April 2008
Search Tip of the Month
This Month's Features
Spreading the News
Wow! What a month this is for special events. It is School Library Media Month, National Poetry Month, the opening day of Major League Baseball, National Library Week and the Week of the Young Child (April 13 - 19), and Earth Day (April 22), to mention some prominent ones that come to mind. Subscribers to the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) are not flustered at all. They know that the "one-stop shopping" offered by CLCD will have their bibliographies, lists for teachers, and display titles together in no time at all. With the CLCD you can even combine some of these occasions. There is quite an extensive list of baseball poetry. Speaking of baseball and poetry, Linda Sue Park is a great fan of both. In fact, last fall she published a book of poems, Tap Dancing on the Roof: sijo (poems). New this spring is the book she wished she had as a child, Keeping Score. You can read about both in my interview by following the link below.
Don't be a fool this April. If you already subscribe to the CLCD, make sure you use it to the fullest. If you haven't subscribed yet, be wise and contact us today.
Quote of the Month
"The CLCD is a tool I use nearly daily in my work as a School Library Media Specialist in an elementary school in western New York. Being able to read full text reviews from several professional journals is invaluable when putting together orders and when I served on the Robert Sibert Award Committee. The database's many search options allow me to search broadly or with several limiters, then sort my results."
Peg Glisson, School Library Media Specialist -- Pittsford, NY
You asked and we responded. Now you can search the CLCD database and limit your results to books that have won awards. For example, I decided to try recycling because of Earth Day and then I set the qualifier to award winners. The result was 32 books and one of them is perfect for April which is also poetry month--Each Living Thing by Joanne Ryder. So, please make use of this new ability to further qualify your searches and find the very best books for k-12 readers.
The history of Passover, information about the Seder, and our modern celebrations are all included in The Miracles of Passover by Josh Hanft and illustrated by Seymour Chwast. It is one of the titles in our Passover feature.
Earth Day is April 22. Our selections include books about conservation, global warming, experiments, and stories, such as The Grass Patch Project by Molly Blaisdell and illustrated by James Demski, Jr. to get children thinking about what they can do to conserve and preserve nature's beauty.
Celebrate National Poetry Month with favorite poems old and new, which you will find in our themed reviews section. The first Poem in Your Pocket Day will be held on April 17. You might find the perfect poem in Barefoot: Poems for Naked Feet by Stefi Weisburd and illustrated by Lori McElrath-Eslick.
Author Features
"Stories are immensely powerful, and can have a lasting effect. Even a writer with the best intentions sometimes gets it really, dangerously wrong," states Melanie Little, author of The Apprentice's Masterpiece: A Story of Medieval Spain, in this interview. You will learn about the research she did on the Spanish Inquisition, her thoughts on intolerance, and why she chose to write this novel in verse.
Linda Sue Park has two new books that are just perfect for sharing during the month of April - and, of course, throughout the rest of the year! She talks about Tap Dancing on the Roof: sijo (poems) and Keeping Score in this candid interview in which she reveals which of her books is her favorite.
Scott Westerfield, author of the Uglies trilogy, talks about the character of Aya and her world in his new book Extras. Discover what he means when he says, "Even if it's set in the future, science fiction is always about the present."
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CLCD Newsletter Editor, Sharon Salluzzo serves as a library and education consultant to CLCD. In addition, Sharon is a book reviewer, a storyteller, and a member of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC. She currently serves on the ALSC Quicklist committee. Sharon earned her MLS at SUNY Geneseo.
About the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Our monthly newsletter is now available to everyone within an organization, not just the primary contact. A new feature at www.childrenslit.com will provide you with a form allowing you to sign up for just the electronic newsletter. The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, updated mid-month, is your most complete source of information about children's books. Indeed, it is the next best thing to having the book in hand, and the best tool for leading you to the best books. All at a most affordable price. To subscribe to the CLCD or contact us, go to www.childrenslit.com.