Professional Reading

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2006

CERNY, Rosanne, Penny Markey, & Amanda Williams. Outstanding Library Service to Children: Putting the Core Competencies to Work 94p. charts. appendix. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. ALA 2006. pap. $25. ISBN 0-8389-0922-1. LC 2006013188.

This book aimed at children’s librarians, library administrators, and educators seeks to elaborate on the Association of Library Services to Children’s Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries. Best suited for those relatively unfamiliar with children’s services, the book examines the competencies in broad categories, succinctly defining core values and providing background and suggestions for building skills. The resource lists that end each chapter contain the occasional outdated title, but they also point to an impressive variety of sources, including materials produced by state associations and thinkers outside the library profession. The text occasionally relies on language geared toward female practitioners (“Your goal is to be perceived as an expert adult, not a child in high heels”) that isn’t balanced by language geared toward men, a surprising oversight in a book seeking to welcome both genders to the profession. This isn’t meant to replace standard texts such as Virginia Walter’s Children and Libraries (ALA, 2001), but it’s a fine resource for staff new to children’s services and those who train them.–Adrienne Furness, Webster Public Library, NY

Leavening scholarship with mild irony, Eaton offers a perceptive four-way study of–literally, in part–changing fashions in modern biographies for young readers. In the first section, the author identifies and compares every full-length or substantial biography of Elizabeth I published in the U.S. or Great Britain between 1852 and 2002. She then goes on to analyze the crops of biographies about girls and women published in 1946, in 1971, and in 1996. She considers the development of diversity issues while taking closer looks at the four biographies of Pocahontas (“a vintage American heroine”) that appeared in those years, and closes with a ruminative analysis of how dress and appearance was used in her sample titles to indicate both the subjects’ characters and general cultural attitudes toward women at the time of publication. Each chapter closes with separate lists of children’s books and academic sources. The author traces a strong tendency over the last half century away from invented scenes and storytelling techniques to create an aesthetic reading experience, and toward those that more directly support the history curriculum but may distance readers from their subjects. In the end, she takes no definite stance, but leaves the benefits and hazards of both approaches clear for librarians and other involved adults to ponder.–John Peters, New York Public Library

This collection of eight “etiquette rules” intended to prevent bullying suffers from a lack of focus, yielding a series of common-sense tips often suggested via clichés and trite examples. The rules, one per chapter, reinforce such ideas as cultivating healthy friendships, teamwork, “do unto others,” recognizing and responding to bullies, positive thinking and self-esteem, gratitude, clear communication, and manners. A few simple activity and conversation starters conclude each chapter. The resolutions are superficial: “Don’t panic and overreact” is one suggestion if adults suspect that a child is the victim of bullying. “Bully Beware!” ends with this advice for the child who exhibits aggressive behaviors: “…they can be taught more appropriate ways of dealing with others. The process will take time, so be patient.” Italicized, real-life vignettes digress into assertions of right and wrong responses. Heavy with imperative sentences, the text points out problems related to children’s developing relationships but does not provide enough new or thought-provoking information to stimulate change.–Julie R. Ranelli, Kent Island Branch Library, Stevensville, MD

Lesesne uses the attention-grabbing term of the title to describe the sheer joy that reading brings to some individuals but not to others. The succinct text wastes no time in painting a portrait of tween readers (a definition expanded to include those students in grades 4-8) and conveys why it’s crucial to engage them at this stage. Grounded in research (both the author’s and notable others), the book offers concrete solutions to reading resistance by highlighting a baker’s dozen of strategies that require little time or money to implement. Highly motivational for teachers frustrated by emphasis on the assessment of reading ability rather than reading passion, this title reads like a heart-to-heart chat with a trusted colleague. While it may be most helpful for reading professionals, it is accessible to anyone concerned about the future of reading. Filled with various lists of kid-appealing titles, including an appendix of “100 Great Books for Tweens,” this volume presents books appropriate for every stage of the target audience’s development. An inspired choice for any professional collection.–H. H. Henderson, Heritage Middle School, Deltona, FL

Most libraries have vibrant folklore collections but few offer information about the storytellers. MacDonald presents 10 individuals who share their stories in schools, libraries, and festivals. She has heard them all and interviewed most, sometimes with an interpreter. They come from cultures as diverse as Tibet, Brazil, Ghana, and the Chehalis Reservation in Washington. In their own words they trace their paths toward storytelling and their reasons for telling, which include preserving stories from palm-leaf manuscripts in Thailand and describing life as lived by the isolated victims of Hansen’s disease in Hawaii. Full-page photos give each person a face. MacDonald is a folklorist, storyteller, and author who has brought many traditional tales to life for modern listeners. Her portraits here open windows into unfamiliar cultures and affirm the value of story. A book that is well documented and highly readable.–Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

An intelligently written book about the role that the school library can play in exercising students’ brains. Rooted in current findings on how the brain processes information, and acknowledging several educative models for learning and Information Power’s standards for promoting information-literacy development, Sykes’s book offers a vision that every school librarian should consider, if not embrace. The first part reviews what neuroscience tells us about learning. Contributing authors relate those findings to classroom planning, making them understandable to the layperson. Subsequent sections suggest components of the school library program that must be addressed including enriched, intellectual, and emotional environments. Further, readers are offered both theoretical and practical approaches to planning and creating these environments and sample lessons. This book will be a handy desk mate to every school librarian and should be a required text in all school media specialist programs.–Jodi Kearns, University of Akron, OH