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August 2012
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians
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August 2012MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians |
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Author Donald Sobol Dies:
: The author of the "Encyclopedia Brown" mystery series for children, Donald Sobol, has died at age 87 in Miami from natural causes. First published in 1963, the series featured a boy and his friend Sally who solved a mystery in each chapter; the books had clues at the end that explained how the mysteries were solved. The 28th book in the series, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme, will be published this October. For more information, see:
See the New York Times obituary here: www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/books/donald-j-sobol-creator-of-encyclopedia-brown-dies-at-87.html
Author Margaret Mahy Dies at age 76:
New Zealand children's author Margaret Mahy has died at age 76. She published more than 200 books, from picture books to young adult novels, and received the Hans Christian Andersen award six years ago. For the full story, see: tvnz.co.nz/national-news/margaret-mahy-renowned-nz-children-s-author-dies-4982178
Author Jean Merrill Dies:
Jean Merrill died on August 2 at the age of 89. Merrill, well known for her classic The Pushcart War (Scott, l964) also collaborated with her lifelong companion Ronni Solbert, the original illustrator of the classic Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks (HarperCollins, 1956). For more information, see: www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesargus/obituary.aspx?pid=159024453 .
ACL Member Meredith Steiner Receives Begun Scholarship:
Meredith Steiner, a student at San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science (and ACL member), has been awarded the Begun Scholarship from the California Library Association. Named in memory of librarian Betty Begun, the scholarship goes to a library school student who demonstrates a commitment to becoming a children's or young adult librarian in California. Congratulations!
Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers:
WCNWS announced their 2012 Honors and Winners. In the category for children's books, the winner is Tim Tingle for Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness Into Light (Cinco Punto Press, 2010). The award for Blogger went to Debbie Reese for her blog American Indians in Children's Literature (americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com ). To see the complete list, go to: www.wordcraftcircle.org/honors .
NPR Best Teen Books:
National Public Radio announced the results of their summer poll, on the best teen novels. Check out NPR's 100 Best Teen Fiction. See how many you have read: www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels .
Dear Friends and colleagues:
It was a wonderful surprise to be honored as I was at the July ACL meeting. I have never wanted to be anything but a children's librarian. I love working with children and with all those who share my commitment to children, too.
I have always loved all aspects of the work: reading and knowing the contents of the books so I can offer good advice to both children and the adults who work with them; presenting programs that will increase their love of reading and their curiosity about the world; storytelling to help develop their imaginations and help them deal with problems in their lives; hoping that reading will be a lifetime joy.
I am proud to see so many new young people coming into the profession and being as dedicated to children as I have been. It is a privilege for me to be acquainted with all that are a part of ACL and working to keep it a vital and viable organization. It is inspiring to see you take hold and develop new ways to make the organization more in step with modern technology: websites, blogs, new approaches to reviewing and more!
Thank you all for allowing this "old" librarian to remain a part of your professional life.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Martha Shogren
From time to time, we will reread classics or award winning children's books from the past to see how they might be viewed in our current day.
Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. HarperCollins, 1978, 148p.
Some new tween novels featuring protagonists who are foster children sent me back to the granddaddy of this type of book - The Great Gilly Hopkins. A Newbery Honor book, this is often on the list of "banned and challenged" books due to Gilly's politically incorrect language and cursing.
Gilly is the Archie Bunker (of TV's "All in the Family") of children's lit - lovable in many ways but really hard to like. She insults people - calls foster parent Trotter fat, is shocked at having a neighbor and a teacher who are "colored," and is constantly commenting on the cleaniness and appearance of others. But of course, this is all a defense mechanism, after having been abandoned by her hippie mother.
Gilly's swearing is very minor (a few Hells and Damns) so that won't offend the majority of contemporary readers. Her bashing of nonwhites and plus-size people is more objectionable, but since it is part of her defense mechanism, the reader may not be bothered by it. The author makes it clear this is nothing to emulate; in fact, one gleans that Gilly is probably ashamed of this behavior.
In many ways, the nuclear family made up of Mrs. Trotter, Gilly, and young William Ernest reminded me of the trio at the heart of the play and film "Member of the Wedding." The main exception is that Mrs. Trotter is not African-American, but otherwise it is similar with prickly Gilly very much in the mold of Julie Harris's character Frankie.
One thing that is archaic comes from the African-American neighbor Mr. Randolph. He refers to the title character as Miss Gilly, which seems very old fashioned. It is as if he is deferring to her because she is white; calling her Gilly seems more appropriate and less like how a servant would speak to a child.
But this is a minor quibble; overall, this really stands up and should appeal to contemporary readers, especially those in 4th and 5th grades. The emotion carried by the story - how Gilly feels and copes with being abandoned, and trying to find a true family, happens to children nowadays. In fact, this could make readers more responsive to new classmates who may be foster children.
One of the new tween novels being compared to The Great Gilly Hopkins is Lynda Mullaly Hunt's One for the Murphys (Penguin, 2012). The book begins the same as "Gilly" with foster child Carley being driven to her new home by the social worker. The family has three sons, including the youngest Michael Eric, who is a little like Gilly's William Ernest. Other than those two details, the book is quite different. This is Hunt's debut novel, and it seems very realistic. The Murphys are a very "normal" nuclear family, and much different than the one at Trotter's house. It also seems like a book for a slightly older reader (Carley is an 8th grader), and less like a fable which "Gilly" invokes with the unusual Trotter family. I believe Hunts tween novel will have a wide audience, with its combination of believability and emotional resonance.
The other new novel about a foster child is Sara Pennypacker's Summer of the Gypsy Moths (Balzer+Bray, 2012). It is less realistic than One for the Murphys, with Summer� focusing on foster kid Angel and niece Stella, whose great-aunt Louise is guardian of the two girls. When Louise dies (early in the novel), Stella and Angel cover up Louise's death - they are afraid of being put back into the foster care system, and don't want to be separated. They run Louise's business of vacation rental cottages on Cape Cod. The premise is unlikely but the girls' emotions are very realistic.
So, you can recommend The Great Gilly Hopkins as well as the two newer books featuring a foster child. Many tween readers will relate as it is likely that one of their classmates is a foster child. If one of these books is used in a book discussion group, a related activity would be to gather donations of new school supplies to donate to a local foster children organization.
The upcoming Presidential election is a great opportunity for a fun Do-it-Yourself program, a display, a theme for a storytime or book discussion group, or for some passive programming activities you can leave out for families to enjoy. Here are some ideas you can choose from to custom tailor a program that would fit your library:
Hands-on Activities
You can set out lots of crafts for a passive program, or set them out at stations overseen by teen volunteers. The Enchanted Learning site has several crafts relating to Washington and Lincoln: www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/presidentsday/ , as well as flag-style crafts and Uncle Sam hats.
If you have many elementary school-age children and parents, have child-parent teams play in a game of Presidential Trivia. For trivia questions, try: www.diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com/presidential-trivia.html or www.factmonster.com/spot/prestrivia1.html .
Play Election Vocabulary Bingo! www.teachervision.fen.com/elections/lesson-plan/2707.html?detoured=1 .
Have a section on Presidential Pets. Nominate some and ask each person to cast a vote for their favorite, and announce the winner at the end of the program. For a list of presidents and their pets, go to: www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/Presidential_Pets.html .
Have an election focusing on favorite book characters. Have the nominees prominently displayed, and let the program attendees vote for their favorite. Give out a ballot to each person as they enter so the voting is fair; this will also be a good way to count how many people attend the program.
For readalouds to kick off the program, check out this month's storytime theme on Presidents, under the People category.
Book Club Programming Ideas
Holm, Jennifer and Matt. Babymouse for President. Random House, 2012. 96p.
Babymouse runs for president of the school, promising a cupcake in every locker! This graphic novel, the 16th in the series, will appeal to boys as well as girls despite the pink cover. Here are some great activities for groups:
Benton, Jim. The Frandidate. S&S, 2009. 116p.
In this seventh entry in the Franny K. Stein series, Franny creates the perfect candidate for class president. Since Franny is a mad scientist, be sure to include some science-related activities, as well as:
Tween Book Discussion Group Ideas
Clark, Catherine. How NOT to Run for President. Egmont, 2012. 235p.
In this tween novel, Aidan accidently saves a presidential candidate from falling and is soon a media "darling." There is humor in this timely story, including an insightful skewering of cable news channels and their penchant for lies and distortion. The female presidential candidate is a nice role model, and she has a daughter about Aidan's age, making this a book both boys and girls will enjoy.
Here are some activities to use with this book during a discussion:
For more programming ideas related to this book, check out the website: www.hownottorunforpresident.com . It has a reading guide for the book www.hownottorunforpresident.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/How-Not-to-Run-Reading-Guide.pdf , filled with discussion questions, a quiz on leaders and musical instruments, and other activities.
Bruel, Nick. Bad Kitty for President. Roaring Brook, 2012. 142p.
In this outrageous chapter book with ink illustrations (similar in grade level and format to Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books), Bad Kitty is running for president of the Neighborhood Cat Club. The story introduces the concepts of primaries, conventions, delegates, election procedures, and more in this funny book. This will have great appeal with reluctant readers due to the humor and abundance of illustrations, but all children will appreciate this parody of the electoral process.
When using with a book discussion group, you can:
For more ideas, check out: badkittybooks.squarespace.com/books-journal/bad-kitty-for-president.html. The website features several Bad Kitty online games, printouts with word games and coloring pages, and online clips of the author being interviewed by Bad Kitty.
Angleberger, Tom. Fake Mustache: or, How Jodie O'Rodeo and her Wonder Horse (and some nerdy kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind. Amulet Books, 2012. 196p.
Lenny's best friend Casper (who is an evil genius) gets a fake mustache that allows him to rob a bank and run for President of the U.S. Can Lenny and TV singing star Jodie O'Rodeo stop him?
Here are some extention activities for the book:
Gutman, Dan. The Kid Who Ran for President. Scholastic Reprint, 2012. 176p.
Twelve-year-old Judson runs for President of the United States in this humorous novel (originally published in 1996).
Here are some programming ideas related to the book:
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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