Libraries and Change

Truth: Can You Handle It? Better Yet: Do You Know It When You See It? By Monica Hesse from the Washington Post I remember while I was working on my MLIS, we would talk about how for years people have been saying the library is doomed. The library was doomed when TV was becoming popular. The library was doomed when they started circulating records and movies. And now the library is doomed with the internet. Precedent certainly would show that librarians shouldn't be concerned about libraries going away anytime soon. But, when I see articles like this one it's hard not to be concerned. I want to be an agent for change, and to make libraries relevant and useful in the lives of my patrons, friends, and family. But, for my husband (an academic), he would be happier if he didn't even have to go in to the library-- he could get all his scholarly articles as pdf's delivered to his email account, and all his books sent via campus mail to his mailbox. But my poor little librarian heart resents that the space itself isn't special. I may be fooling myself when I say this, but perhaps the public library is different from an academic library because it's more of a community space than a research facility. Even the way kids use our collection is different than when I was a kid (not that long ago). It's hard not to be disheartened when children would rather fill out their worksheets from multiple disreputable websites than flip through one beautiful, timely and accurate book. Yes, their research is "good enough" for their worksheet, but don't they deserve better than that?

Russell Freedman Quote

"You don't simplify, you distill." Russell Freedman on how he makes his writing appropriate for children. See the interview of Freedman and James Cross Giblin at this article Rock Stars of the I.N.K. Variety by Linda Salzman. What a brilliant quote. I've had difficulty putting my finger on the exact term I think of when I think of good children's books, and I always knew "simplified" wasn't quite it. The best children's books aren't simple-- they are simply composed of only the most relevant parts. For example, I would hardly call Christopher Paul Curtis's new novel Elijah of Buxton, "simple". It's brilliant and sophisticated and completely accessible, but certainly not "simple".

Only 110?

110 Best Books: The Perfect Library This article from the Telegraph "From classics and sci-fi to poetry, biographies and books that changed the world… we present the ultimate reading list." I beg to differ. Children's books listed were Swallows and Amazons; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Lord of the Rings; His Dark Materials; Babar; The Railway Children; Winnie-the-Pooh; Harry Potter; The Wind in the Willows; and Treasure Island. Where is The Cat in the Hat? Or Where the Wild Things Are? Or, because it's chapter book biased, how about The Giver, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, etc., etc., etc.? And lo and behold, I'm not the only one. The article has hundreds of comments-- people all listing their favorite books, the books that were most meaningful in their lives, as missing. Quite simply, I think no list as small as 110 can be a "perfect library". Which is a good thing, because I would feel sorry for the kid stuck reading only Babar repeatedly until he miraculously understands Winnie-the-Pooh.

Happy Holidays!

My favorite read-aloud of this year's holiday season would have to be Margie Palatini and Richard Egielski's Three French Hens. I only took elementary school French, but the kids were mighty impressed with my accent. And who doesn't love doing a silly accent for kids?

Plotline is as such-- three French hens are lost in the mail on the third day of Christmas. Believing themselves to have found the true love they were intended for, they arrive at Mr. Fox's in the Bronx. Mr. Fox is very hungry and plays the part, but he can't eat the hens because they're so nice to him (and provide many great perks such as warm baths, cozy tuffets, and French food). In the end they are all friends, but can't accept his Christmas presents because they are "kosher chickens". Lots of fun all around-- and great vocabulary for older kids.

One of my Scholastic Academy classes gave me holiday snowflakes today. These are my favorites.

I was particularly impressed with this one, so here are some up-close details. Art interpretations are up for grabs. My personal interpretation is that there are two things going on here. The first is Santa or Jesus giving a child a present which illicits a monster, "YES". The second is two kings driving a school bus full of children while shooting love torpedoes.

Little Mama Forgets

I am currently enchanted by Robin Cruise and Stacey Dressen-McQueen's Little Mama Forgets. A little girl named Lucy has a grandmother who is losing her memory. And although she forgets some things she doesn't forget everything. The give and take between the grandmother and granddaughter reminded me of my experiences with my own grandma. The pictures are whimsical and add another dimension to the story. For such a difficult subject it is such a happy book. And, as an added bonus it is about hispanic characters (can't seem to get enough of these).

My favorite bit from the book, is when Little Mama forgets about the toast and burns it. So they have rice pudding for breakfast instead. And Little Mama always remembers just how to pour Lucy's cream.

The Evolution of the Book

I just read an article by Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. While I was working on my MLIS I completely eschewed the idea of e-books. There are so many things you can find while browsing shelves that you could never find on a computer. And the enjoyment inherent in holding a book and flipping the pages is such a delight. Then I read an article by an e-book convert and it has me thinking. There's something to be said for the portability of a book on your cell phone. I don't want to buy a seperate device for reading books, but if I had one already... well that's a different story. And yet it goes against all my principles. I felt, especially for children, that there was such value in the codex format. One of the professors at my portfolio defense to finish my MLIS asked a rididculous question. "What if a flash drive won the Newberry Award?" This question had me flabberghasted for multiple reasons. Firstly, the Newberry is for children's books-- books. Secondly, what on earth did this have to do with outreach to daycare providers (which was the material I was presenting on)? But altering his question a bit, could an e-book, that was published solely in digital format win the Newberry? Not currently, but if that progresses to become the popular format it may. In any case it was a great column. I bet library classes all over will be discussing this. I'll be forwarding this on to my husband probably. Maybe he can use it for reading all his academic pdf's. Boy, change is rough.

Storytime: Bears

This month's preschool storytime for outreach is Bears!

Books:

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear

by Don and Audrey Wood

The Three Bears

by Byron Barton

 

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

 

Where's My Teddy?

by Jez Alborough 

 

 

Jamberry

by Bruce Degen

With a little "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" stretch thrown in the middle when they get antsy.

I decided to try something crazy this year and start my storytime with a book about the library. Not all the children I work with have a chance to come to the library, so they don't all know what I do. So I read them all Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw's Lola at the Library.

I think it worked because at the end of my storytime I explained to the kids that I had to go back to the library to do my work. "Remember," I told them, "I have to go buzz in the books." There were lots of nodding heads at that and then I was reminded to bring lots more books next time. With kids like that, who wouldn't?

[Additions for Family Storytime for ages 3-8 with craft.  Added 1-8-2011]

Additional Books:

Bears! Bears! Bears! by Bob Barner
Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
Scare A Bear by Kathy-jo Wargin and pictures by John Bendall-Brunello

Three Bears Craft

from Kathy Ross's Numbers Book

Children's Book Award Links

One of our fantastic library aides is taking a children's literature course and was asking for assistance identifying different awards for children's books. My favorite two resources I found were... "Book Awards" from Cynthia Leitich Smith's website www.cynthialeitichsmith.com This is a fantastic website anyway with some great booklists and resources, but I'm particularly impressed with the obscure awards she posts in addition to the standard ALA Awards. "Awards and Prizes" from www.childrenslit.com Just when you thought you knew all the awards there could be... you find a website like this. Lots of great links on this one. The website in general has some original book reviews, but all their booklists and resources are links to other sites-- in any case, it's still fun to browse. My SLIS program had access to their Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, which, by the way, is great. I wish my library had money to subscribe to it!

Top 50 List of Children's Books

What Book Got You Hooked?

Firstbook.org asked people to vote for the book that got them hooked on reading. None of the books are a huge surprise but it's nice to see them all together.

I'd have to say my top two that got me "hooked" would be...

Leo the Late Bloomer
by Robert Kraus
illustrated by Jose Aruego






and




Mandy
by Julie Andrews Edwards