ELEM: Picture book categories in detail

[Johanna Halbeisen Rebecca Johnson School]

Last week I described a way I'd love to have my picture books arranged - by
categories instead of by authors.  I offered to send the system to anyone
who was interested.  Then I realized the graphics weren't helpful, but a
much more thorough explanation would be.  Apologies to those who got the
sheet in the mail without any further explanation.  Here is the explanation:

Common School Library  -  Picture Book Categories

Designs for each category were from Chartpak tape originally, but some
are going out of print.  One could make designs on a computer, cut up
the paper and tape it on the spine.  In the Common School system
where all books are in a seven-color system (see below), the picture
books are also color-coded.

%JAlphabets
%JAttributes - size, shape, color, etc
%JCreatures - dragons, giants, trolls (that don't come under Myth Folk &
Fairy)
%JFamilies and Friends - realistic stories about children in context of
family and friends
%JHide and Seek (things to find in the pictures, ex: Where's Waldo)
%JHolidays and Birthdays
%JHow and Why - (how things work, not sure exactly what this one is)
%JMother Goose and other rhymes
%JMyself -  realistic stories with child main character without family or
friends context, ex: 'feelings' books
%JMyth, Folk and Fairy Tales - from cultural traditions, (398.2)
%JNighttime
%JNo Words
%JNumbers
%JOther People, Other Places - stories set in countries outside the USA
%JOur Country: then and now - got created because Other People, Other
Places got too big.
%JOver and Over Again (repeating refrain, like "Drummer Hoff fired it
off", also repeating visual theme)
%JPlaying - (kids at play)
%JReal Animals and Plants - pets and wild animals and plants
%JDr. Seuss
%JSongs
%JThings that go - trucks, cars, trains, etc
%JTiny Books - Beatrix Potter, etc
%JWhat's Happening Outside - interaction of child and environment,
ecosystems, seasons
%JWords - naming books, and word play (Chocolate Moose)

When you put all the books in the above categories, what is left is called
"Storybooks" and because there are so many of those, "Storybooks" is
further divided as to who are the main characters:

%JStorybooks: Animals (Ex: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by Stieg)
%JStorybooks: Animals and People  (Ex: Nothing At All by Wanda Gag)
%JStorybooks: Long Ago and Far Away -   a once upon a time feel, but
not a true folk or fairy tale story  (fairy tale-like stories by Jane Yolen)
%JStorybooks: People

Of course you need to make categories that make sense to your kids.
One I would add to this immediately is "Scary Stories" (Ex: There's An
Alligator Under My Bed").  And just like any original cataloging, there
will be books that could go in several categories and the great fun (and
headache) is to figure out which one to put them in.  In the Common
School card catalog, these are cross-referenced to the other possible
categories.

The seven main categories in theCommon School system are
Orange - countries and cultures
Blue - Myth, folk and fairy (which parallels the countries and cultures
section)
Green - science
Purple - arts
Red - language
Yellow - biography
Black - fiction (a black stripe is on any fictional treatment of another
subject)
White - picture books

Each section is further divided.  A book on judo would be "Purple 6 jud"
Purple (arts), 6 (skills), jud (for 'judo')

--
Johanna Halbeisen                               "We are confronted by
Rebecca M. Johnson School(K-8)                   insurmountable opportunties."
Springfield, Mass
jhalbei@k12.oit.umass.edu                               Pogo