Linnea's Illuminated Notes: about children's literature

Showing posts with label about children's literature. Show all posts

2016/11/30

Publishing Homes

There are five big book publishers in the United States today. A good visual graph of imprints from the big five found its way around Twitter in June 2016 with the source being Ali Almossawi, link below. The publishing homes follow here.

1. Penguin Random House
2. HarperCollins
3. MacMillan
4. Simon & Schuster
5. Hachette

Big Five Publishers

My Writing Barn workshop word: FOCUS.

2015/03/23

Books and Magazines for the Youngest Readers

A Few Books for Youngest Readers:

WHO’S THAT BABY? NEW BABY SONGS by Sharon Creech, pictures by David Diaz (HarperCollins, 2005).

THE RUNAWAY BUNNY by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd (HarperCollins, 1942).

LET’S GO HOME LITTLE BEAR BY Martin Waddell, pictures by Barbara Firth (Walker Books, 2001).

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee (Simon & Schuster, 2009).

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN by Maurice Sendak ( Harper & Row, 1970).

WHEN COWS COME HOME by David L. Harrison, pictures by Chris L. Demarest (Boyds Mills, 1994).

A GOOD DAY by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2007).

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? by Bill Martin, Jr., pictures by Eric Carle (Henry Holt, 1967).

NOCTURNE by Jane Yolen, pictures by Anne Hunter (Harcourt Brace, 1997).

WHEN EVERYONE WAS FAST ASLEEP by Tomie de Poala (Holiday house, 1976).

FIONA LOVES THE NIGHT by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, pictures by Amanda Shepard (HarperCollins, 2007).

COUNTING CROWS by Kathi Appelt, pictures by Rob Dunlavey (Atheneum Books, 2015).

Magazines for Youngest Readers:

HIGHLIGHTS HELLO

BABY BUG

HIGHLIGHTS HIGH FIVE

LADYBUG

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LITTLE KIDS

CLICK

RANGER RICK JR.

2015/01/31

Writing for the Youngest Readers

Elements to consider when writing (or selecting picture books to read aloud):

· story so light, words seem to float

· lyrical, poetic

· rhythm, beat

· some internal/end rhyme, alliteration, repetition

· perspective/“I, me, baby”

· tone/avoid contractions, but don’t “talk” down

· satisfying twist, end with a smile

· whimsical

· flow/page-turns

Artistic decisions in the range of picture books to read aloud:

· striking color use

· distinctive art styles

· white space and color choices

· photo-illustration

· layout/flow

Early literacy points to reflect on when writing/reading for/to the youngest readers:

· Is it developmentally appropriate—length, word choice, pace, clear and simple?

· Is the content age-appropriate?

· Is the subject appropriate to engage individual children, inclusive messages?

· Is there room for imagination and a playful (pointing, acting out, repeating words) exchange between child and person reading?

· Does the story have any of following qualities—whimsical, nonsensical, lyrical, engaging, connect with the family/home/child himself/herself, early learning concepts, early socialization concepts, universal theme?

Sample Writing Prompt:

Write one to three lyrical sentences suitable for a two to three-year old. Break sentences into short lines that might appear on a page. Consider the elements we discussed. Revise. Is writing for the youngest reader a challenge?

2014/03/23

Literacy Resource Place

The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance is a not-for-profit organization founded by award-winning young people's authors and illustrators. Their website is filled with activities and information for teachers, parents, and students to access. Of note is the Our White House section on American history.

THE NATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK AND LITERACY ALLIANCE

http://www.thencbla.org/

2013/07/04

I read Nancy Drew

. . . and Hardy Boys.

Book lists for more summer reading:

GUYS READ

http://www.guysread.com/books/

FREQUENTLY CHALLENGED BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged

SIBERT MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal

NEWBERY MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal

CALDECOTT MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal

CARNEGIE MEDAL

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegie/

KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/

2012/12/01

CLOUD KEY & Milne Essay on Cupboards

Which Way?
2012 Linnea Heaney

Click on post labels for archives.

about children's literature: illuminating children’s books

authors: author Q&A

essays: Linnea’s notes

for early literacy: informing literacy activities

illustrators: illustrator Q&A

LIN little corners: children’s activity ideas

Linnea's reading corner: on Linnea’s publications

on art: art and literature

on poetry: poetry focus

on writing: about writing, the writing life

reading corner: book titles to look up

story map: on crafting a manuscript

words: words to contemplate

Guest essay from A.A. Milne (in public domain):

http://essays.quotidiana.org/milne/cupboard/

Linnea's Website

https://www.linneaheaney.com/

Linnea's Illuminated Notes

https://linneaheaney.blogspot.com/

Linnea's Illustrated Stories

https://writerlinnea.blogspot.com/

2012/11/02

All About Picture Books

PICTURE BOOK MONTH is November
http://picturebookmonth.com/

What is a PB?
Sendak on “rhythmic syncopation of words and images” in his book Caldecott & Co.: Words are left out—but the picture says it. Pictures are left out—but the word says it . . . it is the invention of the picture book.

PB Illustrations to Study

Examples of illustration through time to today:

MILLIONS OF CATS, story and pictures by Wanda Gag.

THE LITTLE ISLAND by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Leonard Weisgard.

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd.

THE SNOWY DAY, story and pictures by Ezra Jack Keats.

THE RABBITS’ WEDDING, story and pictures by Garth Williams.

LITTLE BLUE AND LITTLE YELLOW, story and pictures by Leo Lionni.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak.

THE TREASURE, story and pictures by Uri Shulevitz.

THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE, story and pictures by Eric Carle.

THE SNOWMAN, story and pictures by Raymond Briggs.

STREGA NONA, story and pictures by Tomie dePaola.

FORTUNATELY, story and pictures by Remy Charlip.

JUMANJI, story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg.

BLACK AND WHITE, story and pictures by David Macaulay.

THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES by Jon Scieszka, pictures by Lane Smith.

VOICES IN THE PARK, story and pictures by Anthony Browne.

KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE by Mo Willems.

FLOTSAM, story and pictures by David Wiesner.

KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON, story and pictures by Kevin Henkes.

GARMANN’S SUMMER, story and pictures by Stian Hole.

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, story and pictures by Brian Selznick.

THE RED TREE, story and pictures by Shaun Tan.

MINE! by Shutta Crum, pictures by Patrice Barton.

A BALL FOR DAISY, story and pictures by Chris Raschka.

PB Stories to Study

Examples of PB story through time to today:

BABAR, story and pictures by Jean de Brunhoff.

THE STORY OF FERDINAND by Munro Leaf, pictures by Robert Lawson.

ANGUS LOST, story and pictures by Marjorie Flack.

CAPS FOR SALE, story and pictures by Esphyr Slobodkina.

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, story and pictures by Robert McCloskey.

CURIOUS GEORGE, story and pictures by H.A. and Margret Rey.

MADELINE’S RESCUE, story and pictures by Ludwig Bemelmans.

THE CARROT SEED by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson.

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd.

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON, story and pictures by Crockett Johnson.

A TREE IS NICE by Janice May Udry, pictures by Marc Simont.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM, story and pictures by Dr. Seuss.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak.

HIDE AND SEEK FOG by Alvin Tresselt, pictures by Roger Duvoisin.

A POCKET FOR CORDUROY, story and pictures by Don Freeman.

THERE’S A NIGHTMARE IN MY CLOSET, story and pictures by Mercer Mayer.

JAMBERRY, story and pictures by Bruce Degen.

OWL MOON by Jane Yolen, pictures byJohn Schoenherr.

THE POLAR EXPRESS, story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg.

JESSE BEAR, WHAT WILL YOU WEAR? by Nancy White Carlstrom, pictures by Bruce Degen.

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee.

THE QUIET STORY by Deborah Underwood, Renata Liwska.

HIP HOP DOG by Chris Raschka, pictures by Vladimir Radunsky.

OH, NO! by Candace Fleming, pictures by Eric Rohmann.

Why Picture Books?

See Linnea’s Illuminated Notes, A Picture Book, January 2011

Significant Illustrators in PB Development

See Linnea’s Illuminated Notes, Illustrators of Children’s Literature, December 2011

Resources

CALDECOTT & CO.: NOTES ON BOOKS & PICTURES by Maurice Sendak (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988).

CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS: THE ART OF VISUAL STORYTELLING by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles (Laurence King Publishers, 2012).

SHOW ME A STORY: WHY PICTURE BOOKS MATTER by Leonard Marcus (Candlwick, 2012).

WRITING WITH PICTURES: HOW TO WRITE AND ILLUSTRATE CHILDREN’S BOOKS by Uri Shulevitz (Watson-Guptill, 1985).

2012/10/12

Melville's Bookcase

This past spring I walked into the Rosenbach Museum & Library for the first time. The Rosenbach houses many works of literature, including illustrator-author Maurice Sendak’s papers. Others attending a workshop were arriving at the same time and I wandered through the crowd to an impressive bookcase. When the workshop began, it was announced that Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) had died earlier that week. Since I had been on the road, I hadn’t heard the news. The rest of the day took on a feeling of serendipity as I walked through the Sendak exhibit and talked to a curator about the books in the museum’s library.

Later in the day, I learned that the bookcase in the entry had been Herman Melville’s bookcase and a favorite of Maurice Sendak. I stood by the bookcase, just feet from Maurice Sendak’s only mural, and studied the old volumes.

Today I was reminded of the book, Dear Genius, and looked up the letter from Ursula Nordstrom to Sendak in 1961. Apparently Sendak had mentioned that he felt Melville had “a lot of furniture” in his books, meaning facts. And, at the time, Sendak felt that his world was “furniture-less.” Nordstrom, the great editor, replied in a prophetic and supportive way.

August 21, 1961

To Maurice Sendak

. . . I loved your long letter and hope it clarified some things for you to write it. Sure, Tolstoy and Melville have a lot of furniture in their books . . .

You wrote “my world is furniture-less. It is all feeling” . . . You also wrote “Knowledge is the driving force that puts creative passion to work”—a true statement, and also very well put. But it would include self knowledge for some as well as knowledge of facts for others . . .

You wrote "It would be wonderful to want to believe in God. The aimlessness of living is too insane." That is the creative artist—a penalty of the creative artist—wanting to make order out of chaos. The rest of us plain people just accept disorder (if we even recognize it) and get a bang out of our five beautiful senses, if we're lucky. Well, not making any sense but will send this anyhow . . . .

From Ursula Nordstrom

I remember standing in front of Melville’s bookcase again and again that day last spring. Sendak spent a lifetime finding lost, abandoned furniture to place in the rooms of his illustrations. Self-knowledge and making order out of chaos seems to me to have been the passionate story revealed through his art. He made the world more understandable and orderly, sometimes for children, sometimes for adults. Melville’s bookcase is at home among Sendak’s stories and illustrations.

Letter excerpt (page 145) from:

DEAR GENIUS: THE LETTERS OF URSULA NORDSTROM collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus (HarperCollins, 1998).

Selected books:

NUTSHELL LIBRARY, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1962).

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963).

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1970).

OUTSIDE OVER THERE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1981).

BRUNDIBAR, retold by Tony Kushner, pictures by Maurice Sendak (Hyperion, 2003).

HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP! OR THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1967).

THE SIGN ON ROSIE’S DOOR, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1960).

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1. Read The Sign on Rosie’s Door.

2. Find markers or crayons and construction paper plus string and tape.

3. Help children make a sign for a door at home using words and/or drawings.

4. Assist children in making a group sign for a school door.

5. Encourage dress-up and putting together a musical show.

6. Invite an audience to enter the door with the sign to see the musical show.

2012/09/04

Random Acts of Publicity

The Annual Random Acts of Publicity event is the first week in September. I’m reading a couple of books by new authors and two by well-published authors to mention for RAP. I’ll make a comment about what I feel is a strong point or two for each book. Not exactly a review, but definitely talking points to start a conversation about the books. That is the theme for the 2012 Random Acts of Publicity: “Conversations about Books.” My reading list reveals a theme of loss from four very different perspectives.

Darcy Pattison's Random Acts of Publicity

ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012).

One For The Murphys is Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s first novel. The main character, Carley, is twelve years old and finds herself unexpectedly placed with a foster family. All of the story’s characters are carefully revealed through strong, honest dialogue. Carley meets and resolves challenges in her own unique way. She touches the reader and leaves one wondering and feeling her loss.

A BALL FOR DAISY by Chris Raschka (Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011).

This Caldecott Medal Award winner is the work of illustrator/author Chris Raschka, who has published over 40 books. I’m mentioning the book in this list because of the universal theme of loss is touching and the feeling comes only through story and wordless illustrations. The illustrations must be seen and studied. One illustration to look for is where the reader finally sees Daisy’s young companion. Oh, and Daisy is a dog.

MISSING MAY by Cynthia Rylant (Orchard Books, 1992).

Missing May won the 1993 Newbery Award. Cynthia Rylant is a well-known author, so why is this book on the list? It is a story that sticks with you, hauntingly simple and deeply touching. Isn’t that how all great books leave you? The story is about loss. It is so worth rereading at whatever age you are.

ILLEGAL by Bettina Restrepo (Katherine Tegan Books, 2011).

Illegal is a debut novel written by Bettina Restrepo. Teenage Nora and her mother follow Nora’s father from Mexico to Texas after they don’t hear from him. The trip as illegals to Houston and their life there are difficult. Nora desperately feels the loss of her home and family. She grabbles with growing up. Many vibrant characters shape her journey. The reader must consider how Nora's journey will affect her.

2012/08/18

Poetry Q & A With David L. Harrison

Learning about poetry informs all of my writing. I’ve asked poet David L. Harrison to answer three questions for writers entering the world of poetry for children. Thank you for the thoughtful answers and resources, David.

What are a few of the key elements that mark the good poetry being written for children today?

What a puzzle that is! Two poems side by side could conceivably have the same number of words, equal lengths of line, identical rhyme schemes and metric patterns. They might have the same number of stanzas, be on the same subject, even be written by the same poet. Yet one poem turns out brilliantly and the other fails. Jean Karl, a highly respected children’s editor, used to say that picture books were like soap bubbles. They either floated or they didn’t. You couldn’t fix one; you simply went on to another. I think the same can be said of a poem. No matter how hard you try to perfect them, some pop with disappointment while others seem to float on their own with little conscious effort by the poet.

Nevertheless, the poet remains aware of the basic elements of poetry. What is the point of what’s being said? It isn’t enough to begin laying out rhymes or painting imagery willy-nilly. If meter is to be used, it must be applied evenly and consistently throughout the established pattern. The techniques are there and the poet learns how to use them. But they are tools in a tool box. The vision, the plan, the architect’s sketches, come from the poet and cannot be found among the tools.

What guides your choices when writing lyrical lines?

Lyrics sing. Or they aren’t lyrics. Lyrical lines hum in my head as I write. I smile, sometimes, at how good they sound. I frown, often, at a rough edge that stops me in mid-hum to wonder what I could possibly have been thinking when I wrote the line that way. When I walk down the hall from my office to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, I nearly always whistle. It’s an old habit that probably irritates others, but I can’t seem to stop. I almost never whistle the same tune. Some are old chestnuts from high school days; some are from musicals; some move as quickly as the cadence of my steps on productive mornings; some drag like funeral dirges on slow beginnings.

In other words, lyrical lines fit the mood, the time, the place, the tone of the poem. If my writing is excited by a child running through it, my lines will be peppy and short. If I’m inspired by the doves in our maple tree, my lyrical lines will coo gently and take their time revealing their meaning. My sense of purpose guides my selection of words and how they form the lines of my message.

Which children’s literature poets do you read today for inspiration?

First, a reader prospecting for good poetry should know that poetry is hard to sell in large printings and most publishers won’t deal with it. The amount of space allocated to poetry in a typical store is minimal and often represents collections by the best known names in our business. There’s certainly nothing wrong with reading the works of the most recognized writers of children’s poetry except that the menu, when limited only to the works of a dozen people or so, is limited to a small ensemble of voices out of the full choir out there singing their hearts out.

Anthologies give us an excellent opportunity to read samples of poems by poets whose names might be less widely known. The internet is providing wonderful opportunities to meet many poets simply by looking at their blogs and websites.

Renee La Tulippe is building a fine online collection of poems on video.

No Water River

Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell are creating a growing number of e-book anthologies.

Poetry Tag Time

Falling Down the Page and other good collections of poems have been edited by Georgia Heard.

Falling Down the Page

J. Patrick Lewis, our current Poet Laureate of Children’s Literature, introduces 200 poems about animals by poets all over the world for National Geographic.

Book of Animal Poetry

Lee Bennett Hopkins has set a record with 113 anthologies on a wide variety of subjects that feature numerous poets.

Sara Holbrook has recorded some of her excellent work.

YouTube

Thank you very much for inviting me to your blog!

David

Cowboys (Wordsong, 2012) is David L. Harrison’s latest book. Readers of all ages will find the poems about cowboys engaging and fun to read aloud. The illustrations by Dan Burr are filled with the movement of horses, cattle, and personable characters. Connecting the Dots is David’s blog. And I see that David posted a wonderful poem and comment yesterday at Poetry At Play.
Connecting the Dots
Poetry At Play

2011/12/28

Illustrators of Children’s Literature

A list of children’s literature illustrators, past to present, of note to study:

Edward Lear

John Tenniel

Richard Doyle

Hablot Browne

Edmund Evans

Walter Crane

Kate Greenaway

Randolph Caldecott

Beatrix Potter

Arthur Rackham

L. Leslie Brooke

Ernest Shepard

Howard Pyle

N. C. Wyeth

Jessie Willcox Smith

W. W. Denslow

Maxfield Parrish

William Nicholson

Wanda Gag

Virginia Lee Burton

Clement Hurd

Robert McCloskey

Esphyr Slobodkina

Lynd Ward

Leonard Weisgard

Ezra Jack Keats

Maurice Sendak
Uri Shulevitz
Eric Carle

Raymond Briggs
Chris Van Allsburg
David Macaulay
David Wiesner

Brian Selznick

Shaun Tan

2011/12/02

Buying Books

TAKE YOUR CHILD TO A BOOKSTORE DAY on December 3rd

http://takeyourchildtoabookstore.org/

AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION

http://www.bookweb.org/

THE SCHOOL COLLECTION/University of Illinois

http://www.library.illinois.edu/edx/awards.htm

JACKET FLAP

http://www.jacketflap.com/

2011/11/08

Story Map: Edge and Hope

In a conversation about books, I heard of a school librarian in a large American city who choses books that won’t draw complaints. With budgets being cut, she feels it is better to have books on school library shelves rather than spending her limited dollars on a book that then, must be removed because of an objection. The result is a “safer,” conflict-free world for school children readers. The thought being that the children will, at least, have books to read.

This library is opposed to the world the children are living in. Where are children going to find the book in order to read about themselves? Where are children going to find the book to ease their own struggle in real life? Where are children going to find the book that changes them into lifelong readers?

Katherine Paterson writes in The Invisible Child about children finding themselves in books. She discusses the idea that story characters need some internal struggle to reach readers in difficult situations. To satisfy the invisible child looking for identification, confirmation that he or she is not alone in the world. The invisible child being that one hidden from the surface glance that schools and acquaintances, or even, friends and family usually see on a daily basis.

What should a writer write today? The old wisdom is that you write the story that wants to be written. As writers, should we see the children around us today and write the story that needs to be written? How far should we push our characters? Should childhood in general be ratcheted up for an attention-grabbing narrative? If we consider Katherine Paterson’s book of essays, a small push may best meet that need for readers.

Write characters with an edge, not completely lost, but with a reason for hope. Give children some relief from the demanding, destructive world developing all around as society wrestles with a change. Comfort the invisible child, write for this child. Write with an edge and hope that is grounded somewhere in real life. Write for the child inside all of us and it will be chosen by a story-buying world still trying to find itself.

THE INVISIBLE CHILD: ON READING AND WRITING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN by Katherine Paterson (Dutton, 2001).

2011/11/01

All About Books

THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS

http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/childrens_literature_association_quarterly/

KIRKUS REVIEW

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/home/index.html

READING ROCKETS

http://www.readingrockets.org/

WEBSITES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS

http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=24

2011/09/26

Banned Books

BANNED BOOKS WEEK during last week of September

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

Recent examples of banned books:

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie, art by Ellen Forney (Little, Brown, 2007).

CRANK by Ellen Hopkins (Simon Pulse, 2004).

2011/07/21

Best Practices

Learning to Read

LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPRORIATE PRACTICES FOR YOUND CHILREN, by Susan B. Neuman, Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp (NAEYC, 2000).

STARTING OUT RIGHT: A GUIDE TO PROMOTING CHILREN’S READING SUCCESS by the National Research Council (National Academy Press, 1999).

2011/07/19

Summer Curriculum

Children’s literature and, especially, picture/story books expand a teacher’s curriculum and a parent and child’s world. Books, and the teachers and parents using the books, are a tremendous influence in the lives of children. Stories are the backbone of culture and in today’s times, present the most compelling way of anchoring children and families in society. Summer is a great time to visit the library and be role models for children in reading books. It is also a great time to make new family memories.

Picture book stories can spring from an author’s own memories, fictional stories woven together with pictures that connect with young children. Family Pictures can be used to show a parent a way to talk about family history. The book is excellent for teachers working with young children and with families in family literacy settings and efforts. Literacy activities for the child in a classroom setting and for the whole family in the home setting can expand into a whole summer curriculum. All the World presents another view of our place in the world for children and families to share. Liz Scanlon’s book is a Caldecott (Randolph Caldecott Medal) Honor Book.

FAMILY PICTURES CUADROS DE FAMILIA, story and pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza (Children’s Book Press, 1990).

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane Books, 2009).

In learning about nonfiction stories, children’s books are strong in focusing on the less well-known, intriguing facts of history and the stories that make people and events come alive. For example, if one wants to learn more about the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, two recent books come to mind. The first book was written by Buzz Aldrin, one of the astronauts on the initial moon-landing flight. The Brian Floca’s book, Moonshot, is a Sibert Medal (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award) Honor Book.

REACHING FOR THE MOON by Buzz Aldrin, pictures by Wendell Minor (HarperCollins, 2005).

MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11, story and pictures by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books, 2009).

Fictional middle grade and young adult books often use a real setting or a period in history to create a story around. The Gary Schmidt’s book is a Newbery (John Newbery Medal) Honor Book. The following two books represent only a couple of small windows of a huge library of wonderful books.

LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY by Gary D. Schmidt (Yearling, 2004).

ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic, 2002).

Books show the way for teachers and parents to ask open-ended questions for discussions about characters and conflicts in the stories.

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1. Ask children and family members to draw pictures about their family memories, events and world.

2. Create scrapbooks with family photographs, drawings, and written versions of family stories.

3. Share the creations at home and in classrooms.

4. How do the stories read relate to our lives today?