The Book that shall not die

A subject always up for debate in the library field is books vs. kindles vs. IPADs. Some of the questions surrounding this topic are "What would serve the patron's needs best?", "What can the library afford?", etc. I've heard arguments both for and against getting rid of books in favor of electronic readers and I see it playing out everyday. I deliberately sat behind two people on the metro solely because one of them was reading a book and the other was reading on a Kindle. I couldn't help but smirk at the Kindle owner, but I often wonder how much good they do in a public library.

I personally don't want to own a Kindle right now, or any other electronic reader for that matter, because I get enough headaches and eye strain from being on my computer doing homework, actual work, and researching jobs. When I want to take a break why on Earth would I pick up my Kindle only to be staring at another electronic screen? Would I leave my Kindle in my bed after I fell asleep reading it or would I stay awake at night wondering if it'll break on its way to the floor when it inevitably is ejected by my restless sleep. Both author I admire and respect, Stephen King and Sarah Dessen, have sounded off in favor of keeping physical books around. Sarah comments on the relationship a person has with a book, how it gives a more intimate feeling knowing that you're holding it, smelling the binding paste, underlining lines, turning down the pages, revisiting it after a good year. Stephen King elaborates on similar points, saying that having a physical books relates to the art of telling a good story.

Not only do I run into people on the metro that are using electronic readers, but at my Bible Study there is consistently one person who always accesses his Bible on his Iphone. I'm a little freaked out by it and can't quite come to terms with getting rid of my bookshelf and instead purchasing a rack for my Kindle.

Book Ring uncovered worth $140K

This article just irritates me. Collectively these people stole books from the PG county libraries to remove sell wholesale elsewhere (they removed the bar codes). One woman used the money to buy drugs.

http://www.wbaltv.com/11investigates/21575930/detail.html

"HYATTSVILLE, Md. -- Twelve people have been charged with checking out more than $140,000 in books from Maryland colleges and community libraries and selling them for quick cash."

This is not the way to promote literacy. This is wrong. They face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Shan and Sendak

While waiting for Zombieland to begin the theatre showed an extended trailer for Where the Wild Things Are along with an collaborative interview with Maurice Sendak and Spike Jones. I'm so curious but skeptical about seeing this movie. Sendak appears to have given his blessing for it so I'll wait and see what the reviews say.

Also on my list to catch in the next few months is Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. I am very excited about this movie mostly because of the list of actors slated to appear in it: Selma Hayek, Willem Defoe nearly impersonating Vincent Price, and John C. Reilly. I haven't read the first installment of the series in ages. I was an avid follower of this series as a college student but Shan keeps cranking them out so quickly I've fallen behind. The rumor is that this movie will be based upon the first three books with four sequels comprising the rest of the 12 books.

Annotation Thursday --or-- It's October!

In retrospect of a recent assignment in my Children's Literature class where we're supposed to annotate a collection of fairy tales, I've decided to dress up as a Hans Christian Andersen character for Halloween. Plotting and previewing will come soon enough. Here's hoping I can do it justice.

But it's time for another Annotation where I review Anotinette Portis' follow-up to Not a Box, Not a Stick.

Portis, Anotinette. Not a Stick. Illus by author. United States: HarpersCollins, 2008. Print.

• Portis’ follow-up to her 2006 publication, Not a Box, uses similar illustrative and story-telling techniques. The cover art displays a faux wooden background, indicating the stick’s origin and possibly hinting at a tree’s role in the bookmaking process. The story’s protagonist, an imaginative pig, has a repetitive dialogue with an invisible speaker who continually asks him to be careful playing with his stick. When the invisible speaker interjects the italicized text is positioned at the top of the page, while the pig’s straight-lined words are positioned on the lower half of the page. This shows the reader that two different people are speaking. The pages switch from white text on a dull, brown background to a soothing blue and bright yellow background every time the speaker and the pig speak, respectively. The brown background reveals the speaker’s serious tone and his unimaginative perspective. However, when the pig is speaking the background is a bright yellow with light colored lines to denote his optimistic and dream-like imaginings as he plays with his stick. The pig is drawn with heavy, bold lines while each object the stick becomes is outlined in heavy, blue lines; but the reader can always see the stick housed within the new object.

• Portis portrays the pig and his stick (morphing into a whip, marching baton, fishing pole, paintbrush, barbell, spear, sword, and leash) with realism and an imaginative, surrealistic twist. For example, the stick is both used as a fishing pole and as a leash to lead a conquered dragon by the neck. The pig’s character is meant to relate to the reader and represent a child’s ability to imagine and have several different perspectives on an object. Portis transforms a simple stick into a multifunctional tool and inspires the reader to create their own “not a stick”.

Updates forthcoming, for now I give you Shrek!

During our presentations for class today I learned that Shrek is actually a children's book that was published in 1993 by William Steig, author of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. I had no idea! That leaves about 8 years between the creation of the book and the film "Shrek" with the death of Steig two years later. There are some discrepancies between the two but I have to say overall that I'm pleased with how the movie turned out, even if the writer and editors took liberties with expanding the story.

I will update on the National Book Festival soon. I was able to acquire insight and laughs from seeing Jacqueline Woodson, Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi, Megan McDonald, & Mo Willems, and even came away with a signed book and a great conversation with my former professor and dear friend, Joan Kindig.

Celebrate Banned Books week by supporting authors such as Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak) and all the other authors affected by this phenomenon.

And it begins

In honor of the upcoming Banned Books Week beginning on September 26th, I bring to you an author who is already feeling the heat. I've read most of Ellen Hopkins poetry lexicon and they are phenomenal. I would highly encourage middle school readers to read her works and enjoy the way she uses poetry to tell a compelling "close-to-true" story about a girl with a serious drug addiction, one that interferes with her well being as well as her baby's.

From the ALA newsletter:

Author talk canceled until school reviews her book
A visit by a best-selling author to Whittier Middle School in Norman, Oklahoma, was canceled after a parent questioned the content of one of the author’s books. Author Ellen Hopkins was scheduled to speak to 8th-graders September 22 about her career, writing process, and books. But she was notified that her visit was canceled because a parent at the school requested a review of her book Glass, the second in a series about a teen dealing with drug addiction. Hopkins said it's ironic her visit was canceled this week because the ALA's Banned Books Week begins September 26....
Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Sept. 22

Annotated Tuesday

Today I bring you an annotation of a popular children's book (something I'll try to do every week). Today's book was read to me by a former professor, Joan Kindig, in another children's literature class.

Sherry, Kevin. I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. Illus. by Author. United States: Dial, 2007. Print.

Sherry’s tri-layered illustrations are uniquely varied and separated by a pane of glass according to the book’s end page explanation. The bottom layer is watercolor using various shades of blue and green to make up the ocean floor as well as the red innards of a whale. The second layer is cut paper, creating the realistic shapes of the ocean dwelling characters which represent an accurate portrait of ocean life: turtles, puffer fish, octopus, sharks, shrimp, clams, crabs, jellyfish, and whales. The third layer is heavily inked, bringing to life the voice of the narrator squid: from the small, faint words as he whispers when a shark is nearby to large curved words demonstrating the squid’s boisterous personality as well as the illustrator’s playfulness. The mood of the book is very calm and tranquil but offset by the garish, invasive voice and personality of the squid.

Sherry experiments very heavily with proportion throughout the book, portraying the squid in several sizes and spacing him erratically on the page which also adds variety; sometimes taking up a small portion on one page, to focusing solely on his eyes and mouth which take up an entire page and spill over the center onto the following page. This placement not only indicates the squid’s exaggerated, physical size on the page in proportion to the other sea creatures, but also shows the squid’s perception of his superiority over the other creatures based solely on his size. This can reflect a child’s developmental stage where their world is as self-centered as the squid’s as well as how they view themselves among others in the world. The squid’s loud opinion of his worth among his friends makes the book’s mood very funny and the tone very loud. His personality leaps off of the page and is sure to relate to young readers.

2010 Caldecott Nominations

For fun I kept track of the suggested nominations for the 2010 Caldecott Award discussed in class today. In a few months I'll check back and see if any of us were on the money.

LBSC 645 Children's Literature and Materials - Fall 2009, Dr. Maria Salvadore

1. Tsunami - by Kimiko Kajikawa, illustrated by Ed Young
2. No! - by David McPhail
3. Hansel and Gretel - written and illustrated by Rachel Isadora
4. All of Me - written and illustrated by Molly Bang
5. One Red Apple - by Harriet Siefer, illustrated by Karla Gudeon
6. All in One Day - written by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Nikki McClure
7. Big George - by Anne F. Rockwell, illustrated by Matt Phelan
8. Fletcher and the Sprintime Blossoms - by Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
9. Jeremy Draws a Monster - by Peter McCarty
10. Chicken Little - by Rebecca Emberly, illustrated by Ed Emberly
11. Little Chick - by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram
12. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed - written and illustrated by Mo Willems
13. The Negro Speaks of Rivers - by Langston Hughes, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
14. The Longest Night - by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ted LWein
15. The Lion & the Mouse - written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
    

Debut

This is the debut of my brand-spanking new professional blog about my adventures in the library world. Though I am a student now I hope to work in a Public Library either in Children or Young Adult Services. I'm considering jobs in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

As of now I'm working as a Graduate Student Assistant at the University of Maryland's McKeldin Library. I love the variety that my job offers so whenever I come in I never know if I'm going to be in the basement unpacking boxes, grabbing books off the shelf, or ordering new books for the Humanities Department. It's pretty exhilarating and my classes at the iSchool keep me on my toes learning new skills. I'll blog more about each of those classes soon.

Here you'll find my thoughts on the latest literature I've read and other biblio and library related news.