Volume 33 Nº 4 - November 1997

Professional reading

Co-ordinated by Shae Shelton

Bristow, Thom 1997, 'Finding the healing story', Storytelling Magazine, vol. 9, July, pp. 18-20.
A 30-year veteran psychotherapist shares some practical tips for the application of therapeutic storytelling. Centuries before 'bibliotheraphy' came on the scene, good counsellors, teachers, librarians and parents used stories to heal.

Campbell Patty 1997, 'Rescuing young adult literature', Horn Book, May-June, pp. 363-9.
Campbell warns that 14 to 19-year-olds have been lost to YA literature just at the time that the books were improving. A great body of leterature is being created but the audience has gone elsewhere and 'their books' are being appropriated by younger children whose association with them 'taints' the books for older readers. Campbell suggest ways of recapturing the older children's interest.

Chelton, Mary K 1997, 'Three in five public library users are youth: Implications of survey results from the National Centre for Education Statistics, Public Libraries, vol. 36, March-April, pp. 104-8.
A US survey has revealed discrepancies between what public libraries users want and what they are offered. The social indicators for the youth populations make it clear that no public agency can afford to ignore youth for long before the results of such neglect become apparent. For the public library the long-term results will most likely be shrinking use and reduced public support by adults who were badly served or neglected in their own youth.

'The Children's Book Council of Australia Annual Awards', 1997, Reading Time, vol. 41, August, pp. 4-7.
A compilation of the judges' appraisals with observations on publishing trends, standards and the 'evolving issues', including emerging themes in children's literature, the appropriateness of current CBC award categories and innovative illustrations in books.

Clark, Mary & McClelland, Kate, 1997, 'Young critics with a passion for books', Booklinks, vol. 6, July, pp. 23-6
This short article describes how the authors set up a 'young critic club' in a public library. They describe the processes used and the rules governing the club. The authors have also provided titles that made their 'critics list'. The reader-reviewer response of 'I just love this book' is highly valued but it is the titles which evoke ongoing discussion week-after-week that fascinate young readers.

Edwards, Hazel 1997, 'Sentenced to creativity', The Literature Base, vol. 8, July, pp. 12-15.
Edwards describes the procedures used in her 'cluey writing' workshops held in the prison hospital of the old Fremantle Jail.

Edwards, Hazel & Alexander, Goldie 1997, 'Judging violence', Viewpoint, vol. 8, Winter, pp. 34-5.
Judges of youth literary competitions and teachers are increasingly alarmed by the twin themes of despair and death, often described in gruesome detail in students' stories. This poses a dilemma for judges of literacy competitions: do they accept this violent trend in the language and actions and hopelessness or reject it out of hand? The authors list twelve guidelines from several highly experienced judges of literary competitions which are creative ways to solve the challenge.

Hanzl, Anne 1997, 'Portrayal of cultural diversity in picture books', The Literature Base, vol. 8, May, pp. 4-7.
Multiculturalism has been part of the public debate in Australia for many years. This article reflects on the issue for teachers and the author provides an accompanying bibliography of picture books representing cultural diversity around the world.

Harms, Haenne McLain & Lettow, Lucille 1997, 'Book design', Book Links, vol. 6, March, pp. 31-3.
This is the second part of a series on 'visual links' which examines how design elements contribute to a picture book's impact and appeal. In becoming visually literate, children will discover that illustrations accompanying a picture book's text have been designed to provide a more meaningful reading experience.

Johnston, Rosemary 1997, 'Children's literature - the missing link? Why are so many students choosing to opt out of literature study?', The Literature Base, vol. 8, July, pp. 4-11.
This article reflects on the way literature is taught throughout the child's schooling. Johnston claims that isolated and complex fragments of books are studies without allowing young readers to be exposed to children's literature as a whole.

'Joyce Oldmeadow remembers early special treasure from the Dromkeen Children's Literature Collection', 1997, Dromkeen Society Bulletin, vol. 3, July, pp. 1, 3, 6.
This is a brief but interesting anecdotal article on how the Oldmeadow's started their private collection.

McLain, Jeanne & Lettow, Lucille 1997, 'Book design: illuminated letters and borders', Booklinks, vol. 6, July, pp. 32-5.
The first two articles of this series concentrated on book design elements associated with the jacket, endpapers and titles pages. Additional book design elements can be found within the body of the book, particularly when illuminated letters and borders adorn text and illustrations.

Mahy, Margaret 1996, 'The writer in New Zealand: Building bridges through children's books', Bookbird, vol. 34, Winter, pp. 6-11.
'Nowadays I feel I can write naturally and passionately about New Zealand, a beautiful, damaged country which I love, but I had to work my way toward doing this and I was helped by other New Zealanders also working their way in more or less the same direction for more or less the same reasons.' Mahy discusses the difficulty of having work published that is specifically meant for a New Zealand audience when publishers cannot foresee the story selling well in Los Angeles or Sydney.

Miller, Peggy J 1997, 'Peter Rabbit and Mr McGregor reconciled; Charlotte lives: Preschoolers recreate the classics', Horn Books, May-June, p. 292.
Miller's own children were deeply affected by the two children's classics: Kurt by Peter Rabbit and Kathleen by Charlotte's death. This led both children to recreate the stories in ways that were significant to them. Miller claims that this demonstration of using literature to work one's way through the emotional issues and obtain insights into the human condition supports her own research on this theme.

Minkel, Walter & Anderson-Torgrimson, Paige 1997, 'Blender Web nerd world? A guided tour of where teens go for (gulp) fun on the Net', School Library Journal, vol. 43, July, pp. 24-8.
In their examination of how children use the Internet when they are not doing 'research' for school assignments, two things became clear: library web pages don't hold teens' interest and what teens do 'surf for' when they are not in research mode is not alarming.

Odean, Katheleen 1997, 'Dynamic older women', Booklinks, vol. 6, May, pp.34-6.
Although children's books favour cosy grandmothers, some offer welcome alternatives to the stereotypes. In the list provided, picture storybooks for preschoolers and primary school children highlight strong older women who break the mould.

Reeder, Stephanie Owen 1997, 'Painting pictures in the mind: Creating and reviewing children's picture books', Magpies, vol. 12, September, pp. 15-18.
Reeder, using her own picture book, The Flaming Witch, as an example, provides guideposts to assist reviewers in raising the standard of picture book reviewing in Australian journals.

Ross, Catherine 1997, 'Reading the covers off Nancy Drew: What readers say about series books', Emergency Librarian, vol. 24, May-June, pp. 19-22.
It makes good sense to the author to examine 'series books' - the uncontested favourite reading material of 'beginning readers' for almost a century. One salient point made by the author is that young readers give themselves 'private lessons' through their avid reading.

Smith, Karen Patricia 1996, 'Seeking the high road: Two perspectives on growing up in Australia', Bookbird, vol. 34, Winter, pp. 18-23.
In this wonderful article, Smith analyses the autobiographies of Eleanor Spence and Kath Walker with particular regard to their experiences during the 1930s. Despite their obvious differences - one from a middle class white background, the other an Aboriginal person who later became a civil rights activist, author and poet - they share common elements of searching for personal identity and position within the rigid gender expectations of their families.

Symons, Ann K 1997, 'Sizing up sites: How to judge what you find on the Web', School Library Journal, vol. 43, April, pp. 22-5.
In the second part of her 'Smart Web primer', Ann Symons examines criteria which librarians should employ when selecting Web sites for their teaching colleagues and students.

Townsend, John Rowe 1997, 'How children's books began', Books for Keeps, May, pp. 10-11.
The author of Written for Children (now in its sixth edition) explains how children have not always been seen as a separate readership from adults and that books intended for children date back only 250 years. This is the first part of a continuing series in Books for Keeps.

This is Shae Shelton's final summary of professional reading. Orana thanks her for her enthusiastic contribution.