Guest Blogger:

MARK SCOTT REPORTS FROM ACROSS THE POND

The Child and the Book-

Right now, I am in the middle of changing my life. This short sentence sounds so simple, but is loaded with personal hope. I have decided, at the age of 41 that I need a change in career after spending nigh on twenty years working for a great corporate beast. With the kids almost safely through university, I get a refreshing opportunity to scratch a huge itch that has been there for years. As such, I am currently studying for an MA in English Literature at Sheffield University (as well as working full-time!) as a stepping stone to my PhD which I shall start in about 18 months.

During my first two semesters, my studies have led to me to two Children’s Literature conferences – each amazingly different, and each fulfilling for different reasons. The first of these, in November last year, was the British IBBY conference held at Froebel College, University of Surrey at Roehampton; home also to the [British] National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature or NCRCL. The conference theme was time in children’s books, and the author list was impressive: Theresa Breslin (Remembrance), Joanna Gavin (Coram Boy), Philip Reeve (Dark Engines). The conference also provided the opportunity to announce that London will host 2012 world IBBY conference -
I hope to see some of you there!

Guest of honour for the 2006 conference was Philippa Pearce, and Puffin Books laid on a special reception for her; which included a great big cake! Their gift and the celebration were timely. Sadly, as many of you know, Philippa Pearce died in December last year. It is a lasting and fitting memorial to her seminal work ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ that it has been included in the Carnegie Medal all-time top ten, a public vote initiated to celebrate 75 years of the honour. Visit the Carnegie Medal site here to learn more (and to find out who won). While there, you will see some of the wonderful books that, over the years, have won the honour. For whom would you have voted? http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/home/index.php

The 2007 Carnegie Medal shortlist was extremely diverse. The list included Kevin Brooks’ ‘The Road of the Dead’, which I had just started reading when I last wrote my last blog for NCBLA. It is not an easy read, violent in places, and is a sort of thriller for teens; a progression of the theme he started with ‘Candy’ where one of the main protagonists is a teenage prostitute. Some of the British librarians (who vote for the Carnegie Medal) are not happy, calling it a ‘nasty’ book. I am not so sure it is nasty, difficult yes, and I cannot say I loved it. But, I think that Kevin Brooks’ short listing is probably in recognition of his impressive body of work, which he has produced in an amazingly short time.

By the way, to allay any fears you may have over the pond… to my knowledge none any other of the short-listed books has the word ‘scrotum’ in it at all – so I think you may be safe from this potential corrupting influence should you wish to read any of them.

The winner of the 2007 CILIP Carnegie Medal was Meg Rosoff for ‘Just in Case’. I’m not sure what I think about that to be honest. I am not a great fan of MR and simply didn’t get the hype over ‘How I Live Now’ but hey, that’s the wonder of books – we all like different things….

The second conference I attended, early in 2007, was ‘The Child and the Book’ held over two days at Bogazici University in Istanbul. The conference is primarily for research students and research groups specialising in books for children. But, more than this, it aims to bring together researchers from all over the world, rather than just from English speaking countries. It works! Indeed, I spent the first coffee break speaking to an academic who specialised in children’s books from the Basque Country, and then had a short chit-chat with Harry Potter’s Hebrew translator. The University sits on a steep hillside above the glittering Bosphorous, in the most beautiful location. Istanbul, the city that sits astride the confluence of Europe and Asia, is amazing, and the juxtaposition of these two influences provided a suitable backdrop to this eclectic conference whose theme was ‘Lost in Translation’.

I listened to papers on German science fiction novels, identity in British immigrant literature, the concept of time, female stereotyping in Pullman’s His Dark Materials (a very good paper delivered by a fiery student from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) and so on. One paper struck a chord with me, and I have thought about it ever since. Presented by an American scholar, her argument (and this is my paraphrasing) was that a child’s unfamiliarity with place and culture is an inhibitor to the reception of ‘foreign’ children’s books, and this is particularly the case for American children. This worried me somewhat. I wonder whether, indeed, this is the case?

By now, I guess you have all seen the film adaptation of Katherine’s ‘Bridge to Terabithia’. My first exposure to this was in of all places, India – a country I visit regularly as part of my [corporate] day job. Flicking through the local paper, I happened upon an advert for the film, in either Hindi or Marathi (I can’t speak either with any fluency, so I’m not sure.) In the midst of my hectic schedule, I could not find the time to go. How I would have loved to see this move playing in India, in a cinema filled with devout followers of Bollywood! And my mind wandered back to that paper I heard in Istanbul: how would these people in such a different country, with such different experiences, respond to Katherine’s story? And as I thought about it more, I concluded that - within this magical, vibrant land, home to millions of smiling, beautiful people, and the ultimate symbol of love, the Taj Mahal - they would probably love it. After all, the common themes we share through stories are those of family, friendship, imagination, love, joy and loss. These universal bonds connect us all in our world of children’s books and join us across our physical world.

Once, on a Nile cruise boat many years ago, a large colourful man, an archaeologist, stood up and thanked us all for visiting his beautiful country. “Remember,” he said (paraphrasing someone famous he had once heard, I think), “the reason we travel the world is not because of how different we are, but for how similar we are.” I like that.
With this in mind, I will end with a final scene from Istanbul.

My partner Steve and I sit having dinner in an old print works. A fire is burning in a small fireplace warming the chattering diners. A Turkish boy in his early teens comes in from the cold night. He is poorly dressed, his face stern; he clutches a large bunch of roses and walks amongst the tables offering them for sale to the seated couples. As he passes our table, our waiter reaches out, strokes the boy’s red cheek with the back of his hand, and looks directly at him. It is a simple and beautiful gesture, loaded with meaning. As clearly as if he were speaking out loud he is saying: “How are you? Are you okay?” The boy smiles and, barely perceptible in the darkened restaurant, nods his head.

The boy heads to the staircase that leads to another dining room, and rushes to help a waiter with a large tray and who is struggling with a closing door. The waiter thanks him with his own smile and the boy disappears upstairs. A few minutes later, he appears once more. As he passes, the boy briefly slips his arm around our waiter’s waist and nods. It is a gesture of parting; a reciprocated gesture of love and caring. In this world of ours, where crass assumptions run so deep, these two people have communicated so much without speaking a word. This boy, who probably has so little, finds friendship and kinship in this place. He is safe, he is known and he is cared about.

And as this trip draws to a close, in this building that once produced words; in a city that bridges Europe and Asia, modern and ancient: I am drawn back to the title of this piece. The child and the book, the book and the child – a place of trust, kinship and love – an image reflected in this scene. We all recognise this place; it is one we all wish for.

Harry Potter Roundup

Harry Potter books have been delivered to many books stores, stored away in boxes in deep security lest someone leak any tidbit prior to the official sale date next weekend. If you are feeling the pangs of Pottermania the media is awash in with information from Potterville, frivolous and serious:

TWO MUST READS!
Harry Potter and Young People's Literacy: Has Pottermania created lifelong readers?
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/07/09/in_end_potter_mag
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/books/11potter.html

An interesting article on Harry Potter's American Editor Arthur Levine and a follow-up online interview go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071002011.html?hpid=features1&hpv=national
and:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/10/DI2007071000566.html

For the ultimate Pottermania experience check out The Guardian's Speical Report at:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/harrypotter/0,,520918,00.html

What will be the next mega hit Potter-like book?
http://books.guardian.co.uk/harrypotter/story/0,,2101080,00.html

Saw the movie last night at midnight with my 18 year old son and a lively audience of high school and college students at out neighborhood cinema. It's dark and moody and all thought the screen writer had done good with the longest book of the series. Parents take note; it is not a movie for young children or even young elementary children.

Movie reviews:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/movies/10harr.html?ref=movies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/features/2007/hogwarts-hub/index.html

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=allBreakingNews&storyID=2007-07-10T212859Z_01_N10366703_RTRIDST_0_FILM-POTTER-PICTURE.XML

American Library Association Washington DC Conference 2007:The BUZZ

To get a taste of the atmosphere at ALA’s annual conference, dip into this pool of bloggers representing a wide range of viewpoints and experiences!
If you know of others blogging at ALA please feel free to add to the list.

Blogging ALA:
http://younglibrarian.blogspot.com/
http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.ala.org/aasl.php
http://www.libraryola.com/
http://www.eclecticlibrarian.net/blog/archives/000816.html
http://blogs.ala.org/yalsa.php?cat=24
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blogs.html
http://kmslibrary.wordpress.com/2007/06/22/at-ala-annual-in-washington-dc-day-1/
http://professionalteen.blogspot.com/
http://alreadygone.blogspot.com/
http://www.offsprung.com/pajamazon
http://www.popgoesthelibrary.com/2007/06/ala-dc.html
http://www.plablog.org/
http://murderati.typepad.com/murderati/2007/06/im-in-dc-this-w.html

Great Family Field Trip!
David Macaulay:
The Art of Drawing Architecture
at the National Building Museum
in Washington DC

Author, illustrator and NCBLA Board Member David Macaulay's illustration exhibits are as innovate, witty, and as educational as his books. His new exhibit in Washington DC at the National Building Museum features finished illustrations from his many publications, and also includes preliminary sketches and drawings that reveal his thinking and work process. The exhibit is laced with Macaulay's humor: hand drawn rats pop up on walls, tables are covered with fresh Macaulay drawings, and exhibited work also includes illustrations from Great Moments in Architecture and Motel of Mysteries, early books which use visual humor provocatively to ask larger cultural questions.

The exhibit is interactive for both kids and adults inviting participation, delighting the eye. And as all Macaulay books do, the exhibit challenges the viewer to look at the world from a variety of new perspectives.

The Art of Drawing Architecture
National Building Museum: June 23, 2007- January 21, 2008
Washington DC
For hours and directions and more information about the
National Building Museum go to: www.NBM.org

Sick Leave Apologies

Apologies to all: this blogger has been absent due to battling pneumonia.
Am on the mend so look for new postings!

Lloyd Chudley Alexander
January 30, 1924-May 17, 2007

Lloyd Alexander words on the importance of writing and reading fantasy:

When asked how to develop intelligence in young people, Einstein answered: "Read fairy tales. Then read more fairy tales." I can only add: Yes, and the sooner the better. Fairy tales and fantasies nourish the imagination. And imagination supports our whole intellectual and psychological economy. Not only in literature, music, and painting spring from the seedbed of imagination; but, as well, all the sciences, mathematics, philosophies, cosmologies. Without imagination, how could we have invented the wheel or the computer? Or toothpaste? Or nuclear weapons? Or speculate "What if—?" Or have any compassionate sense what it's like to live in another person's skin?

For me, writing fantasy for young people has surely been the most creative and liberating experience of my life. As a literary form, fantasy has let me express my own deepest feelings and attitudes about the world we're all obliged to live in.

A paradox? Creating worlds that never existed as a way to gain some kind of insight into a world that is very real indeed? The paradox is easily resolved. Whatever its surface ornamentation, fantasy that strives to reach the level of durable art deals with the bedrock of human emotions, conflicts, dilemmas, relationships. That is to say: the realities of life.

As adults, we know that life is a tough piece of business. Sometimes the most heroic thing we can do is get out of bed in the morning. I think it's just as tough for young people. On an emotional level, a child's anguish and a child's joy are as intense as our own. Young people recognize their own inner lives while they journey through a world completely imaginary.

I don't mean to imply that works of realism haven't the same profound effect on young readers. Of course they do. More often than not, however, realism tends to deal with material of immediate, current interest; with, to use a word much overused, what is relevant. All well and good. But there's a difference between what is relevant and what is merely topical. The topical goes away after a while, to be replaced by the next fashionable subject; the newest literary disease of the month, as it were. The best fantasy it seems to me, is permanently relevant. Because it deals metaphorically with basic human situations, it always has something to say to us. Also, I think that fantasy offers a certain vividness and high spiritedness unique to itself. We shouldn't underestimate the value of sheer fun, delight, and excitement. In any art, boredom is not a virtue.

Dealing with the impossible, fantasy can show us what may be really possible. If there is grief, there is the possibility of consolation; if hurt, the possibility of healing; and above all, the curative power of hope. If fantasy speaks to us as we are, it also speaks to us as we might be.

From the Children's Book Council Magazine archives:
http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/index.html

Read more about Lloyd Alexander's life and work, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051702371.html

Teachers and parent resources for Lloyd Alexander
and his many wonderful books:
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/alexander.htm

Hurrah for Al Roker- Literacy Hero!

Al Roker,of NBC's Today Show has started a on-air book club for young readers that will continue through the summer. Young people's books rarely receive media coverage; educational issues in general have fallen of the nation's media screen. We applaud NBC and Roker and hope the book club continues past summer. Watch Roker's kid's club when it airs ---watch it with the kids in your life. And take notice of Roker's selections. It will be interesting to see if all the books suggestions are Scholastic publications for it appears that Scholastic is sponsoring the book club segment. We hope that the book club exceeds the commercial interests of Scholastic publications and promotes kids reading many great books this summer not just the great books from Scholastic.

Newsweek Magazine also features kid's book clubs in an article of interest: Key quote:
“The more cool reading is, the better,” says Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted. "Reading starts to fall off in middle school and in high school. If you can find a means to keep those kids reading, to rope them back in, to make reading part of their social world, then a book club has really done something fabulous.”

Actually reading starts to fall off by age 8-9. Parents stop reading aloud to kids when they perceive that their kids have become independent readers---about the ages 8-9.
Hhhhmmmm, could there be a connection?

Read more:
Al Roker Book Club: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18179145/

Newsweek book club article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18602858/site/newsweek/

Help your kids start their own book club this summer! Need help? Go to:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/articles/bookclubs/main.html

http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/BookClubs.cfm

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=67