Wausau Daily Herald – Kids’ book illustrator creates books that pop is an article on Robert Sabuda, one of the great artists of pop-up books. My favorite part of the article is the end where he says:
“Parents are busy. They want time with their kids to be well spent. … There’s greater attention to children’s books now as a backlash to the technology in kids’ lives. Parents feel the need to give an alternative to all the media saturation.”
Month: December 2005
Pew Study on Teens Online
Pew Internet & American Life Project did a study on Teen Content Creators and Consumers that speaks to the patterns that teens are showing in creating online content and using online services. This is a great study to glance at even if you don’t have a lot of time. The format makes it very browsable, allowing you to read only the sections you are most interested in. Important information for those of us who work with teens, especially those who work with teens and technology.
Brad's Bookmarks
Brad’s Bookmarks is a blog that offers very brief reviews of books and movies. Each review is follwed by a letter grade. The movies range across all sorts of genres, but the books are primarily teen and children’s titles.
Graphic Novel Article
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this article: Graphic novels catch eyes and minds of students which contains the following section:
“Max Yela, head of special collections at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee libraries, said he’d like to start collecting more graphic novels. On Wednesday, the school is slated to host a talk by graphic novelist Art Spiegelman, who won a Special Citation for Letters from the Pulitzer Board in 1992 for his book “Maus” that depicted Jews as mice and Nazis as cats.
Yela said his collection documents changes in books and communications, particularly since the advent of computers. Graphic novels, he said, are a big part of that.
“I think it’s inevitable in many ways that graphic literacy will have a greater weight,” he said. “Do you let go of the traditional ways of educating students, in terms of text-literacy? No. But I do think teachers will have to come to grips with the fact that graphic-based communication is going to become more prevalent.””
Teen Book Lovers
Teen Book Lovers is a LiveJournal community that reads and discusses teen literature. Click on user info to learn more about their rules and how they select their book of the month.
Anime and Manga
This is a handy list for librarians to have: Titles available both as anime and manga in the United States. It is nice because the titles of the anime and manga often differ, so someone not familiar with the films and books may not even realize that they are the same story and characters.
Reading Kids' Books Without the Kids
Reading Kids’ Books Without the Kids from the New York Times is supposed to be an article on the newly released Norton’s Anthology of Children’s Literature which is a book designed to be used in children’s literature classes. Rothstein argues that removing the child from the literature is damaging to it, because there is power in sharing books with children. Of course! But there is also power in having adults aware of what great children’s books are and what qualities they share. That way we can lead children to them.
An additional problem I have with the article is the potshots it takes at teen literature along the way. I suppose the target is just so easy that it is hard to pass up. But in this article on children’s literature it is strange to see newly published teen fiction compared to Heidi and Anne of Green Gables. The classics are lovely, but we need to have space beside them on our shelves for the new fiction, even the “teen pulp” that will have kids looking at the books in the first place.
Bookshelves of Doom
bookshelves of doom is a blog that reviews books with a focus on juvenile and teen literature mixed in with all sorts of other genres. It is obviously the work of a book lover and I am so glad to see the children’s and teen books mixed in and shared.
One Scary Night
One Scary Night by Antoine Guilloppe is a masterpiece of wordless storytelling. The title and the evil eyes on the front of the book set the tone of the story where a young man is walking through a wintry wood followed by a wolf. The tension builds and builds, until… You didn’t think I’d give it away did you?
It is unusual to find a wordless story that works for older children, but this one will. The black and white illustrations are bold enough to use with a group and may inspire young artists to create wordless books of their own. It is also a perfect title for Halloween storytimes or to combine with other spooky tales in a monster storytime.
Waking Brain Cells 