now, we have to bury the dead. The children of Haiti will need psychological help and bibliotherapy will certainly bring some healing. Schools will not reopen until September or October. The buildings and the teachers are not there. We will have to find other places. Many churches have been destroyed too. We stay positive but for most of us, we will need some strong will. Thank you for your support.” Jocelyne

During the tsunami disaster in Asia, USBBY members contributed many thousands of dollars in just a few short weeks to the relief efforts coordinated by IBBY. We are appealing to you today for similar support for the Haiti earthquake disaster. It is believed that the best way to do this is through donations to the Children in Crisis Fund. Therefore, USBBY will accept donations in trust for IBBY Haiti to help the surviving children and their families through the healing power of books and storytelling, bibliotherapy, and the reconstruction of libraries.

Won’t you help today? Donations to the Children in Crisis Fund for Haiti Relief are desperately needed! The process is simple!

Your choices are:

1. Go to the USBBY web site at www.usbby.org; click on Opportunities to Help
2. Use your credit card or
3. Download and print the PDF membership application, then mail it and your check to: USBBY Donations c/o V. Ellis Vance 5503 N. El Adobe Drive Fresno, CA 93711-2363

(If you are already an USBBY member and it is not yet time for you to renew your membership, just fill out the Donation Section of the membership form and check Children in Crisis Fund. All donations coming into the Children in Crisis Fund will be used for Haiti relief during the coming months.)

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Our family doctor visits Haiti on a regular basis and was scheduled to go this week. She is still trying to get there. They do amazing work and I feel so fortunate to know her. You can find out more and donate to Healing Art Missions as well.

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For those interested in learning and reading more about Haiti, I suggest reading Frances Temple’s A Taste of Salt and Tonight by Sea.

For adults, there are the books of Edwidge Danticat, especially Brother, I’m Dying, which tells much about her life growing up in Haiti. She also writes for young people: Behind the Mountains tells the story of a young girl immigrating from Haiti to Brooklyn.  These stories will give the reader a more personal glimpse into the people of Haiti, and a bit of understanding of how hard it can be to leave the land land you love.

 

What’s with all the smart kids?

I seem to be noticing a new trend lately. Maybe it’s a bias because of the books I’m drawn to, or perhaps it’s my predisposition these days to notice this characteristic (this past year I’ve helped found a local organization for parents of gifted and advanced learners.) It all began late this summer with The Mysterious Benedict Society, which opens with children being given tests for giftedness. All four children who are selected are indeed gifted, though in very different ways. Kate is incredibly physically adept, strong, fast, with lots of stamina. Her acute spatial awareness lets her know the dimensions of any room she is in. Sticky is so nicknamed because everything sticks in his brain. He is perhaps what many people think of when they think of a gifted child — he remembers every fact he reads, sees or hears. Constance is constantly challenging, quite irritatingly so, with gifts not always appreciated, but they will come in handy. And in the end, the reader gains a new understanding of her abilities, which continue to be revealed in the second book of the series. Reynie Muldoon is the main character and perhaps the most well-rounded of the four — likable, friendly, sensible, and intelligent. Good at following directions. Brave. Loyal. And yes, intelligent.

More recently I picked up The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman and my one sentence review was, “this is the Mysterious Benedict Society for the younger crowd.” Although this is a picture book, it reminded me of the Benedict Society for the way that each child uses their particular talent and together they are able to accomplish a very difficult feat against a hated/feared enemy.

I’ve been exploring graphic novels for the elementary age lately as my middle son has been quite excited by this format (see earlier post “Too Much of a Good Thing.”) And that’s how I encountered The Secret Science Alliance and The Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis. Meet middle-schooler Julian Cameron, total geek/nerd and thrilled when his parents announce they are moving and he’ll have to attend a new school. He’ll have the chance to start over. And what does he do there? Tries to disguise his intelligence so he can fit in. It’s painful to watch. And he’s no good at it. Most fortunately for Julian, he manages to find kindred spirits — who would have guessed that sports star Ben is actually an inventor? He just doesn’t do well on tests . . .  The pictures are amazingly detailed and extend the text in many ways. I especially loved the diagram of Julian’s brain and a little later the depiction of the secret hideout/laboratory/workshop . . . so detailed and clever and funny too. And when an evil scientist tries to steal their plans . . . well, watch out!

This trend of super-smart protagonists continues. After having lunch with an old college friend who now writes children’s books, I decided I had some gaps to fill in my YA reading, and on her recommendation picked up John Green’s  An Abundance of Katherines. Fantastic book, wickedly funny, classic theme of finding oneself.  And the main character, Colin Singleton, is a child prodigy/genius who is afraid he is washed up at 17. Valedictorian, fluent in many languages, headed off to Northwestern in the fall . . . and dumped by Katherines 19 times. So he sets off on a journey with his best friend, also quite smart, Hassan, and they end up spending time in Gutshot, Tennessee and learning about life, love, and loyalty. I’ve recently begun Green’s Printz award winner, Looking for Alaska, which features a smart 16 year old, friendless at public school, who chooses to try boarding school, looking for the “Great Perhaps.” Another smart kid!

In thinking back to the characters I was most drawn to as a child reader, I’ve discovered that many could actually be characterized as gifted. Super-sleuth Harriet the Spy. Anne of Green Gables – that incomparable imagination and love of fancy words? Definitely. Elizabeth Bennett — yes, she’s wittier and cleverer than she is pretty, to her mother’s chagrin. Jo March, independent thinker, writer, actor — definitely talented. At times they all have trouble fitting in, but their own sense of self is enough to overcome. There’s definitely more to think about.

 

More good things . . .

This is an update on my last post (Too Much of a Good Thing?), when I was frantically searching for follow-ups to the Bone series for my seven and a half year old.  Of course there cannot be too much reading! He had just started the 39 Clues series, which has turned out to be a huge success: he finished the fourth book of the series yesterday. I’m hoping he can hold out until Christmas for the recently released book 6! And no, these aren’t graphic novels or comic books, but rather a mystery/spy/adventure series in the vein of Dan Brown’s books. They have completely captured his attention though, and my eleven year old enjoys them as well.

In terms of graphic novels and comic books (two very different things I realize), he has been loving Calvin and Hobbes. Many of these books have long had a home on our shelves (There’s Treasure Everywhere, Scientific Progress Goes Boink!) – it was just a matter of getting them out for him. Both he and his older brother really enjoyed reading the additional materials in Calvin and Hobbes The Tenth Anniversary Book, especially the parts about how each character developed, got his name, etc. Sometimes I wonder who reads these type of extra notes, whether front matter or back matter, about how a book came to be, or in historical fiction which parts are true and how the author did their research. I tend to find these fascinating . . . and it was fun to see them discover this too — which they both did on their own.  He also loved How to Draw Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz and is now drawing his own cartoons.  In the first one he drew, Charlie Brown finally got to kick the football!!  I’ve also discovered the “Good Comics for Kids” blog from SLJ: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/540000654.html which gives me much more to explore.

In the graphic novel vein, Will has devoured

Into the Volcano by Don Wood, Blue Sky/Scholastic, 2008

two of the books in the Star Wars: the Clone Wars Adventures (which he actually read aloud with his younger brother)

and waiting on the shelf are

Hiyao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro

and a few of the Owly books by Andy Runton.

So we’ve come a long way and read quite a bit in the past two weeks! As we discover more treasures, I’ll add them to my list. Keep the recommendations coming!

 

Books make the best gifts!

As a librarian, reader, and book lover, books are among my favorite gifts. I truly believe there is a book for every reader, even if it may be difficult to find sometimes. To help in your quest to find that perfect book for a child, here are some of my favorite resources.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, publishes a free, annotated guide to best books for gift giving. This wonderful resource includes titles from the past three years (all are in print) and is organized by age, which makes it very easy to use. You can download the Guide Book to Gift Books at: http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/gb2/index.html.

Another resource is from the New York Public Library’s On-Lion for Kids. Each year they suggest 100 titles for reading and sharing. The 2009 list can be found at: http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=391.

While you are there, you can also peruse some of the other great lists under Recommended Reading, such as 100 Picture Books Every Child Should Know. You don’t have to own all of these, but this is a great reading list for winter break.

Finally, there is even a website devoted to buying books for the holidays: http://ow.ly/zwZk. Many good resources and inspirational reading are included here. I know there are many more best of the year type lists coming out in the next few weeks. It’s always fun to compare notes and see what books make multiple lists. Happy shopping and happy reading!

Updates:

A great book buying guide, by age, from Reading Rockets: http://ow.ly/If71

 

Too much of a good thing?

My seven and a half year old is totally obsessed with the Bone series by Jeff Smith. I mean totally, completely absorbed. He can be so deeply engrossed that even calls of “Fresh chocolate chip cookies, they’re still warm” go completely unheeded. I mean not even a glance up, a “just a minute Mom” or even a slight pause in his pursuit. He reads on the bus to and from school. If he loses his bookmark it is a BIG problem. And he reads them multiple times — yesterday he was on his 7th (by his own admission, my guess was about 5th)  pass through Rose, the prequel to the Bone books. I’ve read the first, Out from Boneville, myself so I would know a little of what he is reading. He loves to retell the story. I can see his vocabulary building as he asks what certain words mean — and later tries them out. Yesterday’s words were meditation, retribution, and ritual.  This morning we had a little extra time, so we talked about what other types of books he might like. A few months ago he was engrossed in Harry Potter, but I wanted him to take a break after book three, which he did agreeably enough. So this morning I sent him off with the first of the 39 Clues and we’ll see how that goes. He did say that he really liked the books where the pictures tell the story. Manga, anime, and graphic novels are a bit of an unexplored territory for me. I’m excited to learn, but in the meantime, do any of you have recommendations from this genre for a younger age? I usually think of these as teen and possibly tween fare — are there really excellent ones for elementary age readers? This passion for reading is exciting . . . I’m just trying to keep up!

 

Encouraging Reading: Book Fairs and Reading Rituals

One of the things I love about the school book fair every October is that the children become so excited about books. My youngest was excited to visit during his library time, but also concerned about whether the librarian would still be there. I reassured him that she would definitely be there, as I know she does a terrific job of introducing the children to books appropriate to their age and interests. It is always a bit of a balancing act: acknowledging their interests “Yes, I see that’s a sparkly Wubbzy book” while also gently redirecting, “But you like dragons too — Look at this great collection of Dragon Tales (by Dav Pilkey). I think you can read some of these stories yourself.” Choices, choices. Of course, we don’t leave empty handed. The car was quiet all the way home as the boys read — quite an unusual event in our family! This was the scene after arriving at home. Another friend told me her children didn’t want to get out of the car — they were too busy reading!

Late October was quite cold, rainy, and windy here — not the best soccer weather. One Saturday late in the month was filled with soccer, as our fall Saturdays often are. This was a tournament weekend, so we had four games that day, in forty degree, damp weather. The boys love it — a little mud just adds to the fun, right? but even they were a bit chilled and after the third game we stopped by the local coffee shop for some hot chocolate. While there I spotted a friend and her two daughters, lounging in the big comfy chairs, with steaming mugs beside them, engrossed in reading. Such a picture of relaxation and contentment that I was, for a moment and not to my credit, consumed with envy. I had no desire to return to the soccer field that afternoon! She explained that this was their usual Saturday ritual — go to the library, pick out lots of new books, and then have lunch and hang out and read. What a lovely ritual! It really made me think  about how we follow through on our beliefs and values. That sounds lofty, but really — I feel that reading is so important. How do I share that with my children? How do others? You can’t do everything, but what you choose to do should reflect on the ideals you cherish most. Book fairs, reading together, talking about books, visiting the library are some of the things that we do. You can always find more ideas, change things up a bit. And my repertoire of reading rituals is continually growing . . .

 

Start with what you like . . .

One of the best guidelines for book discussion is to begin with stating what you like about a book. It is one of the few “rules” I insist on for the children’s book club that I coordinate. This idea comes directly from my experiences at the CCBC book discussions as it is one of their guidelines, with good reason. Occasionally I have to remind myself of it. I recently finished The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech, one of my favorite authors. At times it can be difficult to read a new book by a favorite author. I try for my expectations not to be too high . . . but how can they not be? It’s like trying a new type of chocolate . . . you know it’s going to be good, how can it not be? It’s chocolate, right?

As it turns out, there were plenty of things for me to like about The Unfinished Angel. My first impression was a bit vague, but when it came time to return it to the library, I found I just had to write some things down first.

1. Zola. I like the main character (unless the angel is the main character?) She is spunky, independent, likes to read, caring, bossy (these two go together — she keeps telling the angel to DO things),  likes to dress in layers of bright, twirly clothes, and . . . she can see the angel.

2.Inventive words. The angel doesn’t know the words for everything. At times this was annoying — smiling is a common word and the angel knows words for much more unusual and difficult things that this concept as a stumbling block (smaling?) did not make sense to me. On the other hand, there were many more instances that I liked: intruigeful, incredilish, attractiful, extramarkable. These inventive constructions made me pay attention to these adjectives and seemed to give them a bit of extra oomph. They were fun. They worked for me.

3. Onomatopeia. Great inventive words for sounds like the “pocketa-pocketa-pocketa” of the nail gun as the construction worker busily renovates the school or the “tapple-tapple” sound of the keys of the “dimputer” as the father works away in his office.

4. The idea of what we hide away. Mr. Pomodoro has a secret stash of chocolate. Zola has rocks, feathers, a few other things. These aren’t collections, but secrets . . . kept for insurance . . . or reassurance? The objects themselves might be of little monetary value/value to others . . . but yet they are of great significance.

5. A quote (the angel talking about Zola): “She has also the soft heart of a bunny. The soft heart is also a smart heart because it is not soft for every puny silly thing, but over things that are matterful.” This is an important distinction and explained in such a way that young readers can understand.

While I still have lots of questions, I did find plenty to like about The Unfinished Angel.

 

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Eleven year old Calpurnia Virginia Tate is the only girl in a family with seven children. The story begins in an especially sweltering summer  in a small Texas town in 1899, where Callie sneaks away on hot afternoons to cool off in the lake. Everyone else is napping and the heat affects her mother with headaches, so Callie has a bit more freedom to explore her world than she might otherwise. When she wonders about an unusually large, yellow grasshopper previously unknown to her, she risks asking her grandfather about it. Although he doesn’t directly answer her questions but asks her to observe more closely, this incident marks the beginning of a new relationship between Callie and her grandfather. In his retirement, her grandfather has become a naturalist and experimentalist and Callie becomes more and more involved in his work. They take frequent ramblings together to gather specimens and talk about the work of Charles Darwin. Of course, Callie’s new pursuits don’t go unnoticed by her mother, who tries to engage her daughter in more ladylike pursuits.

Each chapter opens with a relevant quote from Darwin. As Callie learns more and more, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with the expectations of society. I love the self-awareness she posessess at times — such as the realization that she is a disappointment to her mother and  the very poignant feeling of an 11 year old  not wanting things to change. When asked if she doesn’t want her own family someday she is a bit confused — she loves her family now, with all 7 brothers at home, her grandfather’s laboratory out back. Yet this is all fleeting.

Of course I was drawn to the science and love of nature that compells Callie and her grandfather in the story. One of my favorite quotes is “It was more important to understand someting than to like it. Liking wasn’t necessary for understanding. Liking didn’t enter into it.” (p. 280). Calpurnia’s knowledge of the world and of herself certainly evolves in this book, though it’s not clear what the resolution will be. Perhaps something joyous and unexpected, like the snowfall at the end.