The Joy of Children's Literature

In this January 25, 2011 photo, Mike Berenstain and his mother, Janice Berenstain , look at an earlier Berenstain Bears book as they work in their studio in Solebury, Pa. It used to be husband and wife Jan and Stan Berenstain creating the books, but their son Mike took over when his father died, thus continuing the tradition that started with the first book in 1962. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) (Mel Evans - AP) A great article in the Washington Post titled, 50 Years Along, Berenstain Bears A Family Affair, about how Mike Berenstain, Jan and Stan Berenstain's son, now collaborates with his mother in writing and illustrating new books at the same studio in an idyllic part of Bucks County, outside Philadelphia, that serves as inspiration for the books' setting.

The article I chose this week is from the Winter 2010 (V 35, #4) issue of Children's Literature Association Quarterly . The article is titled, Toward a digital Poetics for Children by Richard Flynn .   Preview of the article : I must say at the outset that my title is overly ambitious. In this short paper I can only hope to sketch questions—and not having my crystal ball handy, I can't provide clear direction for the future. The questions I'll sketch grow out of the conclusion to my recent essay for the Cambridge Companion to Children's Literature , "The Fear of Poetry": The internet has potential for presenting poetry in attractive formats, though it does not seem to have begun to fulfill that potential. And no matter how useful various technologies may be, they are no substitute for the embodied experience that characterizes the young child's first encounter with poetry. Children can only have a valuable 'inter-media-ated' experie...

2011 USBBY Outstanding International Books List The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) selects an annual list of Outstanding International Books for children and young adults, which is published each year in the February issue of School Library Journal and as a bookmark . The Outstanding International Books (OIB) committee is charged with selecting international books that are deemed most outstanding of those published during the calendar year. For the purposes of this honor list, the term "international book" is used to describe a book published or distributed in the United States that originated or was first published in a country other than the U.S. Grades K-2 Argueta, Jorge. Arroz con Leche: Un Poema para Cocinar/Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem . Illus. by Fernando Vilela. Groundwood. (Canada) Croza, Laurel. I Know Here. Illus. by Matt James. Groundwood. (Canada) Dubuc, Marianne. In Front of My House . Tr. by Yvette Ghione. Kids Can. (...

Pub. Date: Feb. 22nd, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-618-42842-7 Page count: 48pp, $16.99 Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine  O'Connell George , illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, published by Houghton Mifflin . Another great book of poetry by Kristine George, perfectly illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Inside jacket flap: I wish grownups would quit saying I'll bet you're               A very good big sister. Sometimes Jessica is a very good big sister. But Emma isn't always a good little sister. Emma messes up Jess's room. She leaves the caps off all her markers. She makes a spectacle of herself at a soccer game, and she wants to tag along whenever Jess has a friend over...      How can Emma be so lovable and so maddening? Does Jess have to be good all the time?      Explored here in perspective, lively poems and tender, funny illustrations, Jess's Emma dil...

The winner of the 2010 Costa Children's Book Award is Out of Shadows by by Jason Wallace, published by Andersen Press. Zimbabwe, 1980s.  The fighting has stopped, independence has been won and Robert Mugabe has come to power offering hope, land and freedom to black Africans.  It is the end of the Old Way and the start of a promising new era.  For Robert Jacklin, it's all new - new continent, new country, new school.  And very quickly he is forced to understand a new way of thinking, because for some of his classmates the sound of guns is still loud, and their battles rage on.....white boys who want their old country back, not this new black African government.  Boys like Ivan.  Clever, cunning Ivan.  For him, there is still one last battle to fight, and he's taking it right to the very top. Jason Wallace was born in Cheltenham in 1969 but moved  to London after his parents split up. Aged 12, his life was turned upside down when ...

At 8.30pm this evening , the overall winner of the prestigious Costa Book of the Year 2010 will be announced at an awards ceremony in central London. Just as a reminder, below is the short list for the Children's Book Award: Flyaway by Lucy Christopher (more...) Annexed by Sharon Dogar (more...) Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud (more...) Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace (more...) Judges for the Children's Book category: Lorraine Kelly, Broadcaster Tamara Macfarlane, Owner, Tales on Moon Lane Children's Bookshop Tim Bowler, Author and final judge  Do you have a favorite book on the list that you would like to see win?

January 2011 issue This week's article is from the January 2011 issue of Language Arts , a professional journal for elementary and middle school teachers and teacher educators, published by the National Council of Teachers of English . I chose the article "Search for the answers" or "Talk about the story"?: School-based Literacy Participation Structures written by Diane Santori .     Abstract: This paper explores how five third-graders constructed meaning in three school-based literacy participation structures, also examining teachers’ invitations and the space they make for students’ talk and students’ comprehension practices.  High-stakes assessments and mandated reading curriculum influence how comprehension is framed and how students are invited to engage in discussions about text. Students’ opportunities to exercise textual agency are often limited. However, when students had greater control over the discussio...

USBBY selects an annual list of Outstanding International Books for children and young adults, which is published each year in the February issue of School Library Journal and as a bookmark . In anticipation of the 2011 list, I've listed the 2010 list below for a year in review, which includes my favorite book I read this year. Do  know which one it is? GRADES K-2 Argueta, Jorge. Sopa de Frijoles: Un Poema para Cocinar = Bean Soup: A Cooking Poem . Illus. by Rafael Yockteng. Groundwood. (Canada) Baasansuren, Bolormaa. My Little Round House . Adapt. by Helen Mixter. Groundwood. (Japan/set in Mongolia) Kilaka, John. The Amazing Tree . NorthSouth. (Switzerland / set in Tanzania) Larsen, Andrew. The Imaginary Garden . Illus. by Irene Luxbacher. Kids Can. (Canada) Mahy, Margaret. Bubble Trouble . Illus. by Polly Dunbar. Clarion. (UK) Nayar, Nandini. What Should I Make? Illus. by Proiti Roy. Tricycle. (India) Sellier, Marie. What the Rat Told Me: A Legend of the Chinese Z...

Educating Alice just announced the list of 16 contenders for the 2011 School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids Books : AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH by Lynn Rae Perkins THE CARDTURNER by Louis Sachar A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS by Megan Whalen Turner COUNTDOWN by Deborah Wiles THE DREAMER by Pam Munoz Ryan THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BARBIE by Tanya Lee Stone HEREVILLE: HOW MIRKA GOT HER SWORD by Barry Deutsch KEEPER by Kathi Appelt THE ODYSSEY by Gareth Hinds ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia THE RING OF SOLOMON by Jonathan Stroud SUGAR CHANGED THE WORLD by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos A TALE DARK AND GRIMM by Adam Gidwitz THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE K.K.K. by Susan Campbell Bartoletti TRASH by Andy Mulligan WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan I have some personal favorites that I'll be pulling for...how about you?

Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) identifies the best of the best of children's/young adults books and other media. The following are links to the 2011 online lists. ALSC Notable Lists for Children  ALSC Notable List for Young Children Notable Children's Recordings Notable Children's Videos  Great Interactive Software for Kids YALSA Notable Lists for Young Adults Best Fiction for Young Adults Great Graphic Novels for Teens Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Another Notable List The 2011 Amelia Bloomer Book List The Amelia Bloomer Project, a committee of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table, compiles the Amelia Bloomer List, an annual annotated book list (or bibliography) of well-written and well-illustrated books with significant feminist content, intended for young readers (ages bir...

The Twenty-Second National African American Read-In Sponsored by the Black Caucus of NCTE and NCTE In February 2011, you may hold an African American Read-In event any day of the month Tuesday, February 1-Monday, February 28, 2011 Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers. To be counted as participants, simply: Select books authored by African Americans; Hold your event during the month of February; and Report your results by submitting the 2011 African American Read-In Report Card. The Read-In has been endorsed by the International Reading Association. Over a million rea...

The Horn Book Magazine  One of my New Year's blogging resolutions is to keep up with my professional reading by posting about an article each week. I chose When A Is for App , an editorial in the November/December 2010 issue of The Horn Book Magazine , written by Roger Sutton , for my first article. I chose this editorial for a couple of reasons. First, it is timely given the number of IPad's received this Christmas and the recent announcement that Verizon will soon carry the IPhone. Second, the editorial is online , which makes it easier for everyone to engage in the conversation. Roger Sutton In the editorial, Sutton reflects on the ."..race to bring children's books into digital form," (p. 7) after seeing a child clicking through an animated digital book on a computer in a book store. It is interesting just to read his description of this event: She was reading, or at any rate looking at, a story. I did not recognize the pictures and did not want t...

Today was a big day for so many children's literature enthusiasts! We've tried all year to predict which books would win the coveted Newbery and Caldecott along with the many other awards. Today we found out how well our predictions held up. I love the slow build up of excitement about the ALA awards over the year and the feeling I get from having read, and in some cases, predicted the winner/honor books. But, I also love the surprise aspect of the awards. Every year there are always books that win that were under the radar for me. So, I have a list of outstanding books and audiobooks to read to start the new year. It's a win-win, right? Below is  a list of the most popular awards with links to the winners on the ALA website. I've put an asterisk next to the books I've read: Coretta Scott King Book Awards Author Winner: *One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Honors: *Lockdown by Walter Dea...

The 2010 Costa Children's Book Award goes to Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace, published by Andersen Press. The Costa Book Awards is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in the UK and recognizes some of the most enjoyable books of the year by writers based in the UK and Ireland. About the book, the author and the judges' comments from the awards website : Zimbabwe, 1980s.  The fighting has stopped, independence has been won and Robert Mugabe has come to power offering hope, land and freedom to black Africans.  It is the end of the Old Way and the start of a promising new era.  For Robert Jacklin, it's all new - new continent, new country, new school.  And very quickly he is forced to understand a new way of thinking, because for some of his classmates the sound of guns is still loud, and their battles rage on.....white boys who want their old country back, not this new black African government.  Boys like Ivan.  Cleve...

From the blog Read Roger , written by Roger Sutton, chair of the 2011 Scott O'Dell Award committee:  The winner of the 2011 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction is One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The summer Delphine is “eleven going on twelve,” she and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are sent from Brooklyn to Oakland to visit their mother, Cecile, who left the family soon after Fern was born. Beginning with the girls’ first scary but exhilarating plane ride, their summer of 1968 is a microcosm of the new directions in which the nation found itself traveling. Their mother, distrustful and secretive, has renamed herself Nzila; she sends the girls off every morning for breakfast and summer school at the Black Panthers’ People’s Center. Why does she have a printing press in her kitchen, and why does she refuse to call Fern anything but “Little Girl”? As expressed through the candid,...

The beginning of a new year means it's time for me to delete the list of books I read in 2010 that appears on the right hand side of the page and start a new list for 2011. I am always both reluctant and excited about it. Looking Back I'm reluctant because even though there are 80 books listed (which doesn't include picturebooks, many professional books, and self-help books on topics such as running, cooking, etc.), I feel like I've just started! There are so many books I haven't had time to read this year. But, there are also many books on my list that I loved and that will stay with me forever. By far, my favorite read of the year was Monsters of Men , the third and final book in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. It was the perfect ending to an all consuming, captivating, and enthralling series. I also read a few series in their entirety such as the Tiffany Aching Adventures ( Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and I Shall Wear Midnight ) ...

My colleague, Anne Charity Hudley , will be a featured guest on With Good Reason on 1/8/11.  Her program, Hearing Past the Accent , will highlight the research she and coauthor Christine Mallinson have compiled in their recently released book, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools . Program description: Accents can be endearing but can also limit chances for professional and academic success.  Southern and African-American students are often marginalized because of their dialects. Anne Charity Hudley (William & Mary) has co-authored a book to help educators work with language variations to make sure students don't suffer for the way they talk.  Also featured: Theresa Burriss (Radford U) will speak on "Affrilachian Poets" African American writers of Appalachian literature.  Click here to download the podcast and to find local dates and times: http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/