One of the things keeping me busy these days is a course I’m taking on South Asia. (India, Pakistan & Bangladesh). It’s not a typical course in that it is not taught by a professor. Instead we are following the collaborative learning model. Led by a coordinator, a group of people who are interested in a particular subject agree to study and report on various aspects of that subject. For this particular course, we are also reading novels and viewing films about the countries of South Asia besides doing the research for our presentations to the class. The experience is further enriched by guest speakers who are native to the area, one a college professor and two others who are writers.
I’ve been enjoying the reading so much that I wanted to share two of the books with you. The first takes place in modern day India and tells the story of the interwoven lives of a wealthy Parsi widow and her Hindu maid. Their common experiences as women in unhappy, even abusive marriages, their care and support for each other over the years, and their sincere love for each other’s children cannot in the end overcome caste/class and prejudice. It’s one great story with the added bonus of providing insight into the complicated social system of India today. The Space Between Us by Thrity N. Umrigar.
The other book I recommend is A Golden Age by Tahmina Anam. This is the story of the Bangladesh war for independence from Pakistan in 1971-72. It centers around a young Muslim widow, Rehana, trying to protect her 17 year old daughter and 19 year old son, both swept up in the rebellion. Beautifully written, the novel describes Rehana’s secure life suddenly thrust into chaos and her slowly evolving acceptance of the risks and sacrifices required to save her loved ones and redeem herself. This emotional story has a lasting impact.
If you want a satisfying read and you’re in the mood to learn about an exotic culture, you can’t go wrong with either of these books.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Sibert and Me
I came to the enjoyment of informational books in my adulthood. I was very much a typical ‘girl reader’ as a youngster ….. fiction, fiction and more fiction. I loved reading and I loved stories. But as I look back at my childhood and adolescence I find the seeds of my interest in nonfiction. I envied the chemistry set my brother got one Christmas and played with it more than he did. That interest followed me through high school and into college where I considered chemistry as a major before settling on Latin and ancient history, two other favorite subjects in high school. I was fascinated by the ancients and their ‘dead’ language and planned to share this fascination in the classroom. But by the time I graduated, Latin teaching jobs were disappearing.
My interest in becoming a librarian grew from my experiences as a substitute teacher in public and private schools wherever we lived during my husband’s Navy days. After his service concluded and we were settled in a community where we expected to stay, I got my first job as an elementary school librarian. I was inexperienced and just beginning to work on my library masters degree, but I got that job because my academic background meshed with the focus of the district’s gifted program. To serve the needs of my students and of the curriculum, I began to read more and more children's nonfiction and as I did, my interest in adult nonfiction increased. My adult reading expanded to include biography and American history, and the reading interests of my students led me to read books about other subjects I never expected to enjoy. The result is that my reading choices in both adult and children's books are eclectic.
Thus, first among my reasons for wanting to serve on the Sibert committee is that I enjoy reading informational books, and I especially enjoy the variety of ways today’s authors employ to convey information. Second, I believe I have the expertise to be an effective member of the committee and the temperament to work cordially with others without surrendering my responsibility to champion a book I believe in. Next, I have the time. While I am a very busy retired librarian, I have the luxury of allocating my time as I wish and committee work would be a priority. Lastly, I think it would be fun to meet and work with colleagues from other parts of the country with different professional experiences.
It may not be easy to understand why someone who already reads a lot would want to take on the task of reading so many extra books next year, but I hope I have explained myself well enough that you will consider voting for me and telling your colleagues about me and this blog. I’d be happy to respond to your comments or answer the questions you may post. Thanks for visiting.
My interest in becoming a librarian grew from my experiences as a substitute teacher in public and private schools wherever we lived during my husband’s Navy days. After his service concluded and we were settled in a community where we expected to stay, I got my first job as an elementary school librarian. I was inexperienced and just beginning to work on my library masters degree, but I got that job because my academic background meshed with the focus of the district’s gifted program. To serve the needs of my students and of the curriculum, I began to read more and more children's nonfiction and as I did, my interest in adult nonfiction increased. My adult reading expanded to include biography and American history, and the reading interests of my students led me to read books about other subjects I never expected to enjoy. The result is that my reading choices in both adult and children's books are eclectic.
Thus, first among my reasons for wanting to serve on the Sibert committee is that I enjoy reading informational books, and I especially enjoy the variety of ways today’s authors employ to convey information. Second, I believe I have the expertise to be an effective member of the committee and the temperament to work cordially with others without surrendering my responsibility to champion a book I believe in. Next, I have the time. While I am a very busy retired librarian, I have the luxury of allocating my time as I wish and committee work would be a priority. Lastly, I think it would be fun to meet and work with colleagues from other parts of the country with different professional experiences.
It may not be easy to understand why someone who already reads a lot would want to take on the task of reading so many extra books next year, but I hope I have explained myself well enough that you will consider voting for me and telling your colleagues about me and this blog. I’d be happy to respond to your comments or answer the questions you may post. Thanks for visiting.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sibert Committee
With the ALA elections opening within the week, it’s time for me to tell you why I’m interested in serving on the 2011 Sibert Committee. That’s the group which chooses the most distinguished informational books for children published in a given year. I hope that those of you who are ALSC members will consider voting for me.
My credentials are pretty typical … a lifetime of service to children, mostly in school but also in public libraries. In addition I worked as a school collection development specialist for Baker & Taylor, creating collection lists for new elementary, middle and high school libraries in all parts of the country.
During the course of my career the importance of informational books for children steadily grew. This growth began with the whole language reading movement (remember that?) which used materials from the library collection to extend and enhance learning in the classroom. Because of such demand, more and better nonfiction titles and nonfiction series were published making it particularly challenging to spend a limited library budget. Supporting the curriculum on a budget was not the only reason I needed to become a discriminating children's nonfiction buyer. Equally important was satisfying the needs of the students who didn’t like to read fiction without compromising quality. Those kids were constantly on the look out for books on bugs and snakes, dinosaurs and sharks, monster trucks and bats, jokes and riddles, UFOs and vampires, sports and crafts etc. Thankfully my professional career spanned a time when it became easier to find nonfiction that combined accurate content, exciting writing, stunning illustrations/pictures and helpful glossaries and indexes. Today there are so many wonderful nonfiction books published each year that it is a daunting task to choose the Sibert award winner and honor books. Now that I’ve told you why I think I’m qualified to be a member of the Sibert Committee, I leave for my next entry the reasons why I want to be a member.
My credentials are pretty typical … a lifetime of service to children, mostly in school but also in public libraries. In addition I worked as a school collection development specialist for Baker & Taylor, creating collection lists for new elementary, middle and high school libraries in all parts of the country.
During the course of my career the importance of informational books for children steadily grew. This growth began with the whole language reading movement (remember that?) which used materials from the library collection to extend and enhance learning in the classroom. Because of such demand, more and better nonfiction titles and nonfiction series were published making it particularly challenging to spend a limited library budget. Supporting the curriculum on a budget was not the only reason I needed to become a discriminating children's nonfiction buyer. Equally important was satisfying the needs of the students who didn’t like to read fiction without compromising quality. Those kids were constantly on the look out for books on bugs and snakes, dinosaurs and sharks, monster trucks and bats, jokes and riddles, UFOs and vampires, sports and crafts etc. Thankfully my professional career spanned a time when it became easier to find nonfiction that combined accurate content, exciting writing, stunning illustrations/pictures and helpful glossaries and indexes. Today there are so many wonderful nonfiction books published each year that it is a daunting task to choose the Sibert award winner and honor books. Now that I’ve told you why I think I’m qualified to be a member of the Sibert Committee, I leave for my next entry the reasons why I want to be a member.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Home Again
For the second time in less than 2 weeks I found myself using my map skills as I looked out the plane window and tried to determine which state we were crossing. After a much too quick visit to Baton Rouge where we enjoyed Mardi Gras, a tour of LSU where our daughter teaches and way too much cajun and creole food, we spent a few days visiting friends in Dallas and then winged our way home. It was hardly warm in those southern states but we did have a few days in the 70's ... much appreciated when we hit the 24 degrees and 8 inches of snow outside the airport here!
But back to maps. I love them. There's something about matching what I see on the ground with the memory of the maps I study that really appeals to me. I'm pretty sure we crossed directly over the Chesapeake Bay, the Delmarva peninsula (which we used to drive on trips home from Norfolk in our Navy days) and then over the Delaware Bay with a great view of Cape May, NJ. We flew straight up through the heart of New Jersey and I spotted NYC off in the distance to the east. It was a quick half hour up the Connecticut coast and inland along Narragansett Bay to our destination. I've been able to identify beaches and bridges and lighthouses ect. for many years now but the bird's eye view is still a delight. And sometimes the trip is even more wonder full. On the last leg of our earlier trip we flew from Philadelphia to RI just after sunset. It was a clear night with a full moon rising over the Atlantic. Absolutely spectacular! Every body of water and there are many in this little state, reflected the moon's light in flashes of silver. The string of lights from bridges and rotating lights from lighthouses dotting the shoreline added there own special effect. As often as I have made the trip over the bay before, nothing can compare to this one.
But back to maps. I love them. There's something about matching what I see on the ground with the memory of the maps I study that really appeals to me. I'm pretty sure we crossed directly over the Chesapeake Bay, the Delmarva peninsula (which we used to drive on trips home from Norfolk in our Navy days) and then over the Delaware Bay with a great view of Cape May, NJ. We flew straight up through the heart of New Jersey and I spotted NYC off in the distance to the east. It was a quick half hour up the Connecticut coast and inland along Narragansett Bay to our destination. I've been able to identify beaches and bridges and lighthouses ect. for many years now but the bird's eye view is still a delight. And sometimes the trip is even more wonder full. On the last leg of our earlier trip we flew from Philadelphia to RI just after sunset. It was a clear night with a full moon rising over the Atlantic. Absolutely spectacular! Every body of water and there are many in this little state, reflected the moon's light in flashes of silver. The string of lights from bridges and rotating lights from lighthouses dotting the shoreline added there own special effect. As often as I have made the trip over the bay before, nothing can compare to this one.
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