Play, Literacy, and Youth
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Children the journal of the Association for Library Service to Children Libraries & Volume 10 Number 1 Spring 2012 ISSN 1542-9806 The PLAY issue: Play, Literacy, and Youth Sendak, Riordan, Joyce: Read More About ’Em! Making Mentoring Work PERMIT NO. 4 NO. PERMIT Change Service Requested Service Change HANOVER, PA HANOVER, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Illinois Chicago, PAID 50 East Huron Street Huron East 50 U.S. POSTAGE POSTAGE U.S. Association for Library Service to Children to Service Library for Association NONPROFIT ORG. NONPROFIT Table Contents● ofVolume 10, Number 1 Spring 2012 Notes 25 Instruction, a First Aid Kit, and Communication 2 Editor’s Note Necessary Components in the Sharon Verbeten Mentoring Relationship Meg Smith Features 27 Beyond Library Walls Improving Kindergarten Readiness SPECIAL FOCUS: in At-Risk Communities Play and Literacy Kim Snell 3 We Play Here! Bringing the Power of Play 30 Newbies and Newberys into Children’s Libraries Reflections from First-Time Betsy Diamant-Cohen, Tess Prendergast, Christy Estrovitz, Newbery Honor Authors Carrie Banks, and Kim van der Veen Sandra Imdieke 11 The Preschool Literacy And You 37 Inside Over There! (PLAY) Room Sendak Soars in Skokie Creating an Early Literacy Play Area in Your Library 38 An Exploratory Study of Constance Dickerson Children’s Views of Censorship Natasha Isajlovic-Terry and Lynne (E.F.) McKechnie 16 A Museum in a Library? Science, Literacy Blossom at 44 The Power of Story Children’s Library Discovery Center The Role of Bibliotherapy for the Library Sharon Cox James R. Allen, et. al. 18 Broward County Library Celebrates Ten Years of the Ashley Departments Bryan Art Series Eric Gómez 22 Call for Referees 50 Children and Technology 20 At Poseidon’s Fish Market Digital Storytelling Winning an Author Event with Rick Riordan More than the Sum of Its Parts Joella Peterson Larence Wawro 23 The Forgotten Characters of Childhood 53 ALSC News The Rise of William Joyce’s 63 Index to Advertisers The Guardians and The Leaf Men 64 The Last Word Stephanie Bange Elizabeth Enochs Peer-reviewed ON THE COVER: Puppets poke out of the "P is for Purple Puppet Theatre," designed by the Burgeon Group. Photo by Jason Doiy taken at the San Francisco Public Library. Editor’s Note Power of Play By Sharon Verbeten When I was a child, I never considered that my play time was actually teaching me something. I was just having too much fun Editor to notice. Sharon Verbeten, De Pere, Wis. Editorial Advisory Committee But now, as a parent and librarian, I’m well aware that every puzzle Christina M. Desai, Chair, Albuquerque, N.M. Rita Dunn, Wyoming, Mich. my daughter puts together, every play dinner she serves me, and Africa S. Hands, Louisville, Ky. Robin Fogle Kurz, Pendleton, S.C. every pulse she pretends to take are all part of one of the five vital Joyce R. Laiosa, Voorheesville, N.Y. Jean M. Stevenson, Duluth, Minn. early literacy practices. Play is a stepping stone to learning more Mary Fellows, ALSC President, Ex Officio, Albany, N.Y. about the world around her. Sharon Verbeten, Editor, Ex Officio, De Pere, Wis. Executive Director And, as few people could say it better, Mr. Rogers noted, “Play Aimee Strittmatter gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” Managing Editor Laura Schulte-Cooper Website Several practitioners in this issue share with our readers how www.ala.org/alsc they’ve incorporated play into their library environments, and Circulation how children and families are responding. Each practitioner may Children and Libraries (ISSN 1542-9806) is a refereed journal published three times per year by approach play in his or her own way, with whatever resources are the American Library Association (ALA), 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. It is the official pub- lication of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of ALA. Subscription available, but the takeaway should be clear: allow children the price: members of ALSC, $20 per year, included in membership dues; nonmembers, $40 per year in the U.S.; $50 in Canada, Mexico, and other countries. Back issues within one year of current opportunity and freedom to play, and, to paraphrase Dr. Seuss, issue, $12 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Children and Libraries, 50 E. Huron St., “Oh, the places they’ll go!” & Chicago, IL 60611. Members send mailing labels or facsimile to Member Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Nonmember subscribers: Subscriptions, orders, changes of address, and inqui- ries should be sent to Children and Libraries, Customer Service—Subscriptions, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; 1-800-545-2433, press 5; fax: (312) 944-2641; e-mail: [email protected]. Icon Denotes Peer-Reviewed Statement of Purpose Children and Libraries is the official journal of ALSC, a division of the American Library Articles Association. The journal primarily serves as a vehicle for continuing education of librarians working with children, which showcases current scholarly research and practice in library ser- Readers will notice a new feature this issue: a star icon (pictured) vice to children and spotlights significant activities and programs of the Association. (From the to indicate those articles that are peer-reviewed (refereed). journal’s “Policies and Procedures” document adopted by the ALSC board, April 2004.) Production Children and Libraries (CAL) has always appealed to a wide audi- ALA Production Services: Troy D. Linker, Chris Keech, Tim Clifford, Kirstin Krutsch, Chelsea McGorisk, and Rosalie Watts. ence, including public and school librarians but also academic faculty and college students. Researchers who publish in CAL will Advertising Bill Spilman, Innovative Media Solutions, 320 W. Chestnut St., PO Box 399, Oneida, IL 61467; now be assured that their articles will “count” as peer-reviewed 1-877-878-3260 or (309) 483-6467; fax: (309) 483-2371; e-mail: bill@innovativemediasolutions (a double-blind process), and students may cite these articles in .com. The journal accepts advertising for goods or services of interest to the library profession and librarians in service to youth in particular. It encourages advertising that informs readers their papers when required to use peer-reviewed articles. CAL also and provides clear communication between vendor and buyer. The journal adheres to ethical and commonly accepted advertising practices and reserves the right to reject any advertise- will continue to publish interviews, feature columns, essays, ALSC ment not suited to the above purposes or not consistent with the aims and policies of ALA. Acceptance of advertising in the journal does not imply official endorsement by ALA of the News, award acceptance speeches, and more. & products or services advertised. Manuscripts Manuscripts and letters pertaining to editorial content should be sent to Sharon Verbeten, editor, 820 Spooner Ct., De Pere, WI 54115; (920) 339-2740; e-mail: [email protected]. Caldecott to Mark Anniversary Manuscripts will be sent out for review according to the journal’s established referee proce- dures. See www.ala.org/alsc, “Communications & Publications” for author guidelines. If you are Next year, 2013, will mark the 75th anniversary of the interested in serving as a volunteer referee for manuscripts submitted to CAL, contact Editor Sharon Verbeten at [email protected]. More information about the referee process is avail- Randolph Caldecott Medal. Quick, without looking—do you able on the Web at the above address. know what book won the 1938 medal? It was Animals of the Bible, a Picture Book, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop with Indexing, Abstracting, and Microfilm Children and Libraries is indexed in Library and Information Science Abstracts and in Library text selected by Helen Dean Fish. Literature and Information Science. Children and Libraries is indexed, abstracted, and available in full text through EBSCOhost. For more information, contact EBSCO at 1-800-653-2726. You may not remember the book or the year, but ALSC is look- Children and Libraries is also available from ProQuest Information and Learning in one or more ing forward to honoring the longevity of the medal with a spe- of the following ways: online, via the ProQuest information service; microform; CD-Rom; and via database licensing. For more information, call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 2888 or online at www cial issue of Children and Libraries, set to publish in May 2013. .il.proquest.com. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI It may seem like a long way off, but we're well underway with Z39.48-1992. the planning for editorial features, photos, and maybe a few Copyright © 2012 American Library Association surprises. Watch the journal and our ALSC website, blog, and All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted Facebook page for updates as the year goes on. & by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other photocopying, reprint- ing, or translating, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. 2 Spring 2012 • Children and Libraries Special focus: play and literacy We Play Here! Bringing the Power of Play into Children’s Libraries BETSY DIAMANT-COHEN, TESS PRENDERGAST, CHRISTY ESTROVITZ, CARRIE BANKS, AND KIM VAN DER VEEN “Play is the child’s natural medium of self-expression.”1 home for long stretches of time with fewer opportunities to learn new words, make friends, or have extended periods of icture a child serving up a pretend cup of tea to her teddy free play outdoors. bears. Picture a child getting messy in the sandbox, this Ptime with a real-life friend.