Carol and LM_Netters,
I would not use a ten year copyright as a guideline for discarding picture books. I
would consider a 5 year "no check-out" circulation record. Copyright and
circulation stats are two different issues in picture books. Now, if you check the
circ stats and there's no circulation, either the story or pictures are probably
dated, or the characters are unfamiliar. In the case of Babar, he's been televised,
so I'd guess that it's the script writing that puts off primary readers, and
frankly, it's hard on my eyes!
Ideas to enliven interest:
1. Purchase and decorate with various "classic" characters, either dolls or room
posters.
2. Read aloud some classics, and with the 1st or 2nd graders (or early 3rd), talk
about the (original) copyright year, how old is the story, etc. I introduce the
kids to the "verso" page (usually) on the back of the Title Page - I call it the
"Librarian's Secret Page" and most teachers don't even know about it.
3. Get a really old copy of the book - like one you have saved from your childhood.
Show it to the kids and describe a little about why it was special enough to save.
You can read from the old one.Then show them the new one you have in your library.
I have a battered old copy of "The Little Engine That Could" and I tell the story
of how my mother bought it for me at our school book fair (circa 1960) and how much
I enjoyed it, and that it's still being printed. You can check the verso of the
newer book and see how many times the copyright has been repeated (? What's the
term for re-copyrighting? Re-issued? Re-granted? Extended?) Anyway, it's
interesting to compare and to talk about the fact that the original copyright (or
better yet, original publication date) gives you a good idea of how old the story
is, even if the book is brand new.
4. Have a "Book Look." Have kids sit in a circle or rows (or at tables is fine) and
have ready a pre-selected group of books you want them to compare (i.e. I put three
stacks of books on the floor, one for each of three rows). Each child is given one
to browse through (not to read - the idea is to change books about every two
minutes until each child has seen at least 3 and as many as 5 or more) and then at
the signal they pass the books in an orderly fashion (ha ha ha - the teachers and I
call it our "practicing following directions" activity!) to the next child. As they
browse, I "borrow" books from various students and point out bright, bold colors
versus pale illustrations, borders around pages, two-page spread illustrations,
etc. (This is why you pre-select them in advance - to get a good variety) With the
older kids you could discuss the media used to create the illustrations. We look
for animals as animals, animals acting like people (wearing clothes, etc.),
pictures !
revealing the season or time of day, etc. We find the author and illustrator names
on the cover, look for the Title Page, and try reading the spine. I always put a
lot of the "Oldies but Goodies" in among my newer Book Look selections. Then, even
if they don't check them out in the future, they've at least had some exposure to
them.
Joanne Ladewig, Library Media Technician (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD Garden Grove, California
shatz1@earthlink.net
"We're Library Techs. We improvise, we adapt, we overcome! WE READ!"
" You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one
person."
- - - comments are my own and may not reflect those of my employer- - -
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