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Siobhán is the author of more than 20 books for children and teenagers, including Sisters… no way!, a truly double-sided tale of reluctant stepsisters, which won the Bisto Book of the Year, the leading annual children’s book award in Ireland. She recently set up a new children’s imprint Little Island, which will be translating a range of foreign books for older children and teenagers, so we will be watching them eagerly; and she has also just completed six years as the M.I.E. Poetry Ireland writer-in-residence at the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin.
School librarian, teacher and incoming PBBY chairman Zarah Gagatiga has passed along the following information on two exciting events taking place in July in the Philippines:
The 2nd National Conference on Children’s Literature - July 16 & 17
The Pilandokan (National Research Society for Children’s Literature) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts will be sponsoring the Second National Conference on Children’s Literature with the theme “Panitikang Pambata sa Edukasyon” (Children’s Literature in Education) on July 16-17 at the University of the Philippines - Diliman.
This national conference will feature paper presentations and workshops by scholars, creative writers, artists, and children’s right advocates. Topics include the Filipino concept of child and childhood; the state of children’s literature in the Philippines; book piracy; literacy programs for urban poor children and the deaf; and the formation of Filipino childhood identity. The Keynote Speaker will be the Pilandokan Founding President Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu.
For further information, please contact Dr. Eugene Y. Evasco and/or Prof. Will P. Ortiz (pagongatmatsing (at) yahoo(dot)com).
For the first time ever, the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) will hold the celebration of NCBD (National Children’s Book Day) outside Manila in Marikina City. This year’s themes focus on leadership and readership with the slogan Readers Make Good Leaders!
The whole month of July promises to be a fun-filled month of reading, writing and interactive activities for children and literacy advocates. The Salanga and Alcala Prizes will be awarded during the opening ceremonies on July 21, 2009 at the Marikina Convention Center.
You can read about the preparations in Zarah’s post here and I’ll post more information on the Children’s Book Day festivities in the coming weeks.
0 Comments on News From the Philippines: 2nd National Conference on Children’s Literature and the 26th National Children’s Book Day as of 6/22/2009 2:25:00 AM
Born and raised in the USA, Elsa Marston is a children’s author who specializes in books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the Middle East. “A lot of my writing is about the Middle East and Arab-Americans.” says Elsa. “That’s because my late husband, Iliya Harik, was from Lebanon; family connections and his work as a political scientist (Indiana University) took us to that part of the world many times. I want to share with young readers my own interest in those lands and peoples, and equally important, help contribute to better understanding of the Arab/Muslim world. In that way I hope to continue Iliya’s life’s work, along with my own.”
From June 12 to the 14, Elsa will be attending an international conference on children’s literature in Beirut, Lebanon and told us:
I think this is the first time anything quite like this, at least with this scale and scope, has been done in the Arab countries, although there are IBBY chapters in Lebanon and Palestine and probably elsewhere. The preliminary program looks very interesting… an idea of some of the concerns that are gradually starting to take hold in the literature of that part of the world. Up till very recently, literature for children and teens consisted mostly of translations of European fairy tales and simplified western novels, and Arabian Nightsy stories. The idea that fiction for young people could reflect the lives of those young people and their societies had not quite caught on. (It must be admitted, the same thing was true here with respect to the Middle East, until about a dozen years ago! And that’s basically what I’ll be talking about.)
Elsa expects the conference to be largely in Arabic, with English and French mixed in liberally; and program highlights include:
Day #1 1st session: Social and Cultural Environment in Children’s Books
Illustration of Children’s Books in Italy (Italian speaker)
Illustration of Children’s Books in Sudan
2nd session: Representation of Conflict in Children’s Books Beverley Naidoo speaking about conflict and resolution in her own work (re South Africa)
Conflict and the Enemy Image in Syrian Children’s Books
Palestinian Children’s Books: Occupation, Violence, Displacement
Day #2 1st Session: Influence of Censorship on Writing
Censoring Children’s Books in Nazi Germany and After the War (German speaker)
Censoring Children’s books in Iraq’s Past Regime
2nd session: The Role of the Family in Children’s Books
Effect of New Teaching Methods on Children’s Books in France (French speaker)
The Role of Family in Tunisian Children’s Books
The Role of Family Members in Lebanese Children’s Books
Day #3: 1st session: Art and Imagination in Children’s Books
Illustrating War: Comparing an Egyptian and a Lebanese Book
Imagination in Lebanese Children’s Illustration
Impact of Color in Illustrated Books
2nd session: Artistic Structure
Collage in Children’s Drawings in Iran
The Birth of Snakedog (European speaker) U.S. Literature for Young People About the Arab World (Elsa Marston)
0 Comments on International Conference “What a Story: Children’s Literature Today” To Be Held This Week In Beirut, Lebanon as of 6/8/2009 4:23:00 PM
The American Library Association’s Social Responsibility Round Table and The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table are co-sponsoring the Rainbow List, an annual bibliography for young readers from birth through age 18. According to the official Rainbow List myspace presence, the Rainbow List will create a recommended list of books dealing with positive Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trangendered and Questioning issues and situations for children up to age 18. The 2008 list is the first list and took into consideration books published from 2005 through 2007. Future bibliographies will cover 18 months of publication, from July of the previous year through December of the current review year with selection completed at the ALA Midwinter Conference.
The committee writes in its introduction to the list:
an examination of over 200 books reveals that glbtq books are heavily
weighted toward upper grade levels and that many glbtq characters in
fiction take a peripheral position. Other concerns are public
censorship and the lack of ready accessibility to these books. The
members of the Rainbow Project encourage the publication of more books
with characters validating same-gender lifestyles and cataloging with
subject headings that describe these glbtq characters in children’s
and young adult fiction.
Here are the selected Beginning Readers:
Considine, Kaitlyn. Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story. Il.
Binny Hobbs. 2005. unp. Two Moms Books.
Gonzalez, Rigoberto. Antonio’s Card/La Tarjeta de Antonio. Il.
Cecilia Concepcion Alvarez. 2005. 32p. Children’s Book Press.
Jopling, Heather. Monicka’s Papa Is Tall. Il. Allyson Demoe. 2006.
unp. Nickname.
Peters, Julie Anne. Between Mom and Jo. 2006. 232p. Little,
Brown/Megan Tingley Books.
Selvadurai, Shyam. Swimming in the Monsoon Sea. 2005. 280p.
Tundra.
Non-Fiction
Marcus, Eric. What If Someone I know Is Gay: Answers to Questions
about What It Means to be Gay and Lesbian 2007. 183p. Simon Pulse.
Miller, Calvin Craig. No easy answers: Bayard Rustin and the civil
rights movement. [Portraits of Black Americans Series]. 2005. 160p.
Morgan Reynolds.
When I Knew. Ed. Robert Trachtenberg. Il. Tom Bachtell. 2005.
120p. Regan Books.
My goal with this monthly series is to encourage discussion about topics from our professional literature. I don’t plan to review a title, but rather will respond to portions of the work that speak to me and encourage others to do the same.
The book that I selected for January is The Family-Centered Library Handbook, which was reviewed (scroll to the second review) recently in Library Journal. (Thanks to Kathleen Deerr of Middle Country Public Library and one of the book’s authors for the link!) You may have received a brochure this past November about the upcoming fourth Family Place Libraries™ Symposium, The Power of Play: Its Impact on Early Literacy and Learning. It is a free event (for public librarians and administrators) taking place on Wed., March 26, 2008 from 8:30 to 11:30 AM at the Minneapolis Public Library. For more information and to register, visit www.familyplacelibraries.org/symposium.html.
Why bring this up here? Well, Sandra Feinberg is the founder of the Family Place Libraries and director of the Middle Country (NY) Public Library. And one of the authors of The Family-Centered Library Handbook. I do enjoy these types of tie-ins.
The book’s contents are set up nicely, with an overview of child development theory, ways to evaluate basic competencies/willingness of staff, ways to collaborate with other agencies to pull together resources for parents and caregivers, ways to develop services for young children and special audiences (such as teen parent families). Let me say, it is a great deal of information. It helps that in the introduction the authors reassure the readers to take sections as fit their individual needs.
I completely agree with the authors’ point on page 104, that “Family Spaces are not just about the development of young children. Adults in children’s lives are also growing and developing in their roles as parents, grandparents, educators, childcare providers, and health and human service workers.” I was nodding my head while I continued reading on page 104:
Having a dedicated computer, collections, and displays for parents either in the children’s area or adjacent to it creates a sense of place for parents. […] An adult computer station featuring parenting, child development, and early literacy software and Web sites further expose adults to the wealth of resources available at the library.
The book’s authors stress the need for respect. I do worry that sometimes in our zeal to get children access to appropriate activities we alienate some parents, not respecting them as their child’s first teacher, but perceiving them as the child’s first stumbling block. That also leads me to the topic of intervention as encouraged in the book. When a librarian notices a problem, how to approach the child’s caregiver is discussed. My experience has been fairly limited in that I rarely had a consistent, long-term relationship with any family for me to think intervention. I believe that a relationship would need to be established first to truly understand if what you are seeing is a problem. Am I just rationalizing here? I am especially curious to hear other’s views and experiences with this.
But then, if I had a better knowledge of other community agencies to which to refer people, perhaps the intervention idea would not seem so awkward. The importance of forming coalitions and collaborations is another area of the book that truly speaks to me and how I need to grow professionally. With an understanding of what resources are available, I would be in a better position to intervene, to offer suggestions of places to help the children and caregivers with the challenges they are facing. Kathleen de la Pena McCook is cited on page 59, from her book, A Place at the Table, regarding the need for activism and “to permit staff sufficient time to engage in the important work of building community relationships.”
Oh, those collaborations and coalitions are tough work, aren’t they? I have found that the two biggest obstacles are getting through each agency’s bureaucracy and timelines (even my own) AND the high rate of turn-over of staff in those agencies with which I have sought partnerships. I’m not saying that it isn’t worth it, but I am saying it is hard work and time intensive. At this point, I want to make a concentrated effort to just KNOW what other agencies are out in my community and what services they offer.
Again, I encourage you to share your thoughts. The book for February’s Professional Reading post will be Crash Course in Children’s Services by Penny Peck. The titles that have been/will be discussed in this monthly column are listed at the ALSC Blog’s LibraryThing account. If you have any titles to suggest, please post them in the comment section here or send an email to [email protected]. I know that I will be adding McCook’s A Place at the Table to the list.
0 Comments on Professional Reading:The Family-Centered Library Handbook as of 1/1/1990
Shortly after reading on our blog Bradley Debrick’s post about tagging, I read Matt Raymond’s post on the Library of Congress blog about the Library’s pilot project with Flickr, an online photosharing site. The Library of Congress is posting photographs which no copyright is known to exist and asking people to comment, make notes, and add tags. Matt Raymond shortly afterward shared how well-received that partnership has been thus far.
I am excited about the project and believe its potential for students of all ages is incredible. The Library of Congress’ Flickr profile page states:
We’ve been acquiring photos since the mid-1800s when photography was the hot new technology. Because images represent life and the world so vividly, people have long enjoyed exploring our visual collections. Looking at pictures opens new windows to understanding both the past and the present. Favorite photos are often incorporated in books, TV shows, homework assignments, scholarly articles, family histories, and much more.
The Prints & Photographs Division takes care of 14 million of the Library’s pictures and features more than 1 million through online catalogs. Offering historical photo collections through Flickr is a welcome opportunity to share some of our most popular images more widely.
Are there ways you envision using this project with young people?
0 Comments on Library of Congress and Flickr as of 1/1/1990
I was looking at the excellent slide show of Children’s Rooms on the Pubyac website (http://www.pubyac.org) and started thinking about how different they all are.I’m still waiting to find (and even better, work in) the perfect children’s area.I’ve worked mostly in four different buildings, all with pros and cons, and here’s my personal list of a few favorite (and not favorite) features:
Slanted shelving.I still think the single best marketing tool for a children’s book is the cover, and I love to walk in and see tons of them.I know they require constant replenishing, but it’s worth it.Special display furniture is great too, but face out books within the stacks is even better.I also think picture book bins are excellent, but those never seemed to catch on the way I thought they should.One of those features that works great for kids, not so great for grown-ups (especially staff grown-ups), and I guess the grown-ups often win out on this one.
Limited bulletin board space.This is just my personal phobia.The first library I worked at had vast stretches of flat empty walls, just waiting for a craft-y librarian to fill with clever themed decorations.I was neither craft-y nor clever, so those walls were my enemy.I actually do think bulletin boards can add a lot, though, and I’ve been lucky to work with other staff and volunteers who are great at that sort of thing.But if it’s ever me on my own vs. a blank wall, I’m sunk.
Reading places.Lots of floor space and comfortable seating for kids and grownups to enjoy books. But not story mountains (see below).It seems like sometimes we’re so concerned with shelving capacity that we fill up all possible spaces with shelving.
A workable children’s desk.Which mostly means child-height, easy to move into and out of, and not blockaded by computer screens.I get a little picky here, because my brain likes the philosophy of the child-height idea, but my long legs strongly disagree.At one library I simply couldn’t fit my knees under the desk until we physically removed a pencil drawer.
And here are some features I’ve been less than crazy about:
Story Mountain: This was a featured highlight of one new library I worked at: a large pile of mostly unmovable pillows, something like a pyramid of futon.When used properly, it was a great space for casually relaxing with books and a nice seating space for class tours and storytelling.From the kid’s point of view, however, it served as indoor trampoline, landing spot for long jumps, high jumps, and flips, and multi-layered wrestling mat.
Austerity:I don’t necessarily need to see castles and dragons and rainbows in a children’s room, but you should at least know you’re walking into a kids’ place.The best rooms I’ve seen have enough fun visuals to catch the eye of a four year old, but not enough to embarrass a twelve year old.
High Shelves:It’s hard enough for kids to figure out where books are; when they find them and can’t reach them it’s even worse.At one library I once shifted an entire section of 400’s and 500’s just so the dinosaur books would wind up one shelf lower.
Computer Central:However many computers we have, and however heavy their use, I still want people to walk in and first see the books.
And I’ll stop at four favorites and four not-so-good, because once I start thinking about this stuff I can go on and on…
0 Comments on Slanted Shelves and Story Mountains as of 1/1/1990
