Friday, April 27, 2007

Holocaust Remembrance Month

April is Holocaust Remembrance Month.

Never again. Never forget. That’s what we say. That’s what the survivors say. After several decades of not talking about their living nightmare, of not talking about the loved ones that didn’t survive, survivors began to tell and write their stories. A grieving father, bereft of his wife and daughters, published his teenage daughter’s diary, and Anne Frank became Everychild, the emblem of the millions of children who perished in the Holocaust. A young man, who spent his teenager years at a place which has come to stand for the utmost depravity and cruelty of the Nazis-Auschwitz-wrote a stark and chilling account of his years at the concentration camp.

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Month, I’d like to tell you about the following books:

Levine, Karen. Hana's Suitcase. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 2002.




This book absolutely devastated me.

I've read plenty of nonfiction about the Holocaust-books written for adults as well as books written for children.

None, save the next book I will tell you about, have overwhelmed me as much as Hana's Suitcase.

Over the years, Germany has come to face the painful truth of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is taught in schools and it is a crime to spout neo-Nazi doctrine. Germany is pushing to make denial of the Holocaust a crime across the European countries.

However, Japan has not had the same success in facing its role in World War II. The Holocaust is not as well-known in the country, and denial of the Holocaust is not unknown in the country.

However, that is slowly changing, in part thanks to Fumiko Ishioka, curator of the Tokyo Holocaust Center. The center was home to a very special group of children who called themselves "The Small Wings." The Small Wings club, made of volunteers at the museum, met every month to produce a newsletter informing their peers about the Holocaust.

When Fumiko began her job at the center, she knew that the best way to teach children about the Holocaust was for them to see pictures and artifacts of the Holocaust. She wrote to Holocaust museums around the world, asking them to loan them material for the children's center.

Fumiko received a small suitcase. All she knew, according to what was written on the suitcase, was the child's first name (Hanna, as the Germans spelled it) and that she was an orphan.

Naturally, the children wanted to know more about Hanna/Hana. How old was she? What happened to her? Did she survive?

Through alternating chapters, we learn about Hana's life before the Holocaust and at the Terezin/Theresienstadt concentration camp and Fumiko's quest to find more about Hana.

Hana is the little girl pictured on the cover-a sweet, beautiful child. The photographs of her and family juxtaposed against the adorable 21st century Japanese children are absolutely heartbreaking.

The last chapters are painful yet joyous at the same time. The reader is reminded that although pain and grief change over time, they never truly go away, never to return.

Roy, Jennifer. Yellow Star. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2006.




When Yellow Star was published, many thought it was a Newbery contender. Although it ultimately did not win the Newbery (or even an Honor citation), it is definitely one of the most intense and brilliantly written children's novels I have read in recent years.

Yellow Star is told in verse. I am not a huge fan of verse. I feel that this particular writing style has been abused and overblown in recent years.

It takes an extremely skilled author to write a novel in verse. The style becomes annoying and distracting in the hands of an inept author. Karen Hesse's Witness is one of the few that work, in my opinion.

Read Yellow Star and you will understand how emotionally powerful a verse novel can be.

I am also not a huge fan of novels about the Holocaust. It's very difficult for me to explain it, but Holocaust novels (again, in my opinion only) run the risk of trivializing the Holocaust. I avoid them whenever possible, save for a select few:

Number the Stars (which I read because it won the Newbery)

The Devil in Vienna (which I read because Disney made a movie based on the book for The Disney Channel, under the title A Friendship in Vienna)

Daniel Half-Human and the Good Nazi (a harrowing young adult novel)

Based on these two prejudices of mine, I avoided reading Yellow Star. How foolish of me. Had I investigated further, I would have learned that the book is the true story of Jennifer Roy's Aunt Syvia (now called Sylvia).

Syvia lived in the Lodz (Poland) Jewish ghetto, which held 270,000 people.

800 survived the war.

12 were children.

Syvia was one of the 12.

This book took my breath away. I am not exaggerating. There were times I literally had to put the book down and do something else.

That happened after I read the "Give us the children" section:

Give us the children,
the Nazis say.
We will take them to a place
where they will have food and fresh air.
Parents, how lucky you are!
the Nazis say.
You won't have to worry about your children
while you are work.
They will be cared for by us.


Later, the Nazis come for the children. Syvia and the 12 children were hidden in the ghetto.

Yellow Star is Syvia's story.

Other books of note:

Rubin, Susan Goldman. The Cat With the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin. New York: Holiday House, 2006.




In recent years, much attention has been given to Brundibar, the children’s opera that was performed by the children imprisoned at the Terezin/Theresienstadt concentration camp. Tony Kushner, playwright of the Angels in America plays, and Maurice Sendak collaborated on a retelling of the opera in picture book form. Opera companies in many nations have performed the opera, which has subtle political overtones that were not obvious to the Nazis.

Ela Weissberger was one of the children who performed in Brundibar. She was only eleven years old when she, as a Czech Jew, was sent to Terezin/Theresienstadt. The Cat With the Yellow Star tells of her life before the Holocaust, the friends she made (and lost) at the concentration camp, and her life as a Holocaust survivor, bringing the story of Brundibar and the Holocaust to children in many countries.

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin. New York: Holiday House, 2000.




Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was an art teacher who worked with the children of Terezin/Theresienstadt. Throughout the book, we see examples of the children’s artwork. The children’s artwork alternated between hopeful/peaceful artwork and the evil, grim reality of the concentration camp. This book goes into significant more detail about the evils of the camp more so than The Cat With the Yellow Star.

Mochizuki, Ken. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story. New York: Lee & Low Books, 1997.




Many people have heard of Oscar Schindler, but not many people know about the heroism of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania. Through the eyes of his son, Hiroki Sugihara, we learn how this brave man defied the Japanese government and issued thousands of visas, thereby saving untold numbers of lives.




Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow




Hitler Youth chronicles the experience of young German boys and girls who voluntarily joined or were forced in the Hitler Youth corps.

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definite Edition




When Otto Frank first published his daughter's diary, he edited passages that, among other things, dealt with her anger with her mother. Those and other entries have been restored.

Alicia: My Story





I first read Alicia Appleman-Jurman's autobiography when I was in middle school. Her survival story is one of the most enduring stories of the Holocaust.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

What a Day!

A great Head Start visit in the morning, and the Chris Crutcher program tonight. What a wonderful, fabulous day. I am a very lucky, but very tired, girl. The kids were adorable this morning, laughed out loud at Bark George (not that they didn't like the other stories, but that was the definite highlight), and were so excited to pick their book as part of our Reading is Fundamental program. This evening was dinner with Chris Crutcher and a crowd of intelligent, thoughtful, and passionate teachers and librarians. The audience for Chris Crutcher's program was small, but this allowed for an intimate discussion and question time.

Chris Crutcher is not only a great and insightful author for young adults, but is also a fabulous speaker. Witty, intelligent, thoughtful....you name it. He is also a very friendly and generous man. He had a very long day talking to English classes at Fauquier High and Liberty High, lunch with students and teachers, dinner with teachers and librarians, and finally, his discussion at John Barton Payne. You wouldn't have known it had you been there at the program (and you should have been there! You missed a fabulous program!). Every question asked was given a very thorough and thoughtful response, whether it was increased censorship of literature, the treatment and respect of children, what gives him hope, the mental health crisis in our country, and the Virginia Tech killings (not only is he an award winning author, but has also worked as a teacher and a mental health therapist). He graciously signed copies of books and posed for pictures.

My supervisor is driving him back to his hotel as I write this (I normally walk to work, but since it was dark by the time the program was over, I hitched a ride with my supervisor and Chris Crutcher).

Tomorrow morning is toddler storytime, so I should get to bed. I'm too hopped up by today to even think about sleeping! Thursday is working at the volunteer reception, Friday is judging at the Battle of the Books competition, I have more storytimes to plan, more Write Away programs to finalize, books to read for next month's Capitol Choices and future blog posts, and summer reading program activities to plan. Busy, busy, busy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. No job is 100% roses all the time, but most of the time, it's really very good.

Thank you to Dawn, Michelle at Liberty High School, and the Friends of the Fauquier County Public Library for making this day happen. Thank you to the students who responded so strongly to the stories and asked such great questions-Mr. Crutcher praised you highly this evening. Thank you, Chris Crutcher, for being so generous with your time.

What a day!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Chris Crutcher visit tomorrow!

Can you believe it? Tomorrow, April 24, is the day! Fauquier County Public Library and Liberty High School will present a program featuring the award winning author of young adult literature, Chris Crutcher. The program will be at the John Barton Payne Building, 2 Courthouse Square, in old town Warrenton.

(The JBP shares a courtyard with the Fauquier Bank. The FB is across the street from the library. Walk past the bank and find the building across the street from Mom's Apple Pie. There's a sign there, so you won't miss it.)

The program begins at 7 p.m.

13th Carnival of Children's Literature

The 13th Carnival of Children's Literature is underway at Jen Robinson's Book Page. Jen has put together an impressive array of blog postings, which shouldn't surprise anyone who is familiar with her work.

A blog carnival is a collection of blog posts submitted by bloggers (I submitted my baseball books and links post-Jen placed it in "The Merry-Go-Round" section). Bloggers are asked to submit what they believe to be their best post in a selected time period (the children's literature carnival is a monthly event). A blogger volunteers to host the carnival on her/his blog. A carnival is a great way to "discover" new-to-you blogs.

Kidlit bloggers aren't the only ones to have carnivals. You can find many different types of carnivals on the Blog Carnival Index.


Many thanks to Jen for showcasing the blog postings so creatively. Well done!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book

Your child has a homework assignment on a not-so-well-known historical figure. You find some mentions of him/her in our circulating and reference books, but not enough to flesh out a report. What to do now? Is your instinct to search the Internet? While the Internet is a fun and useful tool, it is also filled with outdated, slanted, and wildly incorrect websites.

Before you point your mouse toward Google, search our databases. As a card-carrying member of Fauquier County Public Library, you have access to an impressive amount of databases, including the Britannica and World Book Encyclopedias. If your child is not quite ready to tackle the entries found in these encyclopedias, don't worry. Britannica and World Book Encyclopedias have kid-friendly features for our younger patrons.

This isn't your mother's Britannica or your father's World Book. For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online for Kids not only features child-friendly entries, but also includes Compton's Encyclopedia for middle school students, Britannica's Elementary Encyclopedia for elementary students, a world atlas, statistics and other information for all 50 states, and much more.

World Book Kids features child-friendly browsing and entries, pictures, and activities to enhance projects.

Both databases are attractively designed and for easy use.

The entries also include a "How to Cite This Article" feature at the end of the entries (I wish this would have been around when I was doing reports!). World Book follows the MLA (Modern Language Association) citation format. Encyclopedia Britannica cites entries in both MLA and APA (American Psychological Association) format. Check with your teacher to find out which format she/he prefers (MLA is a very common form in elementary through high school grades; APA or Chicago Style may be introduced in high school, but students may not encounter them until they are in college.).

All databases can be accessed at home (or wherever else you have Internet access). You just need to enter your barcode number located on your library card.

If you need help navigating the databases, ask someone at the reference desk. We're here to help.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Capitol Choices

What's my excuse for not updating more frequently? I've been preparing for today's Capitol Choices meeting. While the drive from Warrenton to Arlington Central Library was crazy this morning, it was worth it to spend several hours debating and discussing the latest in children's and teens' literature.

As a member of the 10-14 reading group, I am expected to recommend and read books for this age range. If you want to check out what we're reading and nominating, look here.

You can also find the final Capitol Choices list by year.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Chris Crutcher Visit in 6 Days

You do not want to miss this event. Fauquier County Public Library and Liberty High School will present a special program with Chris Crutcher on April 24th at 7 p.m. The program will be held in the John Barton Payne building (2 Courthouse Square in Old Town).

I cannot wait for this program, and I cannot wait to tell you all about the events of that day!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Baseball season is in full swing, so this is a perfect time to tell you about some great baseball books:


There’s No Crying in Baseball!


The history of American baseball is strong with stories of dignity, hope, and courage.





Adler, David A. Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.


Lou Gehrig wasn’t called The Iron Man for nothing. A man who never missed a day of school in eight years and never missed a single New York Yankees game in fourteen years was truly a force to be reckoned with, and a man thought to be unstoppable. Inexplicably, Gehrig began to miss swings. He had trouble keeping his balance. Although his manager refused to fire him, Gehrig eventually took himself out of the game and was examined by Mayo Clinic specialists. The diagnosis was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (AML), a rare and deadly disease of the nervous system.

This beautiful biography tells the story of the admirable Lou Gehrig, from his heyday as Babe Ruth’s rival to his final dignified and courageous days. Those nostalgic for “old Brooklyn” and old time baseball will surely linger over the illustrations, while the final illustrations of “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” and the day of Gehrig’s death will probably leave you with a lump in your throat.





Hopkinson, Deborah. Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.


The inspiring life of Alta Weiss is deftly covered by Deborah Hopkinson in this slim biography. Time and time again, Alta was told to “act like a lady” and quite playing baseball. She persevered and rose to fame as the “Girl Wonder” of The Independents, a semi-professional team in Ohio. If you have an early elementary student daunted by the shelves of thick biographies, check this out for him or her. An author’s note informs the reader that Alta graduated from Starling-Ohio Medical College in 1914, the only woman in her class.





Robinson, Sharon. Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004.


What comes to your mind when you think of biographies written by children of celebrities? Do you usually think of books like Mommie Dearest? True, there is no lack of “tell all” books written by these adult children. However, Sharon Robinson’s biography of her father, Jackie Robinson, is definitely not one of them. The career of Jackie Robinson, both as a ground-breaking baseball player and civil rights activist, is definitely meaty enough, rich enough, and inspirational enough to frame an awesome read. Robinson’s biography, however, is more than a “by the numbers” biography; she begins the book with an overview of African American history that preceded and influenced her grandparents’ and parents’ lives. A timeline of black baseball history is threaded throughout the columns of the book, alongside snapshots, pictures of newspaper clippings, and family mementos. As the adoring daughter of Jackie Robinson, her biography is admittedly not objective. Her prose, however, is direct and matter of fact.

Every April 15th is a special day in American baseball, for it is the annual "Jackie Robinson Day." This past April 15th was particularly special, for it was the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in American baseball. That day was celebrated by many major league players, including Washington Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young, wearing Robinson's retired number 42 in honor of the day.





Uhlberg, Myron. Dad, Jackie, and Me. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2005.
Sometimes, you come across a book that’s so remarkable and wonderful that it lingers with you long after you’ve closed its cover. So remarkable and so wonderful that you know that any words you use to describe it will not do the book justice. That’s exactly how I feel about Dad, Jackie, and Me. The story of a young baseball fan and his deaf father paralleled against the integration of Jackie Robinson into the Brooklyn Dodgers is told brilliantly through evocative illustrations and moving text. The young narrator tells of his father’s appreciation (and identification) with Jackie Robinson, the young baseball star of the Negro Leagues recently signed to the Dodgers. This sudden interest in Robinson is surprising, since his father never seemed to care about baseball. However, they’re off to a Dodgers game.

Dad is deaf, but he isn’t mute. “AH-GEE!” he calls out when Robinson flies on the field. This attracts much attention from nearby fans, which embarrasses the young boy.

His attention is soon torn away from his discomfort to the “horrible names” that the Giants are yelling to Jackie (at his father’s request, he fingerspells the words).

The game flames his father’s interest in Robinson and in baseball in general. Having a shared interest brings father and son closer together;
they attend Dodgers games whenever they can and witness the indignities thrown Robinson’s way during the game. In between games, they scrapbook Robinson’s career. Dad continues to yell “AH-GEE!” but Robinson doesn’t notice, until one fine and fabulous day. And faster than you can say, “Jackie Robinson,” you think “It can’t get better than this.”

Au contraire, mon frere! It’s time to read the Author’s Note. The Author’s Note in which Myron Uhlberg tells you that the story was inspired by his father, who was also deaf and was also an avid fan of Jackie Robinson. Who took him to Dodgers games, showed him how Robinson was proving the racists wrong, and taught him about a deaf baseball player named William Ellsworth Hoy (hint to Uhlberg-write a picture book about Hoy!).

Marvelous. Just marvelous.


A League of Their Own


One of the most fascinating sports stories of all time is the formulation and popularity of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which received much renewed attention when A League of Their Own was released to great popularity.





Adler, David A. Mama Played Baseball. San Diego: Harcourt Inc, 2003.
Amy’s mother, like many other women during the United States’s involvement in World War II, works out of the home. Instead of working in a factory, however, Amy’s mother is a baseball player. This is a sweet and loving picture book chronicling a mother-daughter relationship and the effect of the war on a family. One of the most darling and lovely illustrations I have seen in a picture book is found halfway through the book; Amy is watching her mother autograph her very own baseball. Have mercy, Chris O’Leary!





Macy, Sue. A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993.


If you’ve wondered how closely A League Of Their Own mirrored the actual AAGPBL, you’ll want to take a look at Sue Macy’s account (answer: Quite closely, except the women were typically in their late teens and early twenties, probably younger than the characters in the movie. There was an AAGPL league named the Rockford Peaches, but all the characters in the movie are fictional). From the women’s “charm school” experiences to the lifelong friendships formed throughout the league, the reader will revel in the notoriety, eventual respect and popularity earned by the league.

Before Jackie Broke the Color Line: The Negro Leagues


Renewed interest in the Negro Leagues is giving much deserved attention to the powerful players of the Negro Leagues, which was in existence until the last teams folded in the 1960s.





Brasher, William. The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1994.


If you are looking for an in-depth introduction to the Negro Leagues for children, this book is ideal. There’s nothing flashy about the book’s presentation; just fascinating and occasionally heartbreaking detail after detail about the popularity, hardships, and inevitable decline of the Leagues. Brashler unflinchingly describes the tremendous traveling difficulties and indignities that were forced upon the players due to the Jim Crow laws, the tension between the “clowning” leagues (which influenced the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team) and the “regular” teams, the pride that African American communities took in the leagues, and the players‘ lives after their baseball careers and the Leagues came to an end. He intimately connects the reader with the comraderie of the players as well as with the vast inequalities of the Jim Crow era, as seen through the world of baseball.





Winter, Jonah. Fair Ball! 14 Great Stars From Baseball’s Negro Leagues. New York: Scholastic Press, 1999.


As a fan of the Negro Leagues, Jonah Winter longed for baseball cards that detailed the careers of the great Negro League players: Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson. Though economical with words (the pages are designed to look like baseball cards, complete with statistics and 3-4 paragraphs), Winter makes each player’s achievements and accomplishments come alive with unbridled enthusiasm.


Fan Fiction: Fun Baseball Fiction





Gutman, Dan. Honus & Me. New York: Avon Books, 1997.


I first learned of this baseball card time travel series several months ago via a patron request. Joe Stoshack discovers a rare Honus Wagner baseball card that is worth a fortune. That’s just the beginning of his adventures, which lead to Joe befriending Honus and traveling back in time with him to 1909. Time travel, humor, and adventure are mixed with a healthy dosing of baseball history. You’ll probably want to read the other books in Gutman’s series.


Heymsfeld, Carla. Coaching Ms. Parker. New York: Bradbury Press, 1992.


Fourth grade teacher Ms. Parker is not looking forward to the annual sixth graders vs. faculty baseball game. Out of sympathy, Mike volunteers (and volunteers his friends) to help coach her for the big game. She agrees, but only if Mike writes book reviews of books chosen by her. At 85 pages, this is a very quick read that contains gentle humor and realistic school situations to which most children can relate.





Park, Barbara. Skinnybones. New York: Random House, 1982.


Looking for a laugh out loud read? Barbara Park is your kind of author. Skinnybones is the story of Alex Frankovitch., the smallest boy on his baseball team. Alex is pretty honest about his lack of prowess in baseball, but it doesn’t stop him from his mouth getting him in trouble! This is a funny fast read, ideal for reluctant readers.


Blogger’s Choice:


When I prepare for a Book Bundle, I always read many more books than the number of books I chose to review. Therefore, all the titles mentioned in the bundles are books I feel are worthy of greater attention. However, there are always titles that are the cream of the crop, and I intend to single them out by marking them as “Blogger’s Choice.” Without further delay, here are the “Blogger’s Choice” for the Play Ball! Book bundle:

Adler, David A. Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997.

Adler, David A. Mama Played Baseball. San Diego: Harcourt Inc, 2003.

Uhlberg, Myron. Dad, Jackie, and Me. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2005.

Park, Barbara. Skinnybones. New York: Random House, 1982.

Baseball Goes Digital


There are also a number of great baseball sites on the Internet.


General Baseball Links:


Exploratorium: Science of Baseball


National Baseball Hall of Fame


MLB’s Kid’s Zone


Historic Baseball


Baseball Historian


Washington Nationals


The Language of Baseball


Baseball Almanac


Today in Baseball History


All American Girls Professional League:


All American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-1954)


Science of Baseball: The Girls of Summer


National Women’s Baseball Hall of Fame


Negro League Baseball:


Blackbaseball.com


Negro League Baseball


Negro League Baseball Museum


Negro League Baseball Players’ Association


Out of the Shadows: Negro League Baseball

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!

Today is Beverly Cleary's 91st birthday. In honor of her birthday and in honor of the fact that Fauquier County Public Library is celebrating the occasion, I challenged myself to read all of Mrs. Cleary's books by her birthday.

I didn't make it.

Here's what I missed:

Fifteen

The Growing Up Feet

The Hullabaloo ABC

Janet's Thinhamajigs

The Luckiest Girl

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Muggie Maggie

Otis Spofford

Ralph S. Mouse

The Real Hole

Ribsy

Runaway Ralph

Sister of the Bride

Socks

Strider

Two Dog Biscuits

Unfortunately, the challenge fell by the wayside. Reading duties for Capitol Choices and Battle of the Books demanded my reading time. Perhaps next year, I'll read the remaining books.

However, I am very happy that I created this personal challenge. It can be dangerous revisiting childhood favorites. As an adult, you may spot prejudices/inconsistencies/etc that you may have overlooked as a child. It can be disappointing to realize that the books haven't "held up" as you had hoped they had.

Let's begin with Henry Huggins. As a child, the Henry Huggins books were never really my favorites, so it was no big deal to me that I didn't enjoy them as much I had hoped I would. I was strangely irritated with some aspects of the books. It's not the fact that they are from an another era. It's the fact that some details are just profoundly weird, such as Henry and his friends practicing artificial respiration on each other at his party.

Honestly, I did feel a bit guilty when I laughed at Henry. Yes, I am aware of the fact that she wrote the books because her child patrons (she was a children's librarian) wanted to read books that featured children "like them." Meaning, that they didn't want to read another book about upper class British children or books that spoke down to them. I appreciate that fact. I love that fact.

After hurrying through the Henry Huggins books, I reached for the Ramona books with some hesitancy. I had reread the Ramona books when I worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish public library system, but I was a college undergraduate then.

Thankfully, I loved the Ramona books. As opposed to the Henry Huggins books, there were very, very few details that hinted at the fact that they were more than twenty years old. The vitality, the humor, and the everyday family and school situations still ring true. Unemployment, not being sure if a teacher likes you, and sibling issues are timeless issues.

Truly, it's almost as if two different authors wrote the Henry Huggins and the Ramona books. When you add in the Newbery Medal winning Dear Mr. Henshaw, there is no comparison. It is truly a wonder to go from the Henry Huggins books, to the Ramona books, and finally to the Leigh Botts books. Her growth as a writer was exceptional...a true marvel.

Why not celebrate this marvelous writer by rereading some of her books as well and attending our final Beverly Cleary program this Saturday, 11 a.m., at the Warrenton branch?

(If you haven't read her memoirs, you're in for a treat. I just wish she had written a third volume chronicling her biggest successes with the Ramona books and Dear Mr. Henshaw.)

Beverly CLeary's website.

NPR audio interview with Beverly Cleary

NPR interview with Beverly Cleary, shortly after Ramona's World was published.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Beverly Cleary Party!

The John Marshall library's Beverly Cleary birthday party is today! I'm leaving in a little over an hour to help Mrs. Cosby prepare and to help with the program. The fun starts at 4:30! We'll read Ramona's favorite picture book (when she was a kidnergartner, as Willa Jean would say*), have doughnuts and apple juice (the snack Ramona looked forward to as part of her school's Halloween program), make a Picky Picky cat bookmark, and in honor of one of Ramona's favorite activities, we'll have an arts and craft project (straw paint art). We'll also sign and decorate a large Happy Birthday card, which will then be sent to Bealeton for their party, sent to Warrenton for their party, and finally sent to Mrs. Cleary in care of her publisher.

(I'm also hoping to send pictures of our program as well.)

Bealeton's party is tomorrow, April 10 (Ms. Richardson is adding her own special touches to Bealeton's party), at 2 p.m. and Warrenton's party is Saturday, April 14 at 11 a.m.

I'm so excited! I'm really hoping to have all of Beverly Cleary's books read by April 16th. If not, then at least by Sunday.

*Why does Willa Jean say kidnergarten? Because that's where the kids are!

(Bless her little heart, as Howie's grandmother would say.)

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Easter Books

While most of our Easter books are checked out, we still have several books that you might enjoy about Easter:

Milich, Melissa. Miz Fannie Mae’s Fine New Easter Hat. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1997.



Miz Fannie Mae’s husband and daughter are determined to buy her a new Easter hat. Sure, they could easily buy a hat at the General Store, but her husband wants her to have the finest hat he can find. Father and daughter set off for Meridian City in their horse-drawn buggy, dodging the automobiles that choke the town streets. They find a gorgeous hat topped off by eggs, but Miz Fannie Mae is not too happy that they bought such an expensive hat. But father finds an ingenious way to make Miz Fannie Mae accept the hat, and she does indeed wear it to Easter Sunday services. Miz Fannie Mae is pleased with the hat, but she had no idea of the commotion it would cause in church!

This is a warm and humorous story about family and “miracles.” Although the time period isn’t specific, I’d say it takes places in the 1920s or 1930s, given the clothes and the automobiles.

Hoban, Tana. Where Is It? New York: Macmillan Publishing Co, 1974.

A little rabbit is searching, searching, searching. He’s searching everywhere for something, but what is it? Why, it’s an Easter basket just for him!

Tana Hoban (who died last year at the age of 88) is known for her photography concept books. This book contains black and white photographs of the rabbit searching for his basket. Tana Hoban’s books are ideal for toddlers!

Berlin, Irving. Easter Parade. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.




Well, if this isn’t one of the cutest Easter books I’ve ever read. Now, I’m not necessarily a fan of books that are essentially songs turned into text. Some of them work fine for reading aloud, such as A Bushel and a Peck (a song from the musical Guys and Dolls) and Little White Duck, while others…don’t work as well.

As you can guess, this is the title song of the movie Easter Parade. A father bunny is taking his little daughter bunny to the Easter Parade. “In your Easter bonnet/With all the frills upon it/You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.” C’mon! Look at the illustrations and tell me that you don’t think this is cute. I dare you! Okay, so you’ll have to explain what a rotogravure is (just say that it’s a fancy word for newspaper). Otherwise, this is an adorable book of fancily dressed bunnies, frogs, and even skunks. If this was a Cute Overload blog of picture books, I’d post the cover and go, “Squeee!”

Just a reminder: All Fauquier County libraries will be closed this Sunday, April 8. We will resume normal operating hours on Monday, April 9.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

What's in My Cubby? Wednesdays

This being the last toddler storytime before Easter, it’s a perfect time to do a Rascally Rabbits storytime.

Fleming, Candace. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers, 2002.



Used for: Rascally Rabbits storytime
Why I used it: Funny little rabbits keep breaking into a farmer’s vegetable garden, causing him to resort to desperate measures. Text is large, making it easier on the story reader. Illustrations are eye catching and appealing to a large group.
Success: I was unsure how this would go over, due to its length. I did drop a few sentences at the end, but the majority of the children enjoyed the story.

Lee, Ho Baek. While We Were Out. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 2003.



Used for: Rascally Rabbits storytime
Why I used it: An inquisitive rabbit breaks into a family’s apartment while they are away, and has quite an adventure. The majority of the illustrations are bright and big for a large group. I like Kane/Miller’s books and the company’s charge, which is to publish quality children’s books originally published outside the United States.
Success: The children laughed at key points, such as the rabbit watching a movie. So silly! Some illustrations are small, but they are “matched” with a larger and colorful illustration to the right of them.

Russo, Marisabina. The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2007.



Used for: Rascally Rabbits storytime
Why I used it: Toddlers and their parents are very familiar with bedtime struggles! These bunnies keep hopping out of bed to play with trains, hobby horses, and musical instruments. Their beleaguered parents insist that they return to bed, but the bunnies get more rambunctious and the parents get more aggravated (without trying to blow their top).
Success: This went over very well! If you make the parents sound more desperate/aggravated with each visit to the bunnies’ bedroom, it makes the story even funnier. It works great as a read aloud, but the clever illustrations are lost on a large group. Mama is reading “Hare Raising Stories” before the chaos begins, and one of Daddy’s newspaper headlines reads “5K Upset: Tortoise Beats Hare.” And what kind of cake do bunnies eat as a late night snack? Why, carrot cake, of course.

Watson, Richard Jesse. The Magic Rabbit. New York: Blue Sky Press (an imprint of Scholastic, Inc), 2005.



Used for: Rascally Rabbits storytime
Why I used it: I needed a good short book, since my toddler group is just getting comfortable with longer stories. This has fantastic illustrations that are just perfect for a large group. There’s an element of suspense: what will the rabbit pull from his hat next? The book ends with a nice but not too dorky message about friendship.
Success: I’ve used this in previous storytimes (not that this library), so I was hoping for repeated success. They particularly enjoyed it when the rabbit pulled a car from his hat.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Beverly Cleary Reading Challenge: Part 1

In celebration of Beverly Cleary’s 91st birthday, I am challenging myself to read all of her books by her birthday, April 12. It’s been an interesting experience, to say the least.

I’m particularly intrigued by the fact that I find some of the details to be very old fashioned. However, I read almost all of Cleary’s books when I was a child, and I don’t remember thinking that way. They were just fun stories to read.

I’m not giving full-blown reviews; just my impressions. Some of my impressions may read like I am mocking the books. I love every one of the books I have reread and read so far. It has really been a treat to go back and revisit these books. But some details are just too cute and funny to not point out. I wouldn’t have these books changed or updated (the very thought!) for the world.

I began the challenge by reading the Henry Huggins books, in no particular order (whatever I grabbed at 4:50 a few weeks ago).

Henry and Beezus



What I remembered from the book: not much
What I should have remembered: The Henry Huggins books introduce Ramona. It also introduces Mary Jane, Beezus’s stuck up frenemy. Beatrice is much more patient with Ramona in this book than she is in the (non Henry Huggins) books starring Ramona as a very young child.
Favorite scene: The Double Bubble Gum scenes. Once I began reading this section, I instantly remembered reading it. When you are eight, you dream of stuff like this. Henry finds 49 boxes of bubble gum in the bushes. He becomes the most popular kid at school when he sells the gum at school. However, the kids get sick of the gum, and Henry begins to slash prices, offer deals…but no dice. His get rich quick opportunity is over.
What I love about this scene: Had this been a modern day novel, something Very, Very Serious or Bad would have happened to the children. The teacher gets fussy about the gum being chewed in class, and the parents do know who threw away the gum. But in 1954, no one was particularly concerned about children consuming mass quantities of gum founded stashed in bushes (yes, the adults knew). Apparently.

Henry and Ribsy



What I remembered from the book: not a lot
What I should have remembered: Ribsy is fed horsemeat. Henry catches a big fish with his bare hands.
Favorite scene: There’s quite a few in this one. When the family car is at the mechanic’s shop, Henry is allowed to sit in the car while it’s being worked on. I’m fairly certain this is illegal now. In another scene, Henry’s mother gives him an awful haircut (unintentionally, of course). Henry is quite upset and says he can’t go to school looking the way he does. To quote: “I’ll have to stay home. I’ll get behind in arithmetic and I won’t know the folk dances and-“
I literally laughed out loud. Longer than I should have, in fact. I can understand the distress about getting behind in arithmetic. I’m totally with him on that account. Missing folk dance instruction? You got me there, Huggins.
Another interesting scene: Ramona is having a fit, which is par the course for most of her appearances in the Henry Huggins books. The PTA mothers think that she is scared of Ribsy. However, Ramona has Ribsy’s bone in her lunch box, and she won’t give it back. When one mother rightfully calls Ramona “a perfect little terror,” another mother replies that “just because the poor little thing is too young to have acceptable behavior patterns doesn’t mean we can let her be terrified of the dog.” Going from something very old-fashioned to something that sounds like a phrase used today.

Henry and the Clubhouse



What I remembered from the book: nada
What I should have remembered: Ramona and Beezus save Henry from being locked in the clubhouse.
Favorite scene: A neighbor needs to bring a bathtub to the dumpster. Henry is allowed to ride in the bathtub. Again, totally illegal nowadays.

Emily’s Runaway Imagination



What I remembered before reading: I don’t think I ever read this one.
What I should have remembered: n/a
Favorite scene: Not much happens at the beginning of the book. The real excitement begins when Emily’s mother starts making plans for the town to have a library (this is a very small town in the 1920s, I’m guessing). Coin by coin, funds are built. Finally, the very small library is ready, and it’s a big hit.
On opening day, a young boy asks for permission to borrow books. He has walked several miles from his home; his family saw the announcement in the paper. He selects books for his parents, younger sibling, and himself.
Before I read this section, I was pretty ambivalent about the book. But the excitement over the library suckered me in. Awww. If you've read Beverly Cleary's memoirs, you'll know that Beverly Cleary's childhood hometown did not have a library until her mother started the foundation for a library and became the town librarian, as does Emily's mother in this book.

Ellen Tebbits



What I remembered before reading: Ellen attends ballet class, meets a girl named Austine, and some dancing around a Maypole. I thought the skipping around the Maypole in a fancy costume while holding on to a long piece of ribbon would be so cool (I was a girly dance-obsessed child.).
What I should have remembered: Ellen’s mother makes her wear long underwear. That’s not the main thing, however. The dancing around the Maypole occurs at the end of a school production. It’s the Pied Piper story….well, not so much.

“Ellen was puzzled. ‘My mother read me the story and it wasn’t that way. The Piper didn’t bring the children back.’
‘I know,’ said Mrs. Gitler, ‘but this is a creative play and we have changed the story so we can use the Maypole dance at the end.”

Ow. Ow. My sides. Should I laugh or be indignant that the teacher changed the ending to a folktale (not that she wasn’t the first to change the Pied Piper story).

Well, if you have a Maypole sitting around, I guess you have to find some use for it. I do feel some sympathy, however, for any teacher with the last name of Gitler.

I'll have more impressions in a few days. I'm currently rereading Dear Mr. Henshaw, which is quite unlike anything else Beverly Cleary wrote, and won a well deserved Newbery Medal in 1984.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Passover

Passover begins tonight at sundown. Here are some children's books that explain the holiday:

Schotter, Roni. Passover! New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2006.




This tells the story of a Passover meal, complete with matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, and finding the matzoh. This book is suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. Children not familiar with Passover may not understand several references, such as “Passover clean” (before Passover, the family must clean the house in order to get rid of any unleavened bread crumbs).

Fishman, Cathy Goldberg. On Passover. New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers (imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division), 1997.




Through the story of one family’s preparations for Passover, we learn about traditional meals for seder, the Haggadah (the book used for Passover services), and about the “Four Questions” asked by the youngest child during the Seder.

Admittedly, a Jewish child growing up in an observant home would probably not ask some of the more basic questions. However, the traditions and symbols of Passover are related in a readable and child-friendly manner.

Goldin, Barbara Diamond. The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion. New York: Penguin, 1994.




Starting with the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt to the exodus of the Jews to Mount Sinai, we learn about the many trials that the Jewish people faced in Egypt as told in the Torah and the Old Testament/Jewish Scriptures. After that, we learn about the seder, the fourteen steps of the seder, the symbolism of Elijah’s cup, and much more. The Warsaw Ghetto and the Holocaust are briefly discussed in the section explaining Barekh (13th step), in which the participants remember other times in which the Jewish people faced enslavement and cruelty. This is a meaty book for elementary school children. Adults unfamiliar with Passover will get a lot from the book, too.

Lehman-Wilzig, Tami. Passover Around the World. Minneapolis: Kar-Ben Publishing, Inc (division of Lerner Publishing Group), 2007.






I’m saving my favorite book for last. Not only do we learn why Jewish people observe Passover and learn about the Seder table, we learn about Jewish communities in Gibraltar, Turkey, Ethiopia, India, Iran, and other countries celebrate Passover. A short story, a brief history of that country’s Jewish community, and a recipe are presented for each country. Since many children’s books featuring Judaism or Jewish characters published in the United States are presented from a Western or Eastern European tradition, this book is especially welcome.

Websites about Passover:

KidsDomain's Passover website

TorahTots's Pesach (Passover) site

Happy Passover site