As I wind
down into my final semester as a MLIS student, I wanted to broaden my knowledge
of children’s literature in the hope that it might help me work better with
some of my teens when I become a YA librarian. I also thought it would be fun
to learn about how children’s librarians at schools and public libraries
utilize technology to keep children’s’ interest and foster life-long learning.
I honestly never realized how much work goes in to reviewing a children’s
picture book or nonfiction book before I took this course. It’s eye-opening to
see how many library professionals have devoted their lives not only to
children and their literature, but also their programming, welfare, and the
quality of the materials made specifically for them.
I found
that the Kathleen Horning text, From
Cover to Cover, was extremely informative for describing the types of
evaluative strategies and reviewing techniques specific to children’s
literature. Everything from grading the quality of the illustrations to
judging
the appropriateness of the typeface was covered, which made my evaluation of
the materials we read in this class a lot easier. Although a bit on the drier
side in content, the Kimberley Reynolds text, Children’s Literature: A Very Short Introduction, was also
extremely informative, but in a separate way. I learned so much about the
history of children’s literature publishing as well as important topics related
to the evolution of children’s literature, such as video games as a form of
media narrative, the many faces of genre fiction, and the concept of
transmedia, which ended up being my final paper topic. Each text brought
different issues and solutions to the table and each one served as a learning
experience for anyone looking at children’s literature in a critical way.
Besides the
two main texts, we also got to read a lot of great articles during this course.
The Association for Library Services to Children’s article about media
mentorship was very enlightening. To think that librarians are some of the only
professionals who can provide the proper instruction and guidance to mentor
children and teens on the proper use of and etiquette for the internet,
applications, and other innovative technologies. That is a huge weight to put
on our shoulders! We basically have a part to play in training the next
generation of tech-savvy entrepreneurs and leaders of the 21st
century, which is pretty cool. I also really enjoyed reading Allie Jane Bruce’s
article One Being White. Having grown
up in
white privilege in a predominantly white, upper-middle class town, I knew
that I had little to no knowledge about the issues plaguing minorities and
other groups who suffer from prejudice. If anything, the article made me want
to incorporate even more diverse literature into our collections at my library
and someday, when I have my own collection of YA literature to develop and mold
to my standards, I will make it a point to keep and add more diverse
literature, especially if I’m located within a predominantly white area. In
fact, that’s an even stronger reason to add diverse literature to a collection;
children and teens can be exposed to situations and people they wouldn’t
normally be exposed to where they live and they can learn more about the world
in a controlled environment. Books have a special power in that regard.
I really
enjoyed the author project we did towards the beginning of the course. Despite
already knowing my author on a personal level, I still learned a lot about her
and her writing style through this project. I had never read her work before,
so this project gave me an excuse to read some of her literature, which I
thoroughly enjoyed (as I knew I would). I’m definitely looking forward to a
first look at the new manuscript for her “Dark Unicorn” novel! Another
assignment I enjoyed doing was the reading log. I’ve done one other reading log
for a different class, but this one challenged me to read more children’s and
middle grade
fiction, which I have been meaning to do. This is another scenario
where I benefited from being “forced” to do something for a class. I got to
choose the books I wanted to read and ended up walking away reading some really
terrific books, which I plan to continue reading long after this class. I also
got to shamelessly read some of the awesome picture books I’ve been eyeing at
my library as they come in, like Dragons
Love Tacos and Super Happy Magic
Forest (seriously, go read this one!). I’m one of those adults who only
reads teen fiction, so jumping over to middle grade wasn’t that different. Who
says your too old to read middle grade?
Overall, I’d
say this class was a humbling and fun experience that I would certainly commit
to again, if given the opportunity. It’s opened doors for me to the children’s
area of the library where I work and given me a greater appreciation for the
work my coworkers do every day downstairs with the kids. I’ve come out of this
class ready and willing to be a productive member of society and advocate for
children and teens everywhere, so I guess that means I gained some useful
knowledge and a better attitude.
References
Bruce,
A. J. (2015). On being white: A raw,
honest conversation. Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association
for Library Service to Children.
Campbell,
C., Haines, C., Koester, A., and Stoltz, D. (2015). Media mentorship in libraries serving youth. American Library
Association.
Horning,
K. T. (2010). From cover to cover: Evaluating and reviewing children’s books.
New York: Collins.
Long,
M. (2015). Super happy magic forest.
Reynolds,
K. (2011). Children’s
literature: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Rubin, A., & Salmieri, D. (2014). Dragons love tacos.
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