A PAT ON THE BACK FOR PICTURE BOOKS!

I loved reading this letter sent by some students to the Editor of the NY TIMES in reference to that now infamous article "Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children" (Oct. 2010) - which I, and many other bloggers, posted about.  This was no ordinary letter, but a 15-ft. scroll, delivered in a tube.  (Click HERE to see the NY TIMES Opinion Pages, April 13, 2011.)

LOSING SOMEONE YOU LOVE

I lost a very dear elderly friend this week and am attending her funeral today. She was bed-ridden for years, and tenderly cared for by her husband.  I am reminded of a beautiful children's book by Tomie dePaola that was written in 1973 and has helped parents and children with this difficult subject of death ever since.  It recently came out in a redrawn edition.  Mr. dePaola says it's his personal favorite of any that he's written. In re-creating the art, Tomie said, "Creating this art was as emotional an experience for me now as it was then."  

NANA UPSTAIRS & NANA DOWNSTAIRS by Tomie dePaola, is based on the nostalgic memories of his own childhood in time spent with his two "Nanas".  Four-year-old Tommy loves his Sunday visits to his grandmother's and great-grandmother's house. His grandmother seems to constantly be downstairs, busy by the kitchen stove, while his great-grandmother is always to be found in bed upstairs (because she is 94 years old). One morning Tommy's mother tells him that Nana Upstairs died during the night. Tommy feels sorrowful and empty, but his mother comforts him by explaining, "she will come back in your memory whenever you think about her." A very graceful treatment of a difficult subject. Anyone who grew up with a precious grandparent in their life will adore this book. (for ages 4-8)

To read more about Tomie dePaola and his children's books, visit his website, www.tomie.com.

E-READERS OR TRADITIONAL BOOKS? WHICH IS THE GREENER CHOICE?

THE JURY IS STILL OUT...
I'm no expert when it comes to questions about digital technology or the environment, but the experts are saying there's a LOT to consider in determining the carbon footprint of e-books versus traditional paper books. My head is spinning from all the information I've been taking in lately. Kind of like reading Jabberwocky.

Trial of the Knave of Hearts
illustration by John Tenniel

PLANT A TREE:  SAVE A BOOK?
One of the main selling points in favor of e-readers is that they are paperless.  But everyone knows that traditional books are sustainable and can be easily shared among friends, donated to used books stores, and ultimately recycled at the end of their shelf life.

Capitalizing on the fact that e-books are the latest trend, an Italian
based design company, Gartenkulter, has actually
designed planters made from old and disused books.  I
certainly hope this is not the future of traditional books!

From "E-Readers vs. Old Fashioned Books - Which is Greener?" on the SIERRA CLUB GREEN HOME website: Here’s the best answer... go to the public library next time you are downtown. Borrow three or four books, finish them all, then return ‘em next time you’re near the library. This is truly the most sustainable way to read: the good old fashioned public library. We preach “reduce, reuse, and recycle” and library books can be read by dozens of people over their lifetime.  And once they are finally too dog-eared and beaten up to grace library shelves, they can be easily recycled since they are generally all paper (even the leather on deluxe bound editions can be recycled).

Are e-books green? GREEN LIVING says, "The short answer is almost certainly yes, but only if you're comparing e-books to new books. As usual, the greenest way to go is reuse."

IT'S NOT E-ASY BEING GREEN...
So, what if you like buying new books and you read lots of books? E-reading may be paperless, but that doesn't mean it has no carbon footprint, as you can see from another well-researched article, "The Environmental Impacts of E-Books", posted by the GREEN PRESS INITIATIVE.  To make up the various electronic components and battery, e-readers require several mineral sources such as plastic (derived from oil) metal, and glass.  There is also the energy consumption of an e-reader to be considered, and whether or not e-book manufacturers have recycling programs(and how they go about it, if they do).

I'm not personally excited about e-books for children, especially those with distracting apps, but it appears we're seeing the beginning of a trend that could explode.  Since consumers help determine the market, I just hope parents will only supplement, not replace, good old fashioned books with e-readers, if or when they decide to follow the trend. But that's a whole different blog post...  


My mantra stays the same:  visit the library with your kids! Your wallet will thank you and you'll benefit the environment. If there are special books you want to own or give as gifts - especially children's picture books - my advice is to shop for the  traditional paper versions (new or used).  I think the environment will survive these sustainable purchases and your children (and grandchildren) will thank you for not leaving their tangible,  paper friends behind!

IRREPLACEABLE TREASURES

For any of you who read my post back in October 2010, IN PRAISE OF PICTURE BOOKS, you know about the New York Times front-page story, "Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children", which caused quite an uproar in the World of Children's Books - among publishers, bookstores, parents, authors, and illustrators.

I recently came across a rebuttal to this article printed in Publisher's Weekly that, I'm happy to say, explores some of the same points in defense of picture books that I did!  It's titled, "Don't Write the Orbit for Picture Books Yet" and you can read it by clicking here.

Karen Springen, the author of this well-researched article, makes many great points about what is influencing the sales of picture books, but I think two that she highlights are especially relevant:  the economy and libraries.

In a bad economy, families are still reading picture books—but many families are getting them at the library, and previewing them before deciding to purchase them. "Library use is up," said Julie Corsaro, president of the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children division. "And in many public libraries, picture books have the highest circulation." At the Brooklyn Public Library, picture book circulation is at an all-time high—1.5 million at the end of the most recent fiscal year. For the next fiscal year, BPL is projecting circulation of more than two million, said youth selection team leader Alison Hendon. She is buying new ones, too—both replacement copies and new titles...


But when the economy recovers, will picture books return to their heyday? It's hard to know for sure, but booksellers, publishers, and librarians maintain that traditional picture books are irreplaceable treasures. Oddi of Cover to Cover told the story of a young man who works for minimum wage at Jiffy Lube, next to her store. On break, he stopped in and, on a staffer's recommendation, bought Dog House by Jan Thomas to read to his three-year-old. He said it was $14 he didn't have and at first regretted it. Later, he returned to the store and said, "I read that book every night to my little girl. She laughs," said Oddi. "He said, ‘That's the best $14 I ever spent.' "


But we consumer parents, teachers, and literature lovers knew that, huh?

B is for BETHLEHEM

B IS FOR BETHLEHEM by Isabel Wilner, illustrations by Elisa Kleven. A Nativity themed alphabet book that was originally written for second graders to perform as a program.  The rhyming text, written in couplets is sweet -

N is for Night, so quiet, so still.

Peace in the stable. Peace on the hill. 

- but the vibrant, richly textured illustrations with mixed-media collages of watercolor, cut paper, and fine lines in folk-art style, are what really makes this out-of-print book worth searching for (used, or at your local library).  


SNOWSONG WHISTLING, by Karen Lisa Lotz, is another book beautifully illustrated with Elisa Kleven.  The rhyme and mixed media pictures are a celebration of the sight, sounds, and smells of winter (also out of print).



You can click here for my post "Down by the Bay", where I highlighted a third book (this time about San Francisco) illustrated by Elisa.
Be sure to visit Elisa Kleven's website to see all her books and original artwork.

FAIRY TALES FROM GENNADY SPIRIN

"It is my great pleasure to create paintings, whether for galleries or children's books, because it is important to maintain child-like wonder to truly appreciate the amazing world we live in.  What do I want a viewer to feel when they look at my work?  My answer is simple:  absolute delight!" - Gennady Spirin.

FAVORITE FAIRY TALES BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, LITTLE MERMAIDS AND UGLY DUCKLINGS

The Little Mermaid

The Ugly Duckling

In my last post, I introduced you to Russian artist and illustrator, Gennady Spirin.  He has also done some beautiful picture book adaptations of many well known fairy tales from all over the world...


FAIRY TALES, ILLUSTRATED BY SPIRIN:

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (Grimm Fairytale)

GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (Grimm Fairytale)

click here to see the gorgeous illustrations!

THE CRANE WIFE (by Odd Bodkin, Japanese Folktale)

(click here to see illustrations)

THE TALE OF THE FIREBIRD (Russian fairy tale)

IN PRAISE OF PICTURE BOOKS

According to a recent article in the New York Times, picture books have become unpopular ("Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children"). Bookstores, such as Borders and Barnes & Noble are apparently selling less picture books.  Some have "rearranged display space so that some picture books are enticingly paired with toys and games".  (Hmm...what goes around comes around - more on that later). 


The truest point the author makes is that young adult fiction (such as the TWILIGHT series, graphic novels, and other paranormal inspired romances) is universally growing by leaps and bounds.  Retailers make space for what customers are buying, creating less space for picture books.  This fact alone is cause for major concern and one of the main reasons why I started my blog!


The journalist who wrote the article noted that publishers are scaling back on picture books.  Their reasons?  He stated that the economy could be a major factor, but an additional reason is that "Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools."


So what's going on here? The quote above surprised me, because I think most parents and schools know the value of quality picture books and how they increase a child's desire to learn to read, help develop their vocabulary, and are a great introduction to art appreciation.  Also, the majority of picture books are targeted at preschoolers through second or third graders, so why the perceived push for "text-heavy" chapter books for that age?


HERE'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT BOOKSTORE SALES:
Yes, the economy is down, so people are buying less in general - not just less picture books!  But yes, picture books are expensive (especially hardcovers). Parents of young kids make great use of libraries for picture books.  They also shop online websites that offer used books, which are a better value.  Parents might be finding ways to get picture books at less expense, but that doesn't mean picture books are becoming unpopular!  So what about the "little (children's book)shop around the corner"?

Have you seen the movie YOU'VE GOT MAIL?  It's about how big new bookstore chains took a lot of the book buyers away from the small bookshops.  The chains could buy in bulk, thus driving the price of their merchandise down for consumers.  But there are some drawbacks for consumers (parents and children, in this case).  Because of the bulk of merchandise in large chain-bookstores, picture books are no longer displayed with their covers facing out (other than a select few), but on deeper shelves with their binding out.  Now parents and children don't see the covers.  Also, employees of the chain-stores generally aren't as well versed in children's literature as the owners of small bookshops.


HERE'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT PUBLISHERS:
The publishers are directly affected by waning bookstore sales, but there may be another reason why picture books are not flying off the shelves and why publishers must scale back.  I'm not super-impressed with some of the newer picture books (aimed at 4-8 year olds) that publishers are pursuing and putting on the market today...many are written with a lot of sarcasm and cynicism - and the humor seems to be aimed more at parents and adolescents! (for more about this, read a post by my friend, Jane Meyer).


Parents need to search for good quality writing and artwork.  We vote with our purchases.  Which is why the classics have stuck around!  Thankfully, publishers often re-issue the classics that have gone out of print (Lois Lenski's books, for example.), so those are usually available at bookstores, not just at libraries or online websites with used books, such as Amazon or Better World Books.


WHAT I THINK ABOUT CHAPTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN:
No doubt about it, there is a time when a child is starting to read on his/her own, that he/she should be encouraged to read chapter books.  Silent sustained reading is easier done in a chapter book than through picture books. And with fewer pictures, a child can't depend on the illustrations to decipher the story for him.


But don't leave picture books behind and don't stop reading aloud once your kids are reading chapter books on their own.  Also, before your children are reading on their own, and still love snuggling up with you and a good picture book, don't hesitate to snuggle up with them and read aloud a fun chapter book!   


Remember, there is a difference between "reading level" and "listening level".   Readers might love pouring through an almost wordless Peter Spier picture book (R.L. ages 4-8) with you, as much as non-readers might enjoy hearing you read aloud a chapter book like LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS (R.L. ages 9-12).  Publishers and bookstores/booksites could really help parents out by making this distinction more apparent!


SO, IN PRAISE OF PICTURE BOOKS...
HERE'S WHAT PARENTS NEED TO REMEMBER ABOUT PICTURE BOOKS:
"A picture book is text, illustrations, total design...a social, cultural, historical document; and, foremost, an experience for a child. As an art form, it hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning of the page. On its own terms, its possibilities are limitless." -Barbara Bader, from AMERICAN PICTUREBOOKS.


1 - Children are exposed to excellent works of ART in quality picture books!
2 - Picture books increase language development.
3 - Children are exposed to a variety of writing styles through picture books.
4 - Kids are introduced to literary elements, such as plot, characterization, setting, theme and style at an early age through quality picture books.
5 - Being introduced to beautiful picture books increases a child's desire for independent reading.
6 - Picture books are great extentions to art, drama, music, math and science activities.


So to parents and writers and illustrators, publishers and booksellers:  we need good books, but especially good picture books, to start our innocent, young non-readers on the road to reading & learning, and to continue to inspire and guide them as readers to stay on the road that can lead to strength of character, thoughtfulness, and creativity.