Congratulations, you won!

Going back to an old post from September, it turns out that my children's literature class was right about one of our nominations for the 2010 Caldecott Medal. The winner was declared at this year's ALA's mid-winter conference in Boston, Jerry Pinkney's "The Lion and the Mouse". I've posted this book a few times, once in my entry about best children's book illustrations. It retells the Aesop's Fable of the Lion and the mouse, about mutual good deeds and their karmic effect. There are only seven words in the book, all sound effects. The award is given to Pinkney as reflecting the highest accomplishments for that year in children's book illustration.

The Lion & the Mouse - written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, which as it turns out is the book my professor, Maria Salvadore, had favored to win.

A horse doesn't smoke of course...of course?

Another gem from Awful Library Books today, this one is overbearingly promoting anti-drug themes to young children by using horses as models. Illustrations are here. Entitled Latwana, the Naughty Horse, Learns to say 'No' to Drugs, Latwana gives in to the peer pressure after she observes her friend Connie and her sisters smoking and doing drugs. Now I'm all for anti-drug books for children, but does using smoking horses really achieve the desired result? I think it comes off less as a "Just Say No" campaign and more like a botched Mr. Ed promo. According to the book, Latwana only begins to regret her decisions after feeling dizzy and woozy. I think one ought to use shock treatment and show kids the more harmful effects of smoking and drinking, like what happens to your lungs and liver. An overdose is mentioned when her father explains that one of his friends "accidentaly took an overdose" and died. Latwana is not only barraged with this but also horrid peer pressure from her friends hurling insults such as "you're square", and the guilt wrought from her parents' lectures. This is enough to convince Latwana that smoking and drinking are bad choices or as she puts it "a no no".

You can read the entire book here.

Satanism in Children's literature

Now wouldn't THIS have made a great paper topic: Satanism in children's literature

Case in point: Don't make me go back, Mommy: A child's book about Satanic ritual abuse

When I first heard about this book I was shocked at the fact that such subject matter would ever be depicted for a child audience. A young girl implores her parents not to send her back to her preschool where she and her classmates are subject to sexual abuse under the guise of satanic rituals. Through therapy and the love of her parents, the girl is able to face her fears and her attackers and deal with her abuse in a healthy manner.

Some of the criticisms of this book include its inappropriateness for the audience. In addition, the daycare workers are depicted with bias as evil, white figures dressed as witches (from what few illustrations I could see). I had no idea that the nature of this book was founded on actual events. In the months before I was born there was a panicked string of satanic rituals and sexual abuse allegations made against several preschools (including teachers and parents). Few of these cases ever resulted in convictions and many adults spent time in jail without ever being convicted of any crimes. This also brought to light new procedures in having children given testimony in court and theories about implanting false memories by asking them leading direct, questions repeatedly. Awful Library Books wonders how an acquisitions committee can sit together and come up with a reason to include this on the shelf. I’ll admit I’m sure there’s a pool of children who have been victim to satanic rituals and sexual abuse, possibly at the hands of their trusted teachers, but the way Awful Library Books describes the content makes me believe that while the intentions were good, the presentation is inappropriate for children of this age group. Take a look at the reviews amazon.com has and view Awful Library Books’ blasting review and form your own opinions. But the nature of the cases surrounding the book sounds an awful lot like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

2009’s Best in Children’s Book Illustrations

The Book Review has an annual roundup of the best in children’s books from an illustrative point. Books for kids are crucial for learning the language, and if you can lure them in with outstanding visuals, all the better. NYT has the ten best, including this one from Shaun Tan’s “Tales From Outer Suburbia.” Tan also won a slot in 2007 for the phenomenal, wordless “The Arrival."

1) ONLY A WITCH CAN FLY By Alison McGhee. Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo.
Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 8) . An illustrated poem about a little girl who dreams of flying on her broomstick on Halloween night

2) MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo 11 Written and illustrated by Brian Floca.
In watercolors, ink and acrylics, the story of how the Apollo 11 mission unfolded.

3) THE ODD EGG Written and illustrated by Emily Gravett.
Simon & Schuster. $15.99. (Ages 4 to 8). A duck discovers a huge speckled egg — with a baby alligator inside.

4) A PENGUIN STORY Written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis.
HarperCollins. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8). Edna the penguin goes on a quest to discover new colors.


5) THE LION AND THE MOUSE Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
Little, Brown. $16.99 (Ages 3 to 6)

This illustrated retelling of the classic fable has only seven words, all sound effects.

6) THE SNOW DAY Written and illustrated by Komako Sakai.
Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 5). A bunny child stays home from school when the world is beset by a snowstorm.














7) TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA Written and illustrated by Shaun Tan.
Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. $19.99. (Ages 12 and up). An illustrated collection of surreal tales from the author of “The Arrival.”

8) YUMMY: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales Written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins.
Candlewick. $18.99. (Ages 3 and up). Eight popular fairy tales retold in vivid colors.

9) WHITE NOISE By David A. Carter.
Little Simon/Simon & Schuster. $22.99. (Ages 3 and up). A pop-up romp through cubism and futurism, and a lesson in early-­20th-century modernist formalism.

10) ALL THE WORLD By Liz Garton Scanlon. Illustrated by Marla Frazee.
Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 7). A journey in pictures and verse from an unexplored beach to a busy music-filled family room and into a tranquil, moonlit night.

On my own I had seen or been told about Jerry Pinkney's book as well as Antoinette Portis'.

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.

Politics & Prose

I was unfortunately unable to make it to Sarah Dessen's talk at this bookstore but they host a new author every weekday and two authors on the weekends. I definitely recommend checking this bookstore out even if you're not there for an author event.

I will make my way down there, someday.

Politics & Prose <-- Follow the hyperlink

Things I learned from Fred Bowen

Fred Bowen, an author of sports books for young readers, came to visit my Children's Literature class at UMD a few weeks ago. Here is the update as promised:

Fred's books include simplistic but ethically diverse stories centered around boys and girls on various sports teams: baseball, basketball, and football to name a few. While the characters are fictitious, the stories' plots are centered around real, and sometimes famous, sports events that occurred in the past. For example, Fred's latest book, Touchdown Trouble, discusses a winning touchdown that was scored illegally, and the team's decision whether or not to confess their mistake and give the opposing team the win. This is the only recorded football game score to be changed after the game has concluded.

Other fun facts about Fred Bowen:

1) He is a recovering lawyer for the Department of Labor for the past 30 years
2) He used to write movie reviews for newspapers (2-3 years) and video reviews for magazines
3) In most children's books, the parents are often irrelevant to the story
4) Sports writer for the Kids Post
5) Hannibal Lecter's mask is an old version of a hockey mask.
6) People used to make fun of those who wore a mask or gloves in hockey, as it was a sign of cowardice
7) He wants to write a good story as well as teach a good lesson, but writing lessons is hard since he never wants the children to win.
8) The world is an enormously stubborn place
9) Fred Bowen is currently operating without an agent
10) The world is starved for ideas, sories, and writing
11) Reading is always a minority undertaking
12) Kids books last longer
13) Illustrations date books, so they should be updated