Professional Reading

-- School Library Journal, 12/1/2005

EXNER, Carol R. Practical Puppetry A-Z: A Guide for Librarians and Teachers. 267p. illus. photos. bibliog. index. Web sites. CIP. McFarland. 2005. pap. $39.95. ISBN 0-7864-1516-9. LC 2005010590.

Exner writes from experience about working with groups of children of different ages and abilities on puppetry classes and projects, and many of her ideas are good ones. Unfortunately, the book does not have sufficient illustrative material. Directions for building an oatmeal-box mouth puppet, for example, need step-by-step drawings. The author includes well-written articles about the styles and uses of puppetry in various cultures–but how can readers be expected to understand the nature of the Turkish trickster Karagoz or Indonesian Wayang puppetry without illustrations of their puppet figures and stages? This title would be fine as a supplementary book for a large collection on the subject, but beginners would be better served by digging up copies of the excellent books by the late Nancy Renfro and her cowriters that were published in the 1970s and '80s (now mostly out of print, but still available in many library systems).–Walter Minkel, New York Public Library

GILL, David Macinnis. Graham Salisbury: Island Boy. 109p. (Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature Series). bibliog. index. notes. CIP. Scarecrow. 2005. Tr $35. ISBN 0-8108-5338-8. LC 2004031042.

Part literary analysis and part biography, this is a well-balanced look at an unusual talent, a writer who has an eye for the frailties of life and the rites of adolescence. Gill discusses how growing up in Hawaii in the '50s influenced Salisbury's writing and does a fine job of showing the complexity of his work. He highlights Salisbury's reoccurring use of archetypal symbolism, or hero characters, pitted against the vulnerabilities of humankind. Temptation, coercion, and weakness are systemic themes in Salisbury's fiction. But, as in real life, redemption is not achieved simply, or contrived for a tidy ending. This is an exceptionally well-researched book. Teachers will find good excerpts to use with their students, helping them to gain a more thorough comprehension of Salisbury's talent.–Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY

HARADA, Violet H. & Joan M. Yoshina. Assessing Learning: Librarians and Teachers as Partners. 149p. charts. diags. bibliog. index. Libraries Unlimited. 2005. pap. $40. ISBN 1-59158-200-8. LC 2005927742.

Clearly defying the conventional myth that teaching librarians do not (and need not) assess the results of their instruction, these two experienced Hawaii librarians offer terrific ideas at all grade levels for assessing (formatively) and evaluating (summatively) both our work and that of our students. After reviewing the topic of assessment, the authors look at library media centers to determine where and how students should be assessed and then examine assessment tools and explain a wide array of effective graphic organizers. In a flashback to excellent outcome-based learning strategies (renamed backward planning), they detail units for elementary, middle, and high schools using varied assessments, most extensively student portfolios. Finally, they discuss ways of collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and communicating the learning to various stakeholders. Close to 100 illustrations demonstrate the many forms of assessment described. Chapters are well constructed and the writing is clear, though sticklers for style may tire of the ubiquitous organizational convention of asking/answering questions. While newer teacher-librarians may learn some of these strategies in library school, veterans should be excited at possibilities that they may never have considered, thus providing much-needed injections of clear, accessible, exciting instruction into their lives as well as those of their students.–Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA

MILAM, Peggy. National Board Certification in Library Media: A Candidate's Journal. 152p. charts. appendix. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Linworth. 2005. pap. $44.95. ISBN 1-58683-183-6. LC 2005017034.

Teaching librarians who are considering applying for national certification would do well to read Milam's account of her own successful journey. In September, she researched the process. In October, she scoped out her strategies and developed her support team. November was an immersion experience in videotaping her performances, while December was spent doing an in-depth study of how Milam would be assessed (including how to become an assessor). In January, she attacked the writing styles required for her portfolio and the standards, resources, and rubrics she'd need to utilize in analyzing her students' and her own work. February and March marked a continuation of journal entries, focusing on using technology and documenting accomplishments in instruction and assessment. In April, she completed and submitted her work and took the online assessment, the results of which would not be available until the following November. Milam effectively uses her journaling pages (printed in script against a lined background) to communicate her excitement and concerns about each specific task. "Fast facts," charts, bulleted information, rubrics, and boxes containing helpful information abound, making this an invaluable guide for candidates for certification in library media.–Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA

ZIPES, Jack. Hans Christian Andersen: The Misunderstood Storyteller. 163p. reprods. bibliog. notes. Routledge. 2005. pap. $19.95. ISBN 0-415-97433-X. LC number unavailable.

Following an introduction to Andersen's life and personality, Zipes explores his subject's prodigious output of works including travel books, essays, novels, plays, autobiographies, and 156 fairy tales, only a few of which were actually written for children. Two further chapters, "The Discourse of the Dominated" (a discussion of Andersen's deep ambivalence about class issues) and "The Discourse of Rage and Revenge: Controlling Children" (a discussion of Andersen's attitudes toward children and childhood) are revised versions of essays previously published elsewhere. A final chapter, "The Cinematic Appropriation of Andersen's Heritage: Trivialization and Innovation," looks at both American and European films made from his works. Zipes compares those that build on Andersen's own messages and those that simply use his motifs and characters as commodities to be repackaged and sold. The book is illustrated with prints from 19th- and early-20th-century editions of his works that help to place Andersen in a historical context. A bibliography, film bibliography, and extensive notes are included. This book belongs in libraries with readers who are interested in critical interpretations of folklore and film, and those with collections of critical biographies or extensive collections of Andersen's works. Readers interested in Andersen's contributions to the literature of Denmark, to the modern fairy tale, and a more authentic look at a less-than-happy life, as presented for children in Hjørdis Varmer's Hans Christian Andersen: His Fairy Tale Life (Groundwood, 2005), will find this volume valuable.–Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie