You have to be in it: The 2013 Samsung K–12 “Return on Intelligence” Gift Programs have been announced by Samsung Techwin, a manufacturer of document cameras. The Superhero Program competition encourages students to prepare a 1–3 minute digital video (camera phone quality is acceptable) in which they portray their favorite historical character. The deadline for entries is May 31. The contest is opened to students in grades K–12 and the video will be judged on presentation performance, character and content accuracy, and content quality. The winner will receive $500 and the student’s class will get a SAMCAM 760 document camera.

To enter the Scholarship Program, high school students must write an essay of no more than 300 words in response to the question: What do you think about technology advancements and how they will change the way we learn in the future? Is it for the better? The deadline for submissions is May 15. Essays will be judged on the basis of original thinking, relevance to the real world, and writing quality. All applicants must be sponsored by a teacher. Five winners will be announced on May 31 and will receive a $1,000 award.

Under its 2013 Grant Program, ten teachers will each have the opportunity to win a SAMCAM 760 document camera for use in school by writing a fun lesson plan of 100 words or less in which they use the camera. The deadline for submissions is May 1, The top 20 finalists will then have to submit a video showing their lesson in the classroom using the SAMCAM 760. Ten winners will be selected on June, and their school district will also keep the camera.

Freebies

Teaching guide: Hurry up and get your free copy of Brother Sam and All That: Historical Context and Literary Analysis of the Novels of James and Christopher Collier (Clearwater Pr., 1999) from AudioGO. The lessons compiled in this companion teaching guide provide teachers and librarians with information about how to use historical fiction in the classroom—just what the Common Core Standards require—and tips for teaching the novels by James and Christopher Collier. AudioGO publishes audiobook and ebook versions of more than 50 novels by James and Christopher Collier, including the classroom favorite, My Brother Sam Is Dead. The first 100 people to email michell.cobb@audiogo.com will receive this teaching guide at no cost.

Publishing News

Trade picture books: This spring, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, is launching a collection of fully illustrated picture books. “We are excited to introduce a range of picture books in both paper-over-board and trade paperback formats,” says Ashley Andersen Zantop, Group Publisher and General Manager. “We believe that quality illustrated titles provide an important stepping stone to reading and an opportunity to inspire imagination, creativity, and a love for good books.” The titles and series scheduled for publication in February 2013 are: Flood by Alvara F. Villa, “Princess Heart” series written and illustrated by Molly Martin, “The Other Side of the Story” series by Nancy Loewen (classic fairy tales), and Charlotte Gullain’s “Animal Fairy Tales” series.

And more picture books: Hank Finds an Egg (ages 3–8) written and illustrated by Rebecca Dudley will be published by Peter Pauper Press in May 2013 as their initial venture into publishing children’s trade picture books for children. The wordless picture book tells the story of a young boy who finds an egg on the forest floor, helps it return to its home in a tree, and is rewarded by his new forest friends. Three additional titles are scheduled for publication: Bruce Arant’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep! (Fall 2013), Digby Differs by Miriam Koch (Fall 2013), and Sarra J. Roth’s Not the Quitting Kind (Spring 2014). If you’re a picture book author, Peter Pauper Press is accepting unsolicited submissions online, or you can send your manuscript to Mara Conlon, Senior Editor, Peter Pauper Press, 202 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY 10601.

Peter Pauper Press has been publishing gift books, references, travel guides, children’s activity books, and other products for adults since it was founded in 1928.

Children’s Lit Conference

Digital Lit: Librarians, teachers, and others who love books are invited to attend e-Looking Glass: Children’s Literature in the Digital Age, a full-day conference to be held at Carthage College Hedberg Library in Kenosha, WI, on April 13, that will explore “how books are being reinvented to create visual and interactive experiences that printed books cannot provide.”  Topics will include the changing landscape of texts (interactive ebooks, book apps, learning products, and online communities), how to integrate this new technology into the classroom, and the design and development of these new types of books. Among the speakers are Brandon Oldenburg, award-winning illustrator and co-founder of Moonbot Studios; Umesh Shukla, animation director and founder of Auryn, a digital publisher of apps; Denise Johnson, author of The Joy of Children’s Literature; William H. Teale, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and others. Undergraduate continuing professional education credit is available. The cost to attend the conference is $65, and $40 for students. You can register online. The cost of one credit hour is $50; to view the syllabus, contact Marilyn Ward at mward@carthage.edu.

All things Dr. Seuss were in the air Monday at the 42nd branch of the New York Public Library, including a sea of students sporting Cat in the Hat  hats in an attempt to set a Guinness Book World Record, a read-aloud of Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, and even a visit from the Cat in the Hat himself. These festivities marked Random House Children’s Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ launch of the “Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!” campaign, a yearlong celebration of the famed children’s book author that coincides with the 75th anniversary of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

This first stop for the campaign also included an announcement of a new partnership between Random House Children’s Books, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric cancer.

In Corey’s first book, You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! (Scholastic, 2000; Gr 1-3), readers learn that, “Amelia Bloomer was NOT a proper lady.” In 1847, respectable women were not allowed to vote or work and dressed in tight, uncomfortable clothes that made it impossible to do much of anything. A visit from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Stanton’s cousin Libby changed all that. “Instead of a dress Libby was wearing something that was NOT too heavy and NOT too long and NOT too tight and NOT too wide. It looked just right.” Amelia embraced the new attire by sewing an identical outfit and writing about it in the women’s newspaper she edited, The Lily. The controversy over women’s dress made the newspaper, and Amelia, famous—and quite improper.

While bloomers themselves eventually went out of style, women today can wear and do as they please thanks to independent thinkers like Amelia Bloomer. The book’s sparse, engaging text paired with Chesley McLaren’s vibrant, humorous gouache illustrations make this a terrific read aloud. A pattern at the back of the book can be copied and cut out to make bloomers for paper dolls with younger audiences. Older students can explore the history of women’s fashion or even sketch their own innovative clothing for babies, children, men, or women. Highlight Corey’s Amelia with Tanya Lee Stone’s Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote (Holt, 2008; Gr 1-4) and Linda Arms White’s I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote (Farrar, 2005; Gr 2-4), two great stories about other plucky women of earlier eras.

Another rebel and innovator in female fashion is the subject of Corey’s Mermaid Queen (Scholastic, 2009; Gr 2-6). Annette Kellerman was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1906. A childhood illness was responsible for the leg braces she needed growing up, but would eventually lead to the great strength and joy she found in swimming. The daughter of two music teachers, Kellerman grew up in a house filled with singing and dancing. Though she felt clumsy on the dance floor, she was graceful and “fancy-free” in the water, which led to the creation of a new sport—water ballet.

The young woman traveled the world to showcase her invention, “But everywhere they went, people just scoffed. A girl swimmer? Too plain. Too plump. Too weird. Too wet. Too bad!” A stunt in the river Thames in which she swam 13 miles amidst boats and barges earned some attention in the newspapers. One paper challenged her to swim the English Channel; while she didn’t manage to do that, “…people marveled over the young girl who had swum so far and so well…she even made it look artistic!”

When Kellerman arrived in America, she was horrified to see women on the beach donning “stockings and shoes, bloomers and bathing dresses, collars and corsets and caps…How could anyone possibly swim in that?” Although her men’s racing suit got her arrested, she soon designed a sleek new women’s suit that became all the rage. She also wrote two bestsellers on female health and fitness. The vibrant, digitally-created illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham capture the athlete’s spirit and world with humor and accuracy.

Along with Mermaid, consider introducing David A. Adler and Terry Widener’s America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle  (Harcourt, 2005; K-Gr 4), another great read aloud about the first woman to actually swim the English Channel—and break the men’s record doing it. Show students clips from the 1952 biopic, The Million Dollar Mermaid or any of the water ballet videos available online. Cari Best’s picture book When Catherine the Great and I Were Eight (Farrar, 2003; PreS-Gr 2) illustrated by Giselle Potter, is a fun fictional pairing. Use Corey’s biography to introduce students to woman with “gumption,” as well as in units about healthy living.

Another feisty, improper woman, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, born in 1860, is the subject of Here Come the Girl Scouts! (Scholastic, 2012; Gr 2-4). “Daisy grew up in Savannah, Georgia, at a time when proper young ladies were supposed to be dainty and delicate.” She was nothing of the sort.

While her peers sipped tea, Daisy “rode elephants in India,” “flew in a monoplane,” and went fishing. She loved the outdoors and yearned to do something important. Then she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts in Great Britain; she learned that his sister had subsequently founded the Girl Guides. “‘Why, the girls in America should have something like this!’ Daisy thought.” And so, on March 12, 1912, she hosted the first Girl Scout meeting.

The enthusiastic young girls learned to be honorable, loyal, useful, a friend to all, courteous, kind to animals, and obedient. While troops soon emerged all over the country, there were some, just like in Amelia’s day, who thought the organization “unthinkable” and “preposterous.” Still, eager girls of every class and race donned their uniforms, swam, hiked, and adventured in the great outdoors. “Daisy believed that girls could do anything. And she was right. Girl Scouts have been making a difference even since…” The last spread offers a gallery of portraits of famous Girl Scouts in all walks of life, including Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Rebecca Lobo, and Lucille Ball.

Once again, Corey makes every word count; the text is brief and lively and Hadley Hooper’s bold ink-and-paint prints are both amusing and add period detail. This title may easily inspire new local scouting chapters. Early scouts were both naturalists and conservationists–students will certainly want to experience the outdoors and possibly get involved in local “green” causes—just in time for Earth Day.

Corey is also the author of two fiction titles—meticulously researched and equally delightful and useful in classrooms and libraries. If your study of Corey’s work includes her fiction titles, be sure to have have a conversation about the distinction between historical fiction and nonfiction and the research that fiction often entails. Introduce your students to the author’s “true stories—partly,” Milly and the Macy’s Parade (Scholastic, 2002; Gr K-Gr 3), illustrated by Bret Helquist, and Players in Pigtails (Scholastic, 2003; K-Gr 4) illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. Both titles are based on real events with fictionalized main characters that resonate with children.

Milly tells the story of how homesick immigrant employees at the landmark Manhattan department store joined together to create a new holiday tradition in America. More than one thousand costumed employees marched in the first parade in 1924 along with bands, floats, and animals from the Central Park Zoo. Milly, the fictionalized little daughter of one of these employees, brings the magic and wonder of this grand store to life for youngsters. After reading, show clips of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade today and have students design their own two-or-three dimensional balloons of favorite characters. Pair with Melissa Sweet’s Balloons Over Broadway (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Gr 1-5) to learn about the real-life person who created the first balloon puppets for the Macy’s Parade.

Katie Casey, the fictionalized protagonist in Corey’s Players in Pigtails, is not very good “…at being a girl,” but she loves baseball. Like Annette Kellerman, Casey struggles with parental and societal attitudes towards girls in sports until World War II changes everything. With most players turned to soldiers, the fields were empty. “Finally, Phillip Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, had an idea. ‘If women can work in factories and even join the army…why can’t they play ball?” Though most people found the concept, “OUTRAGEOUS!,” hundreds of girls from all over the country, including Katie, showed up to play…and played just as good as their male counterparts, despite the silly dresses they had to wear.

Wisecracks such as “Careful, you might break a nail, girls!” and “Is this a ballpark or a ballroom?” quieted when the girls started to play. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League lasted from 1943 to 1954, until “women were encouraged to leave the factories and the ballparks to make room for returning soldiers.” Show clips from the movie A League of their Own (1992), sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”—the words are on the endpapers—or play ball in the schoolyard to celebrate this fascinating slice of America’s national pastime. Share with Doreen Rappaport’s Dirt on Their Skirts (Dial, 2000; Gr 1-4) illustrated by E. B. Lewis and Marissa Moss’s Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen (S & S, 2004; K-Gr 3) illustrated by C.F. Payne, for nonfiction accounts of the League and star pitcher Jackie Mitchell.

All of these titles commemorate girls or women in history in entertaining, attractive packages. While the illustrators of all five books differ, Corey’s lively, spirited writing inspires each artist to create equally accomplished pictures that will appeal to elementary and middle school students. They empower girls to be the best they can be and follow their dreams. So take a swim, take a stand, wear the pants, and play ball!

Barbara Auerbach is a librarian at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn, New York.

Eds. note: Be sure to visit Shana Corey’s terrific website for more resources for educators as well as information about school visits.

*Amy Haskin’s blog of February 4, 2010

Many of the ELA reading, writing, speaking and listening standards for K-5 informational texts are incorporated into the lessons described. The titles and activities suggested above reference the following Common Core State Standards:

RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RI.2.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
W. 2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
W. 2.7  Participate in shared research and writing projects.
SL. 2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud.
RL. 3.7. Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story.
RI. 3.7 Use information gained from illustrations…and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.
W. 3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting appoint of view with reasons.

Photo montage: Background from the first Clifford book;
Norman Bridwell by Rich White.

Imagine walking down a street. Exhausted after a workout. Heading toward your car. A dog suddenly appears a quarter of a block ahead. But not just any dog. This one is 66 feet long and 44 feet high.

That’s what happened to me.

That briefest flash of time between seeing Clifford and realizing that I was looking at a parade balloon was magical and delicious. As editor of the Clifford books from 1984 to 2009, I’ve had many magical moments with the big red dog.

I’ve read most of the Clifford books dozens of times. I’ve read some of them hundreds of times. I’ve read them as an editor to prepare them for publication, as a mother to entertain my daughter, and as a Sunday school teacher to spark conversations about pro-social behavior.

The Clifford books are about kindness and good works. They are about making mistakes and being forgiven for them. They are about unconditional love. And they are funny. I still crack up whenever I turn to the page in Clifford the Big Red Dog where a sheepish Clifford holds a car in his mouth, and the text reads: “He runs after cars. He catches some of them.” The artwork is expressive, poignant, and endearing.

So how big is Clifford? Very big. More than 126 million Clifford books are in print in 13 languages. And an animated Clifford TV series is in its 12th season on PBS Kids. This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first Clifford book, Clifford the Big Red Dog.

And February 15 is the 85th birthday of Clifford’s creator, Norman Bridwell. Kind, modest, and easy-going, Norman, both author and illustrator, is as lovable as his pup. He lives with his wife of 54 years, Norma—that’s right, Norma—in Massachusetts, on Martha’s Vineyard, in a 120-year-old farmhouse. The doors and shutters are painted red in honor of Clifford. Norman and Norma have two grown children (Emily Elizabeth, who appears in the Clifford books, and Tim, who appears in The Witch Next Door) and three grandchildren.

Earlier this year, I spoke to Norman about his remarkable career, his knack for creating pitch-perfect humor for young children, and what makes Clifford (and his creator) tick.

Dog days: Bridwell and his daughter,
Emily Elizabeth, circa 1964.

How would you describe Clifford?
He’s a loving dog. He’s very loyal to Emily. And she’s loyal to him. He tries to do the right thing. He has good intentions, but his size makes him clumsy, so he causes damage. And then he’s forgiven. All children would like that—to be forgiven for the mistakes they make.

Do you see any of your own characteristics in him?
You know, people have said, “Clifford is a lot like you,” but I’m not really that good. I’m not really that nice.

Well, I would disagree with you, Norman. I worked with you for, like, 25 years and I think you are that nice!
That’s kind of you to say. I don’t like to hurt people. I do my best to avoid that. No matter which side you’re on, I’m on it. I really feel I don’t really deserve this. If there’s such a thing as success being handed out to people because they are good and deserving, I don’t really deserve it. I’ve just been very fortunate.

Do you identify with Clifford’s awkwardness when he gets into trouble for being too big?
Well, I was… I am pretty clumsy. I’m constantly bumping into things. Or I toss something, and I think it’s going to land on a chair, but it slides off the other side.

I think I’m going to do something clever, and it winds up a disaster. I guess I am like Clifford that way. I was terrible at sports. I was the last one chosen to be on any team. I have many unfond memories of being forced to go out on the basketball court during gym class and trying to shoot a basket and embarrassing everybody.

How did you come to create Clifford?
Clifford began as an art sample to show editors. I was hoping I could get a job as an illustrator. I did about 10 paintings. One was of a little girl standing under the chin of a big red dog and holding out her hand to see if it was still raining. I was rejected everywhere I went. One editor, Susan Hirschman, said that my work was too plain. She said, “You may have to write a story, and then if they buy the story, you could do the art. She pointed to the sample of the girl and the dog and said, “Maybe that’s a story.”

In about three days, I tried to think of all the things that would happen if you had a giant dog. I made him a little bigger than in the sample, and my wife, Norma, named him Clifford after an imaginary playmate she had when she was a child.

I made a dummy, and Norma made a cover for it. I took it to a publisher, where it went into a slush pile. Lilian Moore saw it and knew it wouldn’t be taken by that publisher, but she also knew that Scholastic was starting to publish original paperbacks for its book clubs. Beatrice de Regniers accepted it.

What did you get paid for the book?
I got $1,000 for the book and I think $750 to do the art.

The original price of the book was 35 cents. How long did it take you to earn out your advance?
Two years.

Three days is a very short time to write a book. Is it easy for you to write?
The first one was easy. The others got more difficult. The second Pbook I did was called Zany Zoo. It wasn’t a Clifford book.

How did the second Clifford book come about?
I said to Beatrice, “Would you like to see another one?” And she said, “Yes, if you have an idea, bring it to me, but I’m not going to just take anything.”

I wrote Clifford Gets a Job, and it did well, so I said to Beatrice, “Maybe I should try another one.”

And she said, “Well, you know, we’re not running a Norman Bridwell book club.” She said, “You can try some more, but don’t count on my taking them.”

The Clifford books did surprisingly well. One day Beatrice called me up and said, “You know, we’ve changed our minds. We do want to do a Norman Bridwell book club.”

She said again, “Don’t expect everything to be accepted,” and she stuck to that.

Do you remember any titles that she rejected?
You know, it’s been a long time now. They weren’t very memorable… Clifford trying to clean up, trying to protect the environment. That was too preachy. She didn’t like that.

I said to her one time, “Maybe I should be putting a message in these books,” and she said, “You’re not a message person. You just entertain them.” So I did as I was told and just tried to make kids laugh.

What’s your process?
When I have an idea, I sketch it out in thumbnail sketches—just the action from page to page. When I have the drawings done, I think of the words that go with them. As you know, the words don’t exactly match the picture, which, I think, is funny to the children. The words don’t just describe what is going on, but the kids can figure it out.

What is your studio like?
Cluttered. It’s filled with Clifford products Scholastic has given me [such as plush toys, puzzles, games, clothing, and stationery]. I have a desk and a telephone. With an 11-by-14-inch pad and a pencil, I’m in business. I had a studio built kind of late in life, around 12 years ago. I thought I’d jinx myself if I built one before.

How did your kids respond to Clifford while they were growing up?
It was just something that Dad did. It wasn’t anything really special. They had other books that they liked much more than Clifford. In fact, on the Internet, my son says his favorite children’s books were by Dr. Seuss. My daughter didn’t realize Clifford was popular until she went to college. I’d given her a Clifford reading rug that she put in her dorm room. The other girls saw it and said, “Oh! Clifford!” When my daughter asked, “How do you know about him?” they said, “Everybody reads Clifford!”

The original Clifford books were black and red, measured eight-by-six inches, and had a landscape orientation. In the ’80s, the books were reformatted to a full-color, eight-by-eight format. Would you talk about that?
I guess the original books didn’t show up well in bookstores. When Dick Krinsley joined Scholastic, he converted the books to eight by eight so they could be displayed on a rack.

It amazes me that some people have said, “You know, I liked the early art better.”

Some artists object to changes in a book’s original design or format. But you were very cooperative.
If I thought my work was beautiful or very artistic, I might feel differently, but I feel that the purpose of my drawings is to get the point of the story across. So I am perfectly willing to have somebody else’s advice on color and format.

What was it like to grow up in Kokomo, Indiana?
It was quiet. It gave me plenty of time to think. I walked to school in the morning, I walked home from school at night, and, all that time, I was making up stories in my mind. Imaginary people. Imaginary places. And then in the evening I’d sit down and draw pictures to go with the stories I thought of during those walks.

I was a very gangly, skinny kid. My nicknames were Muscles because I had none—I was just a skeleton with skin—and Ovaltine, which is a chocolate drink that kids were supposed to drink to make them gain weight.

So you have always been a visual storyteller, even as a child.
Drawing was the only thing I was really interested in. My father would bring paper home from the factory. They were order forms that were plain on the back. I would draw all kinds of characters and adventures. I wasn’t really good at anything else. My high school shop teacher took the tools away from me after about three weeks. He said, “You’re going to hurt yourself! Go get some paper and sit over there and draw.” I did, and I was very grateful for the chance to do that.

Did you go to art school in Indiana?
Yes, I did. I went to art school for four years, but it didn’t prepare me for the real world of commercial art. I had to learn that when I got to New York.

Why did you move to New York CIty right after you graduated?
I couldn’t find any work in Indiana, but I had friends who were going to Cooper Union. They said, “Better to be out of work in New York than out of work here. Come along.” So I went along and wrapped packages at Macy’s for a while. I worked for a lettering studio and then for a necktie fabric-designing firm. And then finally, I got work making cartoons for filmstrips and slides.

What kinds of cartoons were they?
They were for sales meetings and promotions. A writer would write a script and the cartoonists would try to add humorous situations. We did work for Arrow Shirts, American Standard Plumbing, and Maxwell House Coffee—all sorts of products. The hardest part was convincing the salesmen that what we were drawing was going to be funny. They usually didn’t get the jokes.

Working on those cartoons must have been good training for a future picture book author and illustrator.
I had a lot of fun trying to inject humor into a very dry script. It was good practice.

Nobody ever said, “Hey, that’s good,” or “Thank you.” You just did it. It went out the door. You never heard anything about it. But when I did the books, children began writing to me. I thought, “This is great. Somebody noticed.” Kids let you know if they like something.

The Clifford books have humor young children can enjoy and can understand. It’s very hard to write humor for that age group. What’s the secret of your success?
I read one time about a silent film comedian whose name I can’t recall now, but he was very popular. He was a very funny guy, and then somebody told him how good he was, and he got to thinking about it. And when he started thinking about what he was doing, he ruined it. Instead of acting upon his natural instincts, he began planning, and things fell apart.

Do you have a favorite Clifford book?
I always liked Clifford and the Grouchy Neighbors. A lot of children have neighbors who complain, “Don’t come into on my yard! Don’t step on my lawn!”

I thought that could happen to Clifford. The characters look like my mother’s neighbors back in Indiana, but the fact is, they were very nice, considerate neighbors. I hope they never noticed that the grouchy neighbors look like them.

Grace Maccarone is Holiday House’s executive editor.

Book display at Brook Forest Elementary School.

Librarians, authors and illustrators are gearing up for Picture Book Month in November, which will build on the success of last year’s inaugural event. The brainchild of author and storyteller Dianne de Las Casas, Picture Book Month encourages the recognition of picture books through blogs, tweets and other activities.

What’s on the schedule? For starters, de Las Casas has arranged for authors and illustrators to post daily on the Picture Book Month site. Caldecott Medalists Chris Raschka and Paul O. Zelinsky, along with authors Doreen Cronin and Jon Scieszka, are among the 30 “Picture Book Month Champions” weighing in. A Picture Book Month calendar recommends daily themes that educators can focus on—from food to monsters to pigs—and suggests that every Monday be devoted to nonfiction picture books.

Organizations including the Children’s Book Council and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have signed on for the event. “AASL is pleased to partner with Picture Book Month and to help highlight the value of connecting people of all ages, but especially the young, with this unique and remarkable format,” said AASL president Susan Ballard.

Mock Caldecott display at Minges Brook Elementary School.

How are school librarians getting involved? Mary Ann Scheuer, librarian at Emerson School in the  Berkeley (CA) Unified School District, will emphasize titles for older readers, like Jacqueline Woodson’s picture books, for her fourth and fifth graders. “My students are completely drawn into her stories, appreciating the language, character development and emotions,” Scheuer told School Library Journal. In addition, she says, picture books can challenge older students to focus on skills like inference that are critical to the Common Core Standards. “When we read Woodson’s Visiting Day (Scholastic, 2002) illustrated by James Ransome, they inferred that Maya’s father was in prison, a fact the text does not explicitly state,” she observes.

Displays, an author visit, and student-run mock Caldecotts are all part of the plan for John Schumacher, librarian at Brook Forest Elementary School in Oak Brook, IL. Schumacher will post the calendar around his school and have classes set picture book reading goals that they will track using Biblionasium, a social networking site for kids that promotes independent reading.

He’ll also host Tad Hills, bestselling author/illustrator of Rocket Writes a Story (Schwartz & Wade, 2012) and will collaborate on the mock Caldecott with Colby Sharp, a fourth grade teacher at Minges Brook Elementary School in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Laurel Snyder, author of such picture books as Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher (Tricycle, 2010), will visiting the Main Street Academy in College Park, GA, and will Skype with students from the Community School of Davidson in North Carolina.

Looking for more ways to get involved? Find some inspirations on the event website.

What made you want to write a picture book about the life of John Coltrane?

When I was 17, I bought my first Coltrane record and was moved by the heartfelt quality of his sound. I had heard about his addiction history and knew he was great player, but only years later—as I listened to WBGO, the great jazz station—did I become really familiar with his depth and range. Some time after I’d finished writing my first picture book, Jimi: Sounds Like A Rainbow (Clarion, 2010), I heard a Coltrane birthday broadcast…and it was my mother’s birthday, as well. Because of that, I felt inspired to delve into the man’s life, and again, it was the qualities of heart and tenderness—in his story and in his music—that convinced me to write about him.

Coltrane had a complicated life and your book deals with some serious topics like drug abuse and alcoholism. Did you feel they were essential to the story, and did you have difficulty addressing those issues with a young audience?

I tried to discuss those topics in a way that would lessen some of the mystery often attached to them. As a therapist myself, I know that drug use is just a side-effect of difficult things that happen or exist in a person’s life, whether it’s poverty, trauma, the loss of a parent or someone close, and various kinds of abuse. People use drugs and alcohol to try and balance out feelings of sadness, pain, lack of confidence, or confusion. It’s never really about the substances, but always about what’s underneath. For John, the loss of all the men in his life (father, grandfather, uncle), at an early age, left him vulnerable to a certain loneliness—even emptiness—that was temporarily relieved by alcohol and drugs, despite his spiritual nature or maybe even because of it. He was a very sensitive teen—like many of the kids I work with today—and the power of his story lies in the fact that it’s a very human tale, about losing one’s way and finding it again. Kids can understand these things if we’re honest and straightforward in our talking or writing about them.

Tell us about the research you did for the book? What surprised you most about Coltrane?

I did a lot of reading about Coltrane’s life, from a variety of sources. This wasn’t simply to understand the arc of his life, but to benefit from different perspectives on the man and insights into his character. What surprised me most about Coltrane’s life were the details about his childhood. He was deeply affected by his father’s and grandfather’s deaths, and suffered panic attacks, tremendous self-doubt and grief because he lost his footing, part of his emotional foundation, at the age of 12/13. And of course, this was only intensified by living in the Jim Crow South. As a child, I experienced some emotional challenges of my own, and I still marvel at how people survive such powerful—and seemingly destructive—forces.

Spirit Seeker deals with spirituality. Are you spiritual yourself or did you include it because it was a big part of Coltrane’s life?

I’ve always been very drawn to the spiritual side of things, from my early exposure to Christianity to a deep interest in Eastern philosophies—Buddhism and Taoism—as a teenager and adult. I also nearly died as a result of an accident when I was 24 years old, and that experience changed my life in profound ways. It was a spiritual moment for me, and became a touchstone of sorts for everything that followed. Coltrane had a similar experience when he decided to stop using drugs—he experienced a revelation—and it put him on a new path, one that led to his work with Thelonius Monk, his reunion with Miles Davis, and his development as a band leader and composer. A Love Supreme is really all about his spiritual transformation, his rebirth, and the gratitude that he felt for being able to use and develop his talents. It’s a jazz lovesong, and you can hear Coltrane himself speaking the words “A Love Supreme, A Love Supreme,” over and over. It’s also about a personal approach to the Divine, and how each of us interprets that connection.
You’re a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who works with kids and teen on issues like addiction. How does it influence you as a writer?

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m really still 16 (though my wife might put the number considerably younger than that). I love teenagers because I tune into that age frequency, which is filled with longing and hopefulness, a search for the ideal. Teens want so much to believe in the goodness of the world, but they’re easily disappointed and often have trouble sustaining confidence in themselves, or faith in other people. And who can blame them? Which is why they need to be given inspiring examples—like John Coltrane—in books and movies. Teens are very susceptible to inspiration.

What do you think is the appropriate age that parents should start telling their kids about substance abuse?

So many parents I know—well-meaning parents—send mixed messages to their kids about substance use, and especially about drinking. Sure, it’s funny to see Cheech and Chong carrying a three-foot joint, but when adults start telling “war stories” about their adventures at Woodstock or Bonnaroo, we can’t blame kids for wanting to experiment. And teenagers will experiment—they want to learn about life on their own—but if we talk to them while keeping a cool head, the lines of communication can remain open. Teenagers also have advanced B.S. detectors, so if we say one thing and do another (like get drunk at a party or smoke a joint in the basement), then they feel there’s a double standard. Most of all, kids want adults to be consistent, honest, and reliable, and while none of us is perfect, it’s important to match our words to our behaviors as parent, caregiver, teacher or mentor. There’s really no perfect age for discussing substance use with kids, because every child has different needs and experiences. Ideally, it should be an ongoing conversation.

What do you hope kids take away from Spirit Seeker?

The book isn’t didactic, just a story of one person’s persistence, a desire to do the best he can with what he’s been given. Everyone’s best is different, of course, and we may feel that some people fall short of what they could accomplish. But life is more subtle and rich than that—things aren’t always so simple—and we can never say where someone will end up, given sufficient support and encouragement. Coltrane would have been the first person to thank all those—musicians, family, and friends—who helped him along the way, all of whom he saw as embodying Spirit in one form or another. We’re very much interdependent on one another.

You’ve also written books about Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. Can you explain your fascination with musicians?

Music and musicians are fascinating! I love music and can never really get enough of it, given my taste for just about every genre: world music, jazz, pop, blues, symphonic, rock, folk, country, bluegrass and electronic. John Cage, Eminem, Bessie Smith, Bartok—I could go on forever—they’re all fair game, depending on the mood I’m in. Only problem is, if I listen to something intently and repeatedly during the day, I hear it all night in my sleep!

How does Rudy Gutierrez’s illustrations enhance your words and how closely did you collaborate?

I wish I could take credit for choosing Rudy, but that honor goes to my beloved editor, Lynne Polvino, of Clarion. She has a great talent for pairing picture book authors with illustrators, and even though she graciously asks my opinion, it’s not really the author’s call. Picture book authors and illustrators are pretty much kept apart (for their own good and the sake of the book!), but Rudy asked that I be present when he brought in his paintings/illustrations. So the folks at Clarion had his paintings—some of which were 5 feet high by 3 feet wide—set up around a large conference room when I arrived, and one look took my breath away. At that moment, I realized that the book wasn’t about me, or Rudy, or maybe even about John Coltrane, but about the themes of Art and Spirit that are at its core. I’ll also say that Rudy has a big heart, full of Spirit, and his sincere dedication to Coltrane’s story and music shows in those incredible images.

What are you working on now? Maybe something on Billie Holiday? I know my kids would love that.

Funny you should say that, because I always wanted to do a picture book on Billie but never found a way that made sense. Fortunately, Carole Boston Weatherford did write about her—for a teen audience—with Becoming Billie Holiday, a powerful, beautiful book. As for my present projects, I recently sold a picture book text called Bird & Diz, about the creators/creation of Bebop, and also finished a picture book text on Charlie Chaplin, another fascinating subject. See—I don’t just do musicians!

These picture-book gems not only tell a story, but they also provide nonfiction text features, including  glossaries, bibliographies, websites, primary source documentation, and author notes. The bonus for librarians and teachers is that many of the titles mentioned below are geared toward older readers but are also great read alouds.

As you may have recently heard at The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards and Colloquium at Simmons College, picture books are not dead. In fact, they are constantly changing. At the event, award-winning illustrators Erin E. Stead and Jon Klassen concur that they have just begun to experiment with the form, and  the “Picture Book Proclamation” penned by author Mac Barnett, states that “we believe that a picture book should fresh, honest, piquant, and beautiful.”

The following are some of 2012’s best biographies.

FERRIS, Jeri Chase. Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch. Noah Webster & His Words. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2012. ISBN 9780547390550. JLG Level: BE : Biography Elementary (Grades 2-6)
Noah came from a long line of farmers. “But Noah did not want to be in that long line. Not at all.” When Noah was found studying instead of working on the farm, his father went to his teacher who “CON-VINCED [verb: overcame by argument] him that Noah should be in school. So Noah went to Yale College at age 15. In 1781, Noah wrote his first book, an American speller that would unite the new country by spelling words “the same way, every time, everywhere.” His blue-backed speller became the first American schoolbook and cost 14 cents. In 1807, Noah decided he needed to show where words came from and what they meant. With this decision, he began the writing and research of a book that would come to be the second best-selling book ever printed in English: Webster’s Dictionary.

HOPKINSON, Deborah. Illustrated by Raul Colon. Annie and Helen. Schwartz & Wade Books, 2012. ISBN 9780375957062. JLG Level: BE : Biography Elementary (Grades 2-6)
For her first teaching assignment, Annie Sullivan boarded a train in Boston and traveled thousands of miles to Alabama. Her first student was Helen Keller. Being partially blind herself, Annie knew Helen’s temper tantrums stemmed from her inability to communicate. Punctuated with excerpts from Annie’s letters, Hopkinson tells the story of two people who overcame physical disabilities and forged new frontiers. Beautiful watercolor illustrations complement the text and contribute to the time and setting of the story. The account ends with a photograph of Helen’s first handwritten letter home, just four months after her training with Annie began.

MARKLE, Michelle. Illustrated by Amanda Hall. The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau.  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2012. ISBN 9780802853646. JLG Level: BE : Biography Elementary (Grades 2-6)
Henri Rousseau was 40 years old when he decided he wanted to paint. He loved nature and wanted to capture his feelings on canvas. Year after year, critics ridiculed his work. “If you want to have a good laugh, go see the paintings of Henri Rousseau.” Yet, Rousseau never gave up. He observed, painted, and continued to enter his works in exhibits. When he was 61 years old, he painted The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope. For the first time, not everyone was critical, and he developed a following. Today he is known as a great artist, inspiring many. Rousseau’s life and work are brought to life through an amazing story and illustrations.

NOBLEMAN, Marc Tyler. Illustrated by Ty Templeton. Bill The Boy Wonder: The Secret of Co-Creator of Batman. Charlesbridge, 2012. ISBN  9781580892896. JLG Level: BE : Biography Elementary (Grades 2-6)
Nobleman reveals that Bob Kane was not the writer of the long-lasting Batman comics; in fact, Bill Finger, using secret identities, not only anonymously wrote the comics, he also came up with the original look and concept of the famous character. Iron-clad contracts kept Finger, who died in 1974, from getting credit. In the author’s notes, readers learn that Nobleman conducted diligent research, uncovering not only primary source documents, but also more pictures than had ever been found before.  And, perhaps most importantly, he found Finger’s last living heir. Not just for comic book fans, readers will be caught up in the life of a creative genius and the secret he kept so soundly.

RAY, Deborah Kogan. Paiute Princess: The Story of Sarah Winnemucca. Frances Foster Books, 2012. ISBN  9780374398972. JLG Level: BE : Biography Elementary (Grades 2-6)
Ray tells the tragic story of the Paiute tribe in the 1800s when white settlers continued to take over their land. As a young girl, Thocmetony believed what her grandfather told her about the settlers: “You must not be afraid. They are very good [people].” Sarah Winnemucca, as Thocmetony became known, was sent to live with a white family and went to school. As she grew older, she became a champion for her tribe. She fought for education, staging dramatic events to raise money to help her people. She fought against corruption and abuses within the Bureau of Indian Affairs , and became an interpreter for the Army. The “Paiute Princess” spent her life trying to bring peace. Ray tells a story of prejudice, unfair policies, the mistreatment of women and children, and of a strong woman who lived in two worlds and fought to gain respect and dignity for her people.

STANBRIDGE, Joanne. The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of a Famous American Composer.. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2012. ISBN  9780547238661. JLG Level: E+ : Easy Reading (Grades 1-3)
“Even the most ordinary sounds are like songs to Mr. Ives. He writes music as busy as a city street.” Sadly, no one wanted to listen. Mr. Ives wrote his music anyway. In 1915 the ocean liner, Lusitania, was hit by an enemy torpedo. It took the lives of a thousand innocent passengers. The horrors of war struck the people of New York. Mr. Ives could not write, but one day he heard a man playing a hymn at a train station and was inspired to create a song. More than 50 years passed before anyone heard this masterpiece. Finally, composers listened to his music and liked  and understood it. Stanbridge’s wordless account of the sinking of the ocean liner makes the story all the more poignant. The scene at the train station will fill readers’ hearts, and strains of “Gather at the River” will echo in their ears.

For ideas about how to use these books and links to supportive sites, check out the Junior Library Guild blog, Shelf Life.

Junior Library Guild is a collection development service that helps school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Season after season, year after year, Junior Library Guild book selections go on to win awards, collect starred or favorable reviews, and earn industry honors. Visit us at www.JuniorLibraryGuild.com.