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Currently Reading: “Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf”

November 9, 2020November 13, 2020 Sarah Bihn

Currently Reading: Red Leaf, Yellow by Lois Ehlert follows the life of a sugar maple tree. Made with watercolor collage and parts of plants, this vibrant book is perfect for fall! Read more

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Reinberger Review: “Dreamers”
Reinberger Review of “Furia”
Reinberger Review: “Becoming Naomi León”
Reinberger Review: “Little Roja Riding Hood”
Reinberger Review Of “Slay”

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The Reinberger Children's Library Center at Kent State supports scholarly research and provides professional training to students and practitioners.

Today we remember the birthday of English author a

Today we remember the birthday of English author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. Potter is well known for her animal-themed children’s books that include “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin,” and “The Tale of Tom Kitten.” When publishers originally declined “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” Potter published the story herself and the book's popularity led to its official publishing by Frederick Warne & Co. a year after Potter’s copies. In 1903, Potter designed and created the first Peter Rabbit doll herself and immediately registered it, making Peter Rabbit the world’s oldest licensed literary character. Now, more than two million Beatrix Potter books are sold across the world every year, and the stories are passed down from generation to generation.

Learn more about Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit: https://www.peterrabbit.com/

Thank you for joining us at the Reinberger over th

Thank you for joining us at the Reinberger over these past few weeks as we shared our favorite Arnold Adoff works and for helping us to honor his legacy of diversity and compassion. We are proud to share one last feature, “Black is Brown is Tan,” in remembrance of Arnold Adoff’s birthday today. This joyful celebration of a biracial family brings a smile to the face of all who read it and reminds readers that beyond being an author, Arnold Adoff was also a father. His words echo into the hearts of the modern day reader and emphasizes that love knows no color or race. With each word, the family is celebrated from their moments of laughter to their times of exasperation. “I'm still attempting to influence kids in one way or another, whether it is the way they view the color of skin or reality and fantasy. I hope always to be considered perhaps controversial, perhaps dangerous, to the status quo. The artist's job is not to work within the rules to be easily understood by those who attempt to become the taste-makers...All in all, I am very proud of what I have done.” ~Arnold Adoff from “Speaking of Poets: Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults” by Jeffrey Copeland (1993). #arnoldadoff
#childrenspoetry
#diversebooks

In honor of Arnold Adoff, a children's poet with a

In honor of Arnold Adoff, a children's poet with a lifelong legacy of advocating for #diversebooks and spreading the love of poetry, we share another one of our favorite #authorquotes from him.

“I have incorporated the concept of time in my writing by the use of space. The millisecond that it takes the eyes to move forward is an aspect of time. Time is the music or the rhythmic force and that, I think, is a step forward in the medium.” - Arnold Adoff (from Arnold Adoff’s website: arnoldadoff.com)

#VirginaHamiltonConference #arnoldadoff #childrenspoetry

Today we remember the birthday of author E.B. Whit

Today we remember the birthday of author E.B. White. He is well-known for his numerous children's books including “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little,” and “The Trumpet of the Swan.” His books have been beloved by many readers, young and old, and teach empathy and compassion. Over the course of his career, White received the Newbery Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and was a runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in both 1970 and 1976.

We are forever grateful at the Reinberger to Arnol

We are forever grateful at the Reinberger to Arnold Adoff for his lifelong dedication to #childrenspoetry and #diversebooks. And of course, thankful for this irresistible poetry collection on chocolate titled Chocolate Dreams (Lothrop, 1989). Arnold Adoff helped so many reimagine the world around them.

“If I can made a reader see something 'ordinary' and 'usual' in some new way…if I can make a new(ish) kind of music irritate the inner ear….if I can foster some thought: some synthesis…some balance of music and meaning: then I can take that reader beyond all preconceptions of prose and “free verse” and race and class and gender….” - Arnold Adoff

(from an Interview with Dr. Patricia Stohr-Hunt in 2009, http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/p/review-policy.html)

#ArnoldAdoff #virginiahamiltonconference #authorquotes

The Reinberger Children's Library Center has absol

The Reinberger Children's Library Center has absolutely loved looking back at Arnold Adoff's work these past few weeks. His love for #childrenspoetry leaps out of every piece and in every interview.

Today, we continue with "Flamboyan"(Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988). This alluring work of poetry immerses the reader in the story of a vibrant Columbian girl whose dream of flying away comes true.

“I will always try to turn sights and sounds into words. I will always try to shape words into my singing poems.” (from Arnold Adoff’s website: arnoldadoff.com)

#diversebooks #ArnoldAdoff #virginiahamiltonconference

Today we feature Arnold Adoff’s work “All the

Today we feature Arnold Adoff’s work “All the Colors of the Race” first published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard in 1982. The poems in this book celebrate the rich identity and heritage of a young girl’s biracial family and contemplate the future she will see. It is impossible to read Arnold Adoff’s words and not think of one’s own family and to ponder how the world will be for the next generation of relatives. “I began writing for kids because I wanted to effect a change in American society. I continue in that spirit. By the time we reach adulthood, we are closed and set in our attitudes. The chances of a poet reaching us are very slim. But I can open a child’s imagination, develop his appetite for poetry, and more importantly, show him that poetry is a natural part of everyday life. We all need someone to point out that the emperor is wearing no clothes. That’s the poet’s job.” ~Arnold Adoff (from Arnold Adoff’s website, https://www.arnoldadoff.com/)
#childrenspoetry
#diversebooks
#authorquotes

In honor of Arnold Adoff, champion of #diversebook

In honor of Arnold Adoff, champion of #diversebooks and #childrenspoetry, we're featuring another one of his works and poignant quotes.

"Greens" was published in 1988 by Lothrop Lee & Shepard. This poetic celebration of the color green is incredibly fun with masterful and delightful spacing and rhythmic work.

“Writing a poem is making music with words and space. A fine poem combines the elements of meaning, music, and a form like a living frame that holds it together.” - Arnold Adoff (from Arnold Adoff’s website, arnoldadoff.com)

#ArnoldAdoff #VirginiaHamiltonConference

Visually, I can't imagine a better pairing with "I

Visually, I can't imagine a better pairing with "In for Winter, Out for Spring" (1991) than with this quote from the beloved poet, Arnold Adoff:

"I want a poem to sprout roses and spit bullets; this is the ideal combination, and it is a tough tightrope that takes the kind of control that comes only with years of work.” (from L.B. Hopkins’s Pass the Poetry, Please! (1998))

No one was ever more eloquent about the power poetry can yield. And no one wrote #childrenspoetry quite like Arnold Adoff did. If you've never read his original work, this collection of 26 poems written from the perspective of a young girl as the seasons change is a must stop. Musical, transportive, and a beautiful celebration of family life.

#ArnoldAdoff #virginiahamiltonconference
#diversebooks
#authorquotes

The time is finally here! The official Pura Belpré Celebración will be hosted today at the #ALAAC21 by ALSC, YALSA, and REFORMA.

We hope you have enjoyed looking back at past #purabelpréaward recipients with the Reinberger Children's Library Center these last few weeks. It's been such a fun way to celebrate #PuraBelpré and the award's legacy. Our #bookreviews are still up on the blog if you're looking for recommendations for a celebratory library stop today. 📖https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/

#25YearsOfBelpré #25AñosDelBelpré

Today is F. Isabel Campoy’s Birthday! 🥳🎈

Today is F. Isabel Campoy’s Birthday! 🥳🎈

F. Isabel is an extremely prolific children’s author, translator, researcher, and educator in the field of literacy and bilingual education. We’re talking over 150 publications, including picturebooks, foltakes, biographies, poetry, and pedagogical publications.🤯

Her work has received countless accolades such as the ALA Notable Book Award, the International Latino Children’s Book Award, the Children’s Book Committee’s Best Spanish Language Picture Books of the Year, and the Junior Library Guild Premier Selection Award.

In 2017, the North American Academy of the Spanish Language created the annual award the Premio Campoy-Ada named in F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada’s honor. The award recognizes outstanding children’s and young adult titles published in Spanish in the US.

And together, F. Isabel and Alma Flor have helped to build a permanent collection of multicultural literature here at the Reinberger. At over 1400 items, the Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy Collection of Multicultural Literature represents the authors’ lifetime of work dedicated to promoting cultural awareness, social justice, and education.

We can’t wait to crack open one of her many gems to celebrate her birthday. But where to begin!?

#diversebooks #bilingualbooks #childrensbooks #isabelcampoy

In honor of master poet and champion of #diversebo

In honor of master poet and champion of #diversebooks Arnold Adoff we are featuring his work “The Cabbages Are Chasing the Rabbits” (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985). In this work, Arnold Adoff creates a whimsical adventure of role reversal and fantasy with his lyrical repetition and unique style of text setting. His words draw the reader into each scene and encourage the imagination to soar. Like many of his works, his poetry in “The Cabbages Are Chasing The Rabbits” inspires readers to look at the world through unconventional perspectives. “My work is personal, but I mean to communicate to the youngest child. More and more, particularly in this time of whole-language and literature based curricula, I see a great many books of mine used in kindergarten and first grade when I thought the readers would be those who are nine, ten, twelve years old. That, I think, says something great about teachers who are getting into poetry, because they realize the great values that are there for shaping critical thinking.”
~Arnold Adoff from “Speaking of Poets: Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults” by Jeffrey Copeland (1993).
#childrenspoetry
#diversebooks
#authorquotes

In honor of Juneteenth being established as a fede

In honor of Juneteenth being established as a federal holiday, we celebrate Angela Johnson’s lyrical picturebook, “All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom.”

On the signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, Angela Johnson said: "So many times, as a child I'd look into the sepia backgrounds of photos under thick glass of my long-gone relatives-- who were slaves. There were few if any personal celebrations of their freedom; let alone national ones. Their lives were long years of hard work even after slavery. Wonderfully, we can now all celebrate freedom."

Pictured is Angela Johnson in the Reinberger Children’s Library Center commemorating, All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom’s release.
#Juneteenth #angelajohnson #diversebooks

In honor of Arnold Adoff, today we're featuring hi

In honor of Arnold Adoff, today we're featuring his book "Hard to Be Six," published in 1991. In this skillful work of poetry, Adoff captures the perspective of a six-year-old girl from a biracial family who can't wait to grow up.

"The work I have done all these years has been for my own children as well as for the children and teenagers I have taught in New York. More than that, the work I do attempts to present the real America to young people, because politically I could not create any other way. If one element of society is excluded or made secondary, then the whole of America falls like a house of cards. Then there is no hope for the future in the country. All that goes beyond race; that goes to gender as well, as in 'Flamboyan' or some of the other books I have done with 'little girl' voices. The work also goes to generations, as in a book like 'Hard to Be Six' (1991). That's really what it is all about. It is personal and it is political.” - Arnold Adoff

From "Speaking of Poets: Interviews with Poets Who Write for Children and Young Adults" by Jeffrey Copeland (1993).

#arnoldadoff #virginiahamilton
#childrenspoetry #diversebooks #authorquotes

In honor of the late Arnold Adoff, a compassionate

In honor of the late Arnold Adoff, a compassionate poet who was fiercely determined to open children’s minds and facilitate a new way of critical thinking and acceptance before they reached adulthood. Arnold made it his life’s work to collect and later develop authentic stories that reflected underrepresented human experiences. Through his writing, that is deeply rooted in family, he advocated for the fair treatment of all by creating rhythmic stories that ask a child to reflect and open their hearts and minds to a non-mainstream way of thinking.

On behalf of the Reinberger Children's Library Center, the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth and its Advisory Board and the Adoff Poetry Award Committee, we will miss him dearly, but we are grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.

In honor of this, we will feature some of our favorite children’s books by Arnold Adoff accompanied by some of our favorite quotes by him.

Please look for these posts and join us by sharing some of our favorite Adoff books with one or more or your favorite children.

Today we begin with celebrating Arnold’s first anthology, I Am the Darker Brother, Published by Macmillan in 1968.

“I want my anthologies of Black American writing to make Black kids strong in their knowledge of themselves and their great literary heritage—give them facts and people and power. I also want these Black books of mine to give knowledge to White kids around the country, so that mutual respect and understanding will come from mutual learning. We can go beyond the murders and the muddles of the present.” ~Arnold Adoff (quote taken from Something About the Author)

Next up in our celebration, "Dreamers" by Yuyi Mor

Next up in our celebration, "Dreamers" by Yuyi Morales, Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Award recipient in 2019.
#PuraBelpréAward #25yearsofbelpré #25añosdelbelpré

From the review, written by Kayla Hlad:

"This 2019 medal winner of the Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Award is a masterpiece of art, poetry, and narrative. Spanish and English are married seamlessly throughout to weave this familiar, yet personal, story of immigration. The author’s repetition, symbolism, and poetic language throughout adds to the delightfully evocative magic surrealism of the illustrations. Smokestacks in the city speak, flowers bloom in the library, and a butterfly motif dances with a constant presence. Together these elements create a dynamic, multi-layered piece that families will want to explore for years to come. An instant family treasure on any bookshelf, a must for every library collection, and a read-aloud I wouldn’t skip when designing family storytimes."

Read more from the review on the center's blog.
https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/review-dreamers-yuyi-morales/

Julia Stone, MLIS student at KSU, continues the Re

Julia Stone, MLIS student at KSU, continues the Reinberger's celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award. 🥳

Read her review of the 2021 YA Author Award winner, "Furia," on the blog.

From the review:
"Méndez illustrates how the cycle of empowerment can be continued not only through interpersonal relationships, but also through the stories we share with one another. Although Camila struggles with domestic abuse and sexism, she keeps trying to follow her dreams. Ultimately, Méndez empowers her readers to persevere and feed 'la Furia' inside themselves and others."

➡️https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/reinberger-review-of-furia/

#PuraBelpréAward #25yearsofbelpré #25AñosDelBelpré

Today we're going back to 2006 to revisit the Pura

Today we're going back to 2006 to revisit the Pura Belpré Award winning title for Children's Author "Becoming Naomi León" by Pam Muñoz Ryan. An excellent middle grade chapter book!

From the review, written by Kayla Hlad, M.L.I.S. student:

"When their mother suddenly turns up after years without contact, quiet and perceptive Naomi and her ever-optimistic brother (Owen) have their lives turned upside down. They have been lovingly raised by their great-grandmother and have built routines of comfort and relationships of trust. Although their mother reassures the two children that she has gotten the help she needed to turn her life around, Naomi, her grandmother, and the reader have increasing doubts as the story progresses....

Ryan portrays the complications, characteristics, and love of family beautifully. The use of figurative language, the all-too-realistic plot turns, and a well-crafted first-person narrative from an admirable and dynamic twelve-year-old character all aid this difficult task. Further, the depiction of familial struggles manage to be sensitive to younger audiences while still being true to the real experiences that many young readers share with the León family."

For more, visit our blog.
https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/becoming-naomi-leon-review/

#PuraBelpréAward #25yearsofbelpré #25añosdelbelpré

We have another review of a Pura Belpré Award Rec

We have another review of a Pura Belpré Award Recipient for you!

"Little Roja Riding Hood" written by Susan Elya and illustrated by Susan Guevara received a 2015 Honor Title for Youth Illustrator. 🐺

From the review, written by Kayla Hlad, M.L.I.S. student:

"Elya and Guevara’s Little Roja Riding Hood gives the traditional narrative new life with modern references and Spanish vocabulary....

Elya’s rhyming text is extremely well crafted, creative, and full of fun-filled surprises, making this a great read-aloud....

The detail in the illustrations, from the presence of the three blind mice to the accompanying birds’ constant warnings, truly adds to the narrative and invites readers--children and adults--to actively engage with the picturebook again and again."

Read more on the blog.
https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/review-little-roja-riding-hood/

#PuraBelpréAward #25YearsOfBelpré #25AñosDelBelpré

Slay by Brittney Morris Themes: gaming, social is

Slay by Brittney Morris

Themes: gaming, social issues, black culture, and (TW) racism

Review by Kristen Higgason (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool
M.Ed Student, Kent State University EHHS

17-year-old Kiera has a secret – she is the developer of a highly-popular online role-playing card game, SLAY. When a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a SLAY dispute, and the story reaches the mainstream media, the game is called exclusionary, racist, and violent. Not to mention there is a troll trying to sue Kiera. Kiera just wants to save the one place she truly feels like her, can she?

This unapologetically Black teen is such a fantastic main character. Even if gaming is not something you love, the characters, story, and Kiera will make you cheer for her. If you are looking for a book that celebrates and embraces Blackness, this is the book to pick up. If you are looking for a book that highlights social issues, this is the book for you. Cheer on Kiera and her fight to save SLAY while also trying to solve the mystery of who the anonymous troll is.

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