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Children's Book Week: a real celebration

Children's Book Week (CBW) 2012 ended on May 13 but the work of celebrated children's authors and illustrators is sure to continue throughout the year.

I have this year's CBW poster hanging in my office. Created by three-time Caldecott Medalist Davis Wiesner, the poster has recognizable characters from renowned children's book creators coming together on a busy street.

(For me, it's a what-if scenario; I wonder what would Marshall's George & Martha say to King Babar & Celeste with Wiesner's own three pigs walking on the cross street with Thing One and Thing Two running down the sidewalk … I bet children could come up with even better ideas than I can ….)

Perhaps they are heading to the CBW Gala, who knows? It was hosted by the very clever Jarrett Krosoczka (whose interview can be viewed on Reading Rockets. You can also see Jarrett in action at the Gala.)

It really reminded me of the Academy Awards program. Nominees were announced, snippets of the books were shared by young people, portions of the books were shown, and then The Winner. Authors and illustrators accepted these awards decided by children's voting — these are the Children's Choice Awards after all.

Children's Book Week started a long time ago — 1919 to be exact. My guess is that young people today still like many of the same things: they like to laugh, they like books with feeling, and (increasingly) they like pictures.

It seems that young people also like having a voice — more than 900,000 votes were recorded. Let's continue to listen to them especially during the summer when reading prevents the dreaded summer slide — but only when reading is fun.

Take a look at this year's Children's Choice books and creators. They may appeal to the young readers in your life, too.

The loss of a friend

I never met him but still feel like I've lost an old friend. Maybe we all lost a longtime friend this week. Maybe we thought he'd go on forever — and I suppose in some ways he will.

Maurice Sendak's death last week was widely reported including the Washington Post, on NPR, in the New York Times. The appreciations keep coming. And they should.

Sendak's books have been read by several generations. They speak to contemporary kids as clearly as they did their parents — and even their grandparents. We had shared Where the Wild Things Are so often that my son was able to "read" it aloud to the delight of his pre-K class.

Some of Maurice Sendak's books have offended adult sensibilities (his fantastical In the Night Kitchen; illustrations for a collection of Mother Goose rhymes entitled I Saw Esau, for example).

But his distinct style and unflinching respect for children and their ability to handle deep emotions — whether or not they are able to talk about them — is evident in each of his books. Sendak changed children's literature forever because of his trust in children's ability to recognize emotional truth.

Maurice Sendak will be missed but not forgotten.

Thanks to Justin Duvall for allowing his artwork to be used.

© 2012 Justin Duvall

Musings on a digital world

I'm seriously considering getting my first-ever tablet soon. Not only would I be able to travel without the heft of enough books to keep me going for a week or so, a laptop wouldn't be needed for email and I could even read my favorite newspapers.

As an adult, however, I know how easy it is to be seduced to follow a link that takes me way off whatever topic I started with; what about children who are just beginning to develop skills to stay on task?

A recent link sent to me by a friend who knows my concerns about digitizing the world in which children live and learn made me think about where we're heading. South Korea is putting the brakes on making all of their elementary, middle and high schools textbooks digital.

Where are books going? They're being offered in multiple formats — digital, physical, audio — often from the time of their release. Is one format more effective for children than another? Why? What is the impact on a child's capacity to focus; to imagine; to solve problems creatively? How do digital books impact children at different ages and stages of development?

There doesn't seem to be a great deal of consensus yet and certainly these formats haven't been around long enough for meaningful longitudinal studies.

Some are suggesting the death of the book. But it does seem that more thought and research is needed before we diminish the role of physical books.

Fun with science and math IS possible

All too often, children hear the word math and they freeze. It just can't have pleasure associated with it nor can it possibly have anything to do real life.

Math really is everywhere but like the narrator in Jon Scieszka's funny and slightly offbeat Math Curse (Viking), fear of it can be a serious affliction. It can even impact how children perceive and school success — and eventually their career choices.

Well, this weekend in Washington, DC, there's a free event, the USA Science & Engineering Festival, devoted to engaging children and adults in the excitement and possibilities in these subjects.

There will be lots of authors talking about their books including Sean Connolly who's written The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math (Workman).

Even those who suffer from a serious math aversion will appreciate the approach of this book. It presents outrageous stories which can be solved by math. It was the step-by-step explanations that helped me understand some principles that had left me in the dark for what has been a long, long time.

Whether or not children understand all of math concepts presented doesn't seem to me as important as the pleasure presented in trying to figure out (as the book's cover declares) "24 death-defying challenges" and the fun of their fantastic, humorous stories with comic illustrations. It's a multi-pronged approach that seems likely to engage the most reluctant young mathematician.

Putting some pleasure back into science and math not only makes STEM education more fun but just may present chances for families to find positive new — and important — shared experiences.

Yuo might also want to check out Reading Rockets' Literacy in the Sciences tip sheets for parents (in English and Spanish).

Beyond Earth Day

A friend of my son and I were talking about a high school course he's taking on environmental science. He said that it wasn't as much about saving the planet as it was saving people.

I thought about what he'd said and I agree — at least in general.

Where does respect for the environment and people begin? When children are very young. My son's interest in observing backyard birds started when he built a small birdhouse as a 6-year old Cub Scout and continues to this day.

I was reminded again of this when I read a recent picture book biography entitled Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle (Farrar) by Clair Nivola.

Earle's devotion to the outdoors started early on as a young child living in New Jersey. When she was 12, her family moved to the Gulf coast of Florida where her mother is quoted as saying "that Sylvia 'lost her heart to the water.'" Sylvia's wonder becomes the reader's wonder as they examine this handsomely illustrated, beautifully told, and well researched look at one person's life in and near the ocean. And like Sylvia Earle, the more we know, the more we'll want to learn, and the greater care we'll take of this beautiful resource.

There are a number of books that are likely to generate interest, inspiration, enthusiasm to last beyond Earth Day. Who knows what wonders will start with a child's sparked imagination?

April celebrations

April is a month full of promise. The sun feels warmer, the days are longer, and there are celebrations galore.

100 years ago, the people of Japan gave cherry trees to the people of the United States. The centennial year of this gift is celebrated with events in Washington, DC all month long during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

April is National Poetry Month and Keep America Beautiful Month.

Families and teachers can find out about these and other April celebrations through books and information and other resources. And where better to find them but at the library?

And of course, April being a month of promise holds special festivities for libraries.

It is School Library Month. Interestingly, the theme of its first national observance in 1985 was "Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center." That statement really applies to all libraries but especially important to families: the public library.

Notably, this week is also National Library Week which celebrates books, reading, libraries, and more.

Making libraries part of every celebration is sure to keep April magic going long beyond the 30th!

Authors are real!

When I was growing up, I thought that all authors had to be dead and gone to have a book published. That misconception has quite happily been dispelled. I've even gotten to know some published authors, all of them quite alive and well. Many of these authors enjoy hearing from their readers.

One kindergarten class recently read books by Kevin Henkes and learned more about him. I'm sure that these children and their creative teacher discovered that Kevin won the Caldecott for Kitten's First Full Moon; that it looks different than his other books like Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse or even his newest, Penny and Her Song (all Greenwillow) — and lots more.

Their teacher, Laura Caplan, keeps parents informed of classroom activities through regular correspondence.

Here, Ms. Caplan shares one of the "Bright Spots:"

"Earlier in the year, we did an author study of Kevin Henkes and learned about his writing and artistic style. During our exploration of cities, our class created our own city, Gan Shemeshville. The class did research in Dupont Circle and saw that there are statues of important people located in roundabouts. As a result, the class decided to create a statue of Kevin Henkes in a roundabout in Gan Shemeshville. The class insisted that we write him a letter to inform him of our work and show him a picture of his statue. A week later, we received a personalized thank you letter from Kevin Henkes and a signed copy of his newest book that wasn't published until days after he sent it to us in the mail. This has been a thrilling experience for our class to reach out to a beloved author and hear that he appreciates our hard work."

Because of the thoughtfulness, creativity and concern of an inspired early childhood educator and a remarkable author, a group of kindergarten children are on the road to becoming lifelong readers and writers. That's something to celebrate.

My guess is that the children's statue of Kevin Henkes will be put in a place of honor — Ms. Caplan was going to the post office today to mail it; maybe next to his Caldecott Medal.