November 2007

Dear Fellow Book Lovers:

CELEBRATE & CONNECT: CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK & THANKSGIVING

Rise up Reading is the theme for the 2007 celebration of Children’s Book Week (November 12-18) sponsored by the Children’s Book Council. There are posters and promotional materials available on the CBC website (www.cbcbooks.org) which many libraries purchase to use in advertising their celebration of this special week. In addition to these materials, it’s always fun to encourage young readers to design their own promotional materials. What does Rise up Reading mean to them? Is it flying high with books? Is it growing up with books and reading? Is it a rally for reading? All of these ideas are connected to the term “rise up.” And, maybe readers want to rise up in support of books that have been challenged or banned. The interpretation of the theme is up for grabs. The important thing is to give children the opportunity to express their understanding of the theme. Give them a blank poster board and ask them to design a poster that expresses their idea of the meaning of the theme. Sponsor a poster session in the library where parents and other readers might view the work of the young artists.

Ask middle grade and teen readers to make a list of their favorite books from their preschool years. Have them share their books with one another and through consensus, make a list of 25 books that should be a part of every preschool child’s Rise up Reading experience. Books from Random House that might appear on such a list include:

• Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman; illustrated by Stephen Gammell
• The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen
• The Story of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff
• Petunia by Roger Duvoisin
• The Happy Lion Roars by Louise Fatio
• Anatole by Eve Titus
• Policeman Small by Lois Lenski
• Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
• Richard Scarry's Best First Book Ever! by Richard Scarry

• Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book by Richard Scarry

• If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss
• The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spie
• Noah's Ark by Peter Spier
• Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams

Public libraries may want to kick off the week with a Sunday afternoon celebration of family reading. Introduce parents to books like The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury and You Read to Me & I'll Read to You
selected by Janet Schulman.

Since November is also a time when families come together to celebrate Thanksgiving, ask readers to select a book that they would most want to take to grandmother’s house. Some may choose titles like Alida's Song and The Quilt by Gary Paulsen, Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White, and The Lucky Stone by Lucille Clifton. Maybe they will select a book that the entire family might “ rise up” and read together. Such books may include: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (a Hallmark Hall of Fame Special on CBS, Dec. 2), Whittington by Alan Armstrong and illustrated by S.D. Schindler, The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden and Illustrated by Garth Williams, and Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry. Suggest that families plan a time when everyone shares the first book they remember from their childhood. What do they remember most about the book? Did they read the book, or was it read aloud to them? This is an activity in which everyone, regardless of age, can participate. At this time, it becomes evident how Children’s Book Week and Thanksgiving connect.

You may email me at pscales@bellsouth.net.