Letters

School library mouth-taping incident sparks outrage

It was very disheartening to read about the California school "library employee" in Elk Grove, CA, who was suspended for allegedly placing Scotch tape over the mouths of noisy third graders ("School Employee Takes Shushing Too Far," May 2004, p. 24). It should be made very clear that this person was neither a credentialed librarian, a trained school library aide, nor a credentialed teacher.

This is the type of thing that can happen when a credentialed librarian is not present when children visit their school library. Of course in California, where only 23.7 percent of K–12 schools have credentialed library media teachers, according to the latest study from the Department of Education, the danger of such a thing is ever present.

So along with California students being the losers for lack of essential school library services, they also now have to worry about being the victims of such thoughtless acts.

Sandy Schuckett
Liaison to California Teachers Association
California School Library Association
Los Angeles, CA

Thank you for your article "Vandals Firebomb Jewish School Library" in the May 2004 issue (p. 19). I'm glad to see you raising people's awareness in the library community about this hideous act.

Davette Zinik
Library Technician, Acquisitions Dept.
Auraria Library
Denver, CO

I am writing in response to a review of my book Teen Book Discussion Groups @ the Library (Neal-Schuman, 2004; Feb. p. 175). The SLJ reviewer, Jane Halsall, apparently missed the indices in the back of the book. If the genres seem "constrictive," the extensive theme index should make up for that.

As for the scope, my stated focus was young adult literature that's relatively recent, not genre classics or adult books. Teens are reading books published as young adult titles, at least in the libraries I frequent. Sure they also read adult books, especially older teens, but while I included an especially popular adult book, adult books were not my focus.

While I didn't include graphic novels in the book guide section, I did give suggestions for using them. At least 13 of 50 books I wrote about have minority characters. Considering what's being published, I don't think this is an underrepresentation. It's too bad Halsall was so focused on what isn't there (or meant to be) and not on what is. The book includes ready-to-use discussion guides on a variety of genres (poetry, historical fiction, biography, fantasy, science fiction, philosophy, drama, and lots of contemporary YA fiction) with a diverse group of characters and a variety of issues relevant to teens.

Constance Dickerson
Children's Services Librarian
Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library
Cleveland, OH

In today's libraries, people who are truly serving all the teens in the community know that they have to look beyond traditional means and materials to be effective. This is the era of the techno-teen. Much of what they use is electronic in one form or another. YA librarians trying to push books have to be more innovative in what they collect and it's not just YA books. We carry 90 percent of the adult fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery books, as well as the best teen titles.

We must be cutting edge or we are nothing. I stand by the opinion that YA book discussion groups that only focus on traditional YA books are not playing to all of the teen patrons. More than a year ago, a colleague and I did a presentation to the Chicago Public Library and school system on graphic novels for book discussion groups for their after-school programs. One of the new trends we have noticed is a huge increase in YA nonfiction books. These are big areas that were virtually ignored in this book.

Jane Halsall
Head of Young People's Services
McHenry Public Library District
McHenry, IL

I have little enough time to write letters, but I really have to express my strong disagreement with Martha Topol's review of Lenny Hort's We're Going on a Treasure Hunt (Abrams, 2003; Jan. 2004, p. 98).

Tom Arma's silly photographs are more like commercials for baby food, the rhymes inane. Lots of us rely on your reviews to separate out the good stuff from the garbage that gets published and really feel let down when one of your reviewers falls for this sort of silly book. (My antennae usually go up when I see "cute," "darling," "adorable," or some such saccharine word in the text of a review, but this one fooled me.) And of course it's wasted time and money to order, pay shipping, and then more if it gets returned, but you can be sure I will send this one back.

Jane Chaleff
Head of Family Dept.
Rogers Memorial Library
Southampton, NY

What's wrong with silly? It seems to me that different books exist for different reasons. This one isn't meant to be high-minded literature but rather a playful exercise in interactive fun. The need for the photographs to invite children's participation is paramount. Babies dressed as fish, hmm—if they weren't cute that would be cause for alarm! Chalk it up to an honest difference of opinion.

Martha Topol
Librarian
Traverse Area District Library
Traverse City, MI

The review of David Elliott's Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle (Candlewick, 2004; SLJ Mar. 2004; p. 156), in describing Andréa Wesson's illustrations, should have made reference to the work of Quentin Blake, not Quentin Crisp.

The July 2004 feature "You Go, Girl!" (pp. 38–40) transposed the first names of the authors of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal and Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World. Eric Schlosser wrote Fast Food Nation, and Greg Critser wrote Fat Land.