Tag Archives: Children’s Literature

Books, Children's services

Books about jealous new siblings!

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Passing this on from a library listserv:

“An author has written to me through one of my children’s book blogs and I am hoping to help him find children’s books about children who are jealous of the new baby in the family. I found a book called Geraldine’s Baby Brother on WorldCat, but do you know of any others? Books with non-human characters would be a plus for this author, but I’ll still take human characters as well. ”

Here were the suggestions offered; do you have others? Share them in the comments section!

Books, Children's services

Picture book suggestions for kids with disabilities

1 - Flickr - Pratham Books (6)
On a recent library listserve posting, a library person was asking for suggestions for a mom who wanted picture books to read with her daughter who has cerebral palsy and is using a walker. Several people chimed in with suggestions (library people are great at that!); so I thought you could use them in your own libraries, and am sharing them here.  If you have other suggestions, add them to the comments!
Let’s Talk about Extraordinary Friends, by Fred Rogers “How do you get to know someone in a wheelchair? Is it okay to ask questions when you see someone who is different from you?
Written for the child without special needs–the child with the questions–this book opens up a difficult subject to discussion. Mister Rogers challenges the stereotypes that often plague children with special needs and celebrates six children who are extraordinary friends. Share this book with all children–to spark communication, to attack the stigma, to bridge the gap between children with different abilities. Mister Rogers is the perfect person to write a book like this, with respect and the same gentleness that has characterized his television show for decades. “Rogers offers caring support and validation…Books that offer such honest reassurance are rare.”– Publishers Weekly”

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Communication, Programs

Apply for the 2018 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture

Writer and Poet Naomi Shihab Nye will deliver the
2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

(From ALSC)

Photo of Naomi Shihab Nye“A wise and lyrical observer, Naomi Shihab Nye consistently draws on her heritage and writing to attest to our shared humanity,” stated 2018 Arbuthnot Committee Chair Elizabeth Ramsey Bird.

The daughter of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Naomi Shihab Nye grew up in St. Louis, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas. The author and/or editor of more than 30 books for adults and children, her latest for young people, “The Turtle of Oman,” was chosen as a 2015 Notable Children’s Book by the ALA. She has received four Pushcart Prizes, was a National Book Award finalist, and has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, amongst her many honors.

The lecturer, announced annually during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits, may be an author, illustrator, editor, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, of any country, who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.  This paper is delivered as a lecture each April or May, and is subsequently published in “Children and Libraries,” the journal of ALSC.  Once the name is made public, institutions wishing to host the lecture may apply.  A library school, department of education in a college or university, or a public library system may be considered. Applications to host the 2018 lecture are now open. See below:
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Books, Resources

Book Suggestions for Autism Acceptance Month

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April is Autism Acceptance Month, and a great way to learn more about autism is through reading about the experiences of others.

This list from Read it Forward features six titles with a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. Some of the titles include:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
“This bestselling-novel has seen great success on Broadway after it was adapted for the stage in 2014. Haddon’s fifteen-year-old main character Christopher John Francis Boone knows all of the world’s capitals and prime numbers up to 7,057 but can’t stand to be touched and hates the color yellow. His well-ordered life goes off the rails when his neighbor’s dog is murdered, but Christopher sets off to solve the mystery, using—of course—logic.”

The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
“His unique book truly shines a light on what goes on inside an autistic brain; author Naoki Higashida was thirteen when he painstakingly penned this book—a collection of answers to frequently asked questions about autism, like “Why do people with Autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” and “Why don’t you make eye contact when you speak?” Brought to English translation by David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks) and his wife, this disarmingly honest read is illuminating and beautifully written.”

Make sure to check out this list of picture books compiled and reviewed by a school librarian! Some of her picks include:

Andy and his Yellow Frisbee by Mary Thompson
“I loved this subtle story of acceptance, probably because Sarah reminds me of my daughter. Between Sarah’s effort and Rose’s calm but protective wait-and-see, this story gently conveys to typical children that there is no magic formula for interacting with someone who is autistic.”

Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism by Laurie Lears, illustrated by Karen Ritz
“Ian’s Walk is a beautiful story with a simple plot, but one that conveys the complex sibling relationships inherent in special needs families. It’s an obvious story to share with siblings of autistic and special needs children (or even in support groups for such)”

National Autism Resources has several lists of children’s books to choose from, or check out this one from the nonprofit literacy group Books for Bay.

Find more suggestions for books and other publications from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network here.

Books, Resources

Six thousand digitized kid’s books are available to you!

5 Little PIgs

Check out this material from Open Culture!

“We can learn much about how a historical period viewed the abilities of its children by studying its children’s literature. Occupying a space somewhere between the purely didactic and the nonsensical, most children’s books published in the past few hundred years have attempted to find a line between the two poles, seeking a balance between entertainment and instruction. However, that line seems to move closer to one pole or another depending on the prevailing cultural sentiments of the time. And the very fact that children’s books were hardly published at all before the early 18th century tells us a lot about when and how modern ideas of childhood as a separate category of existence began….

Where the boundaries for kids’ literature had once been narrowly fixed by Latin grammar books and Pilgrim’s Progress, by the end of the 19th century, the influence of science fiction like Jules Verne’s, and of popular supernatural tales and poems, prepared the ground for comic books, YA dystopias, magician fiction, and dozens of other children’s literature genres we now take for granted, or—in increasingly large numbers—we buy to read for ourselves. Enter the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature here, where you can browse several categories, search for subjects, authors, titles, etc, see full-screen, zoomable images of book covers, download XML versions, and read all of the over 6,000 books in the collection with comfortable reader views. Find more classics in our collection, 800 Free eBooks for iPad, Kindle & Other Devices.”

(Read the rest of this article by clicking here!)