The Joy of Children's Literature

Horn Book MagazineMay/June 2008 Editorial Altogether, One at a Time : A family-friendly issue Features An Interview with Rudine Sims Bishop by Kathleen T. Horning Talking with the foremost scholar of African American children's literature. Web Extras Reading about Families in My Family by Megan Lambert What if there are no books about families like yours? Web Extras Truffles by Linda Sue Park Goodnight Squishy Ball by Amy Schwartz A Dad Grows Up by Christopher Paul Curtis The effects of "parental micromanagement" on kids' reading Trashing Elmo by Ginee Seo & Bruce Brooks "Taste . . . is an elusive, reaching thing." Unriddling the World by Susan Cooper Web Extras God Knows, Philip Pullman by Anne Quirk Do we place too much faith in literature? Web Extras Reviews Book Reviews : A sampling from the latest issue Audiobook Reviews Recommended Reissues Finesse or Faux Pas? by Terri Schmitz Columns The Writer's Page Quack-tique by Sherry Shahan Border...

I missed Take Your Daughter and Son to Work Day . It was last Thursday, April 24. But, I still want to share a wonderful book that I think would be excellent to read to your daughters and sons or the students in your classroom. The book is the revised and updated version of Catherine Thimmesh's Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics (2008, Houghton Mifflin). Boy: "I'm going to be an architect when I grow up." Girl: "I want to be an astronaut." Man: "Who wants to be a science teacher?" Boy: "...a landscaper..." Woman: "Or a brain surgeon?" Teenage girl: "I wish I were a dolphin trainer." Boy: " I want to be a computer programmer..." Girl: "I'm going to be a tour guide." Girl: "When I grow up, I'm going to be the president of the United States." Boy: "You...?" "a.... GIRL?" Teenage girl: "Well, maybe you could marr...

If you are a teacher, this might not be your favorite time of year. Many are knee-deep in test preparation. This YouTube video for the song, "Not on the Test," written by Tom Chapin with John Forster, expresses their disappointment in the lack of arts education in public schools. Thanks to Book Buds for the link.

JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom , the winner in the Books for Younger Children Category, is written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully and published by Farrar Strauss Giroux. Mrs. Washington’s declares that young Oney is just like one of the Washington’s own children, but Oney is not fooled. On the night Mrs. Washington tells Oney she will not grant her freedom upon her death, Oney thinks quickly, acts courageously and flees. Expressive watercolors within this well-researched biography portray the bravery of Ona Maria Judge, an African-American woman who claimed, and fought for, the right to have “no mistress but herself.” We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin by Larry Dane Brimner , published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc., is the winner in the Books for Older Children Category.Working behind the scenes because of his sexual orientation and unpopular political stands, Africa...

Yippeee! I just received the Spring issue of The Journal of Children's Literature . JCL is the journal of the Children's Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English . It is only published twice annually, once in November and again in April, so each issue is a treasure! This issue has a very nice balance between themed book lists ( A Dozen Great Books ), critical analysis, author interviews, and book reviews. Table of Contents: Multicultural Literature: Reading, Writing, and Responding Witin a "New" Literacy Context by Shirley B. Ernst and Janelle B. Mathis Celebrating New York City in Children's Literature: CLA Workshop Brings NYC to Life by Lesley Colabucci A Dozen Great Books: Unlikely Friendships by Deanna Day and Barbara A Ward The Framed and the Framing in Flotsom by Sylvia Pantaleo Back to Basic: Aesthetic Experiences with Literatue and Discovering the World by Kathleen C. Tice An Endangered Relationship by Ann M. Trousdale A ...

On this day in 1990, the Hubble Telescope was launched. Named after astronomer Edwin P. Hubble , "the Hubble Space Telescope is a large, space-based observatory which has revolutionized astronomy by providing unprecedented deep and clear views of the Universe, ranging from our own solar system to extremely remote fledgling galaxies forming not long after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago." Now in its sixteenth year of operation, it has had four servicing missions, with the fifth and final serv icing mission set for August 28, 2008 which will further its continued success through the year 2013. Edwin Hubble was the first astronomer to discover that the universe is expanding. A new book, The Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes written by Ellen Jackson with photographs and illustrations by Nic Bishop (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), takes an in depth look at the expanding universe. Following the format of other successful books in the Scientists In the Fie...

Sara Holmes' blog: http://saralewisholmes.blogspot.com/

I have posted about many great online resources for children's literature on BlogJoy, so I want to be sure to point you to another site that is both a resource for children's literature and literacy: Choice Literacy . It is described as providing the ""how" of literacy leadership, written by colleagues who are just as smart, funny, and passionate about teaching reading and writing as you are." I find this a very apt description because the style of writing is very inviting and the contributors are practitioners who are also well known authors I feel like I know through their books and articles. Choice Literacy is a subscription-based website that offers articles and DVD workshop kits for use in study groups and professional development, but each week they also post articles and links to other online resourse that are free (you can sign up here for a weekly update). For example: Comprehending Graphic Novels: A Primer for Teachers by Mary Lee Hahn (who not ...

If you don't know about Lookybook , you're in for a real thrill! Lookybook allows you to look at picture books in their entirety—from cover to cover, at your own pace (click on the book above for and example). Have you ever wondered if you really want to buy a book when you've only seen the front cover online? Well, Lookybook is the solution to your problem. Lookybook currently features over 200 titles and their goal is to feature over 1000 titles by mid-2008. Go ahead, check it out and see if it isn't the coolest thing since sliced bread!

Thursday, April 17th is National Poem in Your Pocket Day! I thought I would share the poem that I'm keeping in my pocket for the day. It's from Naomi Shihab Nye's Honeybee (2008, HarperCollins). I remember watching an interview with Jerry Seinfield about Bee Movie in which he remembered hearing that Albert Einstein once said, "If all the honeybees disappear, human beings have four years left on earth." I think this is an urban legend but in the introduction to Honeybee, Nye also acknowledges this alleged statement and expresses her concern over the plight of the honeybee: "So, I've been obsessed. This is what happens in life. Something takes over your mind for a while and you see other things through a new filter; in a changed light. I call my friends "honeybee" now, which I don't reecall doing before. If I see a lone bee hovering in a flower, I wish it well" (p. 8). In eighty-two poems and paragraphs, Naomi Shihab Nye alights on th...

Phillis's Big Test written by Catherine Clinton, illustrated by Sean Qualls and published by Houghton Mifflin, 2008. In 1773, Phillis Wheatley became the first African American to publish a book of poetry. When she went to London to meet with literary admires, she became the most famous black person on both sides of the Atlantic. Thus, the story of Phillis Wheatley begins. But, the story behind Phillis' success is really what Phillis' Big Test is all about. The story opens as Phillis is walking to the public hall where she will be examined by the most important men in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to prove she is actually the author of her poems. Clinton imagines what she might have thought about as she walked. She remembers arriving in Boston on a ship from Africa and that John Wheatley bought her as a servant for his wife Susanna. She learned to read and write English, Latin, and Greek from Nathaniel and Mary, the Wheatley's twin children. "Books had opened up ...

ReadWriteThink is a partnership between the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Verizon Foundation. ReadWriteThink provides educators and students with access to quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction through free, online content. Now ReadWriteThink has added a new dimension to its website: Learning Beyond the Classroom . The site activities for children ages 4 to 18 including booklists, reading logs, book review podcasts, and best practice videos to help caregivers and tutors make the most of summer reading and writing opportunities. Research has repeatedly shown that children's learning regresses over the summer. Learning Beyond the Classroom can provide children, parents, and others with meaningful activities that can make summer reading fun. Teachers, tutors, and other caregivers can include the Learning Beyond the Classroom web address in an end-of-the-school-year newsletter or ...

This Saturday, April 12th, is Bev erly Cleary's Birthday--she will be 92 years young! In honor of her birthday, publisher HarperCollins and several national education related organizations (NEA, PTA, ASLC, and more) have declared April 12 as National Drop Everything and Read Day . This day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority. Though most of Beverly Cleary's books were written many years ago, they are still popular among children today, which is a sure sign of classic children's literature. Children can relate to characters such as Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ellen Tidbits, Otis Spotford, and Leigh Botts ( Dear Mr. Henshaw ). Last year, I worked with a group of third graders at a local elementary school and one of the books we read together was Ramona Quimby, Age 8 . The kids loved Ramona's quirky personality and the antics she inevitably found herself a part of. My son enjoyed th...

I love to travel. When my family and I are getting ready for a trip, the first thing we do is go to the local bookstore and buy a travel guide. We want to be sure not to miss a thing, since who knows when we'll be back that way again. Unfortunately, there are no travel guides for the Internet super highway -- a vast interconnection of networked computers that can leave you wondering which way to go. That's why the book The Joy of Children's Literature includes lots of websites with information about children's literature and this post will familiarize you with the where, what, and why of BlogJoy. So let the tour begin! The first link to your right under the title will let you subscribe to a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed to this blog. RSS is a popular technology for notifying users of updates to blog content in a reader. Click here for more information about using Google Reader . The second link is to the website for The Joy of Children's Literature . The we...

For National Poetry Month, Random House Children's Books is send subscribers a poem a day via their email newsletter . Each weekly newsletter includes 5 poems for the week. The poem for Tuesday is from Schoolyard Rhymes written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Melissa Sweet: Tuesday Down, down, baby, down by the rollercoaster. Sweet, sweet baby, I’ll never let you go. Shimmy shimmy coca pop. Shimmy, shimmy pow! Shimmy shimmy coca pop. Shimmy, shimmy pow! Grandma, Grandma, sick in bed, Called for the doctor and the doctor said, “Let’s get the rhythm of the head, ding-dong! Let’s get the rhythm of the head , ding-dong! Let’s get the rhythm of the hands, clap, clap! Let’s get the rhythm of the hands, clap, clap! Let’s get the rhythm of the feet, stomp, stomp! Let’s get the rhythm of the feet, stomp, stomp!” Put it all together and what do you get? Ding-dong, clap, clap, stomp, stomp. -- Judy Sierra A previous newsletter included a letter and activity from Judy Sierra with a theme f...

The National Book Festival , organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, has been held annually on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., since 2001. It is free and open to the public. Each year, dozens of authors present throughout the day in pavilions that are categorized according to the following: Children; Teens & Children; Fiction & Fantasy; Mysteries & Thrillers; History & Biography; Home & Family; and Poetry. For those who were unable to attend the festival or missed a pavilion, the authors’ presentation are available as webcasts on the festival homepage . I've attended the National Book Festival for the past two years and it is truly a unique and exiting event. Last year, over 120,000 book lovers just like me attended the event. While my husband attended the Mysteries and Thrillers pavilion, you know where my son and I were...the Children's and Teens & Children's pavilions! It is my sincere hope t...