Picture Book Review: The Wall, by Peter Sis

Bibliographic Information:
Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind The Iron Curtain. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.

ISBN-13: 978-0374347017

Summary:

Peter Sis recounts growing up in Cold War-era Czechoslovakia in a mix of pictures, text, and excerpts from his childhood journals.  As a child, he loved to draw, and drew anything that he wanted.  As he grew older and started school, he learned to draw only what he was told, before he learned to question what he was told and started drawing the things he wanted to draw again.  This simple story is interwoven with the much more complex recounting of the political situation in Prague and the world, from the end of World War II to the Prague Summer to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

 Audience:

Grades 3-7

Strengths:

Lots of information
Can be read on many different levels
Excellent use of color as symbolism

Weaknesses:

Too complex for younger readers, while older readers may be turned off by the picture book format
Lots of things happening on every page
Not well suited for read-alouds

Uses:

This book would be great used in history lessons on the time period, especially since schools tend to gloss over life in Soviet Bloc countries outside of Germany.  It would work as an excellent introduction for younger students, as it talks about day to day life, not just the politics - although it covers that as well.  It could also be used as part of introductory lessons on communism and the cold war, more specifically.  It could also be used as an examination of the idea of censorship for younger kids, as part of a unit in an English class for example.

Read-alikes:
Dr. Seuss. The Butter Battle Book. New York: Random House, 1984.
Hesse, Karen. The Cats in Krasinski Square. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004.
Hoestlandt, Jo. Star of Fear, Star of Hope. New York: Walker, 1995.
Raven, Margot Theis. Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot. Chelsea: Sleeping Bear Press, 2002.

Awards:
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2008 Winner Nonfiction United States
Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 2007 Winner Best Nonfiction Treatment of a Subject United States
Cybil Award, 2007 Finalist Non-fiction (Middle Grade and Young Adult) United States
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year, 2007 Winner United States
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2008 Recommended Book United States
Randolph Caldecott Medal, 2008 Honor Book United States
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2008 Winner United States

(award info from the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Early Reader Review: Little Bear, by Else Homelund Minarik

Bibliographic Information:
Minarik, Else Homelund. Little Bear. New York: HarperCollins, 1957.  Illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

ISBN-13: 978-0064440042

Summary:
Little Bear, written by Else Homelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, is one of the classics of the Early Reader genre. In this set of four related short stories, Little Bear prepares to play in the snow, makes "birthday soup", tries to visit the moon, and asks his mother to tell him a bedtime story. Sendak's classic illustrations flow well with the text and help to illustrate why the Little Bear stories have endured through the decades.

Audience:
Grades K-3

Strengths:
Print is large, with plenty of space between sentences
Illustrations and words work well together to give context clues
Lots of repetition of key words
Uses short words and sentences
Each sentence starts on a new line

Weaknesses:
May be a bit slow or dated for modern children
Four separate stories may be confusing, especially when Little Bear's friends only show up in the second story and never before or after

Uses:
This early reader can be used for children to learn new words and get practice in seeing them multiple times.  Relatedly, early readers are good for learning how to read in general, as the repetition, use of short words and amount of white space makes it easy for children to focus on just the words and understand what's going on.  This is aided by having pictures on every page that illustrate what is happening in the written section, so that the words and pictures work together to help children understand what is going on on the page.

Read-alikes:
Lobel, Arnold. Frog & Toad are Friends. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.
Minarik, Else Homelund. Father Bear Comes Home. New York: HarperCollins, 1959.
Minarik, Else Homelund. Little Bear's Friend. New York: HarperCollins, 1960.
Minarik, Else Homelund. Little Bear's Visit. New York: HarperCollins,1961.
Minarik, Else Homelund. A Kiss for Little Bear. New York: HarperCollins, 1968.

Awards:
ALA Notable Children's Book

Blog Review: Abby the Librarian

Abby the Librarian, http://www.abbythelibrarian.com, is a blog run by Abby Johnson, a children's librarian in Indiana. As she explains, her blog aims to give an idea of the day to day life of a children's librarian, as well as ideas for programming: "I'm also a firm believer that all librarians benefit from the sharing of program ideas, program outlines, and general posts about how things are done at different libraries. I try to give you a slice of life at my library here." She also reviews children's books.

Audience:
The audience for this blog is other children's librarians as well as students who are aspiring to become children's librarians.

Strengths:
Offers varied content
Well-written and informative
Lots of good ideas for all levels of librarianship, from beginners to the experienced librarian

Weaknesses:
It can be difficult to find what one is looking for, especially if one can't remember how it was tagged
Some of the tags are not descriptive enough
Some of the content is a bit thin

Uses:
One really good use for this blog is for students in library schools, especially those who want to become children's or young adult librarians, to get an idea of the day to day life of a children's librarian, something that can be very hard to envision from a classroom. These posts are tagged as "day in the life." The "So You Want to be a Librarian" tab also contains many useful sources on this topic. Another good use for this blog is for current children's librarians, especially those who are just starting out - Abby provides many idea for programming, collection development, and staff development. She also reviews materials with an eye toward children's services (although this is currently suspended, until after the voting for the 2015 Newberry).

Similar Blogs:
Some other blogs that might be of interest to those who like Abby the Librarian are The Adventures of Library Girl and Confessions of a Real Librarian.
A great resource for these and other blogs is the KidLit Blogosphere, which is a curated listing of blogs that focus on children's and young adult's services and materials, including blogs written by authors, illustrators, publishers, and editors as well as those blogging about the field as a whole. Another interesting place to look is Salem Press's list of Quirky Library Blogs. This blog list does not focus on children's services, but several of the blogs listed are focused on children's and young adult resources and services.

Awards:
Abby was recently named a member of the 2015 Newberry committee and was one of the 2011 ALA Emerging Leaders.  The blog itself has not won any awards.