I headed
over to my local public library right after school yesterday. I work in a middle school, so I arrived early
enough to beat the elementary school crowd.
Our local library was relocated to an old school for a couple of years
while the current location was doubled in size and remodeled. The “new” library has been open for almost
two years now, and the designers were very aware of creating a soothing, quiet,
and inviting space. The librarian’s
extensive use of signs meant that I found the folklore and poetry section very
quickly after introducing myself to the assistant librarian at the main
circulation desk. I was very surprised
to see the sheer number of books in both sections. I had assumed, based on my limited experience
as a child, that those sections would be small because I was never attracted to
those genres. Most of my childhood was spent
with the Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley Twins! I flipped through some interesting reads for
about an hour and then headed to the picture book section.
I have four children myself, so I’m
no stranger to the picture book section.
I have always been impressed with how well the section is laid out. The wide aisles and low shelves made it easy
for me to pull up a stool and start working my way through the many, many
books. It was great to read through
books that my children would probably never select, so I felt like I was
learning about so many new books! It was
difficult to select only four to write up for class.
One book that I really liked was The toy farmer by A. Pelletier. It was a fictional
story of a little boy,
Jed, who wakes up to find that his old farmer toy has come alive in his
room. Soon his carpet starts to sprout
little seedlings and vines take over his walls.
Large pumpkins start to grow and Jed enters one in the county fair,
winning first prize. When he wakes up
the next morning, the farm in my room has vanished and Jed is sad. His dad lets him in on a little secret—he also
won a ribbon in the fair with his pumpkins when he was a child and assures Jed
that the toy returns to life for many more adventures. My son is currently in love with tractors and
farming, so I liked the book immediately for the subject matter. I found the illustrations to be beautifully
done. The background images of Jed in
his room were done in muted, realistic tones, while the farmer toy and the
growing plants were done in brighter, primary colored drawings on top of the
background. The illustrations covered
the pages, making me feel immediately like I was being drawn into the story.
A book that I can’t wait to use with
students is The gingerbread man loose in
the school by L. Murray. The story
of the gingerbread man is already familiar to most children, but this story
adds the fun twist that the cookie was baked by students in a school as a class
project. The gingerbread man is left
behind to cool as the children head out for recess, but he panics that he’s
going to be forgotten. So we get to read
about his exciting adventures as he tries to find his class. The illustrations are adorable and
simple. They really help tell the
story. I would choose this book to read
aloud to my class because of the amazing rhyming in the story. It flows so evenly and perfectly, I almost
feel like I’m singing a children’s song while reading the words.
It was difficult to find a book that
I didn’t care for that was published after 2006.
Most of the ones I didn’t like were old,
poorly illustrated, or the storyline was out of date. I finally found one that was published in
2011 called Princess super kitty by
A. Portis. The illustrations were simply
drawn, but almost had an amateur feel about them. I was mostly turned off by the
storyline. A little girl pretends to be a
kitten and her mother goes along with it, feeding her lunch in a cat dish and
throwing toys for her. The girl decides
that being a cat isn’t enough, so now she’s a super kitty. She puts on a cape and orders her older
brother and parents to follow her commands, which consist mostly of going to
get her things. After she becomes bored
with that scenario, she decides she is princess super kitty and adds a tiara to
her getup. I was quickly bored with the
book. It felt like the author was just
adding more and more twists to the story to keep it interesting, but I found it
to be long-winded. I didn’t like that
the parents and brother followed the little girl’s commands because I think
some kids are power-hungry enough without the encouragement from this
book. I could picture my daughter trying
to immolate the story by ordering me to go get something for her and I can
guarantee she wouldn’t like my response!
The illustrations did not to draw in my attention.
A book that caught my attention was Stella brings her family by M.
Schiffer. Stella’s teacher announces
that they will be having a big Mother’s Day celebration in a week. Stella becomes quiet and distracted with her
friends while she tries to figure out a solution to her “problem”—she has no
mom and two dads. Her friends ask her
who ties her shoes and makes her lunch, and Stella points out that she has two
dads to take care of her every need, she just doesn’t have a mom to bring to the
celebration. Stella ends up bringing her
entire family including an aunt, uncle, and grandparents to the
celebration. The other students are
thrilled that Stella came up with a solution that makes her happy once
more. I liked that the book included
examples of nontraditional families, including a classmate of Stella’s that has
two mothers and another student who is being raised by his grandmother. It came as no surprise that the book was
published this year considering the modern theme. It seems like a necessary and appreciated
addition to the library.
Overall, I was very happy to
participate in this assignment. When I
visit the library with my own children, they are pulling me in different
directions, trying to find their favorite authors. I rarely have time to select a book from the
adult section for myself, let alone explore the picture books. This assignment opened my eyes to the fact
that I will have to be familiar with all types of books when I become a
librarian, not just the genres that I enjoy reading.
Bibliography
Murray,
L., & Lowery, M. (2011). The gingerbread man loose in the school.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Pelletier,
A., & Nash, S. (2007). The toy farmer. New York: Dutton Children's
Books.
Portis,
A. (2011). Princess Super Kitty. New York: Harper.
Schiffer,
M., & Brown, H. (2015). Stella brings the family. Chronicle Books.
