OCTOBER FEBRUARY 2010 Jlgmonthly
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VOLUME 3, NUMBER 4 OCTOBER FEBRUARY 2010 jlgmonthly Four-Letter Words Does the word jerk belong in a young picture book? At what age levels are s** t and f** k appropriate? These are questions I have had to ask since I first began working at JLG back in 1991. At the time we had a strict policy against profanity in our selections. These days we couldn’t maintain a list of the highest-quality books if Susan Marston, JLG Editorial Director we were as strict about excluding books with “language issues.” However, we still hear from customers that it is something they grapple with, so we continue to pay attention. “Language” can be a consideration in determining the appropriate level for a book, or even whether to include a book on our list at all. Children’s authors use jarring words for many valid reasons. Still, there do seem to be times when the inclusion of potentially offensive words seems incidental or nonessential. Publishers often ask our reasons when we reject their books. When it is a question of what we perceive to be unsuitable language, it can break my heart, especially if it is a book I long to share. Sometimes publishers say “that’s too bad” in an understanding way and move on. But in some cases, they and their authors are willing to address our concerns and make changes. While I am strongly opposed to censorship, I am grateful for this receptiveness. Does that make me a hypocrite? Inside this issue: February Books ..................................................................................................... 2 Index of February Books ..................................................................................... 32 Did You Know ........................................................................................................ 32 March Forthcoming Titles ................................................................................... 32 Junior Library Guild 7858 Industrial Parkway www.juniorlibraryguild.com • 866.205.0570 Plain City, OH 43064 PS PRIMARY SPANISH • GRADES K–3 FEBRUARY Bear in Sunshine / Oso bajo el sol by Stella Blackstone • illustrated by Debbie Harter Barefoot • ISBN: 9781846864483 • Dewey: E • 24 pp • 9 4/5" x 8 7/10" Scheduled Month: February 2010 “Bear likes to play when the sun shines. / A Oso le gusta jugar cuando el sol brilla. When it’s stormy, he hides in his bed. / Cuando hay tormenta, se esconde en su cama.” Humorous illustrations depict Bear’s activities through the four seasons and in all kinds of weather. Glossary. Full-color illustrations. JLG’S REVIEWERS SAY: • Stella Blackstone e ectively introduces weather-related vocabulary words within the context of the story. • Debbie Harter’s artwork is bright and cheerful with humorous touches, such as Bear making snow-bears on a wintry day. • At the end of the book, Bear is pictured in each season, giving readers an opportunity to connect di erent kinds of weather with the appropriate season. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Rainy Day! by Patricia Lakin Seasons of the Year / Las estaciones del año by Margaret Hall Marco Flamingo / Marco Flamenco by Sheila Jarkins Stella Blackstone says, “I wrote Bear in Sunshine because I love to be outside, and I wanted to show children how much you can do outside at any time of year. “I try to create books that are accessible for small children and entertaining for adults at the same time. I get wonderful feedback about Bear. Parents often buy his stories for two-year-olds, and when they get a bit older, children then like to read them to their younger siblings. So, the books work as early readers as well as straightforward, rhyming stories for little ones. The next step seemed to be to off er the Bear books as bilingual readers. Bear in Sunshine is the fi rst. “All of the Bear books are illustrated by Debbie Harter, and I love the visual jokes in her art, especially her take on ‘Singing in the Rain.’” CURRICULUM INDICATIONS Book type: Bilingual picture book. nds a way to have fun in sun, rain, wind, Genre: Fiction. or snow. Summary: Bear likes to play in all kinds Curriculum areas: Language arts. Spanish. of weather. Topics: Weather. Bears. Rhyming stories. Available at juniorlibraryguild.com Main characters: Bear, a happy bear who Sensitive areas: None. 2 jlgmonthly • FEBRUARY 2010 866.205.0570 FEBRUARY GRADES PreK–K • KINDERGARTEN K Supersister by Beth Cadena • illustrated by Frank W. Dormer Clarion • ISBN: 9780547010069 • Dewey: E • 32 pp • 8" x 10" Scheduled Month: February 2010 “She slides like a speeding bullet. Wheee! Swings like a shooting rocket. Whoosh! ” She’s Supersister! Soon she is going to be the best big sister that any superbaby ever had. In the meantime she’s getting ready by being super helpful to her mother and super well-behaved in school. Full-color watercolor illustrations. JLG’S REVIEWERS SAY: • A lively story that will have special signi cance for children who are about to become older siblings themselves. Readers will appreciate Supersister’s enthusiasm for her new role, her achievements and mistakes, and her need for reassurance. Beth Cadena says the • Amusing, energetic artwork. inspiration for the story came from a button her • Supersister’s superhero identity oldest daughter was given is a fun twist on the idea of many years ago in a sibling being helpful around the house. class the family attended in preparation for their new • O ers a di erent and valid baby. The button read, I’m a Big Sister. approach from other “new “I wanted the story to capture the sibling” books. exuberance of that sentiment, but in a Super way, of course,” Ms. Cadena says. “I still have • e surprise ending may have the button—and the baby, although she’s readers turning back to page mostly grown now.” one to look for clues www.bethcadena.com in the story. Frank W. Dormer explains his artistic goal on his Web site: “I keep trying and trying to draw like a child. Someday I’ll get there. Until then I just draw.” www.frankwdormer.com YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Baby Brains and RoboMom by Simon James Maggie’s Monkeys by Linda Sanders-Wells Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman CURRICULUM INDICATIONS Book type: Picture book. Genre: Fiction. Summary: A young girl does all kinds of things around the house to help her pregnant mother, proud that when the new baby comes she is going to be “a super sister.” Main characters: Supersister; her parents; her dog, Poopsie. Curriculum areas: Language arts. Topics: Helpfulness. Preparing for a new sibling. Families. Sensitive areas: None. Available at juniorlibraryguild.com www.juniorlibraryguild.com FEBRUARY 2010 • jlgmonthly 3 P PRIMARY • GRADES K–1 FEBRUARY Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny! written and illustrated by Jan Thomas Beach Lane • ISBN: 9781416991502 • Dewey: E • 40 pp • 9" x 9" Scheduled Month: February 2010 Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob love to rhyme all the time, but the Big, Mean Dust Bunny doesn’t want to join them—at least not at rst. When Ed asks, “What rhymes with t?” the Big, Mean Dust Bunny thinks it’s fun to sit—on the other dust bunnies. Now that the Big, Mean Dust Bunny gets the hang of the game, how will the other dust bunnies get him to stop playing? Full-color, digital illustrations. JLG’S REVIEWERS SAY: • With strongly integrated text and art, this entertaining story is told in just over Jan Thomas says she has lots of experience one hundred words, making it an attention grabber for younger readers and with dust bunnies, because she lives in beginning readers alike. the dusty town of Socorro, New Mexico. Last year, a giant (Big, Mean) dust bunny • A lighter take on a bully story. e Big, Mean Dust Bunny changes from a emerged from frowning meanie to a hugging sweetie. under her bed. Ms. Thomas • ick, black outlines, bright colors, and bold expressions make the pages easy to see knew she had a from afar. Together with the dramatic dialogue, this is a great story time read-aloud. story. However, • Dust bunnies have never writing a book about “such been as endearing and an unpleasant, funny as they are in Jan disagreeable omas’s Rhyming Dust character” Bunnies and this equally was a real challenge for her, she admits, particularly because he had “such strong enjoyable sequel. opinions about his lines in the book.” www.janthomasbooks.com YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas Help! by Holly Keller CURRICULUM INDICATIONS Book type: Picture book. Curriculum areas: Language arts. Genre: Simple concept. Topics: Rhymes. Humor. Friendship. Bullies. Summary: The rhyming dust bunnies Danger. Forgiving. are joined in a rhyming game by the Sensitive areas: None. Big, Mean Dust Bunny. Main characters: The rhyming dust Available at bunnies: Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob; the Big, juniorlibraryguild.com Mean Dust Bunny; a cat. 4 jlgmonthly • FEBRUARY 2010 866.205.0570 FEBRUARY GRADES K–1 • PRIMARY P+ Born Yesterday The Diary of a Young Journalist by James Solheim • illustrated by Simon James Philomel • ISBN: 9780399251559 • Dewey: E • 32 pp • 9 1/4" x 11" Scheduled Month: February 2010 A baby (and aspiring writer) starts keeping a diary at birth. “I wasn’t wearing so much as a hair ribbon,” she writes. “And horror! My mom and dad were there.” She records her hopes, dreams, and her fascination with her big sister—a monkey bar superstar who has her very own hairbrush and knows how to operate a Popsicle. Full-color watercolor and ink illustrations. JLG’S REVIEWERS SAY: • e thoughts and insights of this absurdly precocious baby are truly funny. e book may James Solheim says, make children with younger “We all enter the world siblings wonder what “their” not knowing what babies are thinking.