The Infinite Library

I love libraries large and small.  Tiny rural libraries as well as marble-fronted university libraries.  Since I grew up in a place and time without library access, I have a deep love a appreciation for physical libraries.   

As a researcher, I’ve had the rare privilege to use amazing libraries such as the Fred. W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington, Harvard University, Boston Athenaeum, and Columbia University.  Nothing can take the place of actually seeing historic documents.  But research trips cost a lot of money so it isn’t always possible to travel to do library research.  Publishers do not pay the expenses for authors as they travel to do research--Gasp!  That might come as a surprise for new authors at the beginning of their careers.  Nope. You are on your own, kiddies.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t access the information you need.  Fortunately today, great libraries have made research possible by putting primary source documents online.   It is truly amazing the types of primary sources you can access from your computer, anytime and anywhere.   In a matter of seconds, while sitting on my porch, I can access documents such as the patent for the Wright brothers’ plane, or letters written by George Washington, and see actual footage of the D Day landing.  I love it! 

With so many primary source documents online today, you can do first class research from anywhere!

Today via the Internet we have access to unlimited information.  What do you want to find out?

Carla Killough McClafferty

Teen Read Week! Poetry Friday!

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Howdy Campers and happy Poetry Friday!

Thanks to Cathy of MerelyDayByDay for hosting today!

(My own poem's below.) 

And did you know that October 13-19, 2013 is Teen Read Week?

Neither did I, until Carmela, who is always on top of things, pointed it out.

Teen Read Week is an initiative of Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), which is part of the American Library Association.

Launched in 1998, Teen Read Week is celebrated annually during the third full week in October. Aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults, the continuing message of the Teen Read Week initiative is to encourage 12- to 18-year-olds to "Read for the Fun of It." The 2013 sub-theme is Seek the Unknown @ your library.  Check out the FAQs here.

Help raise awareness about Teen Read Week and library services for teens here.

Can I be totally honest here?  Yes, I think I can.  I'm out of steam this week, I have only air-popped popcorn for brains right now...

so the only thing I can think to say about Teen Read Week is that teens today are LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY that they have so much wonderful literature to read...and that it's FREE at their local library.  (Never fear--my fellow bloggers will have lots to say about it in the next few days--stay tuned!)

Hooray for librarians in buses, bookmobiles and buildings small and tall, in towns and fields, malls and halls, for offering teens, 'tweens, kings and queens fine literature to have, to hold, to devour!  

 This is a medal for all librarians.

I was thinking about the theme Seek the Unknown @ your library.  Here's a poem from my teen novel in poems, Girl Coming in for a Landing, illustrated (in collage!) by Elaine Clayton (Knopf) that sorta-kinda fits the theme:

IMPRINTING
by April Halprin Wayland

Today Mr. C told us
about this scientist who pushed a vacuum cleaner
past a brood of ducklings
just as they were hatching
and how after that,
those ducklings followed the vacuum cleaner 
everywhere--
nearly glued to it.

Imprinting, he called it.

Which made me think
about last year
that first day of school
and how
I must have been
hatching
just as Carlo
walked past.
(c) April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

Here's the URL of the SHORT video of baby ducks following the guy, which hopefully, you can see below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk5ogma8aZg 

But it keeps crashing, so just go to YouTube and look up all the videos using the key words,
"baby ducks following" and watch those baby ducks go!


Posted by April Halprin Wayland who is grateful for the free photos of the popcorn and the medal from MorgueFile.com

How Do You Use Your Library Card?

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. To celebrate, the American Library Association has provided a list of 52 Ways to Use Your Library Card. Number one on the list is to get to know your librarian, which strikes me as an excellent idea. Librarians are among the most knowledgeable and helpful people I know.

I make regular trips to the library, both for work and for entertainment. I enjoy searching the catalog online, reserving books from other libraries in the system, and picking them up at my local library. Since I discovered caterpillars on the milkweed plants in our yard this summer, I've been researching monarch butterflies, and I've checked out lots of books.

I found a few more intriguing uses for a library card.

22. Trek to another planet in a Sci-Fi novel.
30. See a new art exhibit.
52. Read a newspaper from another country.

A couple more practical ideas on the list also appealed to me.

32. Find a new recipe. Right now, the garden is providing us with plenty of tomatoes and other fresh vegetables. The library has a huge selection of cookbooks to browse through and experiment with. I enjoy cooking, and I could use some new ideas.

45. Learn about home improvement. After our sons left for college, we emptied out one bedroom, hung drywall to cover the ugly old ceiling, mudded the joints (a process I found surprisingly similar to frosting a layer cake except with my fingers), sanded, installed crown molding, and started painting. I'm enjoying the chance to spend time together (school starts soon!), even during our many trips to the hardware store. Next we plan to install new sliding closet doors.

After we finish this project, I'll have to try out some new recipes. Maybe I'll invite a librarian for dinner.

JoAnn Early Macken

More About Favorite Childhood Books plus Teaching Authors at ALA

A few readers have written to share their favorite childhood books. Sarah mentioned Mama, Buy Me a China Doll; Free to Be You and Me; Pickle Chiffon Pie; Harriet The Spy; and The All-of-a-Kind-Family. Cynthia’s list included the Oz books, National Velvet, E. Nesbit’s Five Children trilogy, and Louisa May Alcott’s Jack and Jill. Pamanmat remembered Nancy Drew, Archie comic books, and Great Expectations. What special books do you remember from your childhood or teen years? We’d love to hear about them!

Out and About

Several Teaching Authors will be at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago next month.

Esther Hershenhorn will be at the SCBWI-Illinois Booth, #1626, on Saturday, July 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., promoting her new book S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet, out this September with Sleeping Bear Press. The booth promotes Illinois authors and illustrators. SCBWI members, please stop by and say “Howdy!”

JoAnn Early Macken will be speaking on Sunday, July 12, on a panel of nonfiction authors called “Nonfiction Book Blast! Booktalks Your Reluctant Readers Can’t Resist.” Seventeen authors and a moderator will present booktalks librarians can use to interest young readers in nonfiction. The panel appears from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Convention Center Room W181 (Level 1 of the West Building). Participating authors and their books include:

• Lisa Rondinelli Albert, Stephenie Meyer: Author of the Twilight Saga (Enslow, 2009), So You Want to Be a Film or TV Actor (Enslow, 2008)

• Mary Bowman-Kruhm, The Leakeys: A Biography (Prometheus Books, 2009)

• Laura Crawford, In Arctic Waters (Sylvan Dell Publishing), The Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving From A to Z (Pelican Publishing), Postcards From Chicago (Raven Tree Press)

• Jeri Chase Ferris, With Open Hands: The Story of Biddy Mason (Lerner), Arctic Explorer: Matthew Henson (Lerner)

• Kelly Milner Halls, Dinosaur Parade (Lark/Sterling Publishers, 2008), Saving the Baghdad Zoo (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 2009), Tales of the Cryptids (Darby Creek Publishing, 2006)

• Amy S. Hansen, Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter (Boyds Mills Press, 2010), Touch the Earth (NASA and NFB, 2009)

• Gwendolyn Hooks, Makers and Takers (Rourke Publishing, 2008)

• Katherine L. House, Lighthouses for Kids: History, Science, and Lore with 21 Activities (Chicago Review Press, 2008)

• Patricia K. Kummer, The Great Barrier Reef (Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2009), The Great Lakes (Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2009), North Korea, and South Korea (Scholastic/Children's Press, 2008)

• Suzanne Lieurance, The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and Sweatshop Reform in American History (Enslow)

• JoAnn Early Macken, Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (Holiday House, 2008)

• Carla Killough McClafferty, In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)

• Wendie Old, The Halloween Book of Facts and Fun (Albert Whitman), The Groundhog Day Book of Facts and Fun (Albert Whitman)

• April Pulley Sayre, Honk, Honk, Goose: Canada Geese Start a Family (Henry Holt, 2009)

• Anastasia Suen, Wired (Charlesbridge, 2007), The U.S. Supreme Court (Picture Window Books)

• Christine Taylor-Butler, Sacred Mountain: Everest (Lee and Low Books, 2009)

• Rebecca Hogue Wojahn and Donald Wojahn, Follow That Food Chain (Lerner, 2009)

Library media specialist Sharon Mitchell will be the panel moderator. Hope to see you there!

The authors have also collaborated to produce a wiki (Nonfiction Book Blast) that includes all the booktalks, searchable by title, author, subject, and intended age level. The front page includes links to the authors’ web sites. After the conference, other authors, librarians, and interested readers can add booktalks of their own. Check it out!

JoAnn Early Macken will be autographing Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move at the Holiday House Booth, #2138 in the West Building, from 1:00-1:30 p.m.

April Halprin Wayland and Carmela Martino will also be strolling through the convention center and exploring exhibits. Watch for them, and be sure to say hello!

So, What's Life Got to Do With It Anyway? by Esther Hershenhorn

The above title’s question is a variation of this week’s Ask the TeachingAuthors question, "What’s the connection between Life and Fiction?”

My answer?

Real Life works its way into our writing and words, invited or not, intentionally or otherwise.
And how could it not? We’re reservoirs of life events, memories, emotions, collectors of people, places and things.

Sometimes, Life serves up a story on a silver platter, as in my picture book Fancy That, when a chance meeting with a modern-day folk artist sparked a story idea. Steven Shelton’s Craft Show booth sign “Limner and Fancy Painter” drew my interest. Further questioning revealed the young artist was traveling America, living the life of a 19th-century itinerant sign and portrait painter! I could feel my heart quicken, my Writer’s brain spin, as I hurriedly scribbled down Steven’s every comment. I knew I’d found my very next book.

And other times? Other times, as in my picture book Chicken Soup by Heart, loved ones surprised me, showing up in a character’s actions, voice or word choice even. My character Rudie Dinkins’ after-school baby-sitter Mrs. Gittel cooks up the World’s Best Chicken Soup and offers up a liver spot count-along, as did my son’s maternal Philadelphia Grandmom; Mrs. Gittel calls Rudie “Boychick” and lets him win at cards, just like my son’s paternal poker-playing Florida Nana.

Whenever I’m reading, the writer in me, ever-curious, wonders about the story’s spark. Was it a Real Life happening? A memory? A What if? I encourage all writers to do the same.

Discovering a supposition’s accuracy is easy. Simply Google the author’s name and book title, adding the words “interview with…”

Or, visit author websites and blogs to learn a book’s story spark or back-story.

Doing the above, I learned the back-story of author-illustrator Marla Frazee’s A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Harcourt), a glorious tongue-in-cheek travel journal that celebrates friendship, summer, the great outdoors and grandparents. Wanting to thank her son James’ friend Eamon’s grandparents for the lovely vacation they’d given James, Frazee chose to write the thank you note as a small book, illustrated by James and Eamon. Eamon’s mom, it turns out, was none other than Allyn Johnson, Frazee’s then Harcourt editor. Armed with Johnson’s encouragement, Frazee began to develop the story idea to see if it could become a book.

I’m happy to report: three of Frazee’s pencil and gouache images from the 2009 Caldecott Honor book currently hang in Gallery 10 and the Vitale Family Room of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Kraft Education Center, part of a must-see exhibit of original paintings, drawings and prints from 17 picture books that received a Caldecott Medal or Honor Award between 2006 and 2009. To learn more about this exhibit, visit the Art Institute of Chicago website. If you’re coming to Chicago between now and October, perhaps for the July 11-14 American Library Association Conference at McCormick Place, make time to stop, study, ogle and celebrate the works of Beth Krommes, Melissa Sweet and Uri Shulevitz, just to name a few.

Who knows? Maybe the experience will work its way into your fiction!

Writing Workout: A Thank You Mini-Book

Try your hand at creating fiction from Real Life by doing what Marla Frazee did. Write a thank you note, for a gift, for a kindness, for a gesture, for an experience, ONLY express your gratitude as a story within a mini-book!

Think Who, What, When, Where, How and Why.

Think characters, actions, time and setting.

Create a beginning, muddle the middle, then resolve the story in a satisfying way.

Here are two links to websites that will help you physically, artfully create all kinds of mini-books:

http://www.canby.com/hockmanchupp/student_folder_websites.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001156/makingbooks/minibook/index.htm