I attended the second day of the Great Books Celebration at the Sheppard Pratt Conference Center in Baltimore. The day began with a presentation of favorite titles from the three committees, Great Picture Books, Great Books for Kids, and Great Books for Teens. This was very informative, as a number of the highlighted books are not owned in the Montgomery County Library system.
Great Picture Book Committee Favorites:
Some Dog! by Mary Casanova.
After a new puppy is brought into the home, George, an old beloved family pet, finds his fear of losing his place in his owner's hearts, was all for naught. Ages 4 - 8. This title is not currently owned by MCPL.
The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend.
You may recall this title from our Notable Books meeting. A cat advertises the perfect nest in order to make a perfect omelet, but too many farm birds move in. Ages 3 - 6
The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice Harrington.
A tale of a young southern girl who has fun chasing her favorite chicken until she learns a secret. Ages 4 - 8
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry.
A lovable giant squid boasts to everyone about his tremendous size until being swallowed by a whale puts his stature into perspective. Ages 3 -7
Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson by Sue Stauffacher.
"Althea Gibson was the tallest, wildest tomboy in the history of Harlem," begins this picture book biography. She transforms herself to become the first African-American tennis player, male or female, to win at Wimbledon. Ages 6 - 9
My Friend is Sad and Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems.
Elephant Gerald and nameless Pig are true pals in these very funny easy reader stories about emotions and friendship. Ages 4 - 9
Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino.
In this heartwarming story, we join a father and son on their weekly walk to a local diner for breakfast. Yaccarino's simple but sweet story and illustrations are sure to inspire many families to start their own meaningful tradition. Ages 3 - 7. This book is on order for MCPL.
Great Books for Kids Committee Favorites:
No Talking by Andrew Clements.
The noisy fifth-grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth-grade girls to a "no talking" contest. Ages 8 - 12
Glint by Ann Coburn.
Ellie and her brother Daniel spent many summer days creating a world of dragons and socrcery, and an impetuous heroine named Argent. Now Danny has disappeared and Ellie must attempt her own quest to save him, as Argent struggles with returning a dragon hatchling to her mother. The stories are told in alternating chapters. Ages 9 - 12. This book is not currently owned by MCPL.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming by Al Gore.
Adapted from the adult book, Gore presents kids with information related to global warming. With the evidence paired against vivid, powerful pictures, this book acts as a call to action for all children, urging them to make changes for the planet. Ages 9 - 12
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor.
Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. Ages 8 - 12
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.
This is a book I read for my discussion breakout session. See below for my group's reaction to it!
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
The Caldecott winner for 2008--you all know about this one already!
Someone Named Eva by Joan Wolf.
It's 1942. The Germans seek blond, blue-eyed children to be retrained as perfect Germans in their Lebensborn program. Melida is taken from her home in Lidich, Czechoslovakia, becomes Eva, and is adopted by an important German family who live near the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ages 10 -14 This title is not currently owned by MCPL.
Great Books for Teens Committee Favorites:
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron.
In a first-person narrative, 18-year-old Manhattanite James Sveck tells his story. While mature and urbane, James still deals with teenage concerns like loneliness and the difficulty of making emotional connections. Ages 16 and up
Before I Die by Jenny Downham.
After prolonged suffering, 16 year-old Tessa finally refuses chemotherapy in a bid to die on her own terms. With only a few months to live, she makes a list of all the things she would like to experience before her body fails her. Ages 14 and up
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle.
A geeky valedictorian and his awkward sidekick have the adventure of their lives when a declaration of unrequited love kicks off a night of chases, rescues, escapes, and teenage tomfoolery. Ages 16 and up. This title is not currently owned by MCPL.
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville.
Two 12 year-old girls find themselves in an unusual situation, revealing UnLondon, the mirror image of the city where they live. Fantastical and mundane characters are encountered in their journey to save both places. Ages 12 and up
Freak Show by James St. James.
Meet Billy Bloom, absolutely fabulous teen drag queen in training and new transplant to Florida. Billy's personality targets him for escalating verbal and physical abuse at the hands of sadistic cheerleaders and thuggish football players, but he refuses to give in, mobilizing a troop of outcasts in his controversial bid for the homecoming queen crown. Ages 16 and up
The Arrival by Shaun Tan.
This wordless graphic novel depicts a man leaving his homeland for a new country. Beautiful, intricate illustrations allow readers to experience a universal immigrant's tale, filled with confusion and wonder. Ages 12 and up. This book is not owned by MCPL at this time.
The latest book from the PostSecret project is roughly chronological through life, with submissions from secret keepers from about age 8 to 80. Ages 12 and up
After the introductory presentation, we split into our discussion groups. I chose "Nature's Way" for my picture book group, and we discussed A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston, Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres, Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me by Ann Grifalconi, Living Color by Steve Jenkins, and Leaves by David Ezra Stein. All the titles were well received, and we discussed how best to use them in the classroom as complements to curricula, since most of the participants were media specialists. Up, Down, and Around is not owned by MCPL, and would be a good addition to the collection for its fun, cartoony story about vegetables that grow up, down, and around in a family garden. An excellent spring story program title! We own other titles by Steve Jenkins, such as Life Size, but do not currently have his wonderful Living Color. This book has huge double-page spreads of a variety of different animals, all arranged by color. So, a page of pink animals, another of blue animals, green animals and so on. This would be a great browsing title, and can be used on a number of different levels, from preschoolers on up to third or fourth grade.
My second discussion group was "War Torn," books with a war theme or setting for grades 3 to 6. Hitler's Canary is the coming of age story of a boy living in Denmark during the Nazi occupation. This title reminded the group of Number the Stars and might be a good choice for children who enjoyed that title or wanted more information about the Danish resistance. On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck is a quieter tale set on the home front in central Illinois. This story doesn't have as much action, but is an evocative portrait of what it was like to grow up at that time in America. Some of the discussion group participants suggested that this would be a great jumping-off point for an intergenerational book club; a chance for grandparents to share with their grandchildren their stories from World War II. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt was one that some people had trouble with because the main character was not very believeable. Holling Hoodhood is in 7th grade, forced to read Shakespeare by his English teacher who doesn't know what else to do with him when all of his classmates clear out on Wednesday afternoons to attend either Catechism or Hebrew school. He really connects with the stories and even memorizes some of the passages from the plays. Our group thought maybe a high schooler might be able to do this, but not a seventh grader. Holling is a fun, charming character, though, and everyone enjoyed the book all the same. Our last title was The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis. This was a great favorite of the group and people praised the artwork, the writing, the way the book cleverly conveys the oppression that Sis lived through as a child and young man in Communist Prague. All felt this was a very valuable title that can open the eyes of a child to a world that is almost beyond a modern-day American's comprehension.
The third discussion group I attended was "An Element of Danger," books for the young adult reader. We found the most mixed reactions for these titles--none were universally liked by all the discussion group members. Epoch, by Timothy Carter, is a satirical fantasy story about the end of the world. Demons are on their way to scourge the Earth in 48 hours, and Vincent has to get his family and friends off the planet. There are pixies, fairies, and other fantastic creatures in this story, as well as some jibes at fundamentalist sects. Some discussion participants worried about how the fundamentalist aspects of the book would be viewed by their patrons. Some weren't even sure the book was supposed to be funny. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to kids who like Artemis Fowl, Terry Pratchett and even the Percy Jackson titles. Another sci-fi fantasy story, Being by Kevin Brooks, has a terrific premise: a boy goes into the hospital for an endoscopy to check for ulcers, and the doctors discover strange, alien tubes, wires, and technology in his gut. Is he human? Is he cyborg? Just what is he? The boy runs away from the hospital and a bloody, desperate quest to stay free from his unknown captors begins. Unfortunately, the book is slow, repetitive, very violent, and frankly, quite boring. No one in the group enjoyed it, although one participant said she enjoyed other books that Brooks has written. Boot Camp by Todd Strasser is violent and chilling, but a compelling read about a 15 year old sent off to a behavioral rehabilitation camp for troubled teens. Garrett isn't a bad kid, but his parents did not approve of his girlfriend, a former teacher, so they shipped him off. Can he survive the physical, mental, and emotional abuse he receives at Camp Harmony? This would be excellent for a teen discussion group, ages 13 and up. The last book we talked about is Right Behind You by Gail Giles. At the age of 9, Kip's mother is dead of cancer and he's full of anger at his father who made the family move out to the middle of nowhere in Alaska before his mother got sick. A neighbor boy shows up and torments Kip, and in a fit of rage, Kip sets the boy on fire. This is the shocking beginning of the fascinating story of Kip's journey from a facility for violent juvenile offenders to a new life and a new name in Indiana. Kip struggles to comes to terms with his past and to make peace with himself. Again, another good novel for older readers that makes them think about such themes as forgiveness and redemption.
Bruce Coville's presentation was in the early afternoon. He was delightful; telling stories and jokes and giving some background on how he came to be a writer. I was impressed at how philosophical most of his talk was, touching on topics ranging from the dearth of male role models in teaching and library professions to the characteristics of the best examples of books that kids want to read (those books have a balance of what he referred to as male and female storytelling energy. Male energy has lots of action, things happen, the plot moves ahead. Female energy deals with character development and interaction. He said the Harry Potter series is an excellent example of books that combine those two energies well). I left the talk with renewed energy and enthusiasm for my chosen profession. It is always good to be reminded of how important our work is to all the children, teachers, and caregivers we interact with every day.
Overall, this conference was an excellent chance for me to read broadly and sample books that the county does not own at the moment. I found interacting with my peers from other library systems very stimulating and it is always useful to hear other's opinions on how books can be used in the classroom and beyond. All the new titles I was exposed to will be very helpful back at the branch for reader's advisory.
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