Books For Children

I've been fooling with computers for more than a decade now, and just when I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore, along comes a program that brings back that old "Gee whiz" reaction.If you have kids and you haven't invested in the CD-ROM drive and soundboard required for multimedia software, Broderbund's Living Books series will persuade you. These programs are dynamite. They'll keep your kids occupied for hours -- if they can get you away from the computer.Broderbund has packaged copies of well-known illustrated children's books with CD-ROMs that bring them to life with a delightful combination of voice, music and animation.

When author Margaret Meacham was a little girl, she let her imagination soar while perched high in the branches of a buckeye tree in her family's Pittsburgh backyard. Now, half a century after those leafy daydreams, the 60-year-old Meacham is a popular author of children's books, some of which have been translated into German and French. She has taught creative writing to hundreds of students at Goucher College and online through the Gotham Writers' Workshop. She is the mother of three grown children and lives in Brooklandville with her husband and their two dogs.

Puss in Boots is wearing botas. The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit double as La Tortuga y la Liebre. In a new edition of a Richard Scarry book coming out this fall, young readers can count to ciento as well as 100. With an eye to a rapidly growing market of Spanish-speaking readers, children's book publishers are expanding their offerings of "bilingual" books in Spanish and English, along with titles in Spanish alone. Chronicle Books has been publishing a series of classic fairy tales, including Puss in Boots and The Princess and the Pea, with the two languages next to each other.

Sometime in the next few days, Gunnery Sgt. Blaine Scott will arrive in Afghanistan for a three-month stint. Around the same time, his two young children, Isabella and Blaine Jr., will get a package addressed especially to them in the mail at their home in California. Before the 18-year veteran of the Marine Corps boarded a plane at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport headed to the Middle Eastern war zone late Tuesday, a cheerful and smiling Scott pored over a selection of brand-new donated books, selecting a mystery for his 7-year-old daughter and a book about trucks for his 4-year-old son. "I haven't seen my kids in forever," Scott said.

The annual Thanksgiving dinner for the needy will be sweeter and more colorful this year.Eighth-grade students at Westminster West Middle School have created books, filled with pages to color and games to play, for young guests. And, after today's traditional turkey feast, prepared and served by Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical ministry to the area needy, diners will receive favors full of bite-size candy."Even though they aren't related, it will be like a big family dinner for them," said Jennifer Nilson of Finksburg.

To create a comical book about a lost pencil, Jeremy Morelock and Meredith Rodgers took digital photographs of themselves in their classroom at Westminster High School. The two seniors then used design and imaging programs on the computer to combine the photographs with an original short story. Their book and about 60 others are being shipped from the high school to children in Uganda, through a nonprofit organization called The Memory Project. "I just hope they have fun reading it," Jeremy said.

Books can help your child to know you. If a book makes you feel good -- or sad -- or mad -- take it home to your child and read it to her.-- Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children by Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. MayesPub Date: 05/09/99

Bedtime is not the only time to read with a child. Have books handy at home, and pack some with you when you leave. Books can be helpful in the following situations:* Preparing for new experiences* Relieving stress* Reducing fears* Offering reassurance* Getting silly* During an illness* During time-outs* On the bus* In the car: Yes, stories on tape are a great way to share tales. A road trip also can be a time for passengers to read aloud to drivers.- From "Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children" by Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. MayesPub Date: 9/20/98

Pop, spin, peek and read novelty books - how can you decide which of these book/toy combinations are worthwhile?First of all, there is a lot of junk out there. But the rules here are the same as for any book. Cost does not a good book make. If it's a pop-up, check to see if it's sturdy and easy to manipulate. If it's shrink-wrapped, ask for a sample. Otherwise, take your chances; these are not usually available in libraries.Good bookstores can advise you as to which they have had the most success with.

Often, those of us in the business of deciding and providing what children "should" read act like gatekeepers, as if we have forgotten that the wonderful world of literature we are guarding isn't ours in the first place. Children are not adults in training, but people in their own right, full of opinions and needs. If we are less than thrilled to have them reading certain books, better to be involved in their lives and grateful that they are reading than rail against their choices. It is not the selection of a particular book that is a problem, but the lack of a concerned and interested adult to help young readers understand their choices.

To create a comical book about a lost pencil, Jeremy Morelock and Meredith Rodgers took digital photographs of themselves in their classroom at Westminster High School. The two seniors then used design and imaging programs on the computer to combine the photographs with an original short story. Their book and about 60 others are being shipped from the high school to children in Uganda, through a nonprofit organization called The Memory Project. "I just hope they have fun reading it," Jeremy said.

Sitting on the floor in Westminster's library among a group of children from the Head Start program, Leah Kozoidek listened to the rhymes in the book Little One, Little One, What Do You See? She eagerly answered questions about the animals in the story and counted along with her classmates. At the end of the reading, Leah, 4, and nearly 40 other children in Carroll County Head Start received their own copy of the book - personalized with their name on the title page and throughout the story.

Seven thousand dollars isn't much when you're faced with the needs of 500 students and 44 teachers, but Bakerfield Elementary School Principal Joseph Stevens will take whatever he can get. In a school that draws pupils from some of the county's poorest families, there is never a shortage of needs for books, pencils and even board games used for teaching math to pupils who don't respond well to the traditional classroom approach, Stevens said. The Aberdeen school will get a little help from the federal government.

Shooter by Walter Dean Myers. Amistad / HarperTempest. 224 pages. $15.99. (Ages 12 and up) In Shooter, Walter Dean Myers bypasses the pop psychology to get to the root of a Columbine-style rampage. His medium is fictional, his method factual: He has created a dossier of documents that provide a convincing back story, a paper trail to a tragedy. A psychologist's interview introduces us, after the fact, to Cameron Porter, an intelligent, affluent African-American 17-year-old who gives every outward appearance of being well-adjusted.

Puss in Boots is wearing botas. The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit double as La Tortuga y la Liebre. In a new edition of a Richard Scarry book coming out this fall, young readers can count to ciento as well as 100. With an eye to a rapidly growing market of Spanish-speaking readers, children's book publishers are expanding their offerings of "bilingual" books in Spanish and English, along with titles in Spanish alone. Chronicle Books has been publishing a series of classic fairy tales, including Puss in Boots and The Princess and the Pea, with the two languages next to each other.

Reading has always been a part of Molly Frantz's life. Books by C.S. Lewis and the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine were among the 16-year-old sophomore's favorites as she grew up. Reading, she says, is not only a great way to only increase your vocabulary, but it's also a great hobby. So, when Molly had the chance to help other children develop a passion for books, she jumped at the chance. Through participation in SHOP - Students Helping Other People - an organization at Atholton High School in Columbia that meets weekly and performs 20 hours of volunteer service annually, Molly is making a difference.

Read Aloud TipsNot all books are best utilized as stand-up read-alouds; some are too unwieldy and need to lie flat; some are really lap books, best experienced one-on-one; some are so interactive that they need to be where the child can put his hands on them.Most books will benefit from a caring adult's reading them aloud, but think twice before performing for a large group a book with fold-out pages, tabs, or intricate illustrations that need to be seen to make the story work.Know your audience.

Jerry Pinkney's ornate book illustrations reflect his vision of the world: a rainbow of races, generations and experiences from which he draws inspiration. Since 1964, the award-winning illustrator has enchanted people in 13 countries and 10 languages with his lush watercolor-and-pencil depictions of fables and folk tales, forgotten histories and family memories. Pinkney, 61, was the featured speaker for the Baltimore County Public Library's Great Book Celebration on Tuesday, packing a meeting room at the Randallstown library and keeping 100 children up past their bedtimes with a behind-the-scenes look at tales such as "The Ugly Duckling" and "Sam and the Tigers."

The Baltimore County Public Library is offering parents help in navigating the annual flood of children's literature: "Best Books of 2000," a list of titles ranging from pre-reader picture books to the latest in young-adult fiction. Compiled with the help of librarians from the Baltimore metropolitan area, the 41-book list is offered to help parents sift through the thousands of books published each year for children and young adults, with an eye toward literary quality and reader appeal.