Children. Libraries ALSC Awards Issue

Transcription

1 Childre the joural of the Associatio for Libraries & Library Service to Childre Volume 9 Number 2 Summer/Fall 2011 ISSN ALSC Associatio for Library Service to Childre 2011 Awards Issue Newbery, Caldecott, Wilder, Belpré Speeches Lois Lowry ad Her Amazig Arbuthot Lecture Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Associatio for Library Service to Childre 50 East Huro Street Chicago, Illiois Associatio for Library Service to Childre Chage Service Requested 50 East Huro Street Chicago, Illiois Chage Service Requested NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID HANOVER, PA PERMIT NO. 4

2 Table Cotets ofvolume 9, Number 2 Summer/Fall 2011 Notes 2 Editor s Note Sharo Verbete 2 The Dog-Eared Page Did Your Faves Get the Nod? 3 Outgoig Presidet s Message Lookig Back ad Ahead Julie Corsaro 4 Icomig Presidet s Message Commuicate Value Mary Fellows Features Award Acceptace Speeches 5 Newbery Medal Someoe Else s Ordiary Clare Vaderpool 9 Caldecott Medal A Old Ma, a Elephat, ad a Lack of Cofidece Eri E. Stead 12 Pura Belpré Author Award All People Are Coected Pam Muñoz Rya 14 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Rememberig Gradma Eric Velasquez 16 Laura Igalls Wilder Award Portrait of a Youg Boy... ad His Dreams Come True Tomie depaola 20 The May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture Uleavig: The Stayig Power of Gold Lois Lowry 29 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy A Best Practices Primer for Gotta Move! Hayley Elece McEwig 36 Through Their Eyes The Developmet of Self-Cocept i Youg Africa America Childre through Board Books Sadra Hughes-Hassell, Elizabeth Koehler, ad Erie J. Cox 42 Searchig for She-roes A Study of Biographies of Historic Wome Writte for Childre Christia H. Dorr 50 Cut the Cofusio Marketig for Self-Sufficiecy Rebecca Phillips 52 Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child Assistig the New Reader Loretta Caravette Departmets 19 Call for Referees 58 Childre ad Techology Ito a Digital World A Q&A about Digital Picture Books Travis Joker 60 ALSC News 63 Idex to Advertisers 64 The Last Word Kevi Roth Cover photo ad desig by Paper ad Paperless, Chicago.

3 Editor s Note By Sharo Verbete Summer is over, ad so too is the craziess that accompaies summer readig programs. But as much as our lives are busier i the summer, it s perhaps our most ideal opportuity to reach both avid ad reluctat readers. I do t thik I realized that as much whe I was a fledglig libraria twety years ago. I was learig the duties of a ew career, avigatig a brach that was ew to me, ad (believe it or ot) still dealig with the limitatios of a card catalog! Whe I retured to the career last year, I felt more prepared to make a differece i childre s lives. Not oly had I become a mother, ad therefore itimately i tue with the eeds of a youg child, but I also had more techology, resources, ad metors available. Use this post summer time to reassess how your summer readig program affected your audiece, as well as you. Did it fly by with stress, or did you embrace the challeges as opportuities? The Summer/Fall issue of Childre ad Libraries is always oe of my favorites because it affords the opportuity to read the acceptace speeches by award-wiig authors ad illustrators. Whether or ot you were able to hear them i perso, I hope you ll reap as much from readig them as I did. & The Dog-Eared Page Did Your Faves Get the Nod? Cosider it the ico award, i much the same way the music world hoors logtime cotributors. Every two years, The Has Christia Aderse Awards are preseted by IBBY (Iteratioal Board o Books for Youg People) to a author ad a illustrator whose complete works have made a importat ad lastig cotributio to childre s literature. IBBY Natioal Sectios from 33 coutries have made their selectios, submittig 28 authors ad 31 illustrators as cadidates for the 2012 awards. Amog the most well-kow ad recogizable ames omiated this year are: Uited States: Author Paul Fleischma; Illustrator Chris Raschka Caada: Author Tim Wye-Joes Czech Republic: Illustrator Peter Sís Irelad: Author Eoi Colfer Russia: Illustrator Geadij Spiri Uited Kigdom: Author Philip Pullma; Illustrator Joh Burigham The wiers will be aouced at the IBBY press coferece at the Bologa Childre s Book Fair o March 19, For more iformatio about IBBY s program ad curret projects, please cotact the IBBY Secretariat or visit: & Circulatio Editor Sharo Verbete, De Pere, Wis. Editorial Advisory Committee Christia M. Desai, Chair, Albuquerque, N.M. Timothy D. Capehart, Dayto, Ohio Robi Fogle Kurz, Pedleto, S.C. Celia Perez, Chicago, Ill. Jea M. Steveso, Duluth, Mi. Carol Hopkis, Puyallup, Wash. Lisa Taylor, Lavallette, N.J. Mary Fellows, ALSC Presidet, Ex Officio, Albay, N.Y. Sharo Verbete, Editor, Ex Officio, De Pere, Wis. Executive Director Aimee Strittmatter Maagig Editor Laura Schulte-Cooper Website Childre ad Libraries (ISSN ) is a refereed joural published three times per year by the America Library Associatio (ALA), 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL It is the official publicatio of the Associatio for Library Service to Childre (ALSC), a divisio of ALA. Subscriptio price: members of ALSC, $20 per year, icluded i membership dues; omembers, $40 per year i the U.S.; $50 i Caada, Mexico, ad other coutries. Back issues withi oe year of curret issue, $12 each. POSTMASTER: Sed address chages to Childre ad Libraries, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL Members sed mailig labels or facsimile to Member Services, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL Nomember subscribers: Subscriptios, orders, chages of address, ad iquiries should be set to Childre ad Libraries, Customer Service Subscriptios, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL 60611; , press 5; fax: (312) ; subscriptios@ala.org. Statemet of Purpose Childre ad Libraries is the official joural of ALSC, a divisio of the America Library Associatio. The joural primarily serves as a vehicle for cotiuig educatio of librarias workig with childre, which showcases curret scholarly research ad practice i library service to childre ad spotlights sigificat activities ad programs of the Associatio. (From the joural s Policies ad Procedures documet adopted by the ALSC board, April 2004.) Productio ALA Productio Services: Troy D. Liker, Chris Keech, Tim Clifford, Kirsti Krutsch, Chelsea McGorisk, ad Rosalie Watts. Advertisig Bill Spilma, Iovative Media Solutios, 320 W. Chestut St., PO Box 399, Oeida, IL 61467; or (309) ; fax: (309) ; bill@iovativemediasolutios.com. The joural accepts advertisig for goods or services of iterest to the library professio ad librarias i service to youth i particular. It ecourages advertisig that iforms readers ad provides clear commuicatio betwee vedor ad buyer. The joural adheres to ethical ad commoly accepted advertisig practices ad reserves the right to reject ay advertisemet ot suited to the above purposes or ot cosistet with the aims ad policies of ALA. Acceptace of advertisig i the joural does ot imply official edorsemet by ALA of the products or services advertised. Mauscripts Mauscripts ad letters pertaiig to editorial cotet should be set to Sharo Verbete, editor, 820 Spooer Ct., De Pere, WI 54115; (920) ; CALeditor@yahoo.com. Mauscripts will be set out for review accordig to the joural s established referee procedures. See Commuicatios & Publicatios for author guidelies. If you are iterested i servig as a voluteer referee for mauscripts submitted to CAL, cotact Editor Sharo Verbete at CALeditor@yahoo.com. More iformatio about the referee process is available o the Web at the above address. Idexig, Abstractig, ad Microfilm Childre ad Libraries is idexed i Library ad Iformatio Sciece Abstracts ad i Library Literature ad Iformatio Sciece. Childre ad Libraries is idexed, abstracted, ad available i full text through EBSCOhost. For more iformatio, cotact EBSCO at Childre ad Libraries is also available from ProQuest Iformatio ad Learig i oe or more of the followig ways: olie, via the ProQuest iformatio service; microform; CD-ROM; ad via database licesig. For more iformatio, call , ext or olie at The paper used i this publicatio meets the miimum requiremets of America Natioal Stadard for Iformatio Scieces Permaece of Paper for Prited Library Materials, ANSI Z Copyright 2011 America Library Associatio All materials i this joural subject to copyright by the America Library Associatio may be photocopied for the ocommercial purpose of scietific or educatioal advacemet grated by Sectios 107 ad 108 of the Copyright Revisio Act of For other photocopyig, repritig, or traslatig, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights ad Permissios. 2 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

4 Forty-Third Aual Arbuthot Hoor Lecture featurig the brilliat Lois Lowry ad hosted by the impressive St. Louis Couty Library. Outgoig Presidet s ALSC Message Julie Corsaro ALSC Presidet, juliealsc@gmail.com Julie Corsaro of Chapel Hill, North Carolia, is a former classroom teacher, school libraria, ad collectio developmet ad youth services libraria. A writer, reviewer, ad childre s literature cosultat, she is the editor of NoveList School News. Lookig Back ad Ahead Whe I received a ivitatio i April to give the outgoig ALSC Presidet s Address i these pages, I bega thikig about what has happeed so far durig my presidetial teure ad what, i the short time that remaied, was yet to come. Lookig back, my thoughts tured immediately to the very successful ALSC Istitute i Atlata ad the plas already uderway for the ext versio of this stellar cotiuig-educatio evet i Idiaapolis. I the took a short hop back a few weeks to the exceptioal Lookig ahead, I kew I was about to receive a update regardig the evergrowig participatio i the crucial family literacy iitiative El día de los iños, El día de los libros with its broadeed madate i this, its festive quice year. Ad with visios of summer swimmig i my head, I could t help but have merry thoughts about the may award presetatios to come i New Orleas, especially the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, ad Wilder medals, to be celebrated at a baquet that will, o doubt, be grad. These images ad may others cemeted i my mid the feelig that the great achievemets of our associatio far too umerous to ame here (although I will metio the just-released secod editio of our outstadig early literacy iitiative, Every Child Ready to Read) are part of a essetial, ogoig process made possible by the hard work ad commitmet of our may members-atlarge, our board of directors, ad our ALSC office staff. Everyoe works i cocert with other divisios withi ALA ad other orgaizatios that share a strog dedicatio, uder icreasigly challegig coditios, to the highest stadards of service to youg people. As we prepare to set out o a ew course forged by the ALSC Strategic Pla, ad its Big Hairy Audacious Goal that libraries are recogized as vital to all childre ad the commuities that support them, I wat to thak you for all you do for childre, libraries, ad readig. I truly feel fortuate to have bee the recipiet of so may woderful opportuities courtesy of ALSC, ad hoored to have served this year as your presidet. I hope to cotiue workig i your behalf ad that of the best library associatio i the world. & Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 3

5 facig to the left, ad my older brother ad sister did too. I eeded to make my F s face left because it was our Family Pemaship Traditio. Icomig Presidet s ALSC Message Mary Fellows ALSC Presidet, maryalsc@gmail.com Mary Fellows is Maager, Youth ad Family Services, at the Upper Hudso Library System, Albay, N.Y. Commuicate Value It was fourth grade, ad our class was learig to write i cursive. Each letter had its proper shape, ad our goal was to imitate that shape as closely as possible. But I had a problem my mom ad my dad both siged our last ame with the F facig backward, ad I had leared to do the same. My teacher was adamat that this was ot the way a F looked. Every pemaship paper came back corrected i red ik. I was perturbed. I placed a high value o good grades, but this was a poit of family hoor. My parets, always alert to teachig us to solve our ow problems, suggested that I talk about it with my teacher. So the ext time I received a pemaship paper with the F s corrected, I took a deep breath ad wet up to Mrs. Eklud s desk. I explaied to her very earestly that my dad made his F s facig to the left, my mom made her F s Mrs. Eklud looked at me, ad I thought her eyes started to crikle like they did whe she smiled. She said that ow she uderstood I had a importat reaso for the shape of my F s. So from that day o, I had her permissio to make my F s backwards. That day was my first experiece with the power of purposeful commuicatio. Durig the past moths as ALSC Presidet-Elect, I have thought about how I ca make a differece durig a oe-year presidecy. My aswer has become my theme: commuicate value. I fourth grade, I gaied my teacher s support whe I explaied the persoal value family idetity behid my request. I 2011, the value to be commuicated is the worth of our work, ad the stakes are very high. Commuicatig value is somethig I will be doig as I speak ad act o behalf of our associatio. I will commuicate the value of what we do i our work coectig childre, twees, ad literacy. I will commuicate the value of expert professioal librarias servig youth. I will commuicate the value of ALSC as your defiitive source for ew, relevat iformatio ad resources. I will commuicate the value of ALSC as the leader i effectively drivig the future of library services to childre ad their families. Commuicatig value also is a skill I will teach ad ecourage each of you to use. My goal is for every ALSC member to uderstad ad cofidetly commuicate the value of our work. I set this goal i pursuit of professioal ad persoal joy for each oe of you, ad for a society that views libraries as cetral ad itegral parters i maitaiig vibrat commuities. So, begiig i July, you will be hearig from me. Our ALSC-L list, the ALSC Blog, ALA Coect, ALSC tweets, ad the ALSC Facebook page are all places cotiued o page 28 4 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

6 Newbery Medal Acceptace Speech Someoe Else s Ordiary Clare Vaderpool Photo Credit: Amarie Algya Clare Vaderpool is the wier of the 2011 Newbery Medal for Moo Over Maifest, published by Delacorte Press, a imprit of Radom House Childre s Books. Her acceptace speech was delivered at the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas o Jue 26, Thak you for this icredible hoor ad for the opportuity to express my gratitude toight. I m also happy to address the questios that abouded i Sa Diego five moths ago: Moo over what? Clare who? I come from a family of optimists. My parets are both Depressio-era childre oe bor o a farm ad oe raised i a little house ext to the railroad tracks. They raised my sibligs ad me with a ca-do attitude. You ll figure it out. You ca make it work. Keep at it. Aythig is possible. Ad I believed them. Their approach to life is what gave me the wherewithal to write a book. To work hard at it. To try ad try agai after may attempts ad may rejectios. Figure it out. Make it work. Keep at it. Their cofidece ad their optimism allowed me to dream big ad set lofty goals. But eve with that spirit, that optimism, that determiatio, I ever set out to wi a Newbery. I ever eve dreamed of it. Ad I have always dreamed big! Just ot that big. So I d like to say a few words of thaks. To my parets for helpig me see that the cup is more tha half full it is overflowig. To my icredible aget, Adrea Cascardi, for beig the oe to say, Yes! to my query. For her ethusiasm, her guidace, ad mostly her friedship. To Michelle Poploff, my editor extraordiaire, for askig all the questios that eeded to be asked, challegig me whe it was t quite there, ad makig my first experiece i publishig a absolute joy. To my group of writer frieds Dia Curtis Rega, Deb Seely, Lois Ruby, ad Christie Breault for their support, ecouragemet, ad lovig criticism of the book durig the may years i which I was the oly yet to be published author i the group. Without them, I would still be a aspirig writer. To my sister, Amarie, because this would ot be early as much fu without her. To my family. My childre Luke, Paul, Grace, ad Lucy. My husbad, Mark. You are the reaso my cup is overflowig. Ad especially to the Newbery committee. Thak you for hoorig my book i this icredible way. For spedig time i my story, livig amog the people of Maifest, ad lovig them. They re ot much for medals or pageatry, but I ll be happy to accept this award o their behalf. The Call Someoe asked me recetly if wiig the Newbery is as woderful as havig a baby. That aalogy falls a bit short, but it is like havig a baby if you did t kow you were pregat. There are o moths of preparatio. No pre-newbery vitamis to build up for the big evet. Ad o book called What to Expect Whe You Wi the Newbery to guide ad istruct. It s a bit shockig ad overwhelmig. O the morig of Jauary 10, I was goig about my busiess of cleaig up the kitche whe the phoe rag. It was Cythia Richey, the chairperso of the Newbery committee. She said I had wo the Newbery Medal. She could have said, You have bee selected to ma the first space shuttle to Mars, ad I would have bee less If I have a particular stregth, this is it: I have a strog coectio to place, ad for me there is a story aroud every corer. shocked. Ad I probably would ot have cried. Or she could have said, You re havig a baby! Today! Ad I would have bee more prepared. I kow how to do that. I fact, I ve still got a ame or two I could have pulled out of a hat very quickly. But that s ot what she said. Actually, I ca t tell you exactly what she said because after she idetified herself ad Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 5

7 Newbery Medal Acceptace Speech Ad besides, they ever pull out the big gus, ayway. If they really wated to impress the other audiece members, they would make it kow that Wichita is the birthplace of wait for it metholatum. Now I m goig to be i big trouble at home because we will be overru with tourists ad sightseers, ad people with chest cogestio ad ruy oses. I thik this coectio to place is fairly commo. People remember where they were i sigificat momets of their lives. I ca tell you where I was whe I fiished readig Islad of the Blue Dolphis but I wo t because it will embarrass my mom. Okay, I ll give you a hit. There is a sigificat amout of porcelai ivolved. Clare Vaderpool (left) receives her Newbery Medal from 2011 Newbery Committee Chair Cythia K. Richey at the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Baquet. Photo Credit: Alexadra ad Michael Buxbaum. metioed the words Newbery Medal, my brai could t absorb it all at oce. So what does oe do with that kid of iformatio? I looked at my husbad with tears i my eyes ad shared the ews. Mark is a very uderstated ma. You ca tell him the house is o fire ad he ll stad up, stretch, ad say, Well, I guess I d better put it out. But this time eve he was excited! We wet dow the street to tell my parets. My mom cried ad my dad beamed. He said, That is just woderful! Thuderatio! Hot diggity dog! ad thigs of that ature. The after all that he said, So, Mary Clare, what is the Newbery? I texted the boys, wet over to school, ad jumped up ad dow with the girls. The my sister came dow to my house. You kow the oe: Amarie. She s metioed i the ackowledgmets as beig two-thirds Abilee. We watched the live broadcast as other awards were beig aouced. The Pritz. The Caldecott. The Newbery Hoor books. The as the tesio mouted to the aoucemet of the Medal, she ad I looked at each other with a shared sese of dread. What if there had bee a mistake? I had already told my parets. The they aouced Moo Over Maifest ad Amarie ad I breathed a sigh of relief. It was o the Iteret. It must be true. The Writer So back to the questio of Moo over what? Ad Clare who? Allow me to itroduce myself. I am a mom. I am a writer. Ad I am from Kasas. If you have a map of the coutry ad throw a dart directly at the middle ad you re just a little off, you ll hit Wichita. I begi by tellig you where I m from because place is very importat to me. I do t kow if I am typical i this regard, but I am very much a product of my geography. The eighborhood, the pool, the sleddig hill (it s Kasas, so a good sleddig hill is a pretty big deal). I love livig i Kasas ad am always a little befuddled by the eed o the part of some to seek out ackowledgmet or validatio from perfect stragers about where they live. Like whe the audiece members at a televisio show clap because the host metios their hometow. As if beig metioed makes us worthy or of value. Some people feel the eed to tout certai aspects of our state to raise ourselves i the esteem of others. We are the home of this idustry or that celebrity. I have ever uderstood where this eed comes from. I ve always bee of the mid that if more people kow the woderful thigs about where I live, they ll wat to move there ad the it would become very crowded. Istead, I ll tell you about a special place where I checked out Islad of the Blue Dolphis ad A Wrikle i Time ad The Witch of Blackbird Pod. My school library was a very ordiary library coveietly located o the gym stage. Is t that where every school puts their library? If ot, they should. It was o a stage with red velvet curtais so there was a built-i sese of drama, mystery eve. It was elevated i a place of importace like a altar. It had books with cards tucked iside where you could actually write your ame ad the date. These cards kept a history of the book ad its readers, like a family tree. The book might eve idicate who doated it. Ad iside, it had a stamp that said, This book is the property of Our School. It says this book is a part of us, we claim it as oe of our ow. If it waders from the fold, we will look for it util it is foud. This is the kid of relatioship we have with our books. They re importat ad are to be protected ad revered ad kept i a place of hoor. Our library was a special place. So with this love ad affectio for my home, my place, it was somewhat of a surprise to me that whe I set out to write the story that became Moo Over Maifest, I foud myself feelig a little lackig. I kew I wated to write a story about place ad about home from the perspective of a youg girl who did t have a home. 6 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

8 But whe I cosidered where to set my story, I foud myself woderig if my place, my home, would be good eough. I am always a bit evious of souther writers. They have swamps ad bayous ad gulfs. I live i the plais. Southerers speak with a accet, ad I imagie they say thigs like Well, shut my mouth. Ad Butter my biscuit! We do t have a accet, ad aroud my house we say very ordiary thigs like Thuderatio ad Hot diggity dog ad Put a little metholatum o it. But that s so ordiary. Everybody says those thigs, right? Do t get me wrog. There are certai aspects of Kasas that are out of the ordiary. If you pay us a complimet like That dress looks ice, we reply with, Thaks, I got it o sale! Most of the coutry asks for a soda. We call it a pop. Still, I ve lived my life i oe zip code ad thigs are pretty ordiary at But I do have a certai life experiece that chaged my perspective. Yes, I may have lived i oe zip code, but I ve traveled through may, may others. Growig up, we toured the coutry for three weeks every summer i a sevetee-ad-a-half-foot Holiday Rambler a travel trailer. O these trips we saw sights that were very differet from my home cayos, mesas, oceas, everglades. But over time ad probably more i lookig back, I realized somethig. That what is to me strage, exotic, extraordiary is just someoe else s ordiary. From my little widow to the world i that Holiday Rambler, I could see that while some of those people have a differet view from their back door moutais or forests or oceas or skyscrapers we all have a similar experiece o either side of that back door. The same hopes ad dreams. The same eed for commuity ad belogig. There is somethig comfortig about this commo experiece of beig huma. Ad the greatest comfort is how we express that experiece. How we give it voice. Through story. Optimism ad perseverace aloe does ot make a good writer. There has to be some blood, sweat, ad tears. Did I work o the craft? Absolutely. This is my first published book, but it is ot my first attempt at puttig pe to paper. I started writig, really writig, with itet ad Newbery Medal Acceptace Speech Wiig the Newbery is like havig a baby if you did t kow you were pregat. There are o moths of preparatio. No book called What to Expect Whe You Wi the Newbery to guide ad istruct. purpose, whe my first child was bor. He is ow sevetee years old. Durig those years, I did what a writer does. I chaged diapers ad I wrote. I made peaut butter ad jelly sadwiches ad I wrote. I read ad I wrote. I listeed to what others had to say about writig ad I wrote. I try to approach my writig the same way I approach everythig else i my life. Work hard at it ad have fu with it. Ejoy the experiece. But just as optimism is ot eough, hard work is also ot eough. Somewhere alog the way, craft ad muse must meet. Somewhere the writer must loose the reis o plot, character, ad coflict ad allow the creative process room to stretch ad pulse ad breathe life ito the boes of the story. Perhaps that is what the creative process is. Havig a coectio to the stories withi oeself ad givig voice to them. If I have a particular stregth, this is it. I have a strog coectio to place ad for me there is a story aroud every corer. Ad I remember those stories. The oes I ve bee told. The oes I ve heard i passig. Ad the oes I ve made up. They live i me as surely as I live i Kasas. The Story As I said, I ever set out to wi the Newbery. May years ago, I set out to write a childre s book. I wated it to be iterestig ad fu ad have characters that I cared about ad that the reader would care about. I wated it to make me laugh ad make me cry ad do the same for the reader. Ad I wated it to say somethig. Somethig hoest about real people; their hopes, their dreams, their flaws, their goodess. I came across a quote from Moby-Dick. It is ot dow i ay map; true places ever are. That s whe the wheels bega turig. What is a true place? What would a true place be for someoe who had ever lived aywhere for more tha a few weeks or moths at a time? What if it was a youg girl durig the Depressio? A youg girl amed Abilee Tucker. I m always amazed at the writig process. We writers have great plas for the story we thik we re tellig oly to fid out that our characters have aother idea. Moo Over Maifest is about home ad commuity, but i may ways it became a story about storytellig ad the trasformative power of story i our lives. Yes, the people of Maifest are ordiary people livig i the plais of Kasas. But through their story, i the very tellig of it, these ordiary people show themselves to be beautiful ad extraordiary. Ad I take o credit for that. I m surrouded by people like that. As Abilee would say, People who are tired ad hurt ad loely ad kid. Ad I would add, people who are fuy ad humble ad geerous. Story evolves from story. Take Sister Redempta. I ve kow some Sister Redemptas or variatios of her. She comes from grade school stories of my ow or oes I ve heard of Sisters back i the day. My mom tells of a girl i her school who was a little plump, a little plai, a little raggedy. This girl had bee actig up i school ad was set to the pricipal s office Sister Mary Somebody. Sister said, Now why would you wat to act this way? Not ice behavior comig from such a pretty little girl. The girl wet away feelig ot chastised but pretty. That s a Sister Redempta. I kow some Shadys, too. Ad Eudora Larkis ad Iva DeVores ad Velma T. s. But do t we all? If we really pay attetio ad really recall, do t we all have stories that could create characters like these? Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 7

9 Newbery Medal Acceptace Speech The thigs that uite us, i fact bid us together as people, are simple. Laughter o oe has to teach us to laugh. There s othig better tha babies laughter that bubbles up from their core. Tears o oe teaches us to cry. Whe moved, the tears just come. Ad story the way we give voice to our laughter ad tears. From the time childre ca speak: Mama, guess what! Or the boy i school who is asked what is six times four. He raises his had ad says, Um... oe time... He does t wat to give the aswer to six times four. He wats to tell a story. Abilee would call this a uiversal this eed for story. Abilee, who has ever experieced some of the thigs that bid us to oe aother commuity, friedship, belogig she kows the power of story. That s oe of the thigs we first lear about Abilee: her daddy does his best talkig i stories. Ad she cligs to them. Tucks them i deep like the compass tucked away i her satchel. Ad saves them for whe she eeds them. Ad of all the places for her to ed up i her driftig: Maifest, Kasas, the stoppig poit for immigrats ad refugees from aroud the world. Displaced people just like her. People with stories of their ow but whose stories become hers. Is t that how we all come to kow oe aother through our ow stories? Through the people of Maifest, Abilee experieces the power i a story. It ca chage us i the tellig ad i the listeig. As writers, readers, librarias, storytellers we are all diviers. We reveal thigs, make them kow, especially to ourselves. Through stories we recogize each other ad ourselves. We recogize what is commo to all of us. The ordiary but i the tellig it becomes beautiful ad extraordiary. Allow me to itroduce myself. I am a mom. I am a writer. Ad I am from Kasas. Growig up, we toured the coutry for three weeks every summer i a trailer, ad I realized that what is to me strage, exotic, extraordiary is just someoe else s ordiary. The Newbery So back to the Newbery. Whe Moo Over Maifest was published last October I was livig large. My family ad frieds all came out for the big book lauch ad we celebrated a dream come true. The Jauary 10 rolled aroud ad somethig happeed that I had ot dreamed. Somethig extraordiary. I received word that my book will forever be listed amog the likes of Islad of the Blue Dolphis, A Wrikle i Time, Number the Stars, ad A Year Dow Yoder. Books that I loved ad I swear loved me back. What does it mea? How do I put it i cotext? It s ot somethig I set out to accomplish. It s ot somethig I eared. So quite simply, it is a gift. Ad that is cotext eough. A gift, like a story, has a giver ad a receiver. That implies a relatioship. The kid of relatioship we witess i Maifest, Kasas, whe Shady ad Jix ad the people of Maifest are mixig up their elixir. Shady is asked to offer a prayer, which souds more like a toast, ad the towspeople respod: Ame, they said i uiso, these citizes of the world, ad they held their breath as the may ad varied igrediets that had bee simmered ad stewed, distilled ad chilled, were combied to make somethig ew. Somethig greater tha the sum of its parts. That is the best part of a story that relatioship betwee teller ad listeer, betwee writer ad reader. We each brig our ow igrediets of memory ad experiece, loss ad logig, to add to the story pot, to simmer ad stew. I m hoored, humbled, ad grateful beyod words. Thak you for the way i which you have received ad hoored my book my story. If i givig me this award you are sayig that my story touched you, the we share i this hoor. Because your story touches mie ad mie migles with yours, ad as writer ad reader we throw i our ow igrediets to the story pot to simmer ad stew, to make somethig ew, somethig greater tha the sum of its parts. & A Trivia Oops Two eagle-eyed readers foud a error i the Sprig 2011 issue of CAL. I our Dog-Eared Page feature o p. 2, the questio was posed, Which author/illustrator holds a Caldecott threepeat, wiig the coveted award three times? The aswer was David Wieser, which is correct. However, as the readers poited out, Marcia Brow also holds that hoor. She wo i 1955 for Ciderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, 1962 for Oce a Mouse, ad i 1983 for Shadow. 8 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

10 Caldecott Medal Acceptace Speech A Old Ma, a Elephat, ad a Lack of Cofidece Eri E. Stead Photo Credit: Nicole Haley Photography Eri E. Stead is the wier of the 2011 Caldecott Medal for A Sick Day for Amos McGee, writte by Philip C. Stead ad published by Neal Porter Books/ Roarig Brook Press, a imprit of Macmilla Childre s Publishig Group. Her acceptace speech was delivered at the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas o Jue 26, I m ot very good with words. I am ot a very good storyteller ad I ted to thik i metaphors that make sese oly to me. I ormal coversatio, I have trouble respodig i a timely fashio. Words will pass through multiple filters before my brai approves them ad the, as they reach my mouth, the coversatio has moved o. So it is strage for me ow to be i charge of a coversatio with all of you. I will try my best, ad hopefully by the ed I will have made some sese. To this audiece of word-lovig librarias, writers, ad editors, I wish us all luck. The last few moths have left me searchig for the right words. I have bee hopig to come up with the exact tur of phrase for feeligs I have yet to fully accept. The trouble with beig a illustrator who is ot a writer is that I am afraid I will fall short. Mr. Brya Collier ad Mr. David Ezra Stei, I ca t thik of a better phrase tha deeply humbled. I am deeply humbled, i a sese that I have ever experieced before, to share shelf space with you both. Mr. Collier, I saw a origial of yours oce ad stood i frot of it for te miutes tryig to decode it so that I could imitate it. I could ot. With Dave the Potter, you ve give me aother book to study. Mr. Stei, you have so quickly become oe of my favorites. Ever sice Leaves was published, I thik to myself, Are you okay? as the leaves fall from the trees i autum. If this speech gets too log-wided, I hope a little red chicke pops out ad says, Do t talk to stragers! So Eri did t. THE END! To Ms. Judy Zuck erma ad members of the 2011 Caldecott committee, I ca really oly say this: Thak you. It is difficult to say more tha that to you because othig else truly expresses my gratitude. I ve tried to distill a idescribable amout of appreciatio ito words. I ve writte some terrible seteces attemptig to explai all of the excitemet, terror, ad hoor that orbit aroud this huge plaet of gratefuless. But those words seem small compared to these immese feeligs. The oly words that come close are thak you. I will work very hard to live up to this award. The ews of wiig was overwhelmig. I m ot sure if it was a faulty speakerphoe or my ow shocked ears that added static to your voices. After we hug up, I called my editor ad made him repeat everythig. Slowly. It s good that the award caot be take away from a illustrator for lack of grace whe beig preseted with this ews. I do t thik my desperate eed to sit dow traslated very well over the phoe. What a seaky, woderful morig you must have had, committee members. It was woderful for me, too. You ll have to believe me ow sice I was uable to express it the. It is a beautiful twist of fate that I am stadig here because of a little book that is about havig good ad loyal frieds. If I did ot have my ow frieds who cotiue to arrive at just the right time, I would ot be here. I should ot be stadig here aloe. There is a whole cast of characters that should be at my side, ad perhaps you ca evisio them as a rhioceros, a elephat, a tortoise, or a owl. You should kow, however, that I am probably the pegui. Before Philip itroduced me to Amos McGee ad his frieds, I had completely lost the courage to make my ow drawigs. I suffered from a severe ad selfiflicted loss of cofidece. I made the decisio to stop drawig completely, ad stuck to that decisio, for better or for worse, for three years. At the ed of the third year, I was uable to igore the fact that without drawig, a part of me was missig. With a lot of patiece ad ecouragemet from Philip, I bega to draw a picture that had bee kockig aroud i my head for years. I did it at the kitche table so as to ot overwhelm myself, a little bit at a time. It was a very tiy drawig. It was a drawig of a old ma ad a elephat. It is a tremedous gift to have people i your life that kow better tha you. While I was drawig at the kitche table i 2007, Philip ad Neal Porter were already workig o a book together. I passig, our fried George O Coor, also published by Neal, told Neal that I Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 9

11 Caldecott Medal Acceptace Speech Eri Stead (right) receives her Caldecott Medal from 2011 Caldecott Committee Chair Judy Zuckerma at the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Baquet. Photo Credit: Alexadra ad Michael Buxbaum. was a artist as well, but that there was o way I would show him my drawigs. I was much too shy. Neal very quickly set a to Phil askig him if there was ay way he could see oe of those drawigs. Philip set him my ot-yetfiished elephat i secret. I guess Neal must have thought it was okay because he asked Phil if we could meet. I ca stad here today ecouragig ayoe who will liste to ever, uder ay circumstace, doubt Philip C. Stead or Neal Porter (I thik the two of them will fid this fuy, as they probably feel ad rightly so that I doubt them all the time. But that is my flaw, ot theirs). I met Neal shortly after the secret elephat exchage. He took Phil ad me out to dier ad spoke to me about books (a fast ad true way to my heart). He spoke of urturig ew talet ad fidig the right book for the right artist, which did t ecessarily happe without failure. He was extremely careful ad sesitive with me. I loved him istatly. The, toward the ed of the meal, he leaed over the table ad said quietly, You kow, this is all really just a excuse toight to try to covice you to make a picture book. I realize this story is extraordiary ad I am extraordiarily lucky to be a part of it. At the time, I was aware of that as well. I was uable to say o to this opportuity. But I was terrified. I ever grew out of picture books. I believe i them. A picture book allows a child owership of art eve if it s just for the two weeks they check it out of the library. That book is theirs. I m ot sure ay other art form replicates that feelig. Philip always kew I should make books. I did ot. I thought I was too serious, my pictures too tiy ad quiet to hold their ow o a bookshelf. This was a career I deeply admired ad respected but felt I did ot deserve. Ad maybe could t hadle. It is hard to make books. It should be hard to make good oes. It all has to hag together so tightly the words ad pictures ad everythig i that uiverse held together by book boards. It is so easy to lose a child with just oe wrog ote. Eve whe my artist feet were o a shaky groud, I always circled back to childre s books. Before stubborly decidig to quit drawig, I was either workig i oe childre s bookstore or aother, or goig to my library s picture book sectio i my spare time. I studied books ad childre s publishig eve though I was i school for very serious paitig. After readig Leoard S. Marcus s Dear Geius, Ursula Nordstrom became my hero. The weeked I moved to New York, Phil ad I walked dow 18th Street ad ito Books of Woder. I a ucharacteristically aggressive move, I begged for a job from a staff who would later become my frieds. All of these frieds still work i childre s books, ad may of them are published by Roarig Brook Press icludig George, who first told Neal I was a artist whether or ot I thought I was. Nick Bruel, Jaso Chi, Julie Fogliao, George O Coor, ad others are all diverse, ispirig, fuy, ad carig frieds. They sat me dow with a stack of picture books ad they taught me how to sell them. Discussig ad readig with these colleagues was some of the best educatio I have ever had. They have ecouraged Philip ad me ad helped us out alog the way, ad I wish they could all be here with me. The frieds I have met at the bookstore ad i publishig have taught me to see childre s books through a arc of time. The first ight I met Neal Porter ad he was speakig to me about books, it was as though he was speakig about that same arc. I believe the best books traslate through time because they tug at somethig true withi us. If I truly believe that, the the oly way I ca make a book is to try to be completely hoest i the pictures. It s a scary propositio for me ad probably will cotiue to be for a log time. Whe I draw hoestly, I feel like I leave myself exposed a little o the page. I try to draw who I am. Drawig is a act that makes me feel vulerable, but also oe that completes me. Ad so, without Philip ad Neal, I would t have believed I could make this little book ad do it well. For the year it took me to complete the art for Amos, I hid behid both of them ad relied o them to believe i me whe I could t. Neal proved his belief by beig getly uobtrusive. He told me I could cotact him as little or as much as I saw fit. That s a lot of trust for a first-time illustrator. Neal has always bee respectful of Phil ad me ad our ideas, whether or ot we deserve it. I may ot always be cofidet, but I am icredibly stubbor. I have very strog opiios about my books. Neal accepts that somehow, while askig polite questios that may prove my opiios wrog. He cotiues to be outrageously patiet with my process, allowig me to disappear for log stretches. Whe I surface, he s there ad extremely geerous with his time. This awareess of my persoality allows me to grow a little as a perso. Ad if I am a better perso, I am a better artist. I am overwhelmigly thakful this editor 10 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

12 foud me ad cotiues to work with me. The artist /editor relatioship ca feel oe-sided. It s always me who eeds somethig (a phoe call, a deadlie extesio, a therapist). So I am grateful to Neal that he allows me to call him my fried, ad a dear oe at that. Philip says he wrote the story of Amos McGee specifically for me. Whe I was show the very first draft o a legal pad, there was o doubt. I was very pleased to meet these characters. They immediately felt like frieds I had kow for a log time. But each character also felt like extesios of me. No oe kows me better tha Phil. So whe he writes a story specifically for me, I am able to draw i a atural way. I am very lucky. Phil met me whe I was just barely sixtee ad he was about to graduate from high school. We ofte thak our lucky schedules that we were i the same art room at the same time. Withi the first few meetigs, Phil told me he wated to be a childre s book illustrator ad I remember beig stued. I was stued because he had the guts to say out loud at sevetee what I had bee secretly thikig for years, ad say it with a determiatio I had rarely see i adults. You just caot doubt Phil Stead. Books are my home. Whe I walk ito a bookstore, or a library, or crack the spie of a ew book, I am home. These are persoal experieces to me because there are people behid all of them. From that momet o, we have bee together. Today, we work at two differet desks i oe room. Phil is my best critic ad othig leaves the studio without his approval. Oce a story for me is set, he allows me ito the writig process ad will chage a text based o what I m drawig. I love Caldecott Medal Acceptace Speech workig o books together. But I also love watchig him work. It is ispirig to share a studio with someoe whose art I truly admire. For a icalculable umber of reasos, may of them too persoal to share, I am fortuate Phil kept talkig to the top of my head because I was too shy to look at him i high school. I am fortuate, too, because evetually I spoke back. He is my greatest fried. I am a little less fragile ow ad settlig ito my isticts with bookmakig. I am very youg. I still have doubts. But they are outweighed by true frieds (ad maybe a heavy medal). Books are my home. Whe I walk ito a bookstore, or a library, or crack the spie of a ew book, I am home. These are persoal experieces to me because there are people behid all of them. Ad so, I try to make persoal experieces. I will cotiue to try to cotiued o page 51 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 11

13 Thak you to the America Library Associatio, ALSC, ad REFORMA, ad especially to Martha Walke ad her 2011 committee. I am thrilled that you chose The Dreamer ad feel privileged to be i the compay of such fie writers ad artists. o the door of so may people who were ukow to me, people i priso, or huted, or aloe.... Maybe this small ad mysterious exchage of gifts remaied iside me... deep ad idestructible, givig my poetry light Pura Belpré Author Award Acceptace Speech All People Are Coected Pam Muñoz Rya Pam Muñoz Rya is the wier of the Pura Belpré Author Award for The Dreamer, illustrated by Peter Sís, published by Scholastic Press, a imprit of Scholastic, Ic. Her acceptace speech was delivered at the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas o Jue 26, Te years ago, i 2001, I received my first Pura Belpré Medal for Esperaza Risig. The Pura Belpré award was youg the oly a kidergarter. Ad eve though the award already had a toehold of growig respect ad support, the ceremoy was oetheless sparsely atteded. Four years later, i 2005, I received the Pura Belpré Hoor for Becomig Naomi Leo. By that time, the ceremoy was more promiet, ad the celebratio had grow to iclude music ad sigig. The festivities quickly garered a reputatio for beig ot oly a awards ceremoy, but a fiesta i the true Latio sese of the word, ad oe ot to be missed. Today, at its Quices, the Pura Belpré Medal has come of age. I am hearteed to see that so may people from the greater publishig commuity are here to share this day with me ad my colleagues. My book The Dreamer is also a comigof-age story about a boy, Neftalí Reyes. Oe evet i youg Neftalí s life seduced me to write The Dreamer the icidet of the hole i the fece, whe a ukow child i the backyard ext door passed him a old toy sheep through a opeig i the wood plaks. Neftalí reciprocated with a treasured possessio, a piecoe from the Araucaía forest. He ever discovered who passed him the sheep, or to whom he passed the piecoe. But eve after he grew up ad chaged his ame to Pablo Neruda, he reflected ad wrote about this momet. For him, it became a lifelog remider that all people were somehow coected. He wrote, That exchage brought home to me... a precious idea: that all of humaity is somehow together.... Just as I oce left the piecoe by the fece, I have sice left my words Iitially, I wrote this story as a picture book for older readers. I worked with my editor, Tracy Mack, o ad off for over a year, fiished what I thought was the fial rewrite, ad set it off. I gathered up all of the books I d checked out from the library ad retured them. I put all of my research otes i a box, labeled it, ad put it i a closet. I felt like a mother who had fially put a errat three-yearold child to bed, tucked it i, tured off the light, ad said, Bueos oches. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was ready to set my sights o my ext book. Tracy read the mauscript ad coferred with our creative director, David Saylor. She called a few weeks later ad said, David had a braistorm, ad I agree with him ad we have a suggestio for a ew approach to the mauscript. These are ot the words you wat to hear whe you thik you are fiished with a book. She asked me to cosider reworkig the book, ad expadig it ito a ovel. What? I had put it to bed! As I listeed to their ratioale, I had the sikig feelig that she ad David were right. But I kew that this chage would mea goig back to square oe, physically ad emotioally. I admit, I shed a few frustrated tears. Ultimately though, I was coviced, ad I discovered that the book was ot asleep, at all. It wated aother drik of water. It eeded more tha oe more story. It was scared ad wated to be rocked. It was cold. It was hot. It wated a ight light. Ad a lullaby. It was aother two-ad-a-half years before it allowed me to pull the covers beeath its chi, ad kiss it good ight. While I rewrote The Dreamer, I focused o the elemets i Neruda s youg life that I hoped would resoate with particular readers his straied relatioship with his father, his struggle for idepedece, his paiful shyess, his escape ito fatastical worlds, ad, especially, 12 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

14 his suspicio ad hope that there was somethig yet to be discovered about himself that was magificet somethig that he had to share. Pura Belpré Author Award Acceptace Speech I thik that youg readers eed to feel that they ca still become somethig they ve ever bee before. That there is somethig spledid dwellig iside, some talet or ability yet ukow. I ofte evisioed middle grade boys ad girls as the potetial readers broodig adolescets, who might feel misuderstood ad might be closet poets, artists, scietists, or musicias, who are too embarrassed to speak their heart. I was together with my sister ad a group of my cousis recetly, ad we became hysterical with laughter while remiiscig about my gradmother, Esperaza, ad how she used to embarrass us, sometimes to tears. If she had ay oe of us girls with her at the market, church, or walkig i the eighborhood, ad she stopped to talk to someoe she kew, or did t kow, she d pull us forward ad say, Hello Mrs. Gozales. This is my graddaughter. Is t she beautiful? Oh, how we wated to crawl ito a hole! But it did ot matter oe bit to my Gradmother. She would tell the bus driver, a sales clerk, the mail carrier, or a passerby. Ad she was pleased with herself ad expected a affirmatio. Oce, whe I was a awkward, ace-ridde adolescet, who had ot yet grow ito my ose or my feet, I was with my gradmother at Mr. Louey s market, stadig i frot of the meat couter. She shoved me frot ad ceter ad said, Mr. Louey, this is my graddaughter. Is t she beautiful? Mr. Louey said othig, smirked, ad haded her a roast wrapped i white paper, ad tured away. It was clear he did ot see aythig special i frot of him. The butcher had dismissed me. I was paralyzed with embarrassmet. My gradmother grabbed my had, pulled me away ad, i the bizarre way she sometimes traslated Spaish to Eglish, said, Do ot worry. He does ot see the boes of you. Pam Muñoz Rya (ceter) with Lucia Gozalez (left), REFORMA presidet, ad Julie Corsaro (right), ALSC presidet durig the Belpré Award Celebratio i New Orleas. Photo Credit: Alexadra ad Michael Buxbaum. At that age, I remember thikig that of course he could t see my boes. I was covered with flesh ad ski ad clothig. I remember thikig that my gradmother was ridiculous ad ifuriatig. Now, I kow she meat that he could ot see my core, the essece of me, the potetial i me. I caot help but feel that the Pura Belpré committee ad this lumious medal are like my proud gradmother, a persistet complimet. The award udges the books forward. It suggests that the literary commuity pay attetio to the Latio experiece. It poits out that there is somethig special here, that should ot be dismissed. It promises that someoe might see the boes of us. I ca t imagie this book s jourey without my editor, Tracy Mack, who always saw the potetial i this book, shared my visio, ad was ufailigly supportive. My gratitude spills over for the complimet of Peter Sís s art. Ad ow I ca wholeheartedly appreciate David Saylor for his braistorm. I thak him, alog with his departmet, ad Charles Kreloff, for their art directio ad beautiful bookmakig. I do ot wat to miss this opportuity to thak my Scholastic family: Tracy Va Straate, Lizette Serrao, Joh Maso ad their teams, ad the Scholastic sales reps. I that odd ad isecure widow of time whe the mauscript was fiished, but ot yet published, they ivested their expertise ad ethusiasm i my book, before reviewers, before readers, before committees. Pablo Neruda believed that the professio of writig was isolatig ad that oly after someoe read his words could a commuio take place. It is ofte the same for all of us. We do t always kow whose lives we will touch. We hope that someoe will admire our illustratios, will use the kowledge we left behid, emulate our actios, cosider our views, wield our hammer, live i the house we built, eat the bread we baked, lear from our skills, appreciate our edeavors. The passig of our respective gifts to those we kow, or will ever meet, is our spiritual uio with humaity. I feel fortuate to be i this professio of writig for childre ad youg adults. I hope that I ll cotiue to have the opportuity to pass my work through a hole i the fece. Ad that possibly, may years from ow, a aspirig teacher will take a childre s literature class ad will be assiged to read a Pura Belpré book. I hope, if that studet chooses The Dreamer, that at that distat time ad place, our souls will meet. U mil gracias. & Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 13

15 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Acceptace Speech Rememberig Gradma Eric Velasquez Eric Velasquez is the wier of the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award for Gradma s Gift, illustrated ad writte by Eric Velasquez, published by Walker Publishig, a divisio of Bloomsbury. His acceptace speech was delivered at the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas o Jue 26, This is truly a gift, ad a reaso to celebrate. First, I would like to thak the Pura Belpré Award Selectio Committee for hoorig me with this award. I would also like to thak my editor, Emily Easto, for believig i this book as well as for her support ad friedship over the years. Thak you also to Nicole Gastoguay ad Doa Mark for helpig desig Gradma s Gift, ad a big hug ad thaks to the staff at Walker/Bloomsbury who cotiue to make our workig relatioship a complete joy. Furthermore, I would like to thak the woma who is costatly by my side, Elizabeth, for her love, support, ad willigess. Gradma s Gift is part of a jourey that started log ago i my Gradma s apartmet i El Barrio Spaish Harlem, New York City. Although I did ot realize it at the time, Gradma was preparig me to be a artist. With her passioate love of music, cookig, ad sewig, Gradma istilled i me the otio of always doig your best, as well as the importace of fidig love i everythig you do. The story of Gradma s Gift bega te years ago whe I wrote ad illustrated Gradma s Records. Sice that time, I have received umerous letters from gradparets thakig me for helpig them bridge the gap betwee gradparet ad gradchild. Gradparets who read my book bega sharig their phoograph records ad family history with their gradchildre. I would ofte read, Thak you for the gift i regards to the ewfoud coectio to their gradchildre. This, of course, started me thikig about aother story. I had the perfect model for Gradma i Gradma s Records, my mother who posed for the photo referece as her ow mom. The experiece of workig with my mother brought us closer together, ad I could ot wait to repeat the experiece with aother story about Gradma. I wrote Gradma s Gift i betwee illustratio projects over a period of years, while dealig with a host of persoal setbacks. Soo after Walker/Bloomsbury agreed to publish Gradma s Gift, my mom suddely passed away. For a momet, I thought the project had eded. How ca I do aother Gradma book without my star model? However, I thought of my mother ad gradmother ad decided to forge ahead. It was always my itetio for Gradma s Gift to be a prequel to Gradma s Records. I this book I wated to show a differet side of Gradma, ad explai where the sketchbook came from. Nevertheless, sice I work from photographs, I eeded a model; I really eeded a model fast. Therefore I bega workig o the book dummy while tryig to solve this problem. After completig the drawigs i the book dummy, I realized that I kew someoe that ca pose as Gradma for my photo-referece. But how could I approach her with this request? So, I gathered up the courage, ad I boldly asked my girlfried, Elizabeth, to pose as my Gradmother ad she agreed. Pagig Dr. Freud! Although cosiderably youger, I decided to cast Elizabeth as Gradma because she embodied a differet aspect of my Gradma a more outgoig spirit, oe I would see i Gradma durig the holidays. Elizabeth s family is from Saturce, Puerto Rico, where Gradma was from. Elizabeth s dad was my mom s childhood fried, ad Elizabeth had kow my mom for about two years. While helpig her dad reuite with his childhood fried, Elizabeth became familiar with Gradma s philosophy through my mom. Moreover, she perfectly uderstood the essece of Gradma that I was attemptig to portray i this book. I the hired a boy to pose as me i the story ad set a date for the photo shoot. While attedig Thaksgivig dier with my family, Kayso walked ito my life. Kayso s mom is my cousi, Seleia, 14 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

16 who I had ot see i over thirty years. I could ot believe how much Kayso resembled a youg versio of me, so much so that I would refer to him as mii-me, a term he did ot seem to mid. Aside from beig hadsome, the boy is smart ad has a great sese of style. Ufortuately, I had to fire my origial model, but I was completely delighted to see how well Kayso took directio durig the photo shoot, a real atural. Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Acceptace Speech I creatig the images for Gradma s Gift, I wated to show the special relatioship my Gradma ad I shared. For the bus scee, for example, I illustrated the boy traslatig the teacher s ote to Gradma while ridig a New York City bus as various Latios look o. The scee depicts how much we depeded o each other. I was Gradma s official traslator, ad she was mie. Eric Velasquez (ceter) with Lucia Gozalez (left), REFORMA presidet, ad Julie Corsaro (right), ALSC presidet durig the Belpré Award Celebratio i New Orleas. Photo Credit: Alexadra ad Michael Buxbaum. By illustratig images of Gradma makig pasteles, our traditioal Puerto Rica dish created by our Africa ad Idia acestors, I iteded to covey a sese of havig a gradmother that coects you to a world that came before you. Our pasteles are secret recipes haded dow from geeratio to geeratio. It was importat for me to show how much Gradma loved makig pasteles. Therefore I carefully depicted each step i the process of makig this dish with the uderstadig that this dish is slowly disappearig from our culture because ot eough people are sharig the recipe. I wated to demystify the secret ad share it. All of the illustratios were paited i oil o watercolor paper. It is very importat for me as a illustrator to portray the people ad places i a realistic maer. Historically, images of people who look like me have bee caricatured ad distorted, somethig that I have always bee aware of ad sesitive to for most of my life. The secod half of the book ivolves a trip to the Metropolita Museum of Art to see the magificet portrait of Jua de Pareja by Diego Velázquez. It was a special momet for me because I believe it was that momet, while starig at that paitig, that I decided to become a artist especially whe Gradma told me that Jua de Pareja was also a artist. Curiously eough, I have ever felt a acestral coectio to Diego Velázquez aside from that as a paiter. That day i the museum was the first time I saw a paitig of someoe who looked like me that was ot a caricature or a distorted image. It was eve the most expesive paitig i the world at the time. Wow, this was a paitig of a black ma. For twety-seve years, I have bee a illustrator, cocetratig the last fiftee years o illustratig picture books ad tellig stories. My greatest joy is paitig images of my people the creators of so much music, art, food, ad history. My Gradma was from Saturce, Puerto Rico Somos Cortado de los primeros, she would always say, meaig that our acestors were o the islad before Columbus. Gradma taught me to be proud of my Africa heritage as well. Sice Africas are also cosidered to be amog the first i Saturce (origially a Afro-Caribbea settlemet), before the world chaged, as jim crow [sic] was itroduced to Puerto Rico. Therefore I could thik of o greater hoor, to hoor my gradmother ad my mother s memory tha to accept this award for illustratig Gradma s Gift tha a award amed after a woma from Saturce, Puerto Rico, kow as Pura Belpré. Gracias, Ache. & Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 15

17 This whole thig started whe I was oly four years old. Some relatives came to visit us i Meride, Coecticut, where we lived. So, you really wat to be a artist? I aswered, Yes. He grabbed the Suday comics that were lyig aroud ad said, Ca you copy the Katzejammer Kids? Wilder Award Acceptace Speech Portrait of a Youg Boy... ad His Dreams Come True Tomie depaola Photo Credit: Julie Maris Semel Tomie depaola is the wier of the 2011 Laura Igalls Wilder Award. His acceptace speech was delivered at the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas o Jue 26, My older brother, Joseph Jr., who was ickamed Buddy, was the firstbor. So he was super child, the heir apparet. I, four years youger, was the mistake. My brother was asked, Buddy, what do you wat to be whe you grow up? I wat to be Dick Tracy, Joe Palooka, ad Buck Rogers, Buddy aswered. Great, I thought. He wats to be a comic strip. Eve though o oe asked me, I aouced, Whe I grow up, I am goig to be a artist. I m goig to write stories ad draw pictures for books, ad I m goig to sig ad tap dace o the stage. You see, I had twi cousis who were i art school. They were very glamorous. My mother read to me every ight, ad I loved books. Ad I was a huge fa of Shirley Temple movies. Every chace I got over the ext few years, I would tell the growups aroud me what the future held for me, ad they all took me seriously. Mrs. Beulah Bowers, the art teacher who came to our school periodically, made sure I got extra pieces of paper ad could use my ow crayos. Miss Leah Grossma, my tap-dacig teacher, gave me special roles i the aual recital, so i my heart I could rival Shirley Temple. The whe I was older ad paired with Carol Morrissey, my dacig parter, we were Meride s aswer to Mickey Rooey ad Judy Garlad. My gradfather was a butcher ad owed a grocery store. His respose was to give me a small roll of white butcher paper ad a Listo Pecil ( It Ca Write o Aythig ), so I could draw to my heart s cotet ad ot o the sheets uder the covers of my bed. My parets, Flossie ad Joe, ad my ucle Charles were the best. Ucle Charles asked me oe time whe we were aloe, Ucle Charles, I aswered, Fray ad Fuffy [my Irish twi cousis who were artists ad had recetly graduated from Pratt Istitute] told me to practice, practice, practice ad ever copy. Ask me to draw somethig else ad I will. After I fiished my drawig, Ucle Charles took it ito the kitche, ad I could hear him talkig to my mother. He s good. We have to do somethig about this, he said. * * * * * Segue to Christmas morig, 1945, whe I was eleve. Because I had two youger sisters, Sata Claus still came to our house. So the best presets were uder the tree Christmas morig. I remember it so clearly. There uder the tree were my gifts all art supplies, books o how to draw, paits, pads, ad eve a easel. I was set to go! * * * * * Let me back up a little. Mrs. Cowig, the liberry lady, came every Friday morig to Kig Street School. The third through sixth grades would go to the liberry room o the secod floor where they could check out two or three books for a week. I first oticed Mrs. Cowig i first grade. I d see her park her old jalopy i frot of school ad the call some older boys to help her uload boxes of books ad brig them to the liberry. I foud out that certai kids would be chose to be liberry moitors, ad they would help Mrs. Cowig set out the books. Ad sometimes Mrs. Cowig would brig special books just for the moitors. I had a goal: I would become a liberry moitor. I had almost two years to work o this. Nothig works quite as well as charm, ad I had plety of that. I d stad so she could see me whe she drove up. 16 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

18 I d smile ad say, Hello, Liberry Lady. She d wave back. Oe day she came over to me, smilig. Little boy, she whispered. It s proouced library. Hello, Library Lady, I said the ext week. She blew me a kiss. By the time I was i secod grade, eve though I could t be a moitor, I could Ad ay time a studet wated to sped time after school doig art, Miss Goldma welcomed us with ope arms. Miss Cole, the school libraria, was always happy to recommed just the right books. She ecouraged me to read everythig from Lewis Carroll to Robert Louis Steveso to Alcott, Dickes, ad the Brotës to Armstrog Sperry ad yes Goe with the Wid. She itroduced me to the illustratios of Laura Igalls Wilder Acceptace Speech I so admired the illustratio work of Alice ad Marti Provese, Sheilah Beckett, Feodor Rojakovsky, Leo Lioi, ad of course this ew guy who put little boys i ballet slippers i his illustratios for Ruth Krauss s I ll Be You ad You Be Me, Maurice... Sodheim, or... Steibeck you kow who I mea. I would t have had the success that I did at Pratt if it were t for my paitig istructors, Roger Crossgrove ad My metor Be Shah said the words that have meat the most to me: Beig a artist is ot oly what you do, but how you live your life. help carry i books. I could bed her ear a little about how much I loved books. I September, it came as o surprise whe Miss Bailey, my third grade teacher, read out that I would be a library moitor. O Friday morigs I would meet the jalopy, carry boxes of books up to the library room, ad set books out o tables, all the time takig a peek iside the covers. Because I was a moitor, I would be there all morig. I got to peek at fourth grade books, fifth grade books, ad sixth grade books. What glorious Fridays! For the ext three years, I d hag aroud ad talk with Mrs. Cowig. She put ito my hads Hitty, Her First Hudred Years by Rachel Field with illustratios by Dorothy Lathrop, Make Way Rackham, Teiel, Doyle, Kay Nielse, Edward Kemble, ad coutless others. Ad I could check out all the books I wated. I eighth grade, we had a class called guidace. We had to write a biography of someoe i the professio we might aspire to. I chose Grat Wood. I eve stated that I wated to atted Pratt Istitute. * * * * * High school was easy. I was really good at Eglish, history, social studies, music (I had t lost ay of my sigig ad dacig abilities), art, of course, ad Frech. Dr. Michel, my Frech teacher, itroduced me to the works of the Impressioists, Picasso, Matisse, ad may others. Federico Castello. Richard Lider ad Erico Aro taught illustratio. I 1955, I received a summer scholarship to the Skowhega School of Paitig ad Sculpture. It was there that I met the metor of all time, Be Shah. He said to me the words that have meat the most to me: Beig a artist is ot oly what you do, but how you live your life. * * * * * The I took a brief detour. I was ow a artist, but istead of becomig a childre s book illustrator as well as a paiter, I decided to become a mok a Beedictie mok, a Beedictie artist-mok. Ad so after graduatio from Pratt, I etered a small, very primitive Beedictie moastery i the Gree Moutais of Vermot. Nothig works quite as well as charm, ad I had plety of that. for Duckligs ad Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, ad the beautiful books by the d Aulaires. She poited out the books that had wo Newbery ad Caldecott Medals. What riches Mrs. Cowig gave me. * * * * * Juior high was everythig I had hoped for. We had art three times a week with Miss Goldma. She taught paitig techiques, puppetry, jewelry-makig all sorts of thigs. I was awarded a importat scholarship from the city of Meride. Pratt was a certaity. I was the best artist i my high school. But at Pratt Istitute i 1952, I was suddely i a freshma class with 500 other best artists i their high schools. Oly 125 would make it to sophomore year. Miraculously, I made it. My idols raged from Norma Rockwell ad Jo Whitcomb (kow for his pretty girl illustratios), to Rouault, Matisse, Modigliai, ad Be Shah. Needless to say, I did t stay. The silece got to me. So with the blessigs of the Prior, I left to be just a artist. That was * * * * * Yearly, I would take the bus from Vermot to New York to show my portfolio to publishers. The editors most of them were really ice. I was told over ad over, If you ever move back to New York... I spet the years paitig, desigig Christmas cards, ad doig set desig for the summer theater i my small Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 17

19 Laura Igalls Wilder Acceptace Speech I call little four-yearold Tomie to sit o my lap whe I write ad whe I draw. He tells me what is true. Vermot tow. I started doig church murals. I moved to Bosto, had two oema shows, ad bega teachig art at a wome s college outside of the city. But I still dreamed of becomig a published childre s book illustrator. I was almost resiged to the fact that I d have to be cotet with beig the artist I had become. I had a good followig i the gallery I showed i. I was gettig good commissios, too, ad I was producig a modestly successful card lie. * * * * * I 1963, I moved back to New York. The a miracle happeed. I met Florece Alexader. She was a artist s represetative. Whe I brought her my portfolio, she said, after lookig at the hot pik ad orage tigers ad other creative stuff, Dear, I ll eed some more samples samples of childre wavig at fire trucks, mothers iroig. You kow, ordiary thigs. I wated to draw foreig-lookig little boys wearig ballet slippers like Maurice Sedak did. I said I d work o it ad get back to her. I figured three weeks would be log eough ad the I d call her ad pick up my portfolio. It did t work that way. Florece called me before I had a chace to call her. Hello, dear, she said. Hi-ho, hi-ho, I thik it s off to work we go. Ca you be at my office tomorrow aroud te? Of course, I aswered. Good, she replied, ad by the way do you have those ew samples ready? I muttered some false excuse. * * * * * The ext morig at the office I met the perso who gave me my big break. Her ame was Berice Koh ow Hut. She was startig a ew list of sciece picture books for Coward-McCa. She was doig the writig, ad there would be two books each list. Four i a year. She wated a established illustrator for oe ad a ewcomer for the other. I was possibly goig to be the ewbie. I was asked to do a couple of samples. Durig the process, Berice became a dear, dear fried. So did Florece ad also the i-house editor at Coward- McCa, Margaret Frith. I worked with Margaret at Coward ad evetually at Putam for forty-some years. Well, it all bega! I got the job. But there was a hitch. I also had a job for te weeks i Provicetow for you guessed it a musical revue i which I would sig ad dace o the stage. Okay the deadlie would work. I had to produce the dummy, the sketch form with words i place. No problem. I had util September. So there I was i Provicetow, dacig ad sigig at ight ad workig o the illustratios for my first book, Soud, durig the day. I heard four-year-old Tomie sayig, Whe I grow up, I m goig to be a artist. I m goig to write stories ad draw pictures for books, ad sig ad dace o the stage. Suddely, this was my life! * * * * * Soud was reviewed i The New York Times Book Review whe it was published a year ad a half later. Good facts, but the illustratios by first time illustrator depaola are far too imagiative for a sciece book. Far too imagiative. I was thrilled, ad so was Berice. Florece was eergized, ad the jobs started rollig i. The ext was from Jeae Vestal at Lippicott. Do t worry. I m ot goig through all 250 titles. But I am goig to metio some of the people who guided me through this complicated, fickle, dagerous, ad exaltig field of childre s books. Mary Russell at Bobbs-Merrill taught me to write with martiis. Euice Holsaert told me I had stories to tell. Elle Roberts ad Sue Jeigs helped me give birth to Strega Noa. Barbara Lucas published Naa Upstairs ad Naa Dowstairs at Putam ad the The Clow of God at Harcourt. Margery Cuyler let me explore my Catholic childhood. Joh ad Kate Briggs of Holiday House ot oly published my books but partied with me, too. Maria Modugo was like my much-youger little sister whe I first met her. There were others, too all woderful people. Naette Steveso was my first art director at Putam. Cecilia Yug is my art director ow ad my muse, ad Marikka Tamura is my desiger of choice. 18 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

20 I have the best publisher i the world Pegui Putam. I love everyoe there so much David Shaks, Doug Whitema, Do Weisberg, Je Haller, Emily Romero, ad Felicia Frazier, to ame a few. They are all i my heart. Laura Igalls Wilder Acceptace Speech Ad I have a ew editor, Nacy Paulse, ad eve though I m a old guy, I kow I still have more books i me. I would t be up here if ot for all of you who have gotte my books ito the hads of childre over the forty-plus years that I ve bee doig what I do. Thak you, Millie Nichols, Caroly Field, Augusta Baker, Pura Belpré, Effie Lee Morris, A Kalkhoff, Carolie Ward, Jue Level, Barbara Ellema, Grace Ruth, Norie Odlad, Caroly Brodie, Elizabeth Bird, ad all my other frieds i ALA. A piece of this medal belogs to all of you. So, you ca see that with me it did t take a village it took a metropolis. * * * * * At the ed of the movie Nie, based o the Broadway show ad the Fellii film 8½, little Guido rus dow this huge set to sit o the lap of old Guido as the camera crae moves up. Filmig is about to begi. This is what I do. I call little four-year-old Tomie to sit o my lap whe I write ad whe I draw. He tells me what is true. * * * * * 2011 Wilder Committee chair Mega Schliesma ad Tomie depaola at the Newbery Caldecott Wilder Baquet, Jue 26, Photo Credit: Alexadra ad Michael Buxbaum. I kow you all like to hear about The Call. Mie came o Suday ight, Jauary 9. I was havig my aual holiday party, ad the house was filled with over sevety people. Fortuately, I was stadig by the bar waitig for a drik. The phoe was right there. It rag, ad I aswered it through the di. The voice said, You might wat to take this call. I retreated ito my bedroom, ad Mega gave me the ews! I was totally blow away. The Wilder Award was ot o my radar. I started to cry ad told the committee that their taste was impeccable. But the I was told I had to keep it a secret util the ext day. I could tell my assistat, Bob Hechtel, but o oe else. That was oe of the hardest thigs I ve ever had to do. I wated to ru back to the party ad yell, Driks o the house! * * * * * Little Tomie jois me i sayig thak you to Bob for everythig you do ad especially to the committee Mega Schliesma, JoA Joas, Adrew Medlar, Martha V. Parravao, ad Agela J. Reyolds who chose to hoor me with this award. * * * * * I am extremely humbled ad totally grateful. You have give me ad my work eterity. & Call for Referees To make Childre ad Libraries a truly iteractive publicatio, we re lookig for ALSC members to serve as voluteer referees for joural articles. Usolicited articles ad those of a scholarly ature must be submitted to at least two referees to judge the submissios o accuracy, style, impact, importace, ad iterest. Specialists i particular geres (such as techology, literature, itellectual freedom, programmig, ad so o) are especially eeded. Referees make recommedatios to the editor o whether or ot mauscripts should be accepted for publicatio. Iter ested librarias should cotact Childre ad Libraries Editor Sharo Korbeck Verbete at CALeditor@yahoo.com for more iformatio o the referee process. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 19

21 The May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture Uleavig: The Stayig Power of Gold Lois Lowry Lois Lowry delivered the 2011 Arbuthot Lecture Friday, April 15 at the St. Louis (Mo.) Couty Library. It s a pleasure to be here this eveig. Thak you all for comig, ad a special thaks to the Associatio for Library Service to Childre, which sposors this evet; to its Arbuthot Committee, for selectig me to be with you this year; ad to the St. Louis Couty Library for hostig this occasio. I feel as if I am i a cozy livig room with a group of logtime frieds. We should light a fire i the fireplace ad pour some wie. But I ll cofess at the outset that whe I was asked to deliver this year s May Hill Arbuthot Lecture, oe of my first (secret) reactios was Dar! ot because I was t deeply hoored by the ivitatio, ot because I did t wat to give this speech (ad I cofess I kid of liked the elemet of mystery about locatio), but because it fell ito the category oce agai (this has happeed before) of how shall I describe it? givig a lecture amed for a perso I ever got to meet. Dar. I thik we would have liked each other. Ad we could have met, May ad I. We could have met, say, i She would have bee sevety-eight the, ad probably quite vigorous she lived to be eighty-five. I would have bee twety-five i What would we have talked about? My life, whe I was twety-five, cetered aroud my childre. That year, the year that I am fatasizig about a meetig with May Arbuthot, they would have bee four, three, oe, ad the yougest oe ewly bor. She ever had childre. But clearly she cared about them, ad she would have bee iterested, I thik, to hear about my little family, ad our collectio of books some from my ow childhood ad how we curled up i the eveigs, ad I read aloud to them. She would have ejoyed hearig how the oldest, a girl, at four, suddely leaed closer ad poited to a word the word LOOK o the page from which I was readig. The she moved her figer back a few paragraphs, ad foud it agai, the word LOOK, ad she said, i a voice of amazed discovery, that it was the same word that was prited o the street, at the corer where we crossed to go to the grocery store the same word, with its two big circles like eyes, tellig you to LOOK! I ca read this word! my daughter said with delight, at four. Ad it was t log util she put it together i her head, the souds of the letters, how they wet together ad formed words. I thik May Arbuthot would ejoy hearig about that. After all, she was oe of the oes who wrote the Dick ad Jae books, the books of my ow first grade. They used the L word a lot. I seem to recall a lot of poitig i the illustratios. Look! said Dick, poitig at Father with a rake. Look! said Jae, poitig at baby Sally, or Puff, the kitte. (I always wished, actually, that their poitig figers would be aimed at somethig a little more iterestig. Look! A ma robbig the bak! said Dick. Or Look! said Mother, the house is o fire! But those were differet times.) Look! Look! Look! I ca read this word! From there my daughter wet to Oe Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, ad to the realizatio that every oe of those books, of those stories she loved, was made up of letters ad souds ad words. Ad the, whe she was five, I foud her oe day curled o the floor with a volume of the ecyclopedia opeed to a picture that fasciated her, idex figer movig slowly alog the syllables as she souded out Ex... ter... al.... Ge... i... tal... ia. No, I guess I wo t tell May about that. I do t kow her well eough. But I thik I would metio 1947 to her was a mometous year ot oly for her but for a previous Arbuthot lecturer, ad for me, as well. I 1947, the first editio of May Hill Arbuthot s groud-breakig Childre ad Books was published. She was sixtythree years old. I 1947, a physics text called Atomics for the Millios by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidioff, was also published. It was illustrated by Maurice Sedak. He was ietee years old. 20 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

22 Ad i 1947, a childre s magazie called Jack ad Jill published a letter from a little girl i Pesylvaia who said, I am writig a book. Her ame was Lois. I was te years old. * * * * * I late Jauary, I was i New York for a coferece, ad I had eough free time that I caught up with a favorite ephew amed Michael. Michael s a smart guy, a Harvard graduate with a lovely wife ad a good job. What he really wats to be, though, is a playwright. He speds his spare time attedig playwritig workshops ad writig ew plays ad revisig plays he wrote two years ago, or te years ago; ad every ow ad the somethig Michael has writte is produced off-offoff Broadway briefly. But writig plays is a very tough professio. Over luch he cofessed that sometimes he thiks he should just quit. Forget about it. Take up a ew hobby. Of course someoe with his passio or mie ca t ad does t quit. Michael ad I talked about why we do what we do. I just feel the eed to record everythig, Michael said. Take it dow. He looked through the widows we were sittig i a restaurat ear the New York Public Library, lookig out toward a park ad said, I wat to record that woma i the striped coat. Ad that baby i the stroller... ad this! He touched the cemet shelf beside us, below the widow, o the wall of the restaurat I wat to make a record that this exists, this piece of cemet. I kew what he meat. Michael is oe of the people Hery James was referrig to whe he said that a writer is someoe o whom othig is lost. Our coversatio digressed the because we had family gossip to catch up o, but had we cotiued talkig about the writer s eed to take it all dow, I thik we would have agreed that our eed is ot just for the recordig of thigs, but also for the fidig of the meaig of thigs, ad the coectios. Ad here I ll quote ot James, but E. M. Forster: Oly coect! Everyoe recogizes that phrase, but so few people recall its cotext. Forster said: Oly coect the prose ad the passio, ad both will be exalted, ad huma love will be see at its height. Live i fragmets o loger. The coectios, the makig sese of thigs, the givig meaig to thigs ad the, the givig of all of it to readers that is the passioate eed of the writer. * * * * * The same little girl, the daughter I described earlier, the oe who was four whe I was twety-five, was with me the morig that I got the ews of my sister s death. My sister lived i Texas whe she was stricke with cacer at the age of twety-seve, but that fall, termially ill, she had bee moved to a hospital i Washigto, D.C. I lived i Massachusetts ad was expectig my fourth child mometarily. My doctor, my husbad, my parets everyoe told me ot to go to Washigto. I should wait util after the baby was bor. There would be time. So I waited. Ad o a crisp fall morig my last child, my so, Be, arrived. My sister set me a card from her hospital bed i Washigto that arrived whe I was still i my hospital bed i Bosto. I wept whe I saw how frail ad shaky her sigature was. But it tured out that there was t time. Oe day, suddely, it was over, ad she was goe. I had ot had a chace to be with her. My little girl asked me agai ad agai why I was so sad, ad I would try to explai to her by tellig her the story of two sisters how the older oe taught the little oe to read; how they got ito mischief together; how they wore matchig dresses; how they giggled at ight i their side-by-side beds. But it was t fair, ad I kew that it was t, to burde my ow child with grief she was too youg to comprehed. So I bega, istead, to tell the story of the two sisters to tell it all the way to its icomprehesible edig to myself. I did so over a period of years. Not obsessively. I had a busy, happy life. I had those four childre, after all, ad whe May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture the yougest wet off to kidergarte, I had retured to college. I my thirties, I was a absolutely passioate studet of literature. Over-passioate, I thik ow, because I had iterrupted my educatio whe I married at ietee ad somehow felt the eed to catch up. My professors must have shake their heads, or chuckled, i private over this startligly ethusiastic studet i her thirties. If I was assiged a ovel by Hery James, I ot oly read the ovel, but the I read biographies of Hery James, ad the collected letters of Hery James ad i the midst of that, the professor would assig somethig by, say, Willa Cather, ad I d be i the library agai, readig ot just the assiged ovel but everythig she d ever writte, ad the histories of frotier Nebraska; ad by ow the professor would have moved o to Edith Wharto, ad I had to lear about New York society ad the Gilded Age, ad whe I realized Wharto ad Hery James had bee frieds well, everythig pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle ad I felt a happy kid of hugry all the time. The I wet to graduate school, ad was studyig photography as well as literature. There were times whe I tried to combie those two passios: the photography the learig to see thigs, to frame them ad my love for the writers I was studyig; I remember writig a paper o Virgiia Woolf s To the Lighthouse i which I spoke of the sweepig beam of light brigig thigs briefly ito sight, focusig o somethig Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 21

23 May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture importat, the way a camera ca to poit, to say LOOK! LOOK! Remember this. Notice this. I tried i my mid to illumiate my ow story. I foud that wheever somethig, ofte somethig small a smell, a sog, a tur of phrase remided me of my sister, Hele, I would focus o that ad ru through the arrative agai i my mid, recordig it, shapig it, examiig it, coectig it, tryig to make sese of it, tryig to make its outcome comprehesible. The, i early 1976 I thik it was, I received a letter from a childre s book editor at Houghto Miffli. She wodered if I would cosider writig a book for youg people. It surprises me ow that I had ever cosidered doig that before. I had bee writig for years, ad studyig writig for years, ad dreamig about youg people, somethig quite mysterious ad woderful happeed. I bega to hear the voices of some of those writers I had studied so assiduously for so log. All of those ovels ad plays ad poems I had studied, all of the hours i the uiversity library, all of the exams ad papers I had writte bits ad pieces surfaced ad whispered to me. Shakespeare whispered, i the voice of Prospero: We are such stuff as dreams are made o Ad our little life is rouded by a sleep ad I put those words ito the voice of Meg s Eglish professor father as he tries to comfort his agry, ucomprehedig daughter. udergraduate survey course i British poetry, oce smatterigs of this ad that. But ow here he was, ad the words were right for the youg fictioal Meg to hear ad for me to hear as well: Margaret, are you grievig Over Goldegrove uleavig? The character amed Will Baks quotes that phrase to Meg i the book. Recallig the poem, writig it ito the dialogue, my memories were vague. What was Goldegrove? A place of some sort. A place with a evocative ame, ad the poet used it metaphorically to brig to mid the dyig of the leaves i autum, the remider that thigs we hold dear will ievitably disappear. It fit. I wrote the words i the voice of the elderly ma, ad the the cocludig lies came to me: As I cotiued workig o the book that would evetually be called A Summer to Die ad would be my first book for youg people, somethig quite mysterious ad woderful happeed. I bega to hear the voices of some of those writers I had studied so assiduously for so log. All of those ovels ad plays ad poems I had studied, all of the hours i the uiversity library, all of the exams ad papers I had writte bits ad pieces surfaced ad whispered to me. writig for years ad I had four childre to whom I had read ad read ad read ad I lived i a house where oe stumbled over books as ofte as Legos ad dolls ad baseballs ad damp mittes. But I had bee writig, all that time, for adults. With that editor s ivitatio, I suddely had a place to put dow the story I had bee tellig ad retellig to myself. I rolled a piece of paper ito my typewriter ayoe remember typewriters? ad bega writig the story of two sisters by describig a actual scee from my memory: the day my sister, usig a piece of chalk, divided our bedroom ito two parts ad said to me: Keep your mess o your side; this side is mie. I called my sister Molly. I was Meg. As I cotiued workig o the book that would evetually be called A Summer to Die ad would be my first book for That s Shakespeare, Meg, he says to her. What did he kow? she replies furiously. He ever kew Molly! But he did, did t he? Shakespeare kew every form of grief. He kew how to rage, how to comfort, how to comprehed. Whe I let him speak through the fictioal father i the book, he was speakig of course to the grievig girl but he was speakig as well to me, ad to the wide audiece of readers that the book evetually foud. I had studied Shakespeare i depth for several semesters i both college ad graduate school, so it was t surprisig to have those familiar words from The Tempest appear i my cosciousess. But ow Gerard Maley Hopkis came to me, too ad whe had I studied him? I could barely remember. A It is the blight ma was bor for. It is Margaret you mour for. Ad I was back i my ow memories, ad kew that ideed i retellig the story I was mourig for myself. * * * * * Whe I was asked, too soo (it is always too soo) for a title for this lecture, the questio happeed to come o the same day that I had received a somewhat startlig from a strager. Her had to do with body art. Full disclosure: I am ot ito body art. Ad though I am ot goig to ask for a show of hads from this audiece, recetly I read a statistic that tells me that 36 percet of people betwee eightee 22 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

24 ad twety-ie have decorated their bodies i some way. Okay, we re talkig tattoos here. Ad i fact, I have oe child (out of four) ad oe gradchild (out of four) ad oe step-gradchild (out of five) so far who have doe so, who have decorated themselves i that way. But I am sevety-four. My idea of body art is maybe a little lipstick. Pik, probably. I had oce had a from a eightee-year-old, askig my permissio, she said, because she was ucertai how copyright law applied, to have her favorites lies from The Giver tattooed across her shoulder blade. I aswered her a little vaguely because I did t have a clue about the copyright questio (how o earth, if it were a violatio, would it be prosecuted?). But this more recet was from a woma i her thirties. She was t cocered about copyright. She said she had read A Summer to Die more tha twety years ago, as a youg girl, ad it was the lies from the Hopkis poem that had hauted her ever sice. They had come to have icreasigly importat meaig for her, ad ow she was plaig to have them tattooed o her lower back. She was t askig permissio. She just wated to tell me how much the book ad those lies, ot by me, but by Gerard Maley Hopkis meat to her. I sat at my desk after I had replied to her ad thought about that woma. I did t waste time visualizig or worryig about the outcome how wide a lower back oe might eed, or what fot size the body artist might use all of that would soo be a fait accompli ad would t matter. What I thought about ad was profoudly moved by was the fact that may years before, a eleve-year-old girl readig a book had ecoutered four lies from a very complex poem by a ieteeth-cetury British clergyma, ad because it spoke to her for reasos we ll ever be privy to, she had icorporated it ito her persoal kowledge ad uderstadig of the world as she cotiued to grow ad mature. It made me thik of aother poem, the oe called There Was a Child Wet Forth by Walt Whitma, the oe that begis: There was a child wet forth every day, Ad the first object he look d upo, that object he became, Ad that object became part of him for the day or a certai part of the day, Or for may years or stretchig cycles of years. Did the woma who wrote to me ever go to college? She did t say. Had she studied literature, leared aythig about Hopkis life or work? No way to kow. The oly thig I kow is that as a child, she wet forth. She looked upo a poem. Ad that poem became part of her for the day ad for may years ad for stretchig cycles of years. We ca chuckle ad crige a little at how it became literally part of her. But that s ot really importat, is it? It was because of her that whe I was asked shortly after that to come up with a title for this lecture, I replied Uleavig: The Stayig Power of Gold. I was picturig i my mid the purity ad gleam of words; the uggets that a child ca take from the pages of a loved book ad how they say Look! Remember this! This coects to me! * * * * * But ow I wat to talk a little about someoe else who read my books may years ago. I wat to talk about Tim Wadham, assistat director of Youth ad Commuity Services for St. Louis Couty Library. I m assumig it was Tim who pulled the ecessary strigs (Or greased a few palms? No, surely ot that!) that made it possible for the Arbuthot Lecture to be delivered this year i St. Louis (eve though I was kid of rootig for Hoolulu). Thak you, Tim. What I wat to describe goes back may years, probably twety-six. Tim Wadham was a studet at Brigham Youg at the May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture time I thought I remembered him beig a freshma, but he corrected me yesterday ad said he was actually i graduate school at the time ad he was visitig Bosto, where I the lived. He called me up to tell me he was a fa of my work, ad I ivited him over for luch. (Timig is all. I would t do that today. But back i 1985, I did t have that may fas!) So Tim ad I sat ad talked about childre s books throughout a summer afteroo. He had bee readig my Aastasia books to his youger sisters oe of whom is here toight. (I fact, durig his visit we called them up. He said, Guess who I m stadig ext to? ad they said hi to me ad giggled.) What I especially remember is his describig how each time he came to a referece they did t recogize, he expaded o it for them ad it had become kid of a project. Let me explai. Remember a few miutes ago, i talkig about a tattoo, I said fait accompli? Thirty years ago, I used that phrase i the first book of the series, whe the Krupik parets tell their astoished ad outraged te-year-old daughter that they are expectig aother child. So, said Aastasia, fially. You re ot goig to chage your mids? Her mother rubbed her middle softly. It s too late for that, Aastasia. It s a fait accompli, said her father. You kow I ca t uderstad Greek, Daddy. Frech, he said. Well, Frech the. I ca t uderstad Frech, either. What s a fait accompli? Aother word for baby? I this istace, said her father, I guess it is. A baby boy. The book cotiues, ad it cotiues without ay additioal explaatio. But Tim would have stopped to teach his Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 23

25 May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture little sisters some Frech, to show them how the words actually mea a alreadyaccomplished deed. It became a challege, a project, for them. Whe, later i the first book, Aastasia sits i a Harvard classroom ad listes to her father teach or try to teach, to a group of bored studets a Wordsworth poem, Tim foud a copy of the poem for his sisters to read ad talk about. I the secod book, Aastasia Agai, Aastasia waders ito the livig room oe afteroo to fid her father, with his eyes closed, coductig ad sigig alog with the Verdi Requiem, which is playig o the stereo. Here, I ll read you this sectio: Aastasia criged. She lived i mortal fear that someday oe of her frieds would be there whe her father was beltig out the teor solo from the Verdi Requiem, with his eyes closed ad sweat o his bald head.... Toward the ed, at the very high part, her father stood o his tiptoes while he sag. Aastasia giggled. I m always too exhausted to coduct the ext sectio after I sig that sectio, he said. How did I soud? Pretty good. You re gettig better, I thik. Iter oves lacum praesta et ab haedis me sequestra, he said. She recogized them as some of the words he had sug. Kow what that meas? Nope. You will after you ve studied Lati. It meas, Give me a place amog the sheep ad separate me from the goats. Aastasia laughed. Okay, she said. You re amog the sheep. Agai, the book cotiued o. But Tim did t. Tim got a recordig of the Verdi requiem ad played it for his little sisters, ad the the Sibelius Violi Cocerto because of this coversatio betwee Aastasia ad her mother: Me do t cry much. Sweetie, that s oe of the reasos I married your dad. I seem to recall that after readig the coversatio betwee Aastasia ad her father i which they agree that the Frech film called Diabolique is the scariest movie ever made, Tim tried but could t fid a copy of that film i Utah. It s probably just as well. So what am I sayig, beyod the fact that Tim Wadham is a good guy ad was a good brother ad I am pleased to be his guest here toight? I m sayig that his sisters like all youg readers were like miers huched over their pas at the edge of a creek. There were little sparkles, tiy flecks, of gold here ad there. Tim s sisters all grow up, probably utattooed oe of them may suddely thik of a Wordsworth poem, or chuckle at a referece to Gertrude Stei, or recogize a passage from a violi cocerto, ad perhaps ot eve recall the momet whe that little golde ugget of kowledge became, as Whitma said, part of the child. * * * * * He opeed his eyes whe it eded ad bowed to Aastasia who applauded politely; the he wet ad switched the stereo to OFF. He wiped his damp face with his hadkerchief. No. Me do t cry much, said her mother. Daddy does, sometimes. He always cries whe he hears the Sibelius violi cocerto. Not log ago I got a text message from a ie-year old gradso who lives i Maie. It said: Guess where I am at this momet. I replied: I do t kow. Paris? Moscow? Mars? 24 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

26 He texted back: No, we wet to New York for a bar mitzvah. I m i the car headig back to Maie. My reply: Log drive. Do you have a good book? Ad his: I do t eed oe. I have my ipod Touch. That was, to say the least, depressig. I do t eed oe. I wated to text back: Yes, you do eed a book. You eed lots of books i order to become a literate, itelliget member of society. Istead, I replied: Oh, good. Have a safe trip. But this is ot a child I worry about. He lives i a world filled with books. He reads. His brother reads. His parets read. Oe of his gradfathers is a Eglish professor. He ad his brother have always called me Oma, the Germa term for Gradma. They visit me ofte at my old farmhouse i rural Maie, forty miles from where they live. Last summer, I ordered a tet from L. L. Bea, ad after it arrived, we staked out a place i a distat, hidde corer of a meadow ad spet a weeked settig up the tet ad furishig it with battery-operated laters, sleepig bags, isect repellet all the stuff two boys eeded for happy summer weekeds. They made the requisite No Trespassig sig ad ailed it to a post ad hammered the post ito the groud. Whe they came i for supper that eveig, they aouced to me, We ve chaged your ame. You re ot goig to be Oma aymore. I m ot? What s my ew ame? I asked them. You are Omar the Tetmaker! they aouced with glee. Ad ideed they have called me Omar ever sice. Now I do t have a clue how they happeed to kow the ame of a 1922 movie about Omar Khayyam. I doubt if they kow, either. It is simply part of their accumulated kowledge, because they wet forth, i the Whitmaesque sese, as childre ad everythig they heard ad experieced became part of them. So I do t really worry about them ad their damed ipod Touches. But I do worry a lot about other childre out there. I worry about the oes who are raised i homes without books. Whose dads are i priso. Whose moms are workig two jobs. Who are livig i shelters. Who are agry ad frighteed ad poorly served by our system. Ad what if the baquet cosists of literature, as mie would, as mie has? There have always bee less tha memorable books. There will always be celebrity biographies ad ovelized versios of aimated movies ad how-to books to help you improve your love life or your golf game. But ow ad the, here ad there, you would fid bits ad pieces of pure gold. I worry about those childre whose schools o loger have libraries. Whose tows have curtailed the hours of their public libraries, those structures of sactuary for so may childre. More tha sactuary libraries are the repositories of our cultural heritage; whe those doors close, somethig precious is take away. It remids me of 2001, whe the Taliba destroyed the aciet Buddhist statues while the world watched i horror, ad the leader of the Taliba Islamic May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture Afghaista at the time said, All we are breakig are stoes. What are we closig dow, what are we breakig, whe we close the doors of libraries? A well-kow poet ad athologist told me recetly that he received the ews by from his publisher that they are ot goig to be publishig his books ay loger. Poetry does t sell. All we are breakig is... fill i the blak. * * * * * My oly graddaughter lives i Germay. She has grow up there, ad atteds Germa schools, but every summer she comes to visit her Oma i America (I have t told her that her cousis have reamed me Omar). Oce whe she was eleve, she brought her best fried, Aika, who had ever bee to the Uited States before. I Bosto, where I live, I took them to see the Blue Ma Group, the imax theater at the sciece museum, ad to a Italia restaurat, ad to the aquarium. The we wet to Maie. My old farmhouse there is surrouded by meadows ad lakes. Bridgto, Maie, has a populatio of uder five thousad. It has oe mai street, called Mai Street, ad o Mai Street is the Bridgto Public Library. The girls had spet hours at the beach, ad they had created a puppet theater i the bar, ad they had had maicures at the local ail salo. I had take them to a dace performace at the summer theater. The oe afteroo, they came alog with me while I retured some library books. I the library that afteroo, a story hour was takig place i the childre s room; the woma tellig stories had a golde retriever lyig at the feet. I the mai sectio of the library, vacatioig tourists were usig every computer, checkig their . Other people were readig ewspapers ad magazies. I dropped my books off, checked out a couple of others, ad headed with the girls back out to the parkig lot. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 25

27 May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture Aika said somethig i Germa to my graddaughter, who traslated for her. She wats to kow how much it costs to use the library. I told them it was free. Free? Yes. Free. Do other tows have free libraries? they asked. By ow we were i the car. I sat there for a miute, thikig about the geography of the area, the said, I m goig to show you somethig. Public Library. Waterford, Maie, has a populatio of sixtee hudred. After that, we stopped for ice cream ad the drove home. I could hear the girls chatterig i Germa, coferrig with each other, i the back seat. The my graddaughter said to me, Aika ad I thik libraries are the best thig i the Uited States. * * * * * Back i 1986 twety-five years ago I wrote a book o oe remembers but me, ad I remember it because it has always bee oe of my favorites. It was called Rabble Starkey. The title character is a I 1947: The first editio of May Hill Arbuthot s groudbreakig Childre ad Books was published. She was sixty-three years old. A physics text called Atomics for the Millios by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidioff was also published. It was illustrated by Maurice Sedak. He was ietee years old. A childre s magazie called Jack ad Jill published a letter from a little girl i Pesylvaia who said, I am writig a book. Her ame was Lois. I was te years old. The Red Poy, he read. That s the title. The he bega.... While Mr. Bigelow read, I could hardly take my eyes from him ad from the book i his hads.... I kew that each oe of us could see it i our ow mids. Ad probably we saw differet thigs. A book with o pictures lets you make your ow pictures i your mid. A guy who writes a book like that really trusts the people who read it to make the kid of pictures he wats them to. Of course he helps them alog with the words. Like Mr. Steibeck told us all about that old dog amed Smasher havig oly oe ear because the other got bit off by a coyote, ad how his oe good ear stood up higher tha the ear o a regular coyote. So we could all picture Smasher i our mids, just the way he was supposed to be, but at the same time each of us had our ow private Smasher, built out of all the dogs we had ever kow. * * * * * My hope for these real-life kids who have so much missig i their lives is that someoe, somewhere, will sit dow with them the way Mr. Bigelow does ad read them a story that will ivite them i, ad that they will create their ow world build their ow private Smasher because this is the way all of us avigate our existece. We walk ito the world created by the writer, ad it becomes our ow world, built of words. First I drove them back past my house sittig i its meadow outside of tow, ad about two miles farther, to North Bridgto, Maie; ad I stopped i frot of the little white house with a frot porch ad its sig North Bridgto Public Library. About two miles from there, I pulled up i frot of a little stoe buildig with a gree roof i the village of Harriso, Maie. Its sig said, Public Library. Harriso has a populatio of two thousad. Fially, I drove about five miles alog the edge of Bear Lake util we got to the little stoe buildig that houses the Waterford twelve-year-old girl i West Virgiia: a culturally-deprived (but curious) child; a at-risk (but attetive) child; the oly child of a sigle, twety-six-year-old mother who works as a domestic. There is a scee i it that I love, a scee i which the youg girl is read aloud to for the first time. (Imagie beig twelve ad ever havig experieced that joy!) Her fried s father is settled i his big chair with a book, ad the childre are listeig: He tured through the pages util he foud the story he remembered from whe he was youger. I ve spoke before, ad probably some of you were there whe I did, about the eighth-grade boy i South Carolia whose teacher wrote to me to describe this the disruptive uderachiever, the troublemaker i the class, who, o a day whe uexpected sow caceled school, called his teacher o the phoe ad begged her, ordered her, to read him the ext chapter of The Giver aloud. He had etered a fictioal world ad become part of it, ad part of a boy like himself, a disillusioed boy who eeded to fid a way out of the impossible place where he was trapped a place, icide- 26 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

28 tally, from which all literature had bee take away. Albert Duclos wrote to me oly this Give sorrow words. May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture I realize that i all my books, eve the most lighthearted of them, I have always alluded to the power ad importace of literature i our lives. I ever set out cosciously to do that. It creeps i, I suppose, because it has always bee so much a part of me ad reflects my ow experiece. I remember beig eleve ad leavig the Uited States to live i Japa after World War II leavig everythig familiar behid, feelig friedless ad displaced ad the fidig, i the little America library i Tokyo, my favorite compaios: A Tree Grows i Brookly ad The Yearlig. I reread them with a sese of familiarity ad comfort, havig Fracie ad Jody with me oce agai. At the ed of the book Rabble Starkey, the youg protagaist is sittig beside her mother i a car, as they drive away from the life they have kow ito a future that has yet to ufold. She says this: Remember those two books? My very favorite oes The Red Poy ad The Yearlig? Both of them with a boy amed Jody? Her mother, watchig the road, ods. I m just ow realizig that they re both about the same thig. About all kids of lovig, ad about sayig goodbye. Ad about movig o to where more thigs are i store. They re about growig older, her mother replies. Ad growig up, says the girl. * * * * * Several years ago, whe oe of my childre was killed i a tragic accidet, may of you wrote to me. I kept ad value still all of those letters with their messages of sympathy ad affectio. But the oe that I remember best came from a old fried, Albert Duclos, who was a Shakespearia actor. He simply wrote to me what Shakespeare wrote i the sixteeth cetury, i the scee from Macbeth where Malcolm says to the stued ad grievig MacDuff ad My book The Giver is about people who are uable to do that. They have reliquished words. Oh, they have laguage, of course; they eve isist o what they call precisio of laguage so that there are ever misiterpretatios or misuderstadigs. But they have lost the lyricism ad subtlety of laguage. Poetry is goe, ad stories are forgotte. The library has closed dow. Literature is lost. Give sorrow words? Oops. Ca t. Do t remember how. Two books later, i Messeger, the third book of what has become kow as The Giver trilogy, words have retured. The disillusioed boy, Joas, is there, older, chaged, i the ew place; ad books are there, too, ad words from the past. They mour the loss of the boy Matty with the words writte a hudred years ago of A. E. Housma. Give sorrow words? Now they ca: Today, the road all ruers come, Shoulder-high we brig you home, Ad set you at your threshold dow, Towsma of a stiller tow. * * * * * I December, I spoke at a large coferece, ad afterward someoe called my attetio to the blog of someoe who had bee there that day. The perso had ejoyed my presetatio I suppose that if she had t, o oe would have directed me to the blog post. But i referrig to me, she had described me as the veerable author Lois Lowry. I gulped. I took it to mea old. Aciet. Well, why ot? Fair eough. I ve already told you that I m sevety-four. But still! I brooded about it a bit. The I looked it up ad foud, to my relief, that it ca also mea respected ad wise. That felt a little better tha plai old old. But I must have become a bit obsessive because I foud myself thikig, suddely, about the Veerable Bede. Where did that memory come from? No idea. Who here show of hads? kows exactly who the Veerable Bede was, eve if you recogize the ame? I Googled him. Just for the record, he was a seveth-cetury Northumbria mok, a scholar ad writer of Eglish Ecclesiastical History. His works o loger uder copyright (so you do t have to ask permissio if you wat to have some lies tattooed o your shoulder) are available olie, i Lati, of course. (Perhaps Myro Krupik would traslate for you after he fiishes sigig the teor aria i the Verdi Requiem). But here is oe lovely bit from my research ito the Veerable Bede which I am so happy to have come across: he wrote that our life is such a little thig, it s like a bird i the darkess suddely fidig a way ito a baquet hall ad flyig through it ad lookig dow at all the baqueters ad the flyig out the other side. Do you love that image as much as I do? I picture the bird lookig dow at the feast that our lives cosist of... maybe swoopig low here ad there to taste somethig, to savor it, before he glides o. Maybe eve spittig somethig out, because we all kow that at ay potluck (ad that s what our lives are, a collectio of thigs that others brig to it) there is always goig to be the occasioal tua Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 27

29 May Hill Arbuthot Hoor Lecture casserole, ad Aut Grace always brigs her molded Jello salad with marshmallows i it. Ad what if the baquet cosists of literature, as mie would, as mie has? There have always bee less tha memorable books. There will always be celebrity biographies ad ovelized versios of aimated movies ad how-to books to help you improve your love life or your golf game. But ow ad the, here ad there, you would fid bits ad pieces of pure gold. That s what I ve foud. Ad I ve tried to give them back, to pass them o. I ve spoke toight of Housma ad Hopkis, Shakespeare ad Steibeck. But there are so may others. Ad they are pure, pure gold. * * * * * Twety-eight years ago this past Jauary, I received a letter from a father who eclosed a photograph of his seveteeyear-old so. The boy s ame, I recall, was David. Typical high school seior, wearig a jacket with the ame of a sports team o it. Hair i his eyes. Big gri. He looked like a ice kid. His father s letter cotiued with a descriptio of his much-loved oly so but cocluded with a accout of the boy s sudde death durig a asthma attack the previous September. Why had he writte to me? He told me that their survivig child was a fourteeyear-old daughter. (I remember that her ame was Browy is t it amazig, to remember such a detail after twetyeight years?) He told me that she had read ad loved my book A Summer to Die, my first book, the oe about my sister. A moth before, the whole family still reelig from David s death, Browy had goe to that book, had copied oe paragraph i fie calligraphy, framed it ad give it to her parets for Christmas. He told me that the words she copied were these: Time goes o, ad your life is still there, ad you have to live it. After a while you remember the good thigs more ofte tha the bad. The, gradually, the empty silet parts of you fill up with souds of talkig ad laughter agai, ad the jagged edges of sadess are softeed by memories. Much more recetly probably two years ago I spoke at a eveig evet at a library someplace. There were a lot of kids, ad whole families, ad I showed pictures of my ow childhood ad talked about the origis of various books. The I siged books, ad the eveig was edig, whe a gray-haired ma came up to me. I wated to tell you, he said, that we do remember the good thigs more ofte tha the bad. I m David s father. I do t kow if you ll remember me. I did remember him, the. We talked briefly, ad hugged ad said goodbye. But what has stayed with me was the realizatio that the words that had spoke to him, that he had carried with him for almost three decades, were words of mie that i the same way writers from the past had whispered to me, I had whispered to this ma s daughter, ad through her to him, ad they had foud comfort i those words. * * * * * The poet Howard Nemerov, i a poem called The Makers, speaks of the earliest poets: They were the oes that i whatever togue Worded the world, that were the first to say Star, water, stoe, that said the visible Ad made it brig ivisibles to view I kow that for some reaso, this eveig, I seem to have focused o sorrow. Perhaps those times, whe Goldegrove is uleavig ad witer is comig ad we are mourig for ourselves ad, as Will Baks told Meg i the book, we all do those are the times whe we most eed the burished ad golde words that have brought ivisibles to view through geeratios. But I m grateful as well for those coutless geeratios ceturies of poets ad writers who have also give words to courage, to joy, to humor, to itegrity, to memory ad who have ourished me ad compelled me to add my ow words, ad to give them, the, to childre. Thak you. & icomig PRESIDENT s MESSAge, cotiued from page 4 I will commuicate value withi ALSC. Childre ad Libraries ad our ewsletter, ALSCoect, will iclude my colums. You also may see my efforts to commuicate our value i the wider world, as every ALSC presidet fields may media requests. If you re at coferece, sit i o a board meetig to see how our board makes decisios about value ad how to commuicate it. I hope that I will also be hearig from you. ALSC is your associatio, ad your participatio is essetial. I future moths, through our various media chaels, we will cotiue the coversatio o commuicatig value. May thaks for the opportuity to serve as your presidet durig the comig year. I look forward to commuicatig the deep value of ALSC ad our work to you ad with you as we make our positive differece i the world! & 28 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

30 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy A Best Practices Primer for Gotta Move! Hayley Elece McEwig Soud suitcase for the letter Bb. Commuicatio is more tha words. It is music. It is movemet. Oe summer, whe I was a udergraduate studet, I voluteered for a few days at a summer camp for kids with special eeds ragig from mobility issues to cogitive challeges. Oe ie-year-old boy did ot speak, but he had a favorite sog that he would beep. ( Beep is the musical vocalizatio he used i place of words.) If you beeped the first melodic phrase to him, he would beep the secod phrase back to you. For him, commuicatio was music. Recetly, my iece tured oe. She s still i the baby babblig stage, but whe we say dace! that little beig lights up. She places her hads palm to palm ad shakes from side to side. For her, commuicatio is movemet. Throughout the world there are music ad movemet traditios that brig people together, from sogs for holidays ad special occasios to daces ad sports igraied i culture. Not oly ca music ad movemet provide commo groud ad shared experieces for various peoples of various ages, they also ivolve the multiple itelligeces ad ot just the musical ad kiesthetic oes. Coectig to ad workig with others through music ivolves our emotioal (itrapersoal) ad social (iterpersoal) itelligeces. Physical activity beefits our mood ad ability to lear as our body produces feel-good chemicals, such as edorphis ad serotoi. From a early literacy perspective, music ad sigig are crucial i developig phoological ad phoemic awareess, ad movig to or playig with rhymes ad stories aids vocabulary acquisitio, comprehesio, ad arrative skills. I additio to these positives, our library staff has oticed that the curret sloga for our Gotta Move! program ( A active storytime for the youg ad the restless! ) teds to attract caregivers who feel that the child i his/her care would ormally be uwelcome, disruptive, or too active at other story based programs. For these reasos, the Gotta Move! (Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy) program at my library has bee well received by curret as well as ew patros. The Gotta Move! Program The Gotta Move! program has its roots i the Mother Goose o the Loose ( model established by libraria Betsy Diamat-Cohe. 1 It has bee adapted to coect with the six early literacy skills preseted i detail by ALA s first Every Child Ready to Read iitiative i 2004 ad practically applied to a library settig, as described i Saroj Ghotig s Early Literacy Storytimes. 2 Librarias ca also market ad describe the program with the termiology of the secod Every Child Ready to Read iitiative ( released i 2011, by metioig the importace of talkig, sigig, playig, readig, ad writig. The six compoets i the Gotta Move! program are Letter-cise, Nursery/Actio Rhymes, Name Game, Participatio/Movemet Story, Sittig Story, ad Circle Time. These compoets ca be arraged accordig to the flow of the preseter. Due to a icrease i attedace, my recet practice follows this order: Hayley Elece McEwig is a Childre s Libraria at the Public Library of Yougstow ad Mahoig Couty i Ohio. She bega her blog ( blogspot.com) after becomig a 2009 ALA Emergig Leader. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 29

31 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Pickig Props Here are some ideas for props that could be icorporated ito your library s music, movemet, ad literacy programmig. Feathers, small ad large ($9.95 peacock or pheasat from Orietal Tradig) Hula hoops for crawlig through or layig o the groud for steppig stoes Letter bea bags ($37.95 from Lakeshore Learig) Parachute ($19.95 $99.95 from Lakeshore Learig) Rhythm bad istrumets such as shakers, bells, sticks Scarves/streamers (I use crepe paper streamers because they are already a library supply item, ad the kids ca take them home.) Soft balls (Washable Sesory Balls, $29.95 from Lakeshore Learig) Steppig stoes such as self-lamiated shapes or pieces of cloth Sticky board ($60 by Post-It) Name Game (as childre arrive ad before the program officially starts), Sittig Story, Letter-cise, Nursery/Actio Rhymes, Participatio/Movemet Story, ad Circle Time. After a itroductio, welcome, ad a stadard, opeig sog, I begi the program with Letter-cise, which relies heavily o talkig ad ca highlight the letter kowledge, vocabulary, ad prit awareess early literacy skills. To begi the coversatio, sometimes we use the Soud Suitcase, a idea I derived from Jae Belk Mocure s Soud Box Library series. The Soud Suitcase is a plastic tote box i which I place labeled toys (occasioally pictures that I will use later i the program) that all start with the same letter ad letter soud. Oe by oe, we take out a object ad ame it, checkig the word o the label to see if we are right. If we do t kow the ame of the object, we check the label to see what letter it starts with. The we warm up our muscles by makig large movemets to the followig rhyme, ispired by Jea Feldma ad Holly Karapetkova: Let s shout the ame of this letter / which makes the soud / ad starts the word. 3 For the first phrase, raise hads i the air, stretch, ad stad o tiptoes. For the secod phrase, put hads o the waist. For the third phrase, touch the groud with legs straight or bet, ad ame a word that starts with that letter ad soud. Remid the kids of the objects from the Soud Suitcase. Depedig o the age of most of the audiece, the preseter could also attempt the fie motor skill of creatig America Sig Laguage letters or could display a alphabet poster ad ivite oral ad physical participatio with this rhyme: (Sig to: Lodo Bridge ) Fid a letter that you kow, that you kow, that you kow. Fid a letter that you kow, ad tell (or show) us what it is. With a audiece of mostly two year olds, the preseter may chage the Letter-cise warm up to just actig out words that start with the same letter. For example, for the letter B, have the kids bow, bouce, ad blow. I ve also used the letter-writig rhymes from I Love Letters! by Jea Feldma ad Holly Karapetkova to motivate the kids to trace letters i the air. However, it s a better oe-o-oe activity for parets to try at home ad is a perfect tiei to Every Child Ready to Read, 2d editio s writig compoet. Next are the Nursery/Actio Rhymes, which allow oe to metio phoological awareess, prit awareess, ad vocabulary tips. I ll do at least two rhymes, usually a ursery rhyme ad a actio rhyme or sog. If I fid a versio o a music CD, I sometimes use that or use it i additio to presetig it by myself. If I highlight prit awareess, I show a poster or projectio of the text, poit to the words, ad ivolve the childre with the writte text. For example, whe I used The North Wid Doth Blow, I got the rebus versio from EchatedLearig.com. I haded out oe rebus picture/word to each child, ad they came up ad placed it o the Post-It sticky board whe we read their word. The third compoet of Gotta Move! is the Name Game, used to highlight phoological awareess or prit awareess. (The Name Game is a staple i this program because we seem to draw ew ad differet patros every week!) There are several activities I ve gathered from various electroic discussio lists. I ve used Heckedy, peckedy, bumblebee, wo t you say your ame for me? while we clapped the syllables. I ve also used a rhyme to the tue of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Usig the ame Leah as a example, the sog goes: Roll, roll, roll the ball, happy as ca be / Leah, Leah, Leah, Leah roll it back to me. If the child performs a actio other tha rollig, I brig it to the kids attetio: Leah did t roll the ball. What did she do? The ball is oe I use i baby programs, so it is ot the safety hazard it may seem; I see it as aother opportuity to model playig ad talkig with the childre. I ve also had the kids use rhythm istrumets such as shakers, rhythm sticks, ad a tambourie to tap out the syllables of their ames. You could also do a flael or magetic board ame-game activity. For example, at the begiig of the program, have the childre write their ame (prit awareess ad writig!) o cutout clip art pictures that relate to the theme or letter of the day, ad have them place their ame/picture o the sticky board durig a rhyme such as the followig. For example, the theme for the program might be bears: We re lookig for some bears for our cave / Put some low ad some high / Let s add red bears, give it a try / Who has red bears for our cave? 4 (See the bibliography o page 33.) Greet the childre by ame as they participate, ad commet o who has what color bear: Ava ad Lorezo have red bears! Cotiue callig for differet colored bears to be added to the board. 30 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

32 The fourth ad fifth compoets ivolve active stories oe usig large motor skills (Participatio/Movemet Story), ad oe usig fie motor skills (Sittig Story). The Participatio/Movemet Story is the perfect time to metio arrative skills ad prit awareess or the cocept of play actig i the learig process. Try usig a story from the accompayig Movemet-Based Picturebooks list (see the bibliography o page 32), create a movemet-based oral story, or act out a story-sog like This Old Ma or The Bear Wet Over the Moutai. Preset the book versio, too, if it s available. (See examples o the Sigable Picturebooks list at The Sittig Story is the compoet I lik to prit motivatio ad the importace of spedig time readig together. Eve though this is the Sittig Story, I ted to use books or oral stories that ivolve fie motor skills or ay quiet movemets that the kids ca do while sittig. Gotta Move! eds with a Circle Time activity ad a closig sog. These compoets cover phoological awareess through the use of sigig, music, ad rhymes. They also cover vocabulary ad comprehesio through followig directios ad actig out what words mea. This is the perfect time to try a parachute activity (if your little oes are t too little) ad to try circle activities foud i early childhood educatio resources. For starters, try a sog like The Farmer i the Dell or Here We Go Roud the Mulberry Bush that suggest a circle dace. Curretly, the weekly Gotta Move! program (marketed for ages two through five years) is advertised o our website ( ad i our mothly ewsletter. The large age rage is challegig for the preseter but coveiet for families with childre of differet ages. I fact, this is oe reaso that we started with Mother Goose o the Loose ad developed the Gotta Move! program. At that time, we foud that our advertised program Fu for 4s ad 5s was ot well atteded, ad whe it was, there were more youger, accompayig sibligs i the audiece tha the four ad five year olds! Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy We are ow facig differet treds with all programs ad audieces. Caregivers are askig for a traditioal, preschool-age storytime more tha oce a moth. Also, the umber of childre attedig Gotta Move! coupled with the large developmetal spa (which eds up beig ifat to six year olds) sometimes results i a more uruly educatioal eviromet tha is desirable. Schedulig ad staffig issues alog with these chages i commuity eeds are leadig us to cosider program chages for fall, probably addig more preschool storytimes, discotiuig the Gotta Move! program, ad trasferrig the success of the ideas of music, movemet, ad paretal ivolvemet ito more ad modified family, eveig programs. Overall, my experiece with creatig ad presetig a program based o music, movemet, ad early literacy has raised my awareess of meetig differet idividual s eeds, ehaced my comfort level with tyig ad voicig early literacy ito library programs, ad challeged me to provide activities that get the whole family sigig, talkig, playig, readig, ad writig together. & To access Gotta Move! program outlies ad hadouts, visit the author s blog at Uder Youth Services Programs ad Resources i the upper right, click o Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Programs to access the Google Docs files. Refereces 1. Betsy Diamat-Cohe, Mother Goose o the Loose: A Hadbook ad CD-ROM Kit with Scripts, Rhymes, Sogs, Flael-Board Patters, ad Activities for Promotig Early Childhood Developmet. (New York: Neal-Schuma, 2006). 2. Saroj Nadkari Ghotig, Early Literacy your library: Parterig with Caregivers for Success. (Chicago: ALA, 2006). 3. Feldma, Jea ad Holly Karapetkova. I Love Letters! More Tha 200 Quick ad Easy Activities to Itroduce Youg Childre to Letters ad Literacy. (Marylad: Grypho House, 2009): Adapted from Dec./Ja Prit awareess highlighted through rebus rhyme. Tri-fold flael board with sticky board propped i ceter. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 31

33 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Bibliography Movemet Resource Books See MissHayleyMac/lists/ for updates. Altma, Roberta. Jump, Wiggle, Twirl & Giggle!: 25 Fu ad Easy Movemet Activities for Every Day. Scholastic Professioal, p. Bay-Witers, Lisa. Gotta Dace. I Show Time!: Music, Dace, ad Drama Activities for Kids. Chicago Review, p. Baptiste, Baro, ad Sophie Fatus. My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parets ad Kids. Barefoot, Upaged. Cohe, Arlee, ad Adrea F. McAllister. Stories o the Move: Itegratig Literature ad Movemet with Childre, from Ifats to Age 14. Libraries Ulimited, p. Coors, Abigail F, ad Deborah C. Wright. 101 Rhythm Istrumet Activities for Youg Childre. Grypho House, p. Dow, Coie B. Dace, Tur, Hop, Lear!: Erichig Movemet Activities for Preschoolers. Redleaf, p. Feierabed, Joh M, ad Jae Kaha. The Book of Movemet Exploratio: Ca You Move Like This? GIA, p. Gordh, Bill. 15 Easy Folktale Figerplays with Cross-Cultural Activities. Scholastic Professioal, p.. Stories i Actio: Iteractive Tales ad Learig Activities to Promote Early Literacy. Libraries Ulimited, p. Hammett, Carol T., ad Nicki C. Geigert. Read! Move! Lear! Active Stories for Active Learig. Grypho House, p. Kleier, Ly. Kids Ca Liste! Kids Ca Move! Warer Bros., p. Ladalf, Hele, ad Pamela Gerke. Movemet Stories for Youg Childre Ages 3-6. Youg actor series. Smith ad Kraus, p. Nespeca, Sue McCleaf, ad Joa B. Reeve. Picture Books Plus:100 Extesio Activities i Art, Drama, Music, Math, ad Sciece. ALA, p. Pica, Rae. Experieces i Movemet: Birth to Age Eight. Thomso/Delmar Learig, p.. Jump ito Literacy: Active Learig for Preschool Childre. Grypho House, p.. Movig ad Learig Across the Curriculum. Thomso/Delmar Learig, Upaged.. Movig ad Learig Series: Toddlers. Delmar, p.. A Ruig Start: How Play, Physical Activity, ad Free Time Create a Successful Child. Marlowe, p.. Wiggle, Giggle, ad Shake: 200 Ways to Move ad Lear. Grypho House, p. Schiller, Pamela B. Cross-Lateral Movemet ad the Brai. I Start Smart!: Buildig Brai Power i the Early Years. Grypho House, p. Solis, Sydey, ad Michele Trapai. Storytime Yoga: Teachig Yoga to Childre Through Story. Mythic Yoga Studio, p. Torbert, Mariae, ad Lye B. Scheider. Follow Me Too: A Hadbook of Movemet Activities for Three- to Five-Year-Olds. Addiso-Wesley, p. Weikart, Phyllis S. Movemet i Steady Beat: Learig o the Move Ages 3-7. High/Scope, p. Weikart, Phyllis S, ad Elizabeth B. Carlto. 85 Egagig Movemet Activities. High/Scope, p. Wilmes, Liz. Parachute Play for Idoor/ Outdoor Fu. Buildig Blocks, p. Movemet-Based Picture Books See MissHayleyMac/lists/ for updates. Alborough, Jez. Ca You Jump Like a Kagaroo? Illus. by the author. Cadlewick, Upaged.. Ca You Peck Like a He? Illus. by the author. Cadlewick, Upaged. Adrews, Sylvia. Dacig i My Boes. Illus. by Elle Mueller. HarperFestival, Upaged. Arold, Tedd. Five Ugly Mosters. Illus. by the author. Scholastic, Upaged. Barer, Bob. Dem Boes. Illus. by the author. Chroicle, Upaged. Bluemle, Elizabeth. How Do You Wokka-Wokka? Illus. by Rady Cecil. Cadlewick, Upaged. Boyto, Sadra. Let s Dace, Little Pookie. Illus. by the author. Robi Corey, p. Bruel, Nick. Boig! Illus. by the author. Roarig Brook, Upaged. Butler, Joh. Ca You Growl Like a Bear? Illus. by the author. Peachtree, Upaged. Calmeso, Stephaie. Jazzmatazz! Illus. by Bruce Dege. HarperCollis, Upaged. Carle, Eric. From Head to Toe. Illus. by the author. HarperCollis, Upaged.. Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth. Illus. by the author. Philomel, Upaged. 32 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

34 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Carlso, Nacy L. Get Up ad Go! Illus. by the author. Vikig, Upaged. Cauley, Lorida B. Clap Your Hads. Illus. by the author. Putam, Upaged. Churchill, Vicki. Sometimes I Like to Curl Up i a Ball. Illus. by Charles Fuge Sterlig, Upaged. Craig, Lidsey. Dacig Feet! Illus. by Marc Brow. Kopf, Upaged. Croi, Doree. Bouce. Illus. by Scott Mechi. Atheeum Books for Youg Readers, Upaged.. Wiggle. Illus. by Scott Mechi. Atheeum Books for Youg Readers, Upaged. Czekaj, Jef. Cat Secrets. Illus. by the author. Balzer ad Bray, Upaged. Davis, Katie. Who Hops? Illus. by the author. Harcourt Brace, Upaged. Dorros, Arthur. Te Go Tago. Illus. by Emily A. McCully. HarperCollis, Upaged. Elliott, David. Oe Little Chicke: A Coutig Book. Illus. by Etha Log. Holiday House, Various pages. Fatus, Sophie, ad Fred Peer. Here We Go Roud the Mulberry Bush. Illus. by the author. Barefoot, Upaged. Frederick, Heather V. Hide-ad- Squeak. Illus. by C.F. Paye. Simo & Schuster, Upaged. Ghiga, Charles. Aimal Truk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud. Illus. by Gabriel. Abrams, Upaged. Harter, Debbie. The Aimal Boogie. Illus. by the author. Barefoot, p. Hidley, Judy. Do Like a Duck Does. Illus. by Iva Bates. Cadlewick, Upaged. Hies, Aa G. What Ca You Do i the Rai? Illus. by Thea Kliros. Greewillow, Upaged.. What Ca You Do i the Sow? Illus. by Thea Kliros. Greewillow, Upaged.. What Ca You Do i the Su? Illus. by Thea Kliros. Greewillow, Upaged.. What Ca You Do i the Wid? Illus. by Thea Kliros. Greewillow, Upaged. Hoberma, Mary A. The Eesy Weesy Spider. Illus. by Nadie Berard Westcott. Little, Brow, Upaged. Hora cek, Petr. Look Out, Suzy Goose. Illus. by the author. Cadlewick, Upaged.. Silly Suzy Goose. Illus. by the author. Cadlewick, Upaged. Hort, Ley. The Seals o the Bus. Illus. by G. Bria Karas. Holt, Upaged. Hubbell, Patricia. Boucig Time. Illus. by Melissa Sweet. HarperCollis, Upaged. Hudso, Cheryl W. Hads Ca. Illus. by Joh-Fracis Bourke. Cadlewick, Upaged. Jekis, Steve, ad Robi Page. Move! Illus. by the authors. Houghto Miffli, Upaged. Keats, Ezra J. The Sowy Day. Illus. by the author. Vikig, p. Krilaovich, Nadia. Moo Child. Illus. by Elizabeth Sayles. Tricycle, Upaged. La Prise, Larry, Charles P. Macak, ad Taftt Baker. The Hokey Pokey. Illus. by Sheila Hamaaka. Simo & Schuster, Upaged. Lodo, Joatha. Do Your Abc s, Little Brow Bear. Illus. by Margie Moore. Dutto, Upaged. Log, Etha. Tickle the Duck! Illus. by the author. Little, Brow, Upaged. Lych, Emma. I the Jugle. Illus. by the author. Raitree, p.. O Safari. Illus. by the author. Raitree, p.. Uder the Sea. Illus. by the author. Raitree, p.. Up a Moutai. Illus. by the author. Raitree, p. Marti, David. We ve All Got Bellybuttos! Illus. by Rady Cecil. Cadlewick, Upaged. Marzollo, Jea. Preted You re a Cat. Illus. by Jerry Pikey. Dial, p. Mitto, Toy. Diosaurumpus. Illus. by Guy Parker-Rees. Orchard, Upaged. Padell, Kare. Aimal Actio Abc. Illus. by Art Wolfe ad Nacy Sheeha. Dutto, Upaged. Parker, Victoria. Bearobics: A Hip- Hop Coutig Story. Illus. by Emily Bolam. Vikig, Upaged. Poser-Sachez, Adrea. Stretch ad Play. Illus. by Joh Kurtz ad James Levi. Radom House, Upaged. Prater, Joh. The Bear Wet Over the Moutai. Barro s Educatioal Series, Upaged. Rex, Michael. Brooms Are for Flyig! Holt, Upaged.. Duk Skuk. G. P. Putam s Sos, Upaged. Sayre, April P. If You re Hoppy. Illus. by Jackie Urbaovic. Greewillow, Upaged. Scarry, Richard. The Rooster Struts. Golde, Upaged. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 33

35 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Seder, Rufus B. Gallop! : A Scaimatio Picture Book. Workma, Upaged.. Kick! Workma, Upaged.. Swig! : A Scaimatio Picture Book. Workma, Upaged.. Waddle! Workma, Upaged. Shuttleworth, Cathie. Jigle Bells. Illus. by the author. World Iteratioal, p. Silverma, Erica. Follow the Leader. Illus. by G. Bria Karas. Farrar, Upaged. Smee, Nicola. Clip-clop. Boxer, Upaged. Stei, David E. Pouch! G.P. Putam s Sos, Upaged. Sticklad, Paul. Diosaur Stomp! A Moster Pop-Up. Illus. by the author. Dutto, Upaged. Va Rossum, H. Will You Carry Me? Illus. by P. Va Harmele. Kae/Miller, p. Walsh, Elle S. Hop Jump. Harcourt Brace Jovaovich, Upaged. Walto, Rick. How Ca You Dace? Illus. by Aa Lo pez-escriva. Putam s, Upaged. Whitma, Cadace. Lies That Wiggle. Illus. by Steve Wilso. Blue Apple, Upaged. Willems, Mo. Big Frog Ca t Fit I: A Pop Out Book. Illus. by the author. Hyperio, Upaged. Movemet Music Specific sog recommedatios are i parethesis. See lists/ for updates. Baby Loves Jazz Bad. Baby Loves Jazz Greatest Hits, vol. 1 ad 2. Baby Loves Everythig, LLC, ( Hokey Pokey ) Bartkowiak, Richele, ad Patrick Brea. Fabulous Food. Schiller Educatioal Resources, ( Go Baaas ) Buck, Deis. Sigable Nursery Rhymes. Kimbo Educatioal, Burchell, Bill. Smart Moves. Preschool thru 2d. Russ IVisio, Burchell, Bill, ad Agela Russ- Ayo. Smart Moves. Preschool thru 1st. Russ IVisio, ( Take that Rope, Step o the Stoes (Colors), Keep It Up! With a Letter or Two ). Smart Moves. Tots thru Pre-K. Russ IVisio, Catwell, Diae, ad Marylou Sabella. Body Bigo. DC Creative, Colgate, Breda, ad Tim Horriga. Silly Willy Sports Workout. Educatioal Activities, Daa, Al. Three Silly Little Kittes. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Freeze Sog ) Dies, Katherie. Huk-ta-buk-ta Fusies 2. Huk-Ta-Buk-Ta, ( Shake It Up ) Doki, Pam. A Hop, Skip, ad a Jump: Activity Sogs for the Very Youg. A Getle Wid, ( Gotta Get the Beat ) Dowig, Johette. The Secod Lie: Scarf Activity Sogs. Johette Dowig, ( Shake Your Scarves, Flitter Flutter ) Exercise Party: Stretchi ad Jumpi Sogs for Youg Childre. Casablaca Kids, ( A New Way to Say Hello, Hop Alog Sog, Hula Mula, Kagaroos Hoppig, Wobbly Sog ) Fite, Stephe. Wiggles, Jiggles & Giggles. Melody House, ( Wiggles Jiggles ad Giggles ) Gill, Jim. Do Re Mi o His Toe Leg Kee. Jim Gill, ( Spi Agai, Toe Leg Kee, My Ups ads Dows, The Nothig Wrog Sog ). Movig Rhymes for Moder Times. Jim Gill, ( Slidig, Rollig, ad Jumpig, Family Goodbyes ). The Seezig Sog ad Other Cotagious Tues. Jim Gill, ( Hads Are for Clappig, Silly Dace Cotest, I m So Mad... Spaghetti Legs ) Greg & Steve. Holidays ad Special Times. Yougheart, ( If You Feel Like Rocki, Jigle Bell Rock ). Jumpi ad Jammi. Greg & Steve, ( I Had a Rooster ). Ready Set Move. Greg & Steve, ( Ready for a Good Time, Jump Dow, Tur Aroud ). Shake, Rattle & Rock. Greg & Steve, Hammett, Carol. Preschool Actio Time: Activities ad Figer Plays. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Where Is Thumbki?, Daily Exercise, Jack Be Nimble, Play Days, Mokey Tow, Sow Fu ) Hickma, Sara. Toddler. Sleeveless, ( Walkig Walkig ) Jaiak, William C. It s Fu to Clap. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Shrug Your Shoulders ) Johso, Geof. Aimal Sogs. Geof Johso, ( Flap Your Wigs ). Sogs for All Seasos. Geof Johso, ( Walki Home o Hallowee ) Learig Statio: Do Moopoli, Laurie Moopoli, ad Paul Opalach. La Di Da La Di Di Dace with Me. 34 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

36 Music, Movemet, ad Early Literacy Learig Statio, ( La Di Da, La Di Di, Jump Up, Bed Dow, Let s Twist ). Seasoal Sogs i Motio. Hug-A-Chug Records/Moopoli/ The Learig Statio, ( Mulberry Bush ). You Ca Dace. The Learig Statio, Palmer, Hap. Early Childhood Classics: Old Favorites with a New Twist. Hap- Pal Music, ( Itsy Bitsy Spider, Touch Your Toes to Your Nose, Circle Sogs: The Mulberry Bush, Rig Aroud the Rosy, Hokey Pokey, Ope Shut Them, The Elephat ). Learig Basic Skills through Music, vol. 1. Educatioal Activities, ( Put Your Hads Up i the Air ). Learig Basic Skills through Music: Buildig Vocabulary. Educatioal Activities, ( Liste ad Do, High ad Low, Hello ). So Big: Activity Sogs for Little Oes. Hap-Pal Music, ( Bluegrass Jamboree, Teddy Bear Play Time ) PC Treasures, Ic. Nursery Rhymes: 23 All-Time Classics! PC Treasures, Peer, Fred. Sig with Fred. Casablaca Kids, ( You Ca Do It If You Try ) Peterso, Carole. Tiy Tues: Music for the Very Youg Child. Macaroi Soup, ( Walki Shoes, Play the Bad, Walk Walk, Little Mouse Goes Creepig, Say Goodbye, Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar ) Piggyback Sogs: Sigable Poems Set to Favorite Tues. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Toes are Tappig ) Polasky, David S. David Polasky Sigs Mother Goose ad Other Goodies. Perfect Score, Pop Rock Parachute. Kimbo Educatioal, Ralph s World. Welcome to Ralph s World. Walt Disey, ( Dace Aroud ) Reid-Naima, Kathy. A Smooth Road to Lodo Tow: Sogs from the Paret-Child Mother Goose Program. Merriweather, ( Come-a-Look-a-See ) Rolli, Wedy. Kids Meet Composers. W. Rolli, Roo, ad Liz Joes-Twomey. Catch a Brai Wave!: Fitess Fu. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Do the Drago ) Rymer, Brady. Every Day Is a Birthday. Bumbli Bee, ( Keep Up with You Mama Do t Allow ) Salidor, Susa. Come ad Make a Circle. Susa Salidor, ( Tap Your Toe ad Follow Me ) Scelsa, Greg, ad Steve Millag. Kids i Actio. Yougheart, ( Way We Do It ) Schiller, Pamela Byre, Al Daa, Emily Bidiger, Gabriella Malek, ad Sea Curley. Start Smart Sogs for 1 s 2 s & 3 s. Kimbo Educatioal, Seeger, Mike, Peggy Seeger, ad Ruth Crawford Seeger. America Folk Sogs for Childre. Rouder, ( Such a Gettig Upstairs Roll that Brow Jug Dow to Tow Juba All Aroud the Kitche Hop, Old Squirrel ) Sesame Street. Elmo Says Boo! Soy, ( Boes [Iside of You] Games Mosters Play ) Smith, Aaro Nigel. Let s Preted. Music for Little People, ( Everybody s Jumpig Jack ad Jill ) Sousa, Joh Philip. Sousa Origial. Altissimo! Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe. Actio Sogs for Preschoolers. Kimbo Educatioal, Activity Sogs & Games Learig Fu for Preschoolers. Kimbo Educatioal, Aimal Walks. Kimbo Educatioal, Multicultural Rhythm Stick Fu. Kimbo Educatioal, Preschool Aerobic Fu. Kimbo Educatioal, ( Figer Poppi ) Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe, ad Al Daa. Choo Choo to the Zoo. Kimbo Educatioal, Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe, ad Deis Buck. A World of Parachute Play. Kimbo Educatioal, Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe, ad Jill Gallia. Playtime Parachute Fu. Kimbo Educatioal, Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe, Al Daa, Doris Eugeio, Courtey Earl, ad Jeffrey Ladma. Learig- Time Tues. Kimbo Educatioal, Stewart, Georgiaa Liccioe, ad Deis Buck. Nursery Rhyme Time: Sogs, Rhymes ad Movemet Activities. Kimbo Educatioal, Wiggles. Hot Potatoes! The Best of the Wiggles. The Wiggles Pty. Ltd., ( Ca You Poit Your Figers ad Do the Twist Move Your Arms Like Hery ). Pop Go the Wiggles!: Nursery Rhymes ad Sogs. Koch, ( Skip to My Lou ). You Make Me Feel Like Dacig. Koch, ( You Make Me Feel Like Dacig Oe Figer, Oe Thumb Shimmie Shake ) Willso, Meredith. Chicke Fat & Five Miutes for Fitess. Kimbo Educatioal, Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 35

37 Through Their Eyes The Developmet of Self-Cocept i Youg Africa America Childre through Board Books Sadra Hughes-Hassell, Elizabeth Koehler, ad Erie J. Cox The first books that childre read are board books. With the support of parets, caregivers, daycare providers, ad preschool teachers, childre are ecouraged to egage with board books by idetifyig objects, people, ad actios, talkig about the emotios beig expressed i the text ad pictures, ad oticig how they themselves are similar to or differet from the people depicted i the books. The effects of iteractios with board books o a ifat s cogitive developmet are well kow: they aid childre i learig to recogize familiar objects ad i developig basic cocepts related to people, aimals, possessios, familiar evets, ad daily routies. 1 Board books also cotribute to the expasio of ifats vocabularies ad aid them i uderstadig laguage. Rhymes, rhythms, textured pages, ad physical actios (like had clappig) are popular features of board books that build sesory awareess i toddlers. 2 I additio to these recogized cotributios, board books play aother importat role i the lives of ifats ad toddlers: they facilitate the developmet of a appreciatio of self. 3 Self-Cocept Developmet i Africa America Childre Youg childre are ot oblivious to the appearaces of the people depicted i the books they read, or are they uaware of racial differeces. Research idicates that babies as youg as four weeks old recogize ad ejoy lookig at huma faces i picture books. 4 Additioally, ifats begi to otice ski color differeces as early as six moths ad ofte begi to ask questios about these differeces by the age of two. 5 By the time they are three years old, childre start to categorize people by other oticed physical differeces, icludig hair texture ad shape of facial features, ad they develop attitudes about people of differet races ad ethic groups. 6 Exposure to multicultural childre s literature is critical for Africa America childre i their early developmet; it reiforces their cultural idetity. 7 Positive cultural images ad messages about race ecourage positive racial idetity developmet ad dimiish the potetial impact of stereotypes o ifats ad toddlers. 8 This is especially sigificat as youg Sadra Hughes-Hassell (right) is Associate Professor i the School of Iformatio ad Library Sciece at the Uiversity of North Carolia at Chapel Hill. Her Author is... research iterests iclude delivery of iformatio services to childre ad youg adults, multicultural literature, iformatio eeds of uderserved youth, ad the role of school library media specialists i educatio reform. Elizabeth Koehler (ceter) is a Middle School Libraria at the Darligto School i Rome, Georgia. She is a 2011 graduate of the School of Iformatio ad Library Sciece at the Uiversity of North Carolia at Chapel Hill. Erie J. Cox (far right) is Teacher-Libraria at Prairie Creek Itermediate School i Cedar Rapids, Iowa ad a member of the ALSC Board of Directors. 36 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

38 childre face two of the major tasks of early childhood: the developmet of self-cocept ad self-esteem. Self-cocept refers to the beliefs, attitudes, kowledge, ad ideas people have about themselves. 9 Childre begi to develop self-cocept durig the toddler years. By the time they are twety-oe to twety-four moths old, toddlers ca recogize themselves i a mirror, ad they begi to use words like me, I, ad mie to assert their idividuality. They also ca describe themselves i terms of cocrete observable characteristics related to their abilities, activities, ad possessios. For example, I go park, I jump, ad I have dump truck. 10 Self-esteem is aother importat perceptio directly related to self-cocept. It ca be defied as a overall evaluatio of oe s value or worth as a perso. 11 Toddlers demostrate selfesteem through their actios ad behaviors. 12 Those with high self-esteem appear to be cofidet, curious, ad idepedet, ad they are able to adjust to chages ad trasitios, tolerate frustratio, ad hadle coflict. 13 Race is ot irrelevat, ad the illustratios i books must reflect realistic features of Africa Americas, portray them i believable situatios, ad be culturally accurate. Parets ad society sed messages that cotribute to the developig self-cocept ad self-esteem of toddlers. Ufortuately, the impact of racism begis early. Africa America childre ofte struggle to develop positive feeligs of competecy ad worth whe faced with racial ad ethic prejudices. 14 As Beverly Tatum, presidet of Spelma College otes, youg Africa America childre who are exposed to misiformatio about themselves or about people who are differet from themselves iteralize these images ad form assumptios that may go uchalleged for years. 15 Psychologist William Cross cultivated a theory of racial idetity developmet that icludes five stages. 16 The first stage, which Cross refers to as the pre-ecouter stage, is pertiet to this article. I this stage, Africa America childre take o may of the beliefs ad values of the domiat white culture, icludig the belief that it is better to be white. 17 The messages that Africa America childre receive from society iclude stereotypes, omissios, ad distortios, alog with a image of white superiority, that ultimately socialize them to value the role models, lifestyles, ad images of beauty of white culture more tha those of their ow cultural group. 18 For Africa America childre to experiece growth ad develop self-esteem ad positive self-cocept, this message of white superiority must be challeged. 19 The Role of Literature i Couteractig Stereotypig Through Their Eyes Oe strategy for workig agaist damagig prejudices ad stereotypes is to develop eviromets that reflect diversity. At home, at their daycare ceters, i their preschools, ad i their public libraries, Africa America childre should receive messages that urture their developig sese of self-cocept ad self-esteem. 20 Multicultural board books are a importat elemet of these diverse eviromets. Although fluctuatios i the publicatio of multicultural literature have bee see i recet decades i the Uited States, the umber of books featurig owhite characters has ever accurately reflected U.S. demographics. 21 The 2000 U.S. Cesus data shows that, of the more tha 72 millio childre i the Uited States, almost 15 percet are Africa America, yet i 2009 oly 5 percet of the books received by the Cooperative Childre s Book Ceter (CCBC) had sigificat Africa or Africa America cotet. 22 As Gail Pettiford Willett, former program coordiator for the Cambridge Public Library, writes, Whe childre caot idetify with a book or see their lives celebrated through stories, it may have a egative impact o their self-image. The message they get is that their lives ad their stories are ot importat. 23 Fidig board books that feature Africa America ifats, toddlers, ad families is especially challegig. 24 Joella Mogo, special lecturer i the Departmet of Readig ad Laguage Arts at Oaklad Uiversity, foud that oly forty-eight board books featurig Africa Americas were published from 1990 through 2002, with the bulk of these beig published betwee 1994 ad By 2002, she could fid oly oe title. I our 2010 study, which focused o the represetatio of people of color i board books, we foud similar results. 26 Betwee 2003 ad 2008, 218 board books that cotaied people were published ad reviewed i maistream jourals such as School Library Joural ad Horbook. Oly 11 (5 percet) of these books focused o Africa America childre or families, ad oly 50 (23 percet) of the board books cotaied childre ad adults from multiple racial ad ethic groups. Of those 50 titles, 32 did iclude some Africa America characters, yet the umber of Africa America characters per title was still lower tha the umber of white characters. The umber of Africa America characters i board books is ot the oly issue to be addressed. Represetatio of ethicity ad culture is as importat as iclusio. While the quality of multicultural literature has improved over time, iaccuracies ad stereotypes ca still be foud i childre s books. 27 As James Baks, director of the Ceter for Multicultural Educatio at the Uiversity of Washigto, argues, books that provide iaccurate or iauthetic depictios of Africa Americas cofuse childre, reiforce stereotypes, ad ca be the source of harmful miscoceptios for childre of all races. 28 Oe board book that illustrates this poit is Coutry Babies Wear Plaid, i which the illustrator uses the same sleder tall Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 37

39 Through Their Eyes figure to depict mothers of differet races. 29 These mothers are all takig part i the same activities i the same settigs othig is differet but the hue of their ski. As Mogo poits out, Just paitig the faces of characters brow i a book is ot sufficiet. 30 Race is ot irrelevat, ad the illustratios i books must reflect realistic features of Africa Americas, portray them i believable situatios, ad be culturally accurate. 31 Aother related issue is fidig books that reflect the diversity withi Africa America families. It is difficult to fid books depictig Africa America childre with very dark or very light ski. 32 It is eve more difficult to fid images of biracial or multiracial childre, despite the fact that demographers estimate that the umber of biracial childre will oly cotiue to icrease. To thik of multicultural represetatio as a sigle kid of board book perpetuates a icomplete uderstadig of reality ad deies childre of color a importat resource for developig a positive sese of self. A Role for Public Librarias The most obvious role librarias ca play is to develop a authetic collectio of board books that will egage ad promote the self-esteem of Africa America childre. To assist with this task, we have developed a aotated bibliography of board books about Africa America babies ad toddlers (see Recommeded Board Books o page 40). Either the author or illustrator of each book is Africa America, ad all of the books were, as of late 2010, still i prit. Icludig board books that feature Africa America ifats ad toddlers, however, is ot eough. Because there are so few of these board books, they will udoubtedly make up oly a small portio of the board books i the collectio. Library visitors may ot fid them o their ow, or they may ot eve kow to look for them at the library. Librarias eed to promote these books to parets, caregivers, ad daycare providers by displayig them i the library, recommedig them to visitors, highlightig them i ewsletters, ad featurig them o the library s website. If the library geerally utilizes ay special strategies to promote ew or timely parts of the collectio, those same strategies ca be applied to the promotio of board books that feature Africa America childre. Does the library or the childre s sectio use a special table or sectio to feature books? A flyer or a bulleti board to accompay a display of these board books may serve to educate library visitors about the statistics ad issues discussed i this article. If the childre s departmet celebrates a mothly or seasoal theme, there may be a opportuity to To thik of multicultural represetatio as a sigle kid of board book perpetuates a icomplete uderstadig of reality ad deies childre of color a importat resource for developig a positive sese of self. promote multicultural literature ad raise awareess of multicultural board books. If the library coducts workshops for local daycare providers or provides book mobile services to local daycare ceters, which may do, librarias eed to make sure to feature these books. Librarias also eed to icorporate board books that feature Africa America ifats ad toddlers ito storytimes. Iclude dolls, toys, puzzles, ad wall decoratios i the story area that reflect diverse images. These actios will serve ot oly Africa America childre, but childre of all cultures ad ethicities who may ot regularly be exposed to diverse or multicultural literature. Librarias committed to promotig authetic multicultural literature might also cosider ivitig Africa America authors or illustrators to the library for readigs or storytime, or they might feature Africa America ad other multicultural authors i library displays or o the library s website. Fially, the fact that there are so few board books available that feature Africa America ifats, toddlers, ad families should act as a call to actio for librarias. Public library usage data shows that Africa Americas are just as likely as whites to use public libraries. 33 Perhaps the time has come for librarias to challege the large, maistream publishers to provide board books for Africa America childre. As Kathlee T. Horig, director of the CCBC at the School of Educatio at the Uiversity of Wiscosi-Madiso, ad her colleagues ote, there are may editors who uderstad the eed for more literature that represets our diverse society, but their passio for publishig multicultural literature caot always carry the day i meetigs with bottom-lie umber cruchers watig to kow whether such books will sell. 34 Cotact publishers ad express your eed for these materials. Create a fact sheet that presets the research that shows the eed for these books, with a emphasis o the potetial impact they ca have o the developig self-cocept of Africa America childre. Whe you visit the vedor exhibits at atioal ad state cofereces, talk to the publisher represetatives ad distribute your fact sheet. Developig a healthy idetity ad positive self-cocept are major tasks i early childhood. Through their iteractios with the world, youg childre begi to figure out how they are the same ad differet from other people, ad how they feel about these differeces. I this article we have argued that public libraries ca play a role i helpig to lay a positive foudatio for Africa America childre by promotig board books that reflect their lives, thus couteractig the prevailig biased messages of the wider society. The same is true for childre who belog to other racial ad ethic commuities. & 38 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

40 Refereces ad Notes 1. Dorothy Butler, Babies Need Books (New York: Atheeum, 1980). 2. Barbara Z. Kiefer, Charlotte Huck s Childre s Literature i Educatio, 10th ed. (Bosto: McGraw-Hill, 2010). 3. Sadra Hughes-Hassell ad Erie J. Cox, Iside Board Books: Represetatios of People of Color, Library Quarterly 80 (July 2010): ; Virgiia M. Hederso, The Developmet of Self-Esteem i Childre of Color, i The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substace i Literature for Childre ad Youg Adults, ed. Merri V. Lidgre (Madiso, Wis.: Cooperative Childre s Book Ceter, 1991): Phyllis A. Katz, Developmet of Racial Attitudes i Childre, presetatio give to the Uiversity of Delaware, Lecture sposored by the ASPIRE Program ad the Office of the Dea of the College of Educatio. 5. Elizabeth A. Hasso, Readig with Ifats ad Toddlers, Day Care & Early Educatio 19 (Fall 1999): 35 37; Louise Derma-Sparks, Empowerig Childre to Create a Carig Culture i a World of Differeces, Childhood Educatio 70 ( ): Beverly D. Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? ad Other Coversatios About Race (New York: Basic, 1997); Jea S. Phiey ad Mary Jae Rotherma, eds., Childre s Ethic Socializatio: Pluralism ad Developmet (Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1987); Debra Va Ausdale ad Joe R. Feagi, The First R: How Childre Lear Race ad Racism (New York: Rowma & Littlefield, 2002). 7. Nacy Hase-Krei, Authors of Color: A Multicultural Perspective, Joural of Readig 36 (Oct. 1992): ; Mary R. Jalogo, Youg Childre ad Picture Books: Literature from Ifacy to Six (Washigto, D.C.: Natioal Associatio for the Educatio of Youg Childre, 1988). 8. Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? 9. Judith L. Meece ad Deise H. Daiels, Child ad Adolescet Developmet for Educators (Bosto: McGraw- Hill, 2008): Ibid. 11. Ibid., Ibid. 13. Susa Harter, The Self, i Hadbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3: Social, Emotioal, ad Persoality Developmet, ed. William Damo ad Richard Lerer (New York: Wiley, 2006): Phiey ad Rotherma, Childre s Ethic Socializatio: Pluralism ad Developmet; Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? ; Va Ausdale ad Feagi, The First R. 15. Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? Through Their Eyes 16. William E. Cross, Shades of Black: Diversity i Africa America Idetity (Philadelphia: Temple Uiv. Pr., 1991). 17. Cross, Shades of Black; Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? 18. Ibid. 19. Ibid. 20. Bea R. Heffli ad Mary Alice Barksdale-Ladd, Africa America Childre s Literature that Helps Studets Fid Themselves: Selectio Guidelies for Grades K 3, Readig Teacher 54 (May 2001): ; Hederso, Virgiia M., The Developmet of Self-Esteem i Childre of Color, i The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substace i Literature for Childre ad Youg Adults, ed. Merri V. Lidgre (Madiso, Wis.: Cooperative Childre s Book Ceter, 1991): Kathlee T. Horig, Merri V. Lidgre, ad Mega Schliesma, Thoughts o Publishig i 2009 (Madiso, Wis.: Cooperative Childre s Book Ceter, 2010), (accessed May 12, 2010). 22. U.S. Cesus Bureau, geerated by Sadra Hughes-Hassell; usig America FactFider, (accessed Sept. 8, 2010). Horig et al., Thoughts o Publishig i Gail Pettiford Willett, Strog, Resiliet, Capable, ad Cofidet, Hor Book Magazie 71 (Mar. 1995): The focus i this article is o Africa America childre; however, it is equally difficult to fid board books that represet other childre of color. For a full discussio of this issue, see Sadra Hughes-Hassell ad Erie J. Cox, Iside Board Books: Represetatios of People of Color, Library Quarterly 80 (July 2010): Joella A. Mogo, Board Books featurig Africa Americas: Vaishig but ot Etirely Goe, Michiga Readig Joural 35 (Fall 2002): Sadra Hughes-Hassell ad Erie J. Cox, Iside Board Books: Represetatios of People of Color, Library Quarterly 80 (July 2010): Violet J. Harris, Cotiuig Dilemmas, Debates, ad Delights i Multicultural Literature, New Advocate 2 (Sprig 1996), James Baks, Teachig Strategies for Ethic Studies. (Bosto: Pearso, 2009). 29. Michelle Siclair Colma, Coutry Babies Wear Plaid (Berkeley: Tricycle, 2006). 30. Mogo, Board Books featurig Africa Americas, Baks, Teachig Strategies for Ethic Studies; Mogo, Board Books featurig Africa Americas. 32. Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sittig Together i the Cafeteria? 33. Mary Jo Lych, Usig Public Libraries: What Makes a Differece? America Libraries 28 (1997): 64, Horig, Lidgre, ad Schliesma, Thoughts o Publishig i Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 39

41 Through Their Eyes Recommeded Board Books Featurig Africa America Ifats ad Toddlers Asim, Jabari. Girl of Mie. Illus. by LeUye Pham. Little, Brow, p. As Daddy cradles his baby girl, she is suddely whisked away o a fatastical adveture. The text is ispired by Rock-a-Bye Baby.. Whose Kees Are These. Illus. by LeUye Pham. Little, Brow, p. This book takes a lovig look at kees from the vatage poit of a mother s lap.. Whose Toes Are Those. Illus. by LeUye Pham. Little, Brow, p. Childre are ivited to explore their toes by playig This Little Piggy. Baicker, Kare. I Ca Do It Too! Illus. by Ke Wilso-Max. Chroicle, p. Ayoe ca pour juice, bake a cake, ad kiss away hurts, right? But maybe it s ot so easy whe oe is very small.. You Ca Do It Too! Illus. by Ke Wilso-Max. Chroicle, p. From bagig a spoo o the back of a pa for music to march by to spittig straight ito the sik whe it is tooth-brushig time, the big sister is very busy so busy that it takes a while for her to realize that her little brother ca do somethig she caot. DuBurke, Rady, Little Mister. Illus. by the author. Chroicle, p. From daw to dusk (ad the some!), a toddler s life is busy, busy, busy helpig Mommy i the kitche, playig the time-toget-dressed chase, ivestigatig a mysterious box. The advetures are edless! This is a celebratio of a toddler s daily life. Hudso, Cheryl Willis. Aimal Souds for Baby. Illus. by George Ford. Scholastic, p. Visitig a pettig zoo, a Africa America baby boy is itroduced to the souds made by several familiar aimals, icludig a cow, horse, cat, duck, lamb, ad pig. Hudso, Cheryl Willis. Good Morig, Baby. Illus. by George Ford. Scholastic, p. Wakig up o a bright ad suy morig, a exuberat Africa America baby girl washes up, gets dressed, eats her breakfast, ad rus out to play.. Good Night, Baby. Illus. by George Ford. Scholastic, p. As a toddler plays with her favorite toys, icludig a teddy bear, toy trucks ad cars, rubber ducks, ad buildig blocks, childre are itroduced to the umbers oe through te.. Let s Cout, Baby. Illus. by George Ford. Scholastic, p. Baby ca cout differet objects that are all aroud her, icludig red trucks, yellow ducks, sigig birds, ad fuy socks. Ca you cout to te like Baby ca? Johso, Agela. Joshua by the Sea. Illus. by Rhoda Mitchell. Orchard, p. Joshua, a youg Africa America boy, goes to the shore with his family. 40 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

42 Through Their Eyes. Rai Feet. Illus. by Rhoda Mitchell. Orchard, p. Joshua splashes through puddles i a yellow slicker ad boots. Lee, Spike ad Toya Lewis Lee. Please, Baby, Please. Illus. by Kadir Nelso. Simo & Schuster, p. The Academy-Award omiated filmmaker ad his wife preset a behid-the-scees look at the chills, spills, ad uequivocal thrills of brigig up baby. Pikey, Adrea Davis. I Smell Hoey. Illus. by Bria Pikey. Harcourt, p. Help boil the grees, flip the fish, ad slice the pie for a mouth-waterig family meal.. Pretty Brow Face. Illus. by Bria Pikey. Harcourt, p. A toddler discovers the uique features that make his face so special. A Mylar mirror ecourages childre to explore their faces.. Shake Shake Shake. Illus. by Bria Pikey. Harcourt, p.. Watch Me Dace. Illus. by Bria Pikey. Harcourt, p. Explore the joys of rhythm ad movemet. These books celebrate the closeess of a lovig Africa America family. Pikey, Sadra L. Shades of Black: A Celebratio of Our Childre. Photos by Myles C. Pikey. Scholastic, p. I am Black / I am Uique / I am the creamy white frost i vailla ice cream / ad the milky smooth brow i a chocolate bar. This book uses simple poetic laguage ad is a remarkable book of affirmatio for Africa America childre. Tarpley, Natasha Aastasia. I Love My Hair! Illus. by E. B. Lewis. Little, Brow, p. This book ecourages youg black childre to ot oly feel good about their special hair, but to also feel proud of their heritage. Taylor, A. Baby Dace. Illus. by Marjorie va Heerde. HarperFestival, p. While egaged i a high-spirited dace aroud the room, a father sigs to his baby daughter. Nurture Boudless Imagiatios... Ages 9-13 Ages 9-13 Ages 7-10 Ages HC $ PB $15.95 Neat, emotive, uvarished stories...are egagig ad ispirig. ~ Kirkus Reviews HC $ PB $14.95 A sparklig additio to performig-arts sectios. ~ School Library Joural HC $ PB $ HC $ illustratios are delightful, displayig a pitch-perfect sese of comedic timig. ~ Kirkus Reviews For cotests, activity ideas, ad fu facts, coect with us o Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 41

43 Searchig for She-roes A Study of Biographies of Historic Wome Writte for Childre Christia H. Dorr You ll ever believe the wome I ve met: Nellie Bly as she experieced the torture of backbreakig factory work to be able to write her ewspaper story with hoesty; Amelia Earhart ecouterig the failure of her altimeter while sow ad ice coated her widshield as she attempted to be the first woma to fly the Atlatic; Marie Atoiette as she faced meetig the loveless face of the Frech Dauphi to whom she was betrothed; Althea Gibso as she faced her oppoets as the first Africa America woma ever to compete at Wimbledo; Elizabeth Blackwell as she edured the discrimiatio of me as she searched for a college to trai her as a doctor; Eleaor Roosevelt as she stood to address the Uited Natios, represetig the Uited States after her husbad s death; ad Sacagawea as she approached Native Americas to help brig peace betwee them ad Lewis ad Clark. It seems as though adults have always writte ad published biographies for childre, stories like those metioed above, i the hope that the lives of those writte about will i some way ispire the child reader to make the most of her ow life. The differece, I ve foud, betwee successful ad usuccessful biographies, may well lie i the styles i which they are writte, illustrated, ad packaged eve more tha the choice of biographee or the cotet the author chooses to share. A brief look back at some of the priceless biographies housed i the Baldwi Collectio at the Special Collectios Library at the George A. Smathers Library at the Uiversity of Florida i Gaiesville with a particular iterest i books about Amelia Earhart will show you what I mea. Beig a woma a poor child of the 1960s who searched reletlessly i biographies of wome to ispire myself I focused o what historically girls have bee offered over the decades, ideed ceturies, as models. I remember my elemetary school library biography sectio clearly: three shelves of thick tomes ad a series titled The Childhood of Famous Americas. As a secod grader perusig these shelves, I overlooked the dautig, thick books ad bega to work my way through the Childhood of Famous Americas series. I ca t remember which idividual titles spoke to me the most clearly, or how Author is... Christia H. Dorr, PhD, has bee a Elemetary Media Specialist for twety-oe years, curretly with Hilliard (Ohio) City School District. She also is a Adjuct Istructor i Library Sciece ad Educatio with Ket State Uiversity ad Ashlad Uiversity. She served o ALSC s Notable Childre s Book Award Committee for 2006 ad 2007, ad was amed to the Norma A. Sugarma Committee, which hoors the best biographies writte for childre. 42 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

44 may I actually read before outgrowig them ad movig o to more difficult titles, but I ca remember them havig a deep impact o my ideas of possibilities for my life. As a child growig up i a very poor farm family, where food was abudat but opportuities seemed scarce, the picture these books created of what I could become was powerful. Because of my backgroud, what girls have bee offered throughout the decades ad ceturies as models is importat to me. The oldest biography I discovered, a collective biography published i 1795, titled Plutarch s Lives Abridged; i which The Historical Parts are Carefully Preserved, ad the Comparisos of the Respective Lives Accurately Delieated, Calculated for the Istructio of Youth, does ot cotai ay wome as subjects. However, wives, mistresses, ad daughters of the biographees are metioed sometimes eve by ame. The first few titles deemig it fit to iclude wome were small chapbooks that completely saitized their subjects ad uabashedly promoted their pious Protestat ways. The first of such books was Biography for Girls; or, Moral ad Istructive Examples for the Female Sex, published i Lodo i By the 1820s, a few authors bega to iclude lives of famous wome, but with the same purpose, ad told i the same overly dramatic, saitized fashio. Some authors, eve females, degraded the accomplishmets of wome. Oe example is Mrs. Jameso s Memoirs of Celebrated Female Sovereigs, oe of the first books to focus o famous wome. I the preface, she states the purpose of the book: The itetio of this work is to preset i a small compass, ad at oe view, a idea of the ifluece with a female govermet has had geerally o me ad atios, ad of the ifluece which the possessio of power has had idividually o the female character. 1 Her coclusio is this: O the whole, it seems idisputable that the experimets hitherto made i the way of female govermet have bee sigally ufortuate; ad that wome called to empire have bee, i most cases, cospicuously uhappy or crimial. So that, were we to judge by the past, it might be decided at oce, that the power which belogs to us, as a sex, is ot properly or aturally that of the scepter or the sword. 2 A otable exceptio to this tred is a set of eight volumes that ecompasses the autobiography of the Coutess de Gelis, published i 1825, ad titled Memoirs of the Coutess de Gelis, Illustrative of the History of the Eighteeth ad Nieteeth Ceturies. Her full ame was Stéphaie Félicité Ducrest de Searchig for She-roes St.-Aubi. She was a Frech writer of books for childre ad adults, musicia, educator, ad all-aroud flamboyat character who escaped to Eglad durig the Frech Revolutio. It was totally refreshig to fid a female who was t the perfect Protestat ad example of her geder probably because she was writig it herself. She purports to couter what others have writte about her, those scadalous aecdotes. 3 What is most itriguig, however, is the voice: I was bor so small ad so weakly that they would ot veture to put me i swaddlig clothes, ad a few momets after my birth, I was o the poit of losig my life. I had bee placed i a dow pillow, of which, to keep me warm, the two sides were folded over me, ad fasteed with a pi; ad thus wrapped up, I was laid upo a arm-chair i the room. The judge of the district, who was almost blid, came to pay his visit of complimet to my father; ad as, i his coutry fashio, he separated the huge flaps of his coat to sit dow, someoe saw that he was goig to place himself i the arm-chair where I was; luckily he was preveted from sittig dow, ad I escaped beig crushed to death. 4 Though most likely a set writte for adults, childre of the time most likely ejoyed the humor ad storyteller s style as well. By the mid-1800s, the style of writig was becomig less preachy, ad somewhat more egagig. The cotet became more realistic, ad the subjects were more ofte famous wome tha commoers. Fewer collectios, ad more idividual biographies, appeared; quotatios were sometimes used, but still very few books listed refereces cosulted. Oe biographer, Jacob Abbott, i writig The Life of Elizabeth, Quee of Eglad (1850), states i the begiig pages that he was to cofie himself very strictly... to historic truth... with o itetioal embellishmet. 5 Furthermore, i perusig the cotets page, I foud a chapter etitled Elizabeth s Lovers, but upo readig the chapter foud that although she ever married, it was ot for wat of lovers, or rather of admirers ad suitors, that Elizabeth lived sigle all her days. 6 Her character is t completely saitized; there is talk of plots ad relatioships, though othig opely. I happeed upo aother book published aroud the same time: the first biography of a Africa America. Aut Sally: or, The Cross the Way of Freedom. A Narrative of the Slave-life ad Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams, of Detroit, Michiga was published i 1866 with o author s ame listed. The story is iterestig i that it is the first slave arrative I ecoutered at the Baldwi collectio. However, like so may others, it was writte to prove the worthiess of Protestatism. Its style is heavy-haded ad preachy, but the story is told i Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 43

45 Searchig for She-roes a more egagig maer tha those early i the cetury. The book icludes some drawigs, poetry, ad hyms. The secod autobiography I ecoutered of a girl was published i 1878 by Margaret S. Jeue ad titled My School-Days i Paris. Though Frace was predomiatly a Catholic coutry, Protestatism was first metioed o the secod page ad was brought up frequetly thereafter. Like de Gelis book, it seems to have bee writte i later years as a adult recallig her childhood. Ulike de Gelis autobiography, however, Jeue chose the writig style of the early 1800s: legthy seteces ad a stuffier maer. It is, however, the first book I have foud with captios to explai actio i the drawigs. The first half of the twetieth cetury ushered i the first biographies to use photographs, the first picturebook, ad series books, such as the Childhood of Famous Americas series, which I will discuss i a later sectio o books about Amelia Earhart. The style of most of the biographies of this time period still icluded lesso teachig. The biographees lives were still quite saitized, though they were made more egagig with the itroductio of fabricated coversatios. Bibliographies appeared, though the citatios were icomplete. The first biography I foud to use photographs was The Girl Who Foud the Blue Bird: A Visit to Hele Keller (1914) by Georgette Leblac. It icludes oe photo of Hele ad oe of the author herself. Possibly because it is a traslatio, it is very poetic ad flowery i style; I ca t imagie a child ejoyig it. The Little Girl Who Waved: The Story of Curly Top by Clara A. Ford, published i 1937, is the first biography i the collectio to resemble a picturebook. Though it is broke ito short chapters, the seteces ad paragraphs are shorter, ad the vocabulary is simpler: [Curly Top] listeed. First there was a far-away whisper. The a great rumblig, grumblig. The a roar as the trai rushed by the house. 7 There is liberal use of photographs to help tell the story. The cocludig pages are used as a picture timelie to illustrate how the lad through which the trai ow rus providig Curly Top with others to wave to has chaged over time. The book is told through the child s poit of view ad was obviously meat for a child to read to herself. Though pictures ad story are static whe measured by today s picturebook stadards, it was revolutioary for its time. This also is the time period of the first Igri ad Edgar d Aulaire biography, Pocahotas (1946). It is the first picturebook I ecoutered i the fashio of what picturebooks look like today; that is, the larger size, full color, ad simpler, shorter text. O rereadig, it is apparet that it is a book of its time with the usual shortcomigs a overridig focus o Christiaity, stereotypical ad codescedig portrayal of Native Americas, didacticism but with ot early as may as books from earlier time periods. The first biography I foud to iclude a bibliography, albeit icomplete, was Jeaette Eato s A Daughter of the Seie: The Life of Madame Rolad, published i It also is uique i that it icludes other features of ofictio, such as a glossary, suggestios for additioal readig, suggestios for projects, questios for discussio, ad edotes. Though the writig style is stuffy ad adult-orieted, it possibly could have bee for school use, although it is ot oted as such i the book. Oe otable exceptio to the style of the time period is Jeaette L. Gilder s The Autobiography of a Tomboy (1900). As a pioeer i jouralism for wome writig for several ewspapers ad magazies i New Eglad, Gilder looks back at her childhood with a fresh voice. This autobiography is hilarious, told as if she were still that child; her use of descriptio ad dialogue makes this book a gem: Every oe said that I was a tomboy; ad, beig a good America, I bowed to the verdict of the majority ad was happy. I ever quite uderstood why a girl who climbed trees, clug to the tail-ed of carts, ad otherwise deported herself as a well-coditioed girl should ot, was called a tomboy. It always seemed to me that, if she was aythig she should ot be, it was a tomgirl. However, tomboy was the accepted ame for such girls as I was, ad there was o use i arguig the case. After all, it made little differece. I did ot care what they called me, so log as they let me aloe; but that they were loathe to do. 8 A hilarious tale, told through aecdotes, i a egagig writer s voice. Biographies for childre published i the secod half of the twetieth cetury made liberal use of photographs of their subjects at various ages ad at critical times. Stories of famous wome became the rule, ad the variety of fields from which the biographees were chose was wide. Fabricated coversatios started to disappear as authors treated their subjects much more objectively. Bibliographies ad idexes were far more complete ad more cosistetly appeared i the books. Moder wome, as well as historic figures, bega to be dealt with. Oe book, Lagsto Hughes Famous America Negroes (1954), is told simply ad matter-of-factly, arratig both the biographees accomplishmets ad icidets of racial discrimiatio. Iterestigly eough, of the sevetee idividuals listed, oly three are wome Phyllis Wheatley, Harriet Tubma, ad Maria Aderso. Ulike racial discrimiatio, little is said about discrimiatio because of geder. Aother biography of the time period, Julia Carso s Mary Cassatt (1966), was told more objectively tha most previous 44 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

46 biographies, usig oly direct quotatios. Reproductios of her paitigs are icluded, as is a very complete bibliography. Biases, however, were still apparet i the writig of the time period. For example, Tobi Tobias ad Michael Hampshire, for the most part, created a acceptable picturebook, Maria Tallchief, with drawigs doe i soft, muted brows, whites, yellows, ad orages. The writig style is serviceable, though ot particularly lively. However, the widely held assumptio of a woma s role comes through i this lie: Maria s ballet career was a success, but her marriage to Mr. Balachie had become very uhappy. Like most wome, she wated to have childre. 9 Ad i a 1983 biography of Sally Ride, Sally Ride ad the New Astroauts: Scietists i Space, which does a good job of focusig o Ride s qualificatios ad cotributios to the space program, author Kare O Coor felt compelled to commet o Ride s appearace: Before the sessio was over, traiers would hook the pretty, dark-haired astroaut by rope to a motorboat. 10 I would be surprised to read similar commets about the appearace of male astroauts i books writte durig the same time period. Oe biography that demostrates how the writig style ca hook a reader quickly is Florece Meima White s 1980 book First Woma i Cogress: Jeaette Raki. Here s how the story begis: Jeaette! Jeaette! It was her father s voice, urget. Jeaette was about to mout her mare. Istead, she tured to see Joh Raki hurryig toward the stables, leadig his favorite horse by the reis. Why was he walkig? She wodered. Was there somethig wrog? She ra toward him. As they drew close to each other, her eyes opeed wide with horror. Blood was gushig from the horse s right side. What happeed, Father? Jeaette asked axiously. Got caught o a barbed wire fece. Get a eedle ad thread, Jeaette. Quickly! As her father led the ijured horse ito the stable, Jeaette ra to the house. I a few miutes, she retured with strog thread ad a darig eedle, a large clea towel ad a bucket of hot water. The twelve-year-old girl got dow o her kees, washed the ope sore, the carefully sewed together the tor flesh. The wouded aimal writhed i pai. You ll be fie, boy, she whispered, as she laid a comfortig had o the horse s head. He tured his grateful eyes upo her. Good work, Jeaette. You ve doe a fie job. Her father s voice was filled with admiratio. 11 I ca t imagie ay child ot beig draw ito a book begiig i this way. Aother biography writte durig this time that broke ew groud i how the story is told is Richard Gibbs Wome Prime Miisters, published i The writig is factual, though Searchig for She-roes somewhat opiioated, but what s the most fasciatig is Gibbs use of timelies, drawigs, maps, ad sidebars. This format, relatively ew to the time, elives the stories of four pioeerig wome who broke stereotypes to rule their coutries Sirimavo Badaraaike, the first woma prime miister of ay coutry, who ruled Sri Laka i the 1960s; Golda Meir, prime miister of Israel durig the 1960s; Idira Gadhi, ruler of Idia i the 1960s ad 1970s; ad Margaret Thatcher, prime miister of Great Britai from the 1970s to 1990s. More Moder Approaches Begiig i the 1990s ad cotiuig ito the writig, illustratig, ad publishig of biographies for childre today, I foud a defiite shift i how biographies are created for childre. Primary sources are regularly cited ad eve photographed ad icluded i the book, far more extesive bibliographies are writte, ad much more attractive packagig of the books makes them irresistible. Far more picturebooks are published, makig the biographees lives more iterestig ad accessible to youger readers. The writig style is ofte as if the story is beig told orally, but there is also a tedecy, especially i picturebooks, to blur the lie betwee ofictio ad fictio. I could cite may biographies from the Baldwi collectio to illustrate what I mea, but I ll let just a hadful of them tell this part of the story. The use of primary sources, especially diaries, ad sometimes icludig photographs, became popular. Billie Holiday by Bud Klimet (1990) is writte usig may primary sources, icludig ewspaper ad magazie articles, which are photographically reproduced. A biography of Sojourer Truth, Ai t I a Woma? by Patricia ad Fredrick McKissack i 1992, allows Truth herself to tell her ow story through selectios from her autobiography, Narrative of Sojourer Truth: A Norther Slave, published i 1850, ad through the eyes of those who kew her. Ad Susaa Reich, i her 1999 biography Clara Schuma: Piao Virtuoso, icludes a fial chapter explaiig her liberal use of diaries, letters, music mauscripts, photos, drawigs, cocert programs, ewspapers, magazies, books, ad articles. A couple of almost biographies, or picturebooks that are a crucial sippet of a perso s life, writte i the late twetieth cetury, are William Miller s Zora Hursto ad the Chiaberry Tree (1994) ad Michael Bedard s The Divide (1997). The first tells of Hursto s mother s death ad the profoud impact she ad the storytellers of the commuity made o her future writig life. The secod relates the poit i Willa Cather s life whe her family moved west, ad the eormous resposibility it placed o her. It is writte very poetically ad could easily be cofused with fictio. Both are beautifully illustrated. Some are told i a style that appeals strogly to the seses, such as the McKissacks story of playwright Lorraie Hasberry. Published i 1998, Youg, Black, ad Determied: A Biography Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 45

47 Searchig for She-roes of Lorraie Hasberry is told i a way that places the reader alogside the subject. I describig Hasberry s childhood home, the authors write, Childre played hopscotch ad tag together i the park, shared dill pickles that reeked of garlic, ad fought over who said what about whom. 12 Others are told with a excess of drama. Josephie Poole s 1997 picturebook Joa of Arc is illustrated i rich, classic paitigs, but the dramatic text blurs the edges betwee fact ad fictio. But that was ot the ed. A sait is like a star. A star ad a sait shie forever. 13 Still others are itetioally fictioalized. Whe Nikki Grimes wrote Talki About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Colema, she oted, The form of the followig story is fictioal, but the story itself is based o fact. 14 I twety-oe free verse poems, Bessie s life is revealed through the poit of view of others who were importat i her life. Oe cotemporary biographer, Do Brow, a prolific picturebook writer ad illustrator, has created stories of lesser-kow wome that reflect their persoalities. I Ruth Law Thrills a Natio, he pairs humorous, colorful watercolor paitigs with a sappy text to show the verve ad darig of Law: O November 19, 1916, Ruth Law tried to fly from Chicago to New York City i oe day. ow story i Through My Eyes, a picturebook. She also adds the voices of several others o both sides of the cotroversy. Alteratig betwee stuig photos ad revealig text, she brigs to life her amazig story: Whe I was six years old, the civil rights movemet came kockig at the door. It was 1960, ad history pushed i ad swept me up i a whirlwid. At the time, I kew little about the racial fears ad hatred i Louisiaa, where I was growig up. Youg childre ever kow about racism at the start. It s we adults who teach it. 18 Oe biography featurig a uique voice is My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz by Moica Brow, published i It is the first biligual biography of a woma that I ucovered i the collectio, ad the colorful, eergetic illustratios ad melodic text echo the salsa music Celia created: Sugar! My voice is strog, smooth, ad sweet. I will make you feel like dacig. Close your eyes ad liste. My voice feels like feet skippig o cool wet sad, like ruig uder a waterfall, like rollig dow a hill. My voice climbs ad rocks ad dips ad flips with the souds of cogas beatig ad trumpets blarig. Boom boom boom! Beat the cogas. Clap clap clap! Go the hads. Shake shake shake! Go the hips. I am the Quee of Salsa ad I ivite you to come dace with me. 19 It had ever bee doe before. It was a frosty, blustery morig, Ruth woke up before daw, but she did ot feel the cold. To get used to the cold weather, she had slept i a tet o the roof of a Chicago hotel. 15 I his 1999 title Rare Treasure: Mary Aig ad Her Remarkable Discoveries, Brow combies mysterious, earth-toed illustratios with rich text: I ca t thik of a better way to use style to hook childre ito a biography! Ad radically differet formats for relatig other s lives have come o the childre s books scee. The best example I discovered at the Baldwi Collectio of Historic Childre s Literature is To Dace, a autobiography by Siea Cherso Siegel, published i Michele Gorma, i a 2008 article published i School Library Joural, sums up the beefits of graphic ovels for childre: Mary Aig lived from 1799 to 1847, but her spirit dwelled i a time millios of years ago, whe the mosters ad dragos we ow call diosaurs roamed. She had little moey, but she was rich i spirit. She was uschooled, but the professors heeded her words. She rarely strayed from her home, but her ame became kow everywhere. Mary Aig pried fossils from the groud, but it was kowledge she uearthed. 16 Ad Brow mixes hazy, ethereal imagery ad a cotemplative toe i Far Beyod the Garde Gate: Alexadra David-Neel s Jourey to Lhasa: Alexadra ad Yogde tramp for miles through silet forests. Clearigs reveal shiig sow-clad moutais, towerig high i the blue sky, froze torrets ad glitterig waterfalls hagig like gigatic... curtais from the rugged rocks. 17 Graphic ovels are ow addressig importat persoal ad social issues like the power of imagiatio, beig true to oe s self, the beefits of teamwork, ad how to cope with divorce ad bullyig. Teachers ad librarias are also begiig to realize that these books are perfect for youg readers who are makig the trasitio from picturebooks to text-oly titles. Ad with graphic ovels hypotic power to pull kids ito a story, they re also perfect for promotig recreatioal or free volutary readig oe of the most effective ways to icrease literacy ad create lifelog readers. 20 Siegel, a Puerto Rica ative ad former dacer i the New York City Ballet, wrote To Dace, a Sibert Hoor title, i a iformative but emotioal style. Her husbad, Mark Siegel, illustrated the book i a lively, eergetic maer. What a treat to be able to offer childre biographies as eticig as this! Brow has helped set the bar high for others to reach i creatig egagig picturebook biographies. Two other titles oe a autobiography, the other a biography tell their stories i uique voices. Ruby Bridges tells her Earhart i Biographies The first three childre s books about Amelia Earhart, as I studied them at the Baldwi Collectio, made their appearace i the 46 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

48 first half of the twetieth cetury. The first, published i 1942, is called Heroies of the Sky, a collectio of a overview of eightee wome aviators. Earhart s chapter is titled Amelia Earhart: She Dramatized Flyig. Author Jea Adams coteds that Earhart s career has already bee so completely revealed there is little left to say. For this reaso we shall cotet ourselves here with highlightig a few spots i her meteoric life. Those who are curious to kow more about Amelia Earhart must tur to both her ow books ad those of her husbad, George Palmer Putam. 21 The book is writte for older childre, told matter-of-factly, but iterestigly. The authors coclude that today, therefore, it is very hard to decide whether Amelia Earhart was the greatest woma flier of her day or merely the greatest persoality of her sex who ever flew. 22 The secod Earhart book is devoted oly to her life, Amelia Earhart: Heroie of the Skies. 23 It is told i a ovel-like fashio with liberties take i dialogue ad frequet editorial commets. Earhart s family life ad persoal shortcomigs are shortchaged, but still, it is a iterestig read. The book icludes a bibliography with author, year, ad title oly, cotais a idex, ad is the first biography o Earhart I ve foud with a chroology. The third title, Amelia Earhart: Kasas Girl, is part of the Childhood of Famous Americas series. Oly thirty books i the 199-book series were about wome. The Baldwi collectio ows sixtee. Besides Earhart, they iclude Jae Addams, Sacagawea, Julia Ward Howe, Clara Barto, Pocahotas, Martha Washigto, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Juliette Low, Lucretia Mott, Maria Mitchell, Molly Pitcher, Susa Athoy, Jessie Fremot, Dolly Madiso, ad Elizabeth Blackwell. Like other books of its time, these are writte i ovel-like fashio, i a rather gushy, sappy, ad dramatized style. The authors took liberties with dialogue, saitized or igored egative issues or character traits, ad played up idividualism, yet carefully retaied their subject s sese of femiiity ad religious devotio. A scee from Amelia s first sight of a plae at a fair will illustrate the style: Amelia stopped agai. Look at the beautiful paper hats, Papa. May we have oe? Oh, yes, Papa. Please! Pidge [Amelia s sister] echoed. If you ll promise the to come with me to see the aeroplae with o more delay. I ll get you each oe, Papa said. Amelia ad Pidge tried first oe hat, the aother. There were flat little circles covered with paper flowers. They tied uder the chi with silk ribbos. There were bright boets with flower-trimmed brims. They were all so gay ad pretty. It seemed wise to try each oe o the couter. It was hard to make a choice... Will it fly agai today, Papa? asked Amelia. If the rai stops. But we d better go home. Let s wait ad see it fly agai, Amelia begged. Did you hear the whir of the egie? Did you see the wigs tip like a bird s? I d like to see it agai. Papa looked at her i surprise. For a little girl who would rather ride the poies or buy a paper hat, you ve chaged i a hurry, Melia. I just did t uderstad about aeroplaes. I did t kow they would be so excitig. I d rather see it tha aythig else at the fair. 24 Searchig for She-roes No refereces are listed i the series, but ofte the author prited a ackowledgmet at the begiig of the book otig people or writte materials cosulted. They all cotai a chroology ad a idex ad are illustrated with black-ad-white sketches, which are listed ear the table of cotets. Early chapters establish the biographee s persoality while the fial chapter sums up her life s work. The books are amazigly similar i style ad cotet, cosiderig that they have differig authors, who all happe to be wome. Icidetally, fourtee of the origial books are curretly beig reissued as the Youg Patriots series published by Patria Press; four of them have female subjects, icludig oe about Earhart. They retai the origial authors, but employ ew illustrators. Amazigly little has chaged i the writig; a few portios have bee shorteed or give more moder laguage, others elaborated o, ad some paragraphs made more politically correct. I a few istaces, whole chapters have bee omitted. For example, a chapter titled Pioeers ad Idias i Earhart s book was left out. Aother chapter i her book was chaged from Girl Pilot to Real Pilot ad two sectios, What Happeed Next? ad The Mystery of Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 47

49 Searchig for She-roes Amelia Earhart, were substituted for the fial chapter. Other books i the series added afterwards, chroologies, ad glossaries. The two biographies of Earhart i the Baldwi Collectio writte i the mid twetieth cetury did ot vary much from earlier works. The Story of Amelia Earhart by Adele de Leeu (1955) read much like the Howe books from the Childhood of Famous Americas series, oly loger, with more details. Ad the secod, writte i 1962 by Joh Parli, is a poorly writte early reader, part of the Discovery Book series. It has full-page black, white, ta, ad turquoise illustratios, ad is oly a barely serviceable title. Two picturebooks preset ew layouts for tellig today s readers about Earhart. I the first, Cythia Chi-Lee s 2005 book Amelia to Zora: Twety-Six Wome Who Chaged the World, the alphabet book format begis with Earhart. Chi- Lee otes that she alphabetized by the wome s give ames, as last ames usually represet father s or husbad s ames. The etries for Amelia ad the others some famous, others ot each give a blurb of iformative text, a quotatio, ad a collage portrait. As Hele Keller said, Life is either a darig adveture, or othig at all. 25 Ad what a adveture biographies for childre are today! Those titles from the earliest days of books for childre have paved the way for the gems we ca offer girls today. I ve decided to ever miss a opportuity to do so. Yes, you ll ever believe the wome I ve met: Mary A Bickerdyke as she ursed her boys i the field durig the Civil War; Maria Aderso as she closed her eyes ad sag from her heart i frot of the Licol Memorial, havig bee deied etrace ito Costitutio Hall; Bella Abzug grillig aother member of Cogress to make a political poit; Aretha Frakli sigig The Star-Spagled Baer at the 1968 Democratic Natioal Covetio; Billie Jea Kig historically defeatig Bobby Riggs i a Battle of the Sexes teis match; The secod picturebook, Shelley Taaka s 2008 book Amelia Earhart: The Leged of the Lost Aviator, is a meldig of may presetatios of Earhart s life. It is a loger picturebook that combies captioed photos, full-page paitigs, sidebars of additioal stories, timelies, ad varied layouts ad backgroud colors. The text is told as a story, but is very factual ad fiishes with a epilogue about the various theories of her disappearace, a bibliography of books (icludig her ow ad her husbad s), articles, websites, source otes, photography credits, ad a idex. These two titles preset the world of Earhart to childre i a far differet fashio from the fictioalized arratives from the early to middle 1900s. Maria Tallchief as she performed i Swa Lake with the New York City Ballet; Rachel Carso as she studied the effects of DDT o the eviromet; Corazo Aquio as she took the presidetial oath of office i the Philippies; Wiie Madela as she addressed a huge rally of the Africa Natioal Cogress while her husbad was still imprisoed ad she was a baed perso... & The Bechtel Experiece I 2006 ad 2007, while servig o the ALSC Notable Childre s Books Committee, oe of my fellow committee members wo the Bechtel Fellowship. I was awed ad itrigued, ad upo questioig her, I discovered that it s the opportuity of a lifetime four weeks of readig, study, cotemplatio, ad writig about historic childre s books i the Baldwi Collectio at the Uiversity of Florida at Gaiesville. I waited util the timig was right for me ad my family, applied, ad wo! The proposed study was a o-braier for me as you see, I m a child bor i the late 1950s ito a very poor rural farm family. Beig child umber eight out of ie, ad a girl, the opportuities i life seemed very limited. So a study of biographies for childre was a atural fit. The four weeks flew by. I was thrilled to see the stacks of the collectio, get acquaited with the helpful staff, ad become orieted to the catalog system. After talkig with curator Rita Smith about the collectio, I arrowed my search to a chroological search of wome s biographies oly, with a mii-study of books o Amelia Earhart, a special iterest of mie. There was much more available tha I could ever read, but I was able to study the most pertiet ad iterestig. I ve put the experiece to work i several ways: by writig this article, givig professioal presetatios, stregtheig my biography collectio, ad sharig with my uiversity studets. I also pla to begi a Heroes Book Club for at-risk studets at my school. 48 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

50 Refereces 1. Mrs. Jameso, Memoirs of Celebrated Female Sovereigs (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1832): xv. 2. Ibid., xix. 3. Coutess DeGelis, Memoirs of the Coutess de Gelis, Illustrative of the History of the Eighteeth ad Nieteeth Ceturies, vol. 1 (Lodo: Hery Colbur, 1825): Ibid., vol. 1: Jacob Abbott, The Life of Elizabeth, Quee of Eglad (Lodo: Thomas Allma, 1850): iiv, iv. 6. Ibid., Clara A. Ford, The Little Girl Who Waved: The Story of Curly Top (New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1937): Jeaette L. Gilder, The Autobiography of a Tomboy (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1900): Tobi Tobias, Maria Tallchief (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1970): Kare O Coor, Sally Ride ad the New Astroauts: Scietists i Space (New York: Frakli Watts, 1983): Florece Meima White, First Woma i Cogress: Jeaette Raki (New York: Julia Messer, 1980): Patricia ad Frederick L. McKissack, Youg, Black, ad Determied: A Biography of Lorraie Hasberry (New York: Holiday House, 1998): Josephie Poole, Joa of Arc (New York: Kopf, 1997), upaged. 14. Nikki Grimes, Talki About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Colema (New York: Orchard, 2002), upaged. 15. Do Brow, Ruth Law Thrills a Natio. (Bosto: Houghto Miffli, 1993), upaged. 16. Do Brow, Rare Treasure: Mary Aig ad Her Remarkable Discoveries (Bosto: Houghto Miffli, 1999), upaged. 17. Do Brow, Far Beyod the Garde Gate: Alexadra David- Neel s Jourey to Lhasa (Bosto: Houghto Miffli, 2002), upaged. 18. Ruby Bridges, Through My Eyes. (New York: Scholastic, 1999): Moica Brow, My Name is Celia: The Life of CeliaCruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz (Flagstaff, Ariz.: Lua Risig, 2004), upaged. 20. Michele Gorma, The latest ad greatest comics for youg kids, School Library Joural 54, o. 3 (2008): Jea Adams ad Margaret Kimball, i collaboratio with Jeaette Eato, Heroies of the Sky (Garde City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Dora & Co., 1942): Ibid., Shao Garst, Amelia Earhart: Heroie of the Skies (New York: Julia Messer, 1947). 24. Jae Moore Howe, Amelia Earhart: Kasas Girl (Chicago: Specer, 1950): George Sulliva, Hele Keller: Her Life i Pictures. (New York: Scholastic, 2007). Bibliography of Books Studied Searchig for She-roes Aut Sally: or, The Cross the Way of Freedom. A Narrative of the Slave-life ad Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams, of Detroit, Michiga. Ciciati: Wester Tract & Book Society, p. Bedard, Michael. The Divide. Illus. by Emily Arold McCully. New York: Doubleday, Upaged. Carso, Julia M. H. Mary Cassatt. New York: David McKay, p. Chi-Lee, Cythia. Amelia to Zora: Twety-Six Wome Who Chaged the World. Illus. by Mega Halsey ad Sea Addy. Watertow, Mass.: Charlesbridge, p. de Leeuw, Adele. The Story of Amelia Earhart. Illus. by Harry Beckhoff. New York: Grosset & Dulap, p. Gibbs, Richard. Wome Prime Miisters. Morristow, N.J.: Silver Burdett, p. Helme, Elizabeth. Plutarch s Lives Abridged; i which The Historical Parts are carefully preserved, ad the Comparisos of the Respective Lives Accurately Delieated, Calculated for the Istructio of Youth. Lodo, p. Howe, Jae Moore. Amelia Earhart: Kasas Girl. Illus. by Paul Laue. Chicago: Specer, p. Hughes, Lagsto. Famous America Negroes. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., p. Jeue, Margaret S. My School-Days i Paris. New York: Thomas Nelso & Sos, p. Klimet, Bud. Billie Holiday. New York: Chelsea House, p. Leblac, Georgette. The Girl Who Foud the Blue Bird: A Visit to Hele Keller. Traslated by Teixeira de Mattos. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., p. McKissack, Patricia C. ad Fredrick McKissack. Sojourer Truth: Ai t I a Woma? New York: Scholastic, p. Miller, William. Zora Hursto ad the Chiaberry Tree. Illus. by Corelius Va Wright ad Yig-Hwa Hu. New York: Lee & Low, Upaged. Parli, Joh. Amelia Earhart: Pioeer i the Sky. Illus. by Athoy D Adams. Champaig, Ill.: Garrard, p. Pilkigto, Mrs. Biography for Girls; or, Moral ad Istructive Examples for the Female Sex. Lodo, p. Poole, Josephie. Joa of Arc. Illus. by Agela Barrett. New York: Kopf, Upaged. Reich, Susaa. Clara Schuma: Piao Virtuoso. New York: Clario, p. Siegel, Siea Cherso. To Dace: A Memoir. Illus. by Mark Siegel. New York: Aladdi, Upaged. Sulliva, George. Hele Keller: Her Life i Pictures. New York: Scholastic, p. Taaka, Shelley. Amelia Earhart: The Leged of the Lost Aviator. New York: Abrams, p. Tobias, Tobi. Maria Tallchief. Illus. by Michael Hampshire. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, Upaged. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 49

51 Cut the Cofusio Marketig for Self-Sufficiecy By Rebecca Phillips There has bee a lot of buzz throughout the library world about marketig the library. Should libraries look more like bookstores? Should budget dollars be spet o advertisemet ad marketig materials? How do we make the library a easy place for patros to fid iformatio? Well, I certaily do t have the aswers, but what I ca share with you are some best practices that have worked at my library. I work at a 19,000 square foot brach of a large couty library system. Whe my brach opeed te years ago, it was with the idea that the childre s departmet would be staffed with two librarias who would the statio themselves at a desk i the departmet to field all questios for those uder 4 feet tall. Fast forward through te years of ecoomic crises ad budget cuts ad we ow have just oe overworked childre s libraria ad o service poits other tha the checkout desk. There is o direct lie of sight betwee the checkout desk ad the childre s departmet, ad as a result we rely o a lot of self-directed marketig strategies. The best way to get started is just to try a couple of thigs ad let your staff ad patros get used to the chages. As you adapt, so will they. Pretty soo those questios at the desk will dimiish ad you ll have made a whole ew set of users self-sufficiet. & We try to put high circulatig items up frot. For us, that is the early readers like Dora, Frog & Toad, ad Thomas the Tak Egie. For the older kids, we have a special set of shelves i frot of the regular chapter books that are desigated for favorite series. Here we ca push popular series, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, while also highlightig series that might get lost i the stacks, like Go Girl. Rebecca Phillips is a Seior Library Assistat for the Brow Couty Library i Gree Bay, Wiscosi. She is curretly seekig her MLIS at the Uiversity of Wiscosi-Milwaukee. For o-fictio, we use both text ad visual guides to help kids fid the right Dewey area; pictured here-reader s theater ad plays. 50 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

52 Cut the Cofusio We ve pulled a collectio that is ormally scattered about i chapter books ad put it i the favorite series sectio. Choosig sports stories makes it easier for shelvers to idetify what books belog i the collectio. Do t stress too much about labels, the kids will fid what they are lookig for ad you ad your staff will adjust too. Durig school breaks, ad especially i the summer, the favorite series shelf is so popular that may of its ihabitats are checked out. I that case, we use shelf talkers to guide readers to ew authors or series. A picture is worth a thousad words ad this sig sits above the favorite series shelf ad shows the cover ad title for each series. We do t re-catalog the books, so this acts as a ready referece for both kids ad shelvers. We try to keep our shelves as curret as possible; re-evaluatig every six to ie moths. caldecott MEDAL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, cotiued from page 11 make hoest pictures. I make art with my hads. It has flaws, but so do I. I am aware that e-books are chagig our world of books ad bookmakig. They offer coveiece, but by their ature, I m ot sure they ca be timeless. Their sellig poit is that there is limitless iformatio beyod that backlit page. But I believe there is a ifiite beauty i the limitatios of paper books. I do t thik it ca be mimicked or replaced by pixels o a scree. To me, e-books are ot books. The more flash ad whiz-bag we add, the more we limit the possibilities of our ow imagiatio. Books are simple. They must be felt. The copies of my very favorite books are ot pristie. They are wor ad dog-eared ad a little bit dirty because they are loved. My art teacher i high school was Mr. Mike Foye. He taught me well ad still does today. His AP art history fial exam was a essay questio i which he asked sevetee-year-olds to aswer questios regardig the followig passage. What is REAL? asked the Rabbit oe day... Does it mea havig thigs that buzz iside you ad a stick-out hadle? Real is t how you are made, said the Ski Horse. It s a thig that happes to you. Whe a child loves you for a log, log time, ot just to play with, but REALLY loves you, the you become Real. Does it hurt? asked the Rabbit. Sometimes, said the Ski Horse, for he was always truthful. Whe you are Real, you do t mid beig hurt.... It does t happe all at oce.... You become. It takes a log time. That s why it does t ofte happe to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Geerally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has bee loved off, ad your eyes drop out ad you get loose i the joits ad very shabby. But these thigs do t matter at all, because oce you are Real you ca t be ugly, except to people who do t uderstad. This slightly abridged quote from Margery Williams s Velvetee Rabbit makes the groud slip beeath me. Oe of the may reasos I am thakful for this hoor is that I believe this medal gives my little, quiet book a chace at maybe beig loved eough to become Real for someoe other tha me. I am extremely grateful to you all. & Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 51

53 Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child Assistig the New Reader Loretta Caravette Teachers, parets, ad librarias work hard to make a coectio betwee books ad childre so that learig ad lovig readig is possible. Fidig the right book is very importat for the ew reader because we wat these early experieces to be good oes. But what is the right book for a child just begiig to uderstad laguage, letters, ad words? What book is too hard? Too easy? Coectig book to child ca be a frustratig challege. Ad who are these begiig readers? What are their eeds at five years old? How are they differet at seve? Defiig these childre, a costatly evolvig jumble of persoalities, edless eergy, ad costat questios, ca be just as dautig a task. I this article, I will explore the stages of a child s developmet, idetifyig what a child eeds to lear at each level, ad what types of books will assist them throughout the process. Early Literacy As the first teachers of childre, parets ifluece ad prepare their childre for the world, for their educatioal experiece, ad for their future literacy success. Literacy, quite simply, begis at Loretta Caravette received her MFA i Writig for Childre ad Youg Adults from Hamlie Uiversity i St. Paul, Miesota. She has writte for several childre s magazies. This article was her fial MFA lecture. home. Parets itroduce the world of readig by readig aloud to their childre eve before their childre ca walk or talk. Research o early literacy ad brai developmet idicates that readig to a child from a very early age iflueces his performace i school for the better. 1 This fidig motivated the Public Library Associatio ad the Associatio for Library Service to Childre (ALSC) to create the first editio of the Every Child Ready to your library program, which provided libraries with vital tools developed by Dr. Grover C. Whitehurst ad Dr. Christopher Loiga to help prepare parets for their critical role as their child s first teacher. 2 I Edmud Hederso s book Learig to Read ad Spell: The Child s Kowledge of Words, he foud that childre reared i a oreadig home leared oly the grammar of the spoke word. They are aive about the special referece systems ad orgaizatioal devices by which the writte laguage compesates for the absece of eye cotact, gesture, ad stress. 3 Author Mem Fox said that a child who has bee read to ca begi to uderstad the look of the prit ad the way words work i seteces, ad how the world works why this happes ad that happes ad how it all comes together to mea somethig. 4 Picture-book readig provides childre with may of the skills ecessary for school vocabulary, soud structure, the meaig of prit, the structure of stories, ad laguage. Readig aloud to a child also itroduces books as memorable ad fu. 52 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

54 As a child cotiues to grow ad develop, learig the alphabet ad the letters souds coects the ext piece of the readig puzzle. Helpig a child develop letter-soud sesitivity promotes the developmet of readig because letters i writte laguage begi to correspod to souds, like the letter B makes the buh soud. Uderstadig that words are made of smaller souds helps childre break the code betwee writte laguage (letters) ad spoke laguage (souds). 5 The child who begis to realize that letters make their ow souds, that letters put together make a word, ad that words together make a setece, takes the ext step to uderstadig meaig. Hederso foud that, iitially, childre do ot differetiate betwee the word ad the object that it represets. The word chair is associated with the child s kitche chair. Words that are more abstract like the, ad, a, this, or, that are ot uderstood or associated with the costructio of a setece. However, the more childre are read to, the more they hear these words ad ca begi to coect these abstract words with the setece that add to its meaig. 6 Whe a child takes a picture book that has bee read to them over ad over ad begis to read the story, they may ot say the exact story word-for-word, but they ca tell the story. The child has begu to uderstad the cocept of words tellig the story. This idicates that a child is ready to take the ext step toward begiig, or idepedet, readig. This trasitio ca be difficult. Beth Kephart, i her book Seeig Past Z: Nurturig the Imagiatio i a Fast-forward World, tells of her ow so s reluctace. It s so much better whe you read to me, he sighs. All I have to do whe you read is wait for the story to come. 7 Childre take oly three years to master all the ecessary readig skills as they progress through the five defiite stages defied by Iree C. Foutas ad Gay Su Piell. These stages are labeled the Emerget Reader, the Early Reader, the Trasitioal Reader, the Self-Extedig Reader, ad the Advaced Reader. 8 No oe child will fit exactly ito oe category, ad may childre will exhibit behaviors i more tha oe. These stages are useful i helpig us thik about the broad characteristics of readers. They are a tool to make good choices for childre, ot a child s label. 9 For the purpose of this article, I will use Foutas ad Piell s stages as the orgaizig categories. The Emerget Reader Most childre i kidergarte, betwee the ages of four ad five, are emerget readers. At oe time, kidergarte was cosidered primarily a socializig process, but today, i may areas of the coutry, childre actually have to pass a readig test to graduate ito first grade. These childre may already read favorite picture books they have heard repeatedly. They also kow how to use pictures to support readig. So, it is ot so surprisig that the story format Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child for the emerget reader is a picture story. This helps the child trasitio from pictures ad text that tell the story to a storylie that is carried by the text with some pictures. Emerget readers rely o laguage ad meaig as they read simple text with oly oe or two lies of prit. They are begiig to cotrol early behaviors, such as matchig spoke words oe by oe with writte words o the page, recogizig how prit is arraged o pages, ad movig left to right i readig. Whe readig, a emerget reader may poit to each word. The emerget reader is still learig the alphabet, the letter ames, shapes, ad souds. They ca recogize upper- ad lowercase letters. They are begiig to lear soud symbol relatioships ad are able to read cosoat-vowel-cosoat words. The child recogizes frequetly used words like the ad a, as well as more complex words like tree, boy, ad girl. They are just figurig out what a word really is, how letters go together, ad how letters are differet from each other. However, they do ot uderstad cotractios ad possessives. 10 Three features, i whole text, support begiig readers predictability (the use of rhythm, rhyme, ad repetitio), imagiability ad familiarity of cocepts (words with high imagery values; those associated with clear ad cocrete images), ad word desity (the umber of uique words to the total umber of words i the text). 11 Each feature is a temporary ad adjustable form of support. These features i the earliest readers are highly exaggerated. For example, word desity for the Emerget Reader is very limited. There are o uique or uusual words. I the ext stage (Early Reader), the word desity icreases ad more uusual words are itroduced. Over time, as the reader s experiece icreases, each stage is reduced i emphasis. 12 Examples of Emerget Reader books iclude Bob Books by Bobby Ly Masle, I Like Stars by Margaret Wise Brow, Rai by Robert Kala, Roll Over! A Coutig Book by Merle Peek, ad Rosie s Walk by Pat Hutchis. Actio ad repetitio commad these stories. Most words are simple, oe syllable, ad have fewer tha six letters. The setece legth is five to six words, ad there are o cotractios. The word cout is words, mostly cocept words ous ad verbs. There are o chapters. It is oe sigle story, just like the picture books they have see before. Withi the Emerget Reader categories, there are levels of difficulties. For istace, the Bob Books are a begier level for the emerget reader whereas Rosie s Walk would be a little more advaced. Eve I Like Stars has a few difficult words. The levels withi the levels are ot defied. It is oly by readig through these books that teachers, parets, ad librarias will be able to recogize the degrees of difficulty ad help childre make their selectios. The Early Reader The ext stage, Early Reader, is where most publishig houses begi defiig levels. These childre are six to seve years old Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 53

55 Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child ad ofte i first grade. They have experieced life thus far as fu ad free ad ope. First grade ca be a very difficult trasitio. First-graders must ow pay attetio ad focus for loger periods of time. They will have to adjust to the rigors of a full day of school. How the Early Reader performs durig this developmetally critical year will set the toe for the rest of the child s educatioal experiece. Early Readers cotiue to develop a uderstadig of the alphabet ad symbol souds relatioships. They acquire a small core of high frequecy words that they recogize ad lear to write. They build o a set of high-frequecy words. Highfrequecy words are those that appear most ofte i prited materials. Early readers will cotiue to icrease their kowledge of high frequecy words throughout the five stages. They recogize differet kids of text: fictio, ofictio, ad poetry. First graders are learig to derive meaig from what they read. They decode ew words by applyig the letter soud relatioship for sigle letters ad pairs of letters, such as sh or er, ad short ad log vowel patters, such as the silet e. The prefix u- is itroduced at this level as well as the suffix -ig. Past tese, cotractios, ad possessives are all itroduced at this level. Early readers ca read books with several lies of prit, keepig the meaig i mid as they use some strategies to solve ufamiliar words. They will moitor their ow readig to make sure it makes sese ad souds like the laguage they kow. 13 The format for early reader books still has illustratios o every page, but the format is more developed. A example of dialogue level ca be see i Max ad Mo s Hallowee Surprise by Patricia Laki: May Dogs by Lori Haskis, Curious George by H. A. Rey, ad Little Bear by Else Holmelud Miarik. May teachers have used Miarik s Little Bear as a bechmark book. If a child ca read this book with about 90 percet accuracy, it is a idicatio that the child is ready to move ito the ext level. 15 At this stage, a child eeds to practice readig as much as possible. Readig is the oly way they ca become better readers. Readig also helps develop good writig style, icrease vocabulary, ad improve grammatical competece. 16 Accordig to Beradette Nowakowski, director of Childre s ad Youg Adult Services for the Chicago Public Library, To get a child to read, you eed to fid out what that child ejoys. What turs that child o? Do they have a hobby? The Easy Readers are ot listed i the public library accordig to stages. So the librarias eed a pocket full of books that they kow about ad have read to help a child make a selectio, ad that should iclude ofictio as well. 17 Gettig a child to read at this stage is o differet from gettig a child to read at ay stage, but as parets, teachers, ad librarias, sometimes we forget that importat igrediet iterest. Books ca become like vegetables: Read this, it s good for you. There is o doubt that childre will have to read some thigs they are ot iterested i, but if they kow a mystery book is tucked i a book bag waitig for them, readig somethig else util the might ot be bad. Childre do t always kow what they like or what will iterest them. Helpig childre discover a passio or a iterest ca go a log way to developig their readig skills. Max ad Mo were best frieds. They lived i a school... i a art room... i a cozy cage. Max liked to make thigs. Mo liked to read thigs. I am readig that paper, said Mo. But I am makig a chai, said Max. No more chais! said Mo. 14 This book has a small trim size ad more pages. Sometimes these readers are broke up ito smaller chapters. The stories are still told through actio, but with dialogue (ad proper puctuatio). Seteces are loger, but are broke dow ito phrases. This structure allows the early reader to read a lie ad get a break before tacklig the text of the seteces as a whole. The setece legth is still aroud five to six words per lie. The words have multiple syllables, up to eight lies of text o each page, a wider variety of puctuatio, ad smaller prit size ad text i differet places, icludig the top, bottom, left page, ad right page. Other examples of early readers iclude A New House for Mole ad Mouse by Harriet Ziefert, Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arold,Too The Trasitioal Reader The secod-grader, seve to eight years old, is called the Trasitioal Reader. Trasitioal Readers are more fluet readers ad are readig for more meaig. They are able to read ukow text with more idepedece tha early readers. They ca read texts with may lies of prit. Trasitioal readers use meaig, grammar, ad letter cues more fully. They use phoics ad page clues to read ew words. Compoud words are itroduced. They have mastered a larger umber of high frequecy words ad use pictures i a limited way while readig. They use prefixes, suffixes, ad roots to determie the meaig of words. They are also learig to use a dictioary ad thesaurus to discover the meaigs of words. The biggest developmetal chage is that these childre have become less self-orieted tha they were i kidergarte ad first grade. As a result, they have stopped geeralizig characters, ad idividual persoalities have become importat i stories. A eight-year-old s iterests, readig skills, ad ego make readig picture books uacceptable, ad heavily illustrated picture stories are ofte overlooked because they seem too juveile. But at this level, the child is still ot emotioally ready or skilled eough for the big kid chapter books. For that reaso, 54 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

56 Trasitioal Reader books do t have a lot of illustratios. The text gives more details about the characters, persoality quirks, or other ways to remember them. 18 Examples of books for Trasitioal Readers iclude the Frog ad Toad series by Arold Lobel, the Zelda ad Ivy series by Laura McGee Kvasosky, the Houdsley ad Catia series by James Howe, the Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parrish, ad the Mercy Watso series by Kate DiCamillo. Books for Trasitioal Readers have three to six chapters, ad each chapter is its ow story with a begiig, middle, ad a ed. I chapter 1, the characters are idetified ad the theme is set up. The rest of the chapters build o the theme with the last chapter summig up the story. These readers have more pages, loger ad more complex seteces, ad a richer vocabulary. They use paragraphs ad two-part seteces, with cojuctios ad prepositios. They are forty-five to sixty pages ad have betwee oe thousad ad fiftee hudred words. Here is a excerpt from Cythia Rylat s Hery ad Mudge: The First Book: Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child Extedig Reader some parets ad librarias may be cocered that givig a book that is too easy or too hard will be harmful to the ew reader. Some teachers suggest usig the Five-Figer Method. Hold up oe had, ad have a child read a few pages from the book. Take oe figer dow for each word he stumbles o. Oe figer dow the book is too easy. Two to three figers dow the book is the right level. Four to five figers dow the book is too hard. 20 Readig takes a lot of practice. As adults, we read books at differet levels. We may call it light readig. Childre are o differet. If the book is below their readig level but is a topic they fid iterestig, it wo t hurt them to read it. It allows them to practice their readig skills. If the book is too difficult, oe where childre will eed assistace, the it is a opportuity for the parets to participate i the readig. Laura Backes, i her book Best Books for Childre Who Thik They Hate to Read, also suggests matchig the book to the child, ot the child to a book that he or she should supposedly be able to read. A child will be motivated to read outside of school if the book is a topic he fids of iterest. 21 Hery searched for a dog. Not just ay dog, said Hery. Not a short oe, he said. Not a curly oe, he said. Ad o poited ears. The he foud Mudge. Mudge had floppy ears, ot poited. Ad Mudge had straight fur, ot curly. But Mudge was short. Because he s a puppy, Hery said. He ll grow. 19 Durig these differet stages of developmet whether the Early Reader, the Trasitioal Reader, or the ext stage, Self- The Self-Extedig Reader We are ow at the stage kow as the Self-Extedig Reader, or Fluet Reader, eight- to ie-year-olds i third grade. These readers have moved from learig to read to readig to lear. They uderstad there is a purpose for readig: for pleasure, to get directios, to gather iformatio. Their books address more serious topics, demadig ot oly readig skill but also thoughtful cosideratio. These readers idetify themselves with the world aroud them. They are developig prefereces ad taste ad decidig what topics iterest them. They are able to read for meaig ad have a very large core of high-frequecy words ad may other words that they ca quickly ad automatically recogize. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 55

57 Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child Self-extedig readers have developed systems for learig more about the process as they read so that they build skills simply by ecouterig may differet kids of text with a variety of ew words. Self-extedig readers ca aalyze ad make excellet attempts at ew, multisyllable words. These childre have reached the ed of the primary readig level ad are makig the trasitio ito chapter books. The chapters are ow all part of the same story; there is a cast of characters, each chapter has a problem to solve, but the etire book has oe big story problem, the seteces are loger, ad there are fewer illustratios. They are still buildig backgroud kowledge ad learig how to apply what they kow to loger ad more difficult text. 22 These readers get hooked o characters, which ca explai the popularity of series with twety or more books ivolvig the same cast. Such books iclude the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kiey, the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osbore, the Time Warp Trio series by Jo Scieszka, ad the A to Z Mysteries series by Ro Roy. The Advaced Reader This is the fial stage of readig developmet. Studets who are advaced i readig have moved well beyod the early learig to read phase of literacy learig. They are still learig ad developig their strategies while they have varied experieces i readig. There is virtually o text that a advaced reader caot read, but their prior kowledge, sophisticated word-solvig strategies, ad uderstadig of the uaces of a complex text are still developig. 23 These childre are readig books such as Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl, Ramoa ad Her Father by Beverly Cleary, ad The Comeback Dog by Jae Resh Thomas. Learig to read does ot require ay special metal fuctios, but it does require a lot of practice. The ew reader must have the proper tools to assist i developig his readig skills, ad those tools are lots ad lots of books. 24 The easy readers, as we kow them today, did ot exist i the early 1920s. A child learig to read had a very restricted umber of books at his disposal. Most primers were writte to reiforce readig skills, but failed to itroduce readig as a pleasurable experiece. The easy reader most people are familiar with is the Dick ad Jae series, developed i the late 1920s by William Gray ad Zera Sharp for the educatioal publisher Scott Foresma. From the 1930s through the 1960s, this series was used by more tha 85 millio studets. 25 The Dick ad Jae books were based o the belief that childre leared to read best by memorizig a small hadful of sight words, ad the repeated them over ad over the look/say method. 26 Here is a example from Dick ad Jae by Gray ad Sharp: Dick said, Look, look. Look up. Look up, up, up. Jae said, Ru, ru. Ru Dick, ru. Ru ad see. 27 After almost thirty years of usig Dick ad Jae i schools, critics bega to otice that U.S. childre could t read very well. Rudolf Flesch revealed that the most serious drawback of all the Eglish readig istructio... is the drawback of the word-method.... The child who fails to grasp the cotet of what he reads is usually a poor reader i the mechaical sese.... The chief source of difficulty i gettig the cotet of readig is imperfect mastery of the mechaics of readig.... We must trai the child to respod vocally to the sight of letters. 28 However, Dick ad Jae did make us realize that ew readers eed special types of books to help them lear to read. I 1954, Pulitzer Prize wiig author Joh Hersey wrote: I the classroom, boys ad girls are cofroted with books that have isipid illustratios depictig the slicked up lives of other childre, feature abormally courteous uaturally clea boys ad girls. I bookstores ayoe ca buy brighter, livelier books featurig strage ad woderful aimals ad childre who behave aturally, i.e., sometimes misbehave. Give icetive from school boards, publishers could do as well with primers. 29 Theodor Seuss Geisel read the article ad respoded to Hersey s challege. His publisher, Radom House, set him a list of four hudred commo words that youg readers would eed to lear, ad The Cat i the Hat was bor. Whe iterviewed, Geisel revealed that the book took ie moths to write because the word restrictio made it very difficult. The title for the book came about because he wated it to rhyme ad the oly two suitable rhymig words were cat ad hat. 30 Aroud the same time, HarperCollis itroduced the Little Bear series by Miarik with illustratios by Maurice Sedak. Miarik was a mother ad teacher who saw a eed for books that her studets ad youg daughter could read. These books created a ew category ow kow as the easy reader. Childre loved them ad the publishig world was quick to respod. Today there is a large selectio of easy readers, icludig HarperCollis/Harper Trophy I Ca Read series, Radom House s Steppig Stoe ad Step ito Readig series, Simo ad Schuster s Ready-to-Read, ad Puffi Book s Easy-to-Read, just to ame a few. Ae Hoppe, editor of HarperCollis, said, We do t teach childre how to read. We give them books they ca read so they will wat to read more ad feel validated i their skills. 31 By defiig the stages of the ew reader, we have created a portrait of a child. We ca ow see the process they must go 56 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

58 through to become a reader. As librarias, parets, ad teachers, we must become familiar with all the resources available. We must read those easy readers, become familiar with both fictio ad ofictio, ad kow their characters ad stories. I kowig these books, we ca ow liste to childre ad help them fid a book that will iterest them. If we ca do this, we are esurig a child is o her way to learig to read ad lovig every word of it. & Refereces 1. Edmud Hederso, Learig to Read ad Spell: The Child s Kowledge of Words (DeKalb, Ill.: Norther Illiois Uiv. Pr., 1981). 2. ALSC ad PLA Every Child Ready to your library, 2007, everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/ overview-every-child-ready-read-your-library -1steditio (accessed Jue 10, 2011). 3. Hederso, Learig To Read ad Spell, Mem Fox, Readig Magic: Why Readig Aloud to Childre Will Chage Their Lives Forever (New York: Harcourt, 2001): Stephe Krashe, The Power of Readig: Isights from the Research (Westport, Co.: Libraries Ulimited, 2004) 6. Hederso, Learig To Read ad Spell. 7. Beth Kephart, Seeig Past Z: Nurturig the Imagiatio i a Fast-forward World (New York: Norto, 2004): Iree C. Foutas ad Gay Su Piell, Matchig Books to Readers, Usig Leveled Books i Guided Readig, K 3 (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heiema, 1999). 9. Ibid. 10. Alijadra Mogiler, Childre s Writer s Word Book (Ciciati: Writer s Digest Books, 1992); Aastasia Sue, Picture Writig: A New Approach to Writig for Kids ad Tees (Ciciati: Writer s Digest Books, 2003); Debra Johso ad Elizabeth Sulzby, Critical Issue: Addressig the Literacy Needs of Emerget ad Early Readers, North Cetral Regioal Educatioal Laboratory, 1999, li100.htm (accessed Oct. 3, 2007); Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers. 11. Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Selectig Texts for Begiig Readig Istructio, 1997, /articles/hiebert html (accessed Mar. 10, 2010). 12. Ibid. 13. Susa L. Hall ad Louisa C. Moats. Straight Talk About Readig (Chicago: Cotemporary Books, 1999); Mogiler, Portrait of the Reader as a Youg Child Childre s Writer s Word Book; Sue, Picture Writig: A New Approach to Writig for Kids ad Tees; Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers. 14. Patricia Laki, Max ad Mo s Hallowee Surprise (New York: Radom House, 2001). 15. Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers. 16. Krashe, The Power of Readig. 17. Telephoe iterview with Beradette Nowakowski, director of childre s ad youg adult services, Chicago Public Library, March, Hall ad Moats, Straight Talk About Readig; Mogiler, Childre s Writer s Word Book; Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers. 19. Cythia Rylat, Hery ad Mudge: The First Book (New York: Aladdi, 1987). 20. Mady Yates, Choosig a Just Right Book: Match Readig Level with the Five Figer Rule or the Goldilocks Method, Suite 101.com, Mar. 2008, suite101.com /cotet/how-to-choose-a-just-right-book-a47090 (accessed Jue 12, 2011). 21. Laura Backes, Best Books for Childre Who Thik They Hate to Read (New York: Radom House, 2001). 22. Hall ad Moats, Straight Talk About Readig; Mogiler, Childre s Writer s Word Book; Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers; Stages of Developmet, Readig-Tutors.com, 2007, mai/viewpage/ame/stages_of_developmet (accessed Oct. 3, 2007). 23. Foutas ad Piell, Matchig Books to Readers. 24. Krashe, The Power of Readig. 25. Carole Kismaric ad Marvi Heiferma, Growig Up with Dick ad Jae (New York: HarperCollis, 1996). 26. Edward Mora, Dick ad Jae Readers, St. James Ecyclopedia of Pop Culture, 2002, (accessed Aug. 27, 2008). 27. William Gray ad Zera Sharp, Dick ad Jae: Fu with Dick ad Jae (New York: Grosset & Dulap, 2004): Rudolf Flesch, Why Johy Ca t Read ad What You Ca Do About It (New York: Harper & Row, 1986): Lida Zieliski ad Sta Zieliski, Childre s Picture Book Collectig, (accessed Apr. 26, 2011). 30. Samuel L. Blumefeld, Dyslexia: The Ma-Made Disease, 1999, (accessed April 26, 2011). 31. Joa Broerma, Easy Reader ad Early Reader Series: Targetig the Emerget Reader, 1998, (accessed Aug. 2, 2008). Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 57

59 Childre ad Techology Ito a Digital World A Q&A about Digital Picture Books Travis Joker The Cat i the Hat, as see o Bares ad Noble s Nook. Last year had bee shapig up to be the year digital picture books hit it big. There had bee rumbligs for some time Amazo s Kidle, the Bares ad Noble Nook, ad the Apple ipad all heralded the e-book s fafare (ad have sold well), but these declaratios focused o grow-up readig, igorig a category picture books that had bee severely trailig the pack... util ow. Due to several factors small scree sizes, color limitatios, high prices picture books did t make the digital jump as quickly or easily as middle-grade ovels. But ow that digital picture books are comig out at a rapid clip, what s a libraria to do? How do we kow what s ew? What s good? How are they created? Let s take a look at some of the big questios. Q: What is a digital picture book? The terms e-book ad app are ofte used iterchageably, but they are two separate thigs. The mai differeces are i platform ad iteractivity. E-books are basically digitized versios of prit titles (some may feature arratio) ad are available for dowload o devices like the Kidle, Nook, ad Soy Reader, amog others. A app (a abbreviatio of applicatio ) is cosumed o a smartphoe or hadheld computer (most commoly associated with Apple s iphoe ad ipad), ad icreases the iteractivity level. 1 Picture book apps have added features that take advatage of touch-scree techology. It s commo for apps to iclude motio elemets, arratio, souds, music, ad objects that ca be maipulated by touch. 2 Addig to the cofusio, Apple also has its ow form of e-books (called ibooks). Q: How do you read them? The pack of picture e-book ad app readers is large, but the Nook Color, Kidle, ad ipad appear to be the most commo. As far as picture books, the ipad ad Nook Color are the two devices to focus o; both display the vivid colors picture books demad, as well as touchscree techology that makes for a more itimate readig experiece. Ufortuately for readers, each comes with its ow quirks i terms of compatibility. May librarias (this oe icluded) will fill Travis Joker is the Elemetary School Libraria for Waylad (Mich.) Uio Schools. He writes reviews for School Library Joural ad blogs about childre s books at 100 Scope Notes (100scopeotes.com). He was a member of the ALSC Childre & Techology Committee, which icluded chair Amber Lea Creger, Kelley L. Beeso, Jill A. Bickford, Gretche Caserotti, Juaita Toyetta Fisher, Patricia A. Havri, Patty Saideberg, Jeaie Che, ad Joella Peterso. 58 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

60 your ear about the frustratig digital rights maagemet (DRM) software that makes it impossible to read certai e-books o certai devices. Addig complexity, all of the major e-book players have apps for readig their cotet o other devices. For example, you ca dowload the Kidle App o your ipad ad read books purchased from the Kidle Store. Web-based optios also cotiue to pop up. TumbleBooks offers a variety of curret picture book titles for subscribers. Some publishers, such as Sylva Dell ad Capstoe, are also eterig the field, creatig i house subscriptio ereader services. Also joiig the web-based crowd are library resource compaies, which sell e-books ad provide a olie eviromet to read them (such as Follett Shelf from Follett Library Resources). Aother oteworthy (ad free) resource for digital picture books is the Iteratioal Childre s Digital Library (ICDL). This website cotais hudreds of e-books i various laguages that users ca read olie for free. While it lacks the wide selectio of popular titles, the ICDL is a ice optio for istitutios i the midst of belt-tighteig. Q: Who makes them? Most major publishers hire outside developers to create their picture book e-books ad apps (such as Radom House s work with Oceahouse Media to adapt its Dr. Seuss titles). Occasioally a publisher will develop its ow e-books or, i the case of HarperCollis ad Curious Puppy, create a ew digital divisio for the task. The list of compaies specializig i digital books is growig by leaps ad bouds, with ames like Atomic Atelope, Loud Crow Iteractive, Mieditio, Moster Costume, Ruckus Mobile Media, ad Wiged Chariot Press. Q: Who reviews them? Whe we discuss who is reviewig digital picture books, the real questio is who is reviewig picture book apps? E-books are a fairly close reproductio of the prited page, so librarias ofte rely o stadard joural reviews to kow which titles are worth their time. Picture book apps, however, add so may bells ad whistles that eve a classic like Gree Eggs ad Ham deserves a separate app review. If you re lookig for recommedatios, Kirkus Reviews leads the charge. It is the first of the traditioal jourals (School Library Joural, Booklist, ad The Hor Book amog them) to review picture book apps i a official way, givig stars to the stadouts. Kirkus is also creatig a Childre s App Discovery Egie to help select apps that fit youg readers eeds. 3 Publishers Weekly features a regular colum titled The Week i Apps, providig a sample of the latest titles. 4 School Library Joural has orgaized a apps advisory group with some leadig library mids I expect this will lead to more formal app recommedatios i the future. Q: Where ca you get them? What s available? The umber of picture book titles beig published for the first time or coverted ito digital form cotiues to grow, ad they are available from a umber of outlets. Amazo s Kidle Store ad Bares ad Noble s Nook Kids Store (available o the compaies respective websites) are very similar i price ad selectio. Both stores iclude classics (like P. D. Eastma s Are You My Mother?) ad popular ew titles (like Facy Nacy, Skippyjo Joes). Nook prices are set at $12.99 ad uder, while Kidle e-books list aroud $10 or less. Apple s App Store serves up picture book apps, while its ibooks store is a source for e-books. A iterestig developmet i the last year has bee the Google ebookstore. Readable o Childre ad Techology most devices (except the Kidle) Google e-books are priced at $10.99 ad uder. Q: What s the impact for libraries? Public ad school libraries are dippig their toes ito the digital book waters, but so far mostly for tees ad adults. Public libraries, through parterships with compaies like Overdrive Media, are ledig e-books to patros who already ow e-readers. I schools, Kidle ledig programs have bee sprigig up, but picture book friedly devices have t made the same sort of sigificat library iroads. 5 But there are librarias eager to lead the way ito this ucharted territory. May early adopters are goig the web-based route, projectig digital picture books o a large scale, addig aimatios, souds, ad arratios to the traditioal storytime. This sort of multimedia experiece is a egagig first step ito what promises to be a wild ew world. & Refereces 1. Roger Sutto, Whe A Is for App, The Hor Book Magazie 86, o. 6 (Nov. Dec. 2010): Elizabeth Bird, Plaet App, School Library Joural 57, o. 1 (Ja. 2011): Laure Barack, Kirkus Lauches Childre s App Discovery Egie, Feb. 2011, _lauches_childres_app_discovery.html.csp (accessed Mar. 1, 2011). 4. Ly Adriai, The Week i Apps: February 18, 2011, -topic/digital/cotet-ad-e-books /article/46183-the-week-i-apps -february html (accessed Mar. 1, 2011). 5. Laure Barack, The Kidles Are Comig, School Library Joural 57, o. 3 (Mar. 2011): Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 59

61 News ALSC Major Board Actios Electroic Actios Approved, the followig recommedatios from O&B regardig the merge of the (Adrew) Caregie Medal Committee ad Notable Childre s Videos Committe: Name: (Adrew) Caregie Medal/ Notable Childre s Videos Committee Fuctio Statemet: To select, aotate, ad preset for publicatio aually a list of otable videos of iterest to childre, available for use i homes ad libraries, produced i the two caledar years prior to the date of their selectio. Additioally, the committee will select the most distiguished America video for childre, i accordace with the terms, defiitios, ad criteria goverig the Caregie Medal Award. Compositio: Chair, plus eight (May 2011) 2011 Aual Coferece Actios Board documets are posted o ALA Coect ( ad provide complete details about the issues listed below. Go to the ALSC sectio of ALA Coect ad click o Olie Docs. Board documets are usually postedabout two weeks prior to coferece. Durig the 2011 Aual Coferece i New Orleas, the Board voted to take the followig actio: APPROVED, a memorial resolutio hoorig Virgiia Mathews. APPROVED, the Resolutio o Out of School Library Programs, ad asked ALSC Coucilor Rhoda Putey to vote for it. REFERRED, the Caldecott 75th Aiversary Actio Pla to the ALSC Budget Committee to develop a budget for the 75th Caldecott Award aiversary celebratio. APPROVED, i cocept, a metorig program as ALSC s theme for the ALA Emergig Leader program. APPROVED, the Every Child Ready to Read Task Force recommedatios. Approved, the use of Twitter to stimulate dialogue amogst ALSC membership regardig issues related to digital media. ADOPTED, the ALSC Strategic Pla, APPROVED, a ew committee ame: Great Websites Committee (formerly Great Web sites Committee). APPROVED, the cycle of the New to ALSC director positio to begi with the 2013 Nomiatig Committee. This committee will recommed laguage for Bylaw X, Sec. 2. I additio, the committee will capture the itet of the New to ALSC director positio for future Nomiatig Committees to use whe selectig cadidates for the positio. APPROVED, the coset ageda, as ameded, for 2011 ALA Aual Coferece. DIRECTED, the ALSC Presidet to work with the YALSA Presidet to establish a iterdivisioal Odyssey Award Maual Task Force that will work betwee July 1, 2011 ad Jue 30, ACCEPTED, the Memoradum of Uderstadig betwee ALSC ad REFORMA regardig the Pura Belpré Award. APPROVED, the Policies for Service o Award Committees, Media Evaluatio Committees, ad Wilder Award Committee. ACCEPTED, a pla to recogize ALSC members with 25 years of service with a letter from the presidet, ribbos available at cofereces, ad aual recogitio at the Membership Meetig ad i the ALSC ewsletter. REJECTED, all of Recommedatio #1 i the Baquet Pricig Task Force Report, ad asked ALSC staff to explore other opportuities to promote hoor wiers. Approved, the appoitmet of a steerig committee to oversee the Caldecott Award 75th aiversary celebratio. ACCEPTED, the followig recommedatios of the Caldecott Award 75th Aiversary Task Force: provide a series of webiars, icludig oe free webiar; create a photo gallery to live olie; offer a program at the 2012 ALSC Istitute; dedicate a issue of Childre ad 60 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

62 ALSC News Libraries to the 75th Aiversary celebratio; ivestigate the feasibility of video streamig the 2013 Newbery/Caldecott/ Wilder Baquet; exted social media opportuities ad ay other o-cost ideas geerated by the Caldecott Award 75th Aiversary Celebratio Steerig Committee. ACCEPTED, the 2012 Aual Coferece program schedule as preseted. APPROVED, the 2012 prelimiary proposed budget preseted by the Budget Committee, icludig the followig additioal recommedatios: defer use of the Carole D. Fiore Edowmet util the fud geerates $1,000 aually (mius bak fees); use the Childre s Library Services Edowmet fuds for the Great Websites for Kids redesig; ad iitiate a membership dues review. New from ALSC/ALA ALSC is pleased to aouce these ew products available through the ALA Store at The Newbery Caldecott Mock Electios Tool Kit, revised by Steve Egelfried, Wilsoville (Ore.) Public Library, delivers everythig a plaer eeds to pla ad execute a successful ad egagig mock electio, icludig plaig guidelies, award criteria, tips for rewardig mock discussios, ideas for follow-up activities, ad much more. As a digital dowload, the ew tool kit also provides Word, PDF, ad Excel files of audiece hadouts, evaluatio forms, certificates, ad votig ballots that ca be easily customized. We have eve icluded lists of suggested book titles for thematic electios focusig o a gere, such as biography, mystery, ad historical fictio. Plus, ample full color images from past Caldecott wiers demostrate various artistic media ad elemets employed by childre s book artists. The Every Child Ready to Read, Secod Editio Kit, from ALSC ad the Public Library Associatio (PLA), cotiues to focus o paret ad caregiver educatio as well as o commuity parterships ad outreach efforts, ad provides several key ehacemets, icludig more workshops (eight), fluid talkig poits rather tha scripts, ad customizable PowerPoit templates. Complete cotets iclude: maual; CD with PowerPoit presetatios ad resources for eight workshops; bookmarks (100); brochures (100); ad poster (oe). Bookmarks, brochures, ad posters are also sold separately. I the Words of the Wiers: The Newbery ad Caldecott Medals, , by ALSC ad The Hor Book, is a exclusive collectio of acceptace speeches from the prestigious award wiers of the past te years. Each speech is accompaied by the Hor Book review of the wiig title ad a biographical profile of its celebrated creator. Three isightful itroductory essays examie chages i youth publishig durig the last decade, roudig out this egagig glimpse at the writers ad artists whose work iforms the directio of childre s literature. El día de los iños/el día de los libros: Buildig a Culture of Literacy i Your Commuity through Día, by Jeaette Larso for the Associatio for Library Service to Childre (ALSC), offers a collectio of the best Día programmig ideas, icludig ready-to-use programs, easily adaptable for a variety of cultures; biligual book suggestios; cultural competecy traiig tips to ecourage outreach to miority populatios; ad iterviews with library directors o how to heighte awareess of cultural ad literacy issues. The Newbery ad Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal ad Hoor Books, 2011 Editio covers the most distiguished America childre s literature ad illustratio. Librarias ad teachers everywhere have come to rely o this aual guide for quick referece, collectio ad curriculum developmet, ad readers advisory. I this year s essay, Barbara Kiefer, professor of childre s literature at Ohio State Uiversity, explores the past, preset, ad future of picture books, from prehistoric cave paitigs, to post-moder picture books of the late-twetieth cetury. Wated! Award Applicatios ALSC is seekig omiatios ad applicatios for its professioal grats ad awards. Bechtel Fellowship. Librarias workig i direct service to childre, or retired members who completed their careers i direct service to childre, for a miimum of eight years, are ecouraged to apply for a Louise Seama Bechtel Fellowship to fiace a moth of study at the Baldwi Library of Historical Childre s Literature at the Uiversity of Florida i Gaiesville. The $4,000 fellowship is for travel ad livig expeses durig the period of study. A metor will be assiged upo request. Bookapalooza. This program offers three select libraries a collectio of materials, icludig books, videos, audiobooks, ad recordigs. The materials are primarily for childre aged birth through fourtee ad have bee submitted to ALSC award selectio ad media evaluatio committees for award ad otables cosideratio. ALSC/BWI Summer Readig Program Grat. This $3,000 grat is desiged to ecourage outstadig summer readig program developmet by providig fudig to implemet such a program. The applicat must pla ad preset a outlie for a theme-based summer readig program i a public library. The committee ecourages proposals with iovative ways to ecourage ivolvemet of childre with physical or metal disabilities. The Light the Way: Library Outreach to the Uderserved Grat, sposored by Cadlewick Press, provides oe library with $3,000 to fud outreach programs for uderserved populatios. The award is i hoor of author Kate DiCamillo ad the themes represeted i her books. Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 61

63 ALSC News Distiguished Service Award. ALSC members are ivited to omiate oe of their fellow members for the Distiguished Service Award, which recogizes a member who has made sigificat cotributios to ad had a impact o library services to childre. Nomiees may be practicig librarias i a public or school library, a library or iformatio sciece educator, a member of the library press, or a editor or other employee of a publishig house. The idividual may be active or retired. The recipiet receives $1,000 ad a egraved pi. Mauree Hayes Author/Illustrator Visit Award. Established with fudig from Simo & Schuster Childre s Publishig, this award pays the hoorarium ad travel for a visitig author/illustrator up to $4,000. Hayes Award applicats seek to provide a visit from a author/illustrator who will speak to childre who have ot had the opportuity to hear a atioally kow author/illustrator. Pegui Youg Readers Group Award. This $600 award is preseted to up to four childre s librarias to eable them to atted the ALA Aual Coferece for the first time. The 2012 Aual Coferece will be held i Aaheim, Califoria. The recipiets must be ALSC members, work directly with childre, ad have less tha te years, but more tha oe year, of experiece as a childre s libraria by the opeig of the Aual Coferece. For more iformatio about each award ad to dowload award applicatios, visit the ALSC website at /alsc ad click o Awards & Grats Professioal Awards. To request a form by , sed a request to alsc@ala.org. Deadlie for all professioal award applicatios is December 1, Suggestios Welcome ALSC members are ecouraged to suggest titles for the 2012 book ad media awards. Sed recommedatios with full bibliographic iformatio to the award committee chair. The Newbery Medal is give to the author of the most distiguished cotributio to America literature for childre. Viki Ash, Viki.ash@saatoio.gov. The Caldecott Medal is give to the illustrator of the most distiguished America picture book for childre. Steve Herb, slh18@psu.edu. The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is a citatio give to a America publisher for a childre s book cosidered to be the most outstadig of those books origially published i a laguage other tha Eglish i a coutry other tha the Uited States, ad subsequetly traslated ito Eglish ad published i the Uited States. Susa Sta, sta1sm@cmich.edu. The Arbuthot Lecture features a speaker who is a idividual of distictio i the field of childre s literature. Sed recommedatios for lecturers for the 2013 lecture to Susa Pie, spiey48@verizo.et. The Pura Belpré Award, co-sposored by ALSC ad REFORMA, is preseted to a Latio/Latia writer ad illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, ad celebrates the Latio cultural experiece i a outstadig work of literature for childre ad youth. Daisy Gutierrez, daisy.gutierrez@houstotx.gov. The Adrew Caregie Medal, supported by a edowmet from the Caregie Corporatio of New York, hoors a outstadig video productio for childre. Martha Simpso, msimpsomls@comcast.et. The Geisel Medal is give to the author ad illustrator of the most distiguished cotributio to the body of America childre s literature kow as begiig reader books. Carole Fiore, Carole@Fiore-tlc.biz. The ALSC/Booklist/YALSA Odyssey Award for Excellece i Audiobook Productio is give to the producer of the best audiobook produced for childre ad/or youg adults, available i Eglish i the Uited States. Lizette Haega, lizhaega@ mac.com. The Sibert Medal, sposored by Boud to Stay Boud Books, ad amed i hoor of the compay s log-time presidet Robert F. Sibert, is give to the author ad illustrator of the most distiguished iformatioal book for childre. Adrew Medlar, amedlar@chipublib.org. We also welcome suggestios for the Notable Childre s Media lists. Sed titles with full bibliographic iformatio to the committee chair. Notable Childre s Books, Kathlee Isaacs, kisaacs@midsprig.com. Notable Childre s Recordigs, Sharo Haupt, shaupt@charter.et. Notable Childre s Videos, Martha Simpso, msimpsomls@comcast.et Electio Results Sprig electio results were aouced o April 29. Dr. Caroly S. Brodie, professor, Ket (Ohio) State Uiversity, School of Library ad Iformatio Sciece, was elected ALSC vice presidet/presidetelect. Dr. Brodie received her Ph.D. i Library ad Iformatio Sciece i 1988 from Texas Woma s Uiversity, Deto, ad has bee a ALSC member for 22 years. She has bee a member of several ALSC committees, icludig the Newbery (2000 Chair) ad Caldecott, amog others. From , she was a ALA coucilor-at-large ad served as Ohio s ALA chapter coucilor from Three ALSC Board of Directors also were elected: Erie Cox, Iowa City, Iowa; Lisa Vo Drasek, Bak Street College of Educatio, New York; ad Ja Watkis, Skokie (Ill.) Public Library. The ewly elected vice presidet ad board members were seated to the Board at the close of the ALA Aual Coferece i New Orleas. 62 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries

64 ALSC News The followig idividuals were elected to serve o the 2013 Newbery, Caldecott, ad Sibert Committees: 2013 Newbery: Virgiia Collier, Atlata-Fulto Public Library System, Roswell, Ga.; Amber Creger, Woodso Regioal Library/Chicago Public Library; Roxae Feldma, The Dalto School, New York; Jos Holma, Tippecaoe Couty Public Library, Lafayette, Id.; Carolie Kiezle, Semiole, Fla.; Amy McClure, Ohio Wesleya Uiversity, Delaware, Ohio; Elizabeth Moreau, Moutai View Brach Library, Achorage, Alaska; ad Marily Taiguchi, Beverly Hills (Calif.) Public Library Caldecott: Elise DeGuiseppi, Pierce Couty Library, Tacoma, Wash.; Nacy Johso, Sigapore America School, Sigapore; JoA Joas, Sa Diego Couty Library; Miriam Martiez, Uiversity of Texas, Sa Atoio; Kiera Parrott, Darie (Co.) Library; Carol Sibley, Miesota State Library, Moorhead; Maida Li Wog, South Pasadea (Calif.) Public Library; ad Nacy Zimmerma, Uiversity of South Carolia, Columbia Sibert: Martha Bade, Alice Boucher World Laguages Academy, Lafayette, La.; Lida Erst, Kig Couty Library System, Bellevue, Wash.; Carol Goldma, Quees Library, Jamaica, N.Y.; Toby Rajput, Natioal-Louis Uiversity, Skokie, Ill.; ad Dea Scheider, Esworth School, Nashville, Te. Three proposed ALSC Bylaw chages that also appeared o the sprig ballot were approved. For details about the chages, visit Julie Corsaro, immediate past presidet, appoited the followig award committee chairs: Steve Egelfried, Wilsoville (Ore.) Public Library, 2013 Newbery Award Committee chair; Sady Imdieke, Norther Michiga Uiversity, Marquette, Mich., 2013 Caldecott Award Committee chair; ad Kathie Meizer, Motgomery Couty Public Libraries, Silver Sprig, Md., 2013 Sibert Award Committee chair. Mary Fellows, curret ALSC presidet is appoitig the remaiig members of these three committees this fall. & Idex to Advertisers ALA Editios Cover 4 ALSC Olie Courses Cover 3 Lift Every Voice Books/Moody Publishers Cover 2 My Quiet Times Owlkids Books Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries 63

65 Why Childre s Librarias Matter Now More tha Ever Kevi Roth As a eleve-year-old, I ever would have guessed that my elemetary school libraria (at Lamberto Elemetary School i Overbrook Park, Pa.), Sady Pomeratz, would ed up ifluecig my music career. Huched over her guitar, we sat i a circle o the library floor listeig to her sig folk sogs ad read stories. She loved to sig ad to perform, ad her ethusiasm was cotagious. Sady oticed my musical gifts early o as I pluked away o the piao ad brought her my favorite Peter, Paul, ad Mary records. Oe day, she itroduced me to a fried of hers, who took me to meet a dulcimer player. I was thirtee. I fell i love with its soud, ad taught myself to play, ad at the teder age of sixtee, I had my first record deal with Folkways Records. Now, thirty-seve years later, with more tha te ALA awards for my childre s records ad a ew lie of childre s books, I perform i cocert halls, theaters, ad yes libraries atiowide, huched over my dulcimer, sigig folk sogs ad readig origial stories, just like my ispiratioal libraria from log ago. I believe i this age of high-speed coectios ad tweets that give me the twitters that sigig live ad tellig a great story face-to-face i a library filled with brilliace is the atidote to a fast-paced world. There is othig like hearig someoe sig live or holdig a book i your hads, smellig the paper ad admirig the jacket cover. I am all for dowloads, but othig beats the huma experiece. Throughout my career, Sady would keep i touch: Why have t you called me? Are you too famous for me ow? I remember her tellig me time ad agai, You are my success. Truth be told, I very well may be, but she was a eve greater success. She ever sought fame or fortue, ever got to sig o a hit PBS show, record with her musical heroes, or accomplish ay of the umerous thigs I was blessed with. Her success was simpler ad more humble perhaps greater. We remaied frieds for early thirty years util she died of cacer several years ago. But I ll always remember my elemetary school days, with Sady huched over her guitar, sigig silly sogs, readig stories, ad doig all the great ad importat thigs librarias do. She was a moder-day mystic i my eyes a keeper of a lost art. Here s to great librarias, great music, ad great books beig itroduced to small childre i tiy circles o library floors, ad to you, Sady Pomeratz. Bravo! The agels, I m sure, are gathered for storytime with Sady every day. Kevi Roth, a award-wiig musicia ad author of the Tales of Wabby Wabbit books ad CDs, performs at libraries atiowide. You ca visit him at Got a great, lighthearted essay? A fuy story about childre ad libraries? Books ad babies? Pets ad picture books? A ot-so-serious look at the world of childre s librariaship? Sed your Last Word to Sharo Verbete at CALeditor@yahoo.com. 64 Summer/Fall 2011 Childre ad Libraries