Anonymous paper sculpture in support of libraries

16 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in Helping Hands, News Tags: , , ,

Friend Margriet Ruurs alerted me to an article in The Guardian about these anonymously created paper sculptures left for libraries and book festivals in the UK.  What a wonderful idea.  They are beautiful, delicate, and amazingly creative works of art created from books about books and their importance in our world.  Here’s a pic of my favorite.

“The cup on the top has a swirl of words which read ” Nothing beats a nice cup of tea (or coffee) and a really good BOOK”

The other sculptures are just as cool, so be sure to check out The Guardian article with photos.  What a creative soul.  So the challenge is, come on Canada (especially Toronto where they want to  privatize libraries) lets get creative about our support for books and libararies!.

Gatekeepers and Quiet Censorship

15 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in For Educators, For Parents, Help for writers, News, Worthy Causes Tags: , , , ,

Publisher Weekly and their various blogs are  a wonderful resource for writers and readers.  Today  in PW Genreville, I came across a most interesting article written by a couple of co-authors about an agent’s rejection.  This, however, wasn’t the usual “no thanks” letter.  In fact, Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith were offered representation, but only if they would nix the gay character in their novel or make him straight and remove all references to his sexual orientation.  This was a “line drawn in the sand” issue for both authors who declined the offer.  It was a serious enough issue that they decided to take it further with the above mentioned article.  To be clear, these two published authors were not dissing the agent.  After all, agents have to make a living, and their personal tastes did not enter into their offer.  What the authors are saying though, is that this kind of gatekeeping is really not acceptable.

FYI, I’ve posted the comment I left at PW Genreville below.  If you feel as strongly about quiet censorship and gatekeeping as I do, or as strongly as Manija Brown and Smith do, then you may want to weight in too, either here, or at PW Genreville.

I haven’t written anything thus far with gay characters, but I have noticed this kind of silent censorship lately and I find it particularly disturbing.  Kids and teens need to be able to see themselves reflected in literature for a variety of reasons, many of which have been discussed as a result of the sweeping “darkness of young adult literature” generalization that was debated recently re: Wall Street Journal article.  The bizarre need to whitewash literature is nothing new, but what is particularly insidious is that now, books may not even make it to publishers much less onto bookshelves.  I hope you not only find an agent to sell your story, but a publisher who is willing to risk the wrath of a few narrow minded people in order to provide kids and teens with the literature they want and deserve to have access to if they so choose.

Dr. Seuss vs. Madonna: Can Celebrities Write Good Children’s Books? – The Atlantic

15 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in For Educators, For Parents Tags:

I’ve blogged about the whole celebrities writing kids book thing before, but this is a nice overview of why celebrity authors keep dropping into the kids book world, and why they aren’t usually successful.  Dr. Seuss vs. Madonna: Can Celebrities Write Good Children’s Books? – The Atlantic.

Motherhood, books and sleep

14 Sep 2011 4 Comments

by sherylbooks in Award News, For Parents Tags: , , , , , ,

Once again, my hat is off to Betsy Bird over at A Fuse #8 Production and here’s why.  She has managed to put together a lovely list of possible contenders for both the 2012 Newbery and Caldecott Awards.  So why is that such a big deal?  She does it every year, right?

Yes, but this year is different.  This year, Ms. Bird became a new mom.

Now, I don’t want to disparage motherhood.  There is probably nothing in the world more important to me than my three lovely daughters. But, that first year of motherhood came closer than anything I’ve experienced before or since to turning my brain into mush. It’s important that you understand that I have been a big big reader since I was about 13…EXCEPT during my first year of motherhood.  That year, my number one spare-time goal was sleep.  I longed for it.  I fantasized about it.  I daydreamed about. And when I could, I stole away and gave myself up to it with utter and complete abandon.  If I finished a book that year, I don’t remember it.  I don’t remember a single solitary title.  I know I read to my baby.  I know I bought books.  I know I checked out books for both myself and my daughter from the library.  But I don’t remember what they were or if I or she enjoyed them.

Of course, one adapts.  It took me about a year, but I learned to manage with less sleep.  I learned to grab a little shut-eye whenever my little girl (who detested day-time naps almost as much as she hated sleeping at night) dropped off.  In time, I functioned so well that you’d barely know I was sleep-deprived (tips for new moms: micro naps are a must and concealer is your new best friend).  Now I know that not all little ones were like my first. Some children actually do nap. Some go to bed at heavenly times in the evening.  And some even sleep all night. Fortunately, my second and third daughters were sleepers.  But as often as not, I hear from young moms that they are dead tired.  You may have heard the term “mommy brain syndrome” which loosely translates into sleep-deprived moms (although I suppose that sleep-deprived dads can also have “mommy brain syndrome”).

So, today when I checked in on A Fuse #8 Production, I was delighted, absolutely impressed and only mildly jealous, to see that Betsy Bird is still reading up a storm.  Furthermore, she not only remembers books read months ago, she is actually able to comment intelligently on them.  I can only marvel.

For those of you who have children who are good sleepers,  appreciate your good fortune.  And for those of you who suffer from sleep-deprived “mommy brain,” let me assure you that it doesn’t last forever.  My little darling grew into a book-loving 30 year old who has finally learned the joy of naps and early nights.  I just wish she would have learned it a little sooner.

What writers do when they aren’t writing: another installment

14 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by sherylbooks in Writing Life Tags: , , , ,

Went for a beautiful paddle up Finlayson Arm out of Brentwood Bay on Saturday to celebrate my friend Trish’s birthday.  Brentwood Bay is less than a half hour from Victoria, but it’s such a beautiful spot.  We rented kayaks through Pacifica  right on the dock for a five hour paddle that included lunch and a guide.  It  turns out our guide, Ali is on our dragon boat  team, so we had an absolutely wonderful day.  We paddled through oodles of fist-sized white jellyfish and a few of these bigger pink guys pictured below.  Too bad we didn’t have a fishing rod because there were lots of fish jumping.  We passed a mystery staircase that leads to nowhere and was apparently built for a movie set well before I was born and no, I’m telling you when that was!  We stopped at Spectacle Falls for lunch and a swim.  The water was gorgeous and the swim was pretty much essential to work off the delicious lunch provided by Pacifica.  I think we’ll try this trip again next spring when the waterfall is more than a  trickle.  The paddle home was not quite as leisurely but no less beautiful.  Thanks Ali for taking all the lovely photos.

Trish, Me, & Ali Finlayson Arm

   

Getting Graphic: Effective Literacy Learning with Comics & Graphic Literature

13 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in For Educators

This will be a great program for educators: BC Provincial Pro-D Day ̶ Friday, October 21, 2011

BCLCIRA and LOMCIRA invite you to: Getting Graphic: Effective Literacy Learning with Comics & Graphic Literature

In today’s multimedia world, students must read and navigate literature in many forms. The ability to un- derstand and utilize visually presented information is essential for learning in and out of school. Comics and Graphic Literature offer opportunities to combine the teaching of reading and the use of visual and critical lit- eracy skills in a way that fosters a love of reading. Participants of this conference will leave with strategies they can readily implement when they return to their classrooms.

Our Presenters for this Event

Dr. Margot Filipenko, Senior Instructor, University of British Columbia, will focus on strategies for reading, comprehending and interpreting visual texts using roles developed for literature circles with graphic literature at the primary and intermediate levels.

Kathie Shoemaker, Author/Illustrator, will address the process of creating graphic literature.

Jo-Anne Naslund, Instructional Programs Librarian, University of British Columbia, will address the criteria for the selection and evaluation of graphic literature for teaching purposes and independent reading.

Getting Graphic

Where: Executive Hotel: 4201 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby (close to Skytrain Station at Gilmore & Lougheed Highway) Limited Pay Parking

Agenda:

8:00 to 8:30 8:30 to 8:45 8:45 to 10:30 10:30 – 11:00 10:30 to 12:15 12:15 to 12:30

Registration & Publishers’ Exhibits (tea & coffee will be served) Welcome & Introductions Presentations Break (tea, coffee & snack will be served)

Presentations Closure & Prizes

Audience: Elementary and middle-school teachers, curriculum specialists, ESL and support teachers, resource teachers, teacher-librarians, counsellors, administrators, literacy mentors, pre-service teachers, university instructors.

See over for registration information …

Registration Information Registration deadline is Friday, October 14, 2011.

Seating is limited, so please take advantage of our Early Bird Special ̶ and register early! For contact informa- tion, visit our BCLCIRA website: http://www.readingbc.ca

Out-of-town registrants are being offered a special rate for a standard room at the Executive Hotel. This offer can be accessed by e-mailing daryl@executivehotels.net.Your ID Booking number is: 10617. Please note that this offer is based on availability, so you’ll want to book early!

Registration is activated upon receipt of cheque. Receipts will be available during registration at the conference. Please send your cheque made payable to BCLCIRA to: Ken Cooper, 6730 Cougar Court, Delta, BC, V4E 2Y5. Note: Cancellation fee is $10. No refunds will be issued after Oct. 14, 2011. NSF cheques will be charged $20.

Registration for IRA & LOMCIRA Members ($35) Registration & cheque must be received no later than October 14, 2011

Name ________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________ Council Affiliation (IRA, LOMCIRA, CINCIRA, VCIRA) Phone ___________________________ School District _________________________ E-mail ________________________________________

Registration & cheque must be received no later than October 14, 2011

Name _________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________________________________ Phone ___________________________ School District _________________________ E-mail ________________________________________ Please attach cheque for $50 payable to BCLCIRA.

Special Early Bird Special for Members & Non-Members ($35) Registration & cheque must be received no later than September 16, 2011

Name _________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________ Phone ___________________________ School District _________________________ E-mail ________________________________________

Please attach cheque for $35 payable to BCLCIRA. Registration for Non-Members ($50)


Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable with John Nedwidek

10 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in For Educators, For Parents, News Tags: , , ,

***If you are interested in children’s literature and you want to meet some friendly faces, The Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable is a good place to start***

John Nedwidek

Monday Sept. 19th, 7:30 pm

at the Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable

 John Nedwidek is a designer, illustrator and first-time author from Victoria. John will read his children’s book “Ducks Don’t Wear Socks” and other tales, including “Cheese Louise” and “I Thought I Was 10,” and talk about how he creates his stories. He will also show sketches and illustrations, talk about how the Duck book came to be and his efforts to get a second book on the shelves.

The VCLR is open to the public. Members free, drop-ins $5, students $4. Meetings are held at the Nellie McClung Branch Library, 3950 Cedar Hill Road. Come early and browse Tall Tales Books’ table, and bring a friend! Doors open at 7 pm.

For more information about the Roundtable, call 250-598-3694 or visit:

www.victoriachildrensliteratureroundtable.blogspot.com.

Jeremy Tankard and the Oprah Connection

09 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in Award News, For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, News Tags: , , , , ,

I have to admit that I’ve never been a big Oprah follower, possibly because daytime television has never been my thing.  I know, I know, she’s got her own magazine and now her own network, but I suspect that much of her popularity developed as a result of her talk show with her fans following her into various other media.  Of course I took note of the books on her Book Club list but I had no idea she had an interest in books for kids and teens. But, when I heard that one of my favorite author/illustrators, Jeremy Tankard’s Boo Hoo Bird landed on one of Oprah’s recommended reading lists for kids, I knew I had to check it out.   So, if like me, you haven’t been an Oprah follower, take a boo at Oprah’s kids’ reading lists.  You won’t see all of your favorites there, but I promise you, you’ll be impressed.  Oprah’s pages include: lists of  new and classics books for various ages, lists of books for boys, a list of historical books for kids, a list  with the 2010 Caldecott and Newbery Award winners, a list of  what First Lady Michelle Obama has been reading to children, and even a list of books you may want to steel from your teens.

08 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in News Tags: , ,

These are just of few of the several hundred books I’ll be donating to the Galiano Island Library in celebration of International Literacy Day. How are you celebrating this important day?

September 8 is International Literacy Day

08 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by sherylbooks in For Educators, For Kids, For Parents, Helping Hands, News, Worthy Causes Tags: , , , , , ,

Happy International Literacy Day! Today is a great day to celebrate literacy, but also to reflect on the riches that being literate has brought to each of us, our families and our communities.  Of course it’s a great day for those of us who want to celebrate, but what about the one in five adults who aren’t literate?  And what about the 67.4 million children who don’t have the chance to attend school?  There are so many ways to support literacy in your community with programs like “Raise a Reader”, nationally through organizations like ABC Life Literacy Canada, Literacy USA and internationally via UNESCO and CODE.   If we all do a small part to give others a chance to celebrate life with literacy, we’ll make our world a better place.

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