Mildred L. Batchelder Award

FALL 2019 Mirrors -and- Windows... LITERATURE WHERE CHILDREN SEE THEMSELVES AND OTHERS © Duncan Tonatiuh My name is Jonda C. McNair, and I am a professor of Literacy Education at Clemson University. I specialize MILDRED L. BATCHELDER AWARD in literature intended for youth, and I am pleased to create this newsletter with the purpose of promoting and highlighting quality books for children in grades The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, given annually by the American Library Association kindergarten through 6. In an article titled “Mirrors, (ALA), “is awarded to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors,” Rudine Sims most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and Bishop (1990) wrote: in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar in the United States during the preceding year” (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants or strange. These windows are also sliding glass /bookmedia/batchelderaward, para. 1). The award was created in 1966 in honor of Mildred doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever L. Batchelder, a children’s librarian and former executive director of the Association for world has been created or recreated by the Library Service to Children who worked with ALA for 30 years. “Her life’s work was ‘to author. When lighting conditions are just eliminate barriers to understanding between people of different cultures, races, nations, right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and and languages’” (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/batchelderaward reflects it back to us, and in that reflection /batchelderabout, para. 1). Each year, a five-member committee selects one book to win the we can see our own lives and experiences as Batchelder Award; the committee may name as many or as few Honor Books as it chooses. part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books. (p. ix) In this issue, we feature reviews of two recent Batchelder Honor Books: Over the Ocean, As a doctoral student at The Ohio State University, I written and illustrated by Taro Gomi (originally published in Japan), and Written and had the privilege of being mentored by Dr. Bishop. Her Drawn by Henrietta, written and illustrated by Liniers (originally published in Argentina). commitment to equity issues in relation to children’s literature has significantly impacted my scholarship. Batchelder Award books over the years have been translated from languages such as I have titled this newsletter “Mirrors and Windows” Lithuanian, Chinese, Greek, Russian, Italian, French, Hebrew, Norwegian, German, Danish, because it is my intention to provide children with opportunities to see images of themselves and others and Turkish. Additional recommended winners for children in grades K–6 are Cry, Heart, in the featured books. This will mean paying attention But Never Break by Glenn Ringtved, illustrated by Charlotte Pardi and translated by Robert to books across various racial groups and international Moulthrop; The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy, written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna children’s literature. In addition, there will be a conscious attempt to include books across various genres such as and translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick; The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated poetry, fantasy, informational text, biography, historical by Aušra Kiudulaitė and translated by the Translation Bureau; My Beijing: Four Stories of fiction, and contemporary realistic fiction. This newsletter Everyday Wonder, written and illustrated by Nie Jun and translated by Edward Gauvin; and will be created with the assistance of numerous Clemson University undergraduates, most of whom are majoring Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village by Fang Suzhen, illustrated by Sonja Danowski and in early childhood, elementary, or special education. translated by Huang Xiumin. Our intended audience includes parents, teachers, media specialists, booksellers, and interested others in the Upstate area of South Carolina and beyond. The winners of the 2020 Mildred L. Batchelder Award (titles published in 2019) will be Work Cited announced on January 27 at ALA’s midwinter conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 6(3), ix–xi. REVIEWS Lessac’s folk art illustrations create a sharp visual contrast from page to page to HOW TO represent the changing of the seasons, such as when the background switches READ A BOOK from bright green grass and multicolored trees to snow-covered ground with leafless trees. The use of bright colors in the people’s styles and varying skin tone Written by Kwame Alexander. colors brings to life the modern lifestyle of Cherokee people. This is a book for Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. which many readers will indeed be grateful. Harper/HarperCollins, 2019. —Hartley Craven $17.99 Grades K–6 Imagine opening a book, reading it “piece/by/piece/part/by part/page by/rustling/page,” hoping you never reach the end of this neon-colored world in which you find a way to wander into a book. Plant yourself into the collaboration of illustrator Melissa Sweet’s crafted artwork and author Kwame Alexander’s poem. This visionary journey allows readers to explore Alexander’s poetry and Sweet’s three-dimensional collages of discarded books, tattered books, and covers, along with paint and other materials, page by page. Alexander’s use of rhythm and strong figurative language includes examples of personification, such as “when the sun/is so quiet,” and Sweet’s creative artwork shapes the imaginative world that readers will dive into as they read the text. The pages are crafted creatively to emphasize the phrases from the poem while also providing a sensory interaction. For example, three different paper folds show the lines “And bursts of/orange/explore, beneath a perfect purple moon.” Readers will be captivated, want to “get/real cozy between/the covers,” and let their “fingers wonder” while they read a book that they will never want to end. —Marianne Beck WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA OVER THE OCEAN Written by Traci Sorell. Illustrated by Frané Lessac. Written and illustrated by Taro Gomi. Chronicle, 1979/2016. (Originally Charlesbridge, 2018. published in Japan) $17.99 Grades K–6 $16.99 Grades K–3 What are you grateful for? In this poetic book, Gomi explores the world “Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to of a child’s imagination. Throughout the express gratitude. It is a reminder to book, the girl simply stares at the ocean in “Cherokee people celebrate our blessings and reflect on front of her—readers do not see her face. say otsaliheliga to struggles—daily, through the year, and across the seasons.” So begins express gratitude. It is this picture book, which was a 2018 Have you ever wondered about the world around you? In this book, a young a reminder to celebrate Robert F. Sibert Informational girl looks out over the ocean and contemplates what is happening in the world our blessings and Book Medal honor book, about a beyond. The beginning of the text reads, “What is over the ocean? Maybe there reflect on struggles— Cherokee family and their tribal is more ocean over the ocean. What is in the ocean over the ocean? Maybe there daily, through the year, nation as they express gratitude are a lot of ships.” In this poetic book, Gomi explores the world of a child’s for big and small things. Sorell, a imagination. Throughout the book, the girl simply stares at the ocean in front and across the seasons.” citizen of the Cherokee Nation, of her—readers do not see her face. The bottom half of the illustrations never takes advantage of the art of pace in changes, always showing the girl overlooking the ocean, and the top half of the this text by using ellipses at the beginning of most pages to create a continuous illustrations depicts what the girl imagines is happening in the world beyond list of things the Cherokee people are grateful for, creating a mood of pride and what she can see of the ocean. Gomi uses line to convey horizon as well as the gratitude. Part of the text reads, “When cool breezes blow and leaves fall, we say movement of the water, boats, and wind. The girl’s thought process comes full otsaliheliga . while we collect buckbrush and honeysuckle to weave baskets. / . circle by the end of the book as she wonders, “Is someone standing looking over to remember our ancestors who suffered hardship and loss on the Trail of Tears.” the ocean . just like I am doing now?” Cherokee words (e.g., gola, winter) are included, along with pronunciation guides. —Betsy Davis REVIEWS world created by Henrietta. In this graphic novel for young readers, Henrietta receives a box of colored pencils and creates a story with the help of her cat, Fellini. Emily, her protagonist, is introduced to a three-headed monster trying to find a hat for its third head. The monster says the hat is somewhere in Emily’s closet, so the adventure begins. The closet leads the group to an amazing world in which they meet a cast of colorful characters along the way, much like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Liniers sets up the story in a relatable way that brings the mind of a child to life through his experience with his own three daughters (he dedicates the book to them). For example, the character that Henrietta creates in the story has a stuffed bunny named “My Favorite,” just like Liniers’ daughter Clementina.

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