Journals round up

DONALDSON, Julia

Bromley, H. (2008). Let’s explore Stick man. Nursery World, 108 (4151). pp. 19-22.

KERR, Judith

Kerr, A. (2008, November 29). Worth a thousand words. Herald abc, pp. 8-9.
Cuttings file no 1191.

MULTICULTURAL BOOKS

Al-Hazza, T. C. & Bucher, K. (2008). Building Arab Americans’ cultural identity and acceptance with children’s literature. Reading Teacher, 62(3), pp. 210-219.

POETRY

Hampshire, V. (2008). Time for rhyme. Nursery World, 108 (4151), p. 23.

PUBLISHING

Kerven, R. (2008). The role of the Editor in the creation of a children’s novel. School Librarian, 56(4), pp. 201-202.

Wilson, K. (2008). Harry Potter and the increasing birth rate: an overview of the UK children’s book market. School Librarian, 56(4), pp. 203-204.

READING INITIATIVES

Gibbons, G. (2008). The campaign for the book. School Librarian 56(4), pp. 197-198.

SIMON, Francesca

Simon, F. (2008). Up to mischief with Horrid Henry. Newstories, October, p. 10.
Cuttings file no 1192.

SURVEYS OF CHILDREN’S READING

Maynard, S., Mackay, S. & Smyth, F. (2008). A survey of young people's reading in England: borrowing and choosing books. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 40(239), pp. 239-253.

Junior Education PLUS

The most recent edition of Junior Education PLUS has the following literature based articles:

Campbell, M. (2008). A light at the end of the tunnel. Junior Education PLUS, 32(12), pp. 15-17.
How picture books can lead children through an exciting multimedia journey, based on Anthony Browne's The Tunnel.

Thomas, H. (2008). In the frame. Junior Education PLUS, 32(12), pp. 24-25.
Using Blue Bailliett’s Chasing Vermeer, which has been described as a Da Vinci Code for kids, to put children’s detective skills to the test.

Also, on page 29 there are suggestions for December's National Year of Reading theme ("Write the future" - see yesterday's post) and on pages 58-59, reviews of favourite books by the guest editor's Year 6 class.

Comics

According to an article in today's Herald, sales of children's comic books have rocketed, despite the lure of modern hobbies and pastimes. Clever branding has meant new titles enjoying success are often TV tie-ins, such as Dr Who and In the Night Garden. These are found to be a good way of encouraging young children, especially boys, to read.

Children's writers' blog

If you're interested in how children's books are written, take a look at this blog written by a group of children's authors. It's called An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, subtitled "the ramblings of a few scattered authors...." and contributors include Anne Cassidy and Susan Price. There are also links to the authors' websites.

I was directed to this by the Wordpool newsletter - that's another good site with lots of reviews and advice on children's books.

National Year of Reading - December

We are almost at the end of the National Year of Reading. December's theme is “Write the future”, a celebration of all forms of writing. I've suggested 3 possible approached to this on our webpage and on leaflets in the Library. These are:

• What one person writes, others read and technology is bringing reading and writing closer together. Think about blogging, texting or creative writing with a futuristic theme. Investigate the language that new media has created, virtual reality and the future of communication. Think about immediacy in reporting versus thinking first.
• Pledge reading themed New Year’s resolutions. Tie in the end of the year with the season’s activities and get pupils to pledge to read more. Download “My 2009 reading resolutions” from the National Literacy Trust.
• “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin, polymath and statesman. (1706-1790)
  Get pupils to write about their own lives and their ambitions for the future, perhaps in a diary format. For this section, I've suggested some books to inspire them, from picture books to teenage novels. See our webpage for full details.

School libraries

Philip Pullman has warned a school in Derbyshire that it will become a "byword for philistinism and ignorance” if it closes its library, reports yesterday's Observer. He joins fellow author Alan Gibbons in a campaign to save the concept of reading for pleasure, including through school libraries. Gibbon's Campaign for the Book is described in a recent article, and if you are interested you can contact him through his website. He also has a blog - the latest posting asserts that Aberdeen city council is planning to make cuts to its Schools Library Service.

Horn Book

Here are some highlights of the November / December issue of the Horn Book Magazine - Vol 84 (6):

Greenstone, D. (2008). Ain’t I great! The problem with self-esteem, pp. 675-680.
A history of the concept of self-esteem and how books can promote it.

McDonnell, C. (2008). Safe passages, pp. 667-673.
What makes a good early-expert-reader book?

Roxburgh, S., Ruth, S. & Ferriter, B. (2008). When e- is for reading, pp. 633-643.
Three children’s book experts share their thoughts about the future of reading in a screen-based world.

Wynne-Jones, Tim. (2008). Tink and Wittgenstein: or, the correspondence between things, pp. 658-662.
Text of a talk ranging over philosophy, the meaning of language and Peter Pan.

Don't forget the Horn Book website where you can access some of the magazine's content, read the editor's blog, sign up for a monthly newsletter or subscribe to their podcast. The last email newsletter contained, for example, an interview with Mini Grey, author of Traction Man.