Election, Part I

The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Elected to the Office of The President of the United States of America

   Leadership choice has roots in the long ago past. Perhaps the earliest people acceded to the person with the loudest voice or strongest arm; later groups may have followed the leader whose food finding abilities outshone others in the group; fertile females proved their worth by increasing the size of the clan, and so may have provided the foundation of matriarchic influences. As groups, tribes, and clan affiliations expanded into more organized gatherings of peoples, the basics of civilizations came into being. Leaders or absolute rulers often passed their authority down to their own offspring or named their successors, choosing from the next generation. Sometimes after the death of a leader, a group would hold contests of skill or individual-combat among possible candidates; with the winner becoming the new leader. As civilizations advanced, certain people were granted the ability to help determine the direction their people/government would take. Advisors, counselors, and others were drawn from the populace to support and provide information to the established ruler. Not everyone was allowed to participate: often only the most wealthy or influential families were considered worthy to have a voice with the leader. Of course, the poor, the enslaved, the uneducated (the majority of ordinary people), and most often women were excluded as incapable of making important decisions. Time and advances in thinking led to the idea of democratic processes for selecting leaders. Not until the twentieth century did the idea of the general population voting for a leader come into common practice in democratic countries. Needless to say many countries still do not have the option to vote for their leadership.

   Archeologists have found records that reveal a variety of methods of voting in ancient times: from stones placed in different containers, to marks made in clay tablets, to a selection of specially colored or shaped pieces of wood to indicate specific choices. One can also imagine votes made by calling out one's opinion, a show of hands, volume of crowd approval, or sheer noise. The idea of a secret ballot evolved as reprisals against those who publically disagreed with a popular choice entailed violence or shunning. In modern times here in the U. S., ballot boxes for individualized voting became more standardized and morphed into "electronic" voting machines that could tabulate votes much faster than counting individual votes by hand. Many communities have purchased voting machines from a variety of manufacturers.(See: Voting Technology: The Not-so-simple Act of Casting a Ballot by Paul S. Herrnson, Brookings Inst. Press) Some have proved more reliable than others, resulting in challenges to the final outcomes based on malfunctions, improper instructions, or misuse of the machines themselves.

   But the physical process of voting for the Office of President of the U. S. of A. is only a part of the journey to the White House. Candidates go through a long, complicated process to see their names on the final ballot. Most politicians begin in their youth with an interest in the governmental process, often running for offices in high school and college settings. Later they may become active in local politics and start their careers at the county or city level. After working on campaigns for others and helping shape the ideas of their particular parties on a local or state level, they may seek office themselves. Learning about the process of campaigning, writing speeches, speaking at rallies and to the media all help to prepare a candidate for the long, concentrated effort to run for the White House.

   These titles are concentrated on the process of elections and the efforts of candidates to get elected to the highest office in the U. S., the Presidency. Next month the titles selected will cover the history and humor of presidential campaigns and the presidents themselves. In November, we will feature "Living in the White House," selections that deal with pets, chefs, children, and others (along with presidents) who have called the White House home.

   Make your own voice count-be sure to vote!

Sheilah Egan, Literature Consultant

Getting Elected: A Look at Running for Office
Robin Nelson and Sandy Donovan
   This title in the "How Government Does Work" series is a real winner. It is easy enough for a second grader to understand the concepts, but complete enough for a fourth grader to learn a lot from the text. Each page has a captioned photograph or illustration highlighting the concept. Each book covers a different part of the government including the different branches, along with important documents and campaigning. The book on the presidency has current photos of Obama, but it also has historic photos and paintings of past presidents. The books could be used for a read-aloud since the information is short and the photos and captions will keep the reader interested. Bibliography. Glossary. Index. Recommended. 2012, Searchlight Books/Lerner Publishing Group, Ages 7 to 11, $27.93. Reviewer: Maureen Mooney (Library Media Connection, May/June 2012). 
ISBN: 9780761365198

Themed Reviews: Back to School

Heading back to school, or going for the first time, can bring a range of emotions in children and teens. We have broken up the titles in this feature into three age groups: 4 to 8, for the littlest students; 8 to 12, for late elementary and middle school; and older students, ages 12 and up. Help get the students in your life ready to head back into the classroom this fall with funny stories like, 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel [Divided By] 1 Dog = Chaos; or by learning what school was like in the past, with School 100 Years Ago. For the older crowd, novels such as The List, get into the minds of contemporary students as they navigate the academic and social demands of high school.

For more resources to help kick start the new school year check out the new CLCD series about Common Core standards as well as our feature about bullying. Read these articles and search the CLCD database for further resources and titles about school.

http://www.clcd.com/features/th_backtoschool.php

Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten

Hyewon Yum

Yum aptly captures the concerns of both parent and child on this major milestone day. In an interesting twist, our narrator, a little boy, eagerly prepares for his first day in "the big kids' school while his mother is reticent and overly cautious. He has a moment of concern when they reach the classroom door, but as soon as his smiling teacher greets him, he knows he is ready for kindergarten. He enters the classroom and makes friends right away. At the end of the day, he finds his mother nervously waiting for him in the school yard. Just as she has calmed her fears, he asks if he can ride the bus the next day. Yum's use of color, proportion, and facial expression deftly expresses the feelings of these two characters. There are no extraneous lines in either the text or the illustrations. Together, they convey the emotions of both parent and child. For example, when the little boy is feeling self-confident and his mother nervous, he is seen in color and much larger than she is. The hug they share after school, when both are "normal" size, is full of warmth. Her positive approach will be appreciated by parents as well as children and will help assuage the first-day jitters of both. 2012, Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan, Ages 4 to 6, $16.99. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780374350048

Themed Reviews: Great Britain

            2012 has been a big year for Great Britain: between Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her Diamond Jubilee and London hosting the Summer Olympics, there are many cultural celebrations planned in the country this year-a country with an impressive and rich history dating back to prehistoric times.

            Great Britain, which today consists of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, is the third most populous island in the world, with a population of over 60 million. The selection of nonfiction titles highlighted below focuses on the countries and famous cities making up Britain. The novels are new titles that are ideal for those interested in delving into both contemporary and historical fiction set in Britain.

http://www.clcd.com/features/th_greatbritain.php

For more information about Great Britain visit:
www.history.com/topics/british-history
www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids
www.visitlondon.com/attractions/family

A Walk in London
Salvatore Rubbino

A mother and daughter set out to explore the great city of London. Sticking to central London this pair has a busy day ahead of them. They hit many of London's most famous sights, but author and illustrator Rubbino makes sure readers get more than just typical tourist highlights. This mother-daughter pair also walks through St. James's Park to visit the pelicans, watches street performers at the Covent Garden piazza while eating fish and chips, investigates the Whispering Gallery inside the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, looks up at The Monument and learns about the Great Fire of 1666, and at the end of their day they take a ferry ride on the river Thames back to Westminster. Rubbino's mixed media illustrations have a distinctly vintage vibe to them and while there is a lot to look at on each page it does not feel cluttered or overwhelming. The main text, narrated by the daughter, is clear and engaging. Many smaller trivia facts are scattered around on each page, providing further depth to the story of this city. Near the end, a large fold-out shows the skyline of London with labeled landmarks. A wonderfully narrated walking tour of London; recommended. 2011, Candlewick Press, Ages 5 to 7, $16.99. Reviewer: Emily Griffin (Children's Literature). 
ISBN: 9780763652722

Themed Reviews: Summer Olympics

The Games of the XXX Olympiad-the 2012 Summer Olympic games-are being held in London, England. From the July 27th Opening Ceremony to the August 12th Closing Ceremony, athletes from 197 countries around the world will compete in 26 different sports representing their home countries. This is a time when country residents stand together to support their favorite athletes in the search for gold. As USA swimmer Ryan Lochte said: "It's time to show the world who is best."

   The International Olympic Committee organizes the modern Olympic Games, held in the summer and winter, alternating every two years (with a few exceptions) since 1896. Many cities compete for the honor of hosting the next Olympic Games. London, hosting the Olympics for the third time, is carefully preparing to show the world their take on this international tradition.

   The featured titles included here focus on the 2012 London Olympics, the many popular sports that athletes will be competing in, the history of the Olympic Games, and other related topics, such as the business of sports.

http://www.clcd.com/features/th_summerolympics.php

For more information about the 2012 Summer Olympics visit:
www.london2012.com
www.nbcolympics.com
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics

The 2012 London Olympics

Nick Hunter

A part of "The Olympics" series, this fact-filled volume introduces the young reader to London's preparations to host the Olympic Games in 2012. London is the first city to be chosen as host three times. The book begins with the successful bid and the journey of the Olympic Torch as it travels from Beijing to London. The new Olympic venues are highlighted as well as some of the athletes expected to participate, such as well-known tennis star Rafael Nadal. More than 4,000 athletes are expected to participate in the Paralympics which will begin soon after the Olympic Games. All venues will be wheelchair accessible to accommodate the Paralympians. A list of Olympic venues and a map of London showing their locations is included. Brightly colored fact boxes and color photographs along with charts and maps give a brief view of the Olympics through the years. Words appearing in bold print are defined in the glossary. A list of books and websites for further information and an index are included. 2012, The Heinemann Library/Capstone Global Library, Ages 8 to 12, $29.00. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson (Children's Literature). 
ISBN: 9781410941251

Common Core and the Public Library

Isn't That Just for Schools?: Common Core and the Public Library

By Peg Glisson

We've been hearing for years that American students are falling behind those in other countries. Many read below grade level and graduate with the ability to read at an eighth grade level at best. A variety of educational philosophies and practices have tried unsuccessfully to close the gap. And now, there's Common Core-it's being written about in newspapers, blogs, and even Twitter; it's being talked about on TV and radio. What is it? And what does it mean for public libraries?

   The state-led Common Core Initiative, adopted by 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories, currently address English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and will be developed for Science and Social Studies. In a nutshell, the ELA Standards, which address reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, call for students, as young as Kindergarteners, to read more complex text and a higher percentage of nonfiction, to think analytically, to synthesize and apply what they have read to real world situations. It also makes the point that literacy doesn't apply just to ELA; it applies to everything! Students will progress through a "staircase of complexity" of reading matter over the years, at least 50% of which will be nonfiction, to allow the development of the skill, concentration, and stamina needed to read and understand complex expository text, whether in college or on the job.

   While public libraries' mission is different from that of a school, they do support the work of the schools, primarily through their collections but in other ways as well. Staff is often called on to help parents and youth find materials needed for school reading and projects. Teachers come looking for books to use in their classrooms. Many libraries, especially in urban areas, provide homework help. As these library users express their needs, it's important that youth services librarians have a working familiarity with Common Core's language, philosophy and goals to best serve parents, students, and teachers who use their libraries. Like it or not, this major shift in educational practice will impact public libraries' collection, services, and programming.

   First, public librarians need to know the talk. Rigor, rich text, staircase of complexity, lexile, inquiry based learning, task, essential understanding . . . what do these mean? If you don't know, find out! Visit sites like corestandards.org and http://engageny.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/common-core-shifts.pdf; read professional journals such as School Library Journal and Book Links; talk to teachers and school librarians.

   Let's think about implications for the children's and YA collections. As students move from their current reading split of 80% fiction/narrative text and 20% nonfiction to a 50/50% split of fiction and nonfiction, libraries will need to beef up their age-appropriate, readable nonfiction collections. We have seen an explosion in the publishing of younger nonfiction, much of it in series, to address this developing need. The standards call for rich, rigorous vocabulary in both nonfiction and fiction. When selecting nonfiction, it will be important to consider not only subject matter and reading levels, but also language. Dumbing down is out! Vocabulary that resonates and complex meaning is the new norm, as is the reading and re-reading for meaning that such text requires.

   The demand for rich, rigorous text has implications for fiction as well. Many of the core novels currently used in many classrooms, particularly in middle and high schools, are too low level. Librarians can help teachers become aware of titles that would fit the bill and appeal to this age reader. Children and teens will not be able to meet the Core's writing demands without having had exposure to great writers in a wide variety of genres.

   Picture books are still needed for read-alouds at all levels. The emphasis on reading, writing, and math is leading teachers to search for quality picture books to help them integrate social studies and science into the core subjects. At the lower grades, teachers seek picture books not only to read aloud but also to give to students to read themselves. Again, they want rich language, at the right lexile, for these books.

   Having lexile levels included in OPAC records will help students, parents, and teachers choose the right books for assignments. Of course, task or purpose for reading and the complexity of language also contribute to the rigor of a text. Librarians, with their expertise, can speak to all three. CLCD allows users to limit searches by lexile, interest level, and age or grade-making the search for those perfect books much easier! The reviews displayed in CLCD help librarians judge the language used by the author and ascertain if the book meets Common Core criteria.

   Youth librarians have a vast knowledge of fiction for their level user. It is imperative that they continue to choose fiction that will draw young folks to reading. Providing books for leisure reading is a major task of the public library. Let us not forget reading for enjoyment as well as information! As librarians serving youth know, many young people enjoy reading informational text, some more than literary pieces. Common Core is urging that ALL students read a true balance of informational text and literature and become strong readers and writers of both.

   How might Common Core impact public library services and programming? We'll address that next time. Meanwhile, visit CLCD on Facebook and share your thoughts on Common Core's implications for the public library's collection.

Themed Reviews: Summer Fun

When I think of summer my mind immediately thinks of long, hot, sunny days. I hear cicadas chirping, I picture barbeques, swimming pools, fireflies, and ice cream, and I imagine being outside as much as possible. For many students, summer is also the promise of more freedom. Having more free time than during the school year opens up a variety of exciting possibilities, as the characters in this feature's highlighted books show. For teens, novels include road trips, romances, and adventures; where many characters start with certain goals and expectations for their summer, but where they end up is often somewhere entirely unexpected. Younger readers can explore board books, picture books, and chapter books with summer themes like swimming, crafts and games, songs, and making friends. Also included is the nonfiction title, Why Is It Summer?, which explains the science behind the summer season. Enjoy the selections below and don't forget to use CLCD for further searching and reviews.

http://www.clcd.com/features/th_summer.php

Emily Griffin

CLCD

The Kids' Summer Fun Book: Great Games, Activities and Adventures for the Entire Family
Claire Gillman & Sam Martin

The Kids' Summer Fun Book lives up to its title with well over one hundred fun and inexpensive activities young people can do to enjoy summertime to its fullest. Suggested activities appropriate for car travel, the beach, the woodlands, one's own backyard, or even rainy day fun pack this excellent resource for parents and babysitters as well as children. From learning the basics of body surfing, to making a model of the solar system markers, tape and simple toilet paper, to creating a terrarium, rubbing leaves, pressing flowers, and even croquet, The Kids' Summer Fun Book is a treasury of both time-tested and inventive activities. Highly recommended. 2011, Barron's, Ages 6 to 12, $12.99. Reviewer: Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, August 2011). 
ISBN: 9780764145810

Meet James Riley

   Although James Riley now makes his home in Los Angeles, California, he was born in Connecticut and lived in several different states growing up. The third of four children, Riley spent most of his life in the Midwest. The family took many car trips, both in moving between states and during cross-country driving vacations, and these provided many opportunities for Riley to develop a love of reading.

   After graduating from high school, James went to Georgetown University. Although he initially intended to study Foreign Service, it wasn't long before he settled on English. After a brief stint at a law firm, James worked at AOL. Today, he works in production for Disney's online services.

   James gained recognition as a writer with his first novel, written for children and young adults. Half Upon a Time was selected as an NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts (2011) and has been recognized for excellence by the Missouri School Library Association, which named it as a finalist for the Mark Twain award (2012-2013).

   James fell into writing for children when going through some old school papers. A written remark from a 3rd grade teacher that his parents should "encourage [him] to write more often, that [he] liked to do it, and it might develop into something," gave him the push he needed to turn his love of writing into an effort to be a published author.

   James' most recent book, Twice Upon a Time, is a sequel to Half Upon a Time. The third and final, as-yet-untitled book in the series is expected to be released in the summer of 2013.

   For more about James Riley, visit his website or read the transcript of a conversation with James below.

Contributor: Heidi Hauser Green

A Conversation with James Riley, author of Twice Upon a Time

Q: Moving around as a child sounds adventurous. Is there a kernel of that in your writing?
JR: "Life of adventure" makes Iowa sound a bit more exciting than it might actually be. I wasn't what you'd call an adventurous kid otherwise. No broken bones to this day. So I guess people can view that as a challenge? But living that sort of life certainly felt attractive, and I did fall into reading a lot of fantasy books as a kid. Especially anything to do with magic, which I loved. I'd make up magic tricks for my parents on the fly...spoiler alert: that is not how to make up magic tricks.

The kool-aid won't always disappear just because you want it to.

Q: Why do you write for children?
JR: I think there's a barrier in adult fiction that requires a larger suspension of disbelief than normal. Adults as a whole have a harder time just believing something fantastic or ridiculous. We can't help it; we tend to grow out of those things a bit.

But by my nature of being ridiculous, it felt like maybe writing for kids might be a fun choice. I have such a love for my favorite childhood authors that it felt like trying to join a club with all of my favorite people already inside. Though it took a lot of knocking!

But I write a story that I'd want to read, hopefully both if I were a child and now, as an adult.

Q: Speaking of favorite children's authors, who were (are) some of your favorites?
JR: Some of these might be obscure. Alfred Slote was the first author I ever met in person as a kid, and I loved his "My Robot Buddy" books. J.D. Fitzgerald and the "Great Brain" series...that's still one of my all-time favorites. Fantasy-wise, Taren Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander is something I wish I could write.

I also had a small, tiny interest in fairy tales. Ruth Manning-Sanders put out a whole series of fairy tales from all over the world called The Book of ____, as in The Book of Witches, The Book of Princes, etc. I wore out a bunch of those from the library!

Q: Do you think your work with Disney has influenced your writing at all? How?
JR: My work with Disney hasn't, but my love for all things Disney certainly has. I always had a love for classic Disney cartoons while growing up (and I know I'm probably the only kid to ever like them). I also read a lot of comics as a kid, and found Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck stories that way, which were some of the most adventurous and funny things I've read to this day.

From there, I dove into the classic animated movies, and read about Walt and his animators, bugged my parents to go to Disney World repeatedly until they'd just throw up their hands in the air and take us just to quiet me down...anything Disney.

Disney certainly brought fairy tales into the mainstream consciousness, and I tried to use that, both because you can say "Cinderella" and people instantly think of the movie and because it gave me the chance to twist expectations, if everyone had the same foundation of "story."

Q: With the many high-action and swashbuckling scenes, these books seem ripe for the big screen. Do you ever find yourself thinking of them like "movies" when you write?
JR: I think growing up with movies so readily available for repeat viewings on tape or DVD makes it hard not to see things cinematically in some ways. It's both a blessing and a curse, since books are inherently different than movies, so require a different way of looking at things. But I think a film-like book might have an easier time connecting with kids who might not enjoy reading yet, too.

Or maybe I just say that because my descriptive writing is secondary to my dialogue, for better or worse.

I do play scenes out in my head, often to music, as if I were watching them in a movie theater!

Q: What is your writing process?
JR: With the third "Half" book coming out about a year from now, and starting a new series after that, I've been thinking about this. Basically, I have far too many ideas to ever use, which seems bad for the environment or something, like I'm leaving a faucet on.

So when I do find an idea I like, I try to flesh it out a bit, see if it's more than just "Wouldn't it be fun if …?" That pares things down even more, and I generally start plotting things out a bit. Plots never stay the same from that initial point, but I like having a map of where I want to go from the beginning, if only so I know when I get lost and can either push myself back on track or embrace it. (Usually embrace it; you find a lot of weird things off the map.)

So my first draft is always just littered with notes of things I think of as I go, and just write down to make sure I remember as I go back for a second one. I never stop on that first draft, because it's so easy to never stop editing when you start, so I just continue to the end and get a story out...then I go back and fix/change/delete entirely.

I usually write "whenever I can." That's almost always at night after work, which makes it hard sometimes. I give myself a goal of five new pages every night, and whenever I meet that, I consider the day a success, whether or not the pages work for me. They can always be changed/deleted/fixed/deleted/deleted.

Q: What are the particular challenges of writing a series?
JR: I like cliffhangers...like I said, I grew up reading comic books and just naturally think everything should end on a cliffhanger. I can see how that is not ideal for a lot of other readers, though. But more important than that to me is setting up the entire series in the first book. I prefer series where you can tell there's been a plan from the start. There are exceptions, but for the most part, when an author can foreshadow an event in the last book within the first book, I just feel like I can give that author my trust and have it be rewarded.

So I definitely wanted to plan out the entire series before I started writing the first book. And for that reason, there are all kinds of things I set up inHalf Upon a Time that won't play out until the end. I think most readers call them "loose ends."

Q: Can you tell me more about your next series?
JR: There's certainly nothing certain about it yet, but if things go well, it'll be the story of a 12-year-old girl who is a criminal genius and is sent to a boarding school for bad kids that's being terrorized by the Snitch, a fellow classmate (and fellow genius) who has a Sherlock Holmes-ian talent for knowing when a rule-breaking is about to take place.

So, generally, it'll be about wanting to be good when sometimes all you know is how to be bad.

Q: Can you see a similar sort of succinct message in the "Half" series?
JR: It's a cliché, but ultimately I see the point as "Just Be Yourself." Jack's both fighting against and trying so hard to be the classic hero that he's missing what makes him him. He's not a classic hero...he's a trickster archetype. And he's been having so much trouble [in books 1 and 2] because he's not embracing his true self, in a lot of ways.

Q: Along with that, how would you describe Jack's personality? And Phillip's?
JR: Probably much too much of me! Jack, to me, is the kid who doesn't know what he wants out of life yet, so assumes that he's just "wrong" somehow because the normal expectations of everyone else just don't work out for him. There will be a new "test" for him at the beginning of book 3 that mirrors the one he took at the beginning of book 1 that he'll be doing much better at, just to give a bit of a hint.

Jack characters have always been very clever, but fairly generic, so readers (or listeners) could put themselves into the character. So generally I wanted to keep him as much an "everyman" as I could, in some ways, with just a lot of me thrown in.

Now Phillip...I love Phillip, honestly, though a lot of reader's don't! To me, he's exactly every Disney prince ever, just trying to do the right thing, though he is shirking some princely responsibilities to be out on these quests. That may be coming back to haunt him in book 3.

We'll see some scenes from Phillip's perspective too--like we did from May's in book 2--that might help give us a little more insight into who Phillip is.

Q: You've already touched on this, but how do you write stories that connect with young readers?
JR: Assuming I do that (which might be a big assumption!), I think it's about remembering yourself as a child, and how you always felt older than you were. I'd definitely prefer to talk up to readers, if that's a phrase, than ever to talk down to them. I think kids will rise to a challenge, and hopefully have fun doing so.

I also think that the more you examine yourself, and the questions you had at that age, the more you can hopefully create something that tries to answer those questions for kids wondering the same thing. Even with pirate monkeys wandering around in it.

Q: What book(s) are you reading now?
JR: This will sound like a plug, because both are edited by my editor, Liesa Abrams, but I've got Unwanteds and Merits of Mischief on my shelf to read next. I also just finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which I loved unconditionally, like a puppy.

Q: Do you have anything specific you want to say to your readers?
JR: A huge thank you for picking up the book(s) in this series in the first place, and an ever bigger one if you liked it! It's still hard for me to understand that I have two books now on bookshelves in stores, so it's an ever bigger leap to realize people are reading words I wrote. Someday that should sink in, but for now, it's still an amazing surprise whenever someone tells me they even picked it up. So thanks to everyone!

http://www.clcd.com/features/mai_riley_james.php