YAACING
FALL 2007
The Newsletter of the Young Adult & Children's Services Section of BCLA
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Message from the EditorFirst I have to send my apologies to Elspeth Bowers, Literacy Assistant, Fraser Valley Regional Library for leaving her name off of her report on Bookclubs for kids and teen in the Summer issue. Sorry about that Elspeth. And now to more serious issues: As I write this Vancouver Public Library (www.cupe 391.ca/blog) has been out on strike since July (week 10) and Greater Victoria Public Library (http://www.cupe410.ca/) is escalating strike action; Vancouver Island Regional (CUPE 401) is still negotiating and I hope has come to a satisfactory agreement by the time you read this. Have I missed others? Not to forget those that have had to settle for less than equal pay for equal work. It is time to make a strong stand for what we believe in. Please send your support and well wishes to those on the front lines via the newspapers and media. Now back to our regular programming. In this issue you will find a mixed bag of hurriedly pulled together material and I will apologize now for the rough quality but I wanted to get you an issue this fall. Please think of Joanne and I on our respective picket lines we will be back with your Winter Issue before you know it. Take care Phillippa Brown
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Annual General Meeting BCLA Conference, Burnaby, BC Saturday, April 21, 2007 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. |
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Question from the Floor: Who will be the presenter? Antoinette answered: Not Sarah Grant, but librarians from FVRL: Donna Jones & Babs McLaren on simple lap puppets and Deborah Duncan from Coquitlam Public on shadow puppets. There will also be representatives from the Vancouver Public Puppetry Troupe
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http://readinglink.bclibrary.caDear YAACS members: Are you looking for a program that will excite Gr. 4 & 5 students? Join the Reading Link Challenge! It promotes the “sport of reading”. Using the elements of a classic reading program, children are encouraged to participate in a group activity, to read for retention, and to participate in a public library activity that promotes the love of reading as a pleasurable life long experience. In teams of seven, the children read and become familiar with a set of six selected books. At the first challenge level, teams within a school compete with each other answering questions on characters, plots and settings. The winning team at each school then goes on to the next challenge level at the public library where the competition is repeated with a different set of questions. At the final challenge level, a number of winning teams from different libraries come together for a competition at a community event with a public audience. Fraser Valley Regional Library and Coquitlam Public Library have been challenging each other for the past five years and in 2006, both libraries won the BCLA Merit Award for programs for Reading Link Challenge. Now Kitimat Public Library and Ft. St. James Public Library are taking the challenge in 2007 – 2008. Vancouver Public Library tried a very successful pilot program in 2006 – 2007, but will not be able to join this year. This will be the sixth year the program has introduced over five thousand Gr. 4 & 5 students to a variety of multicultural reading materials, promoted teamwork, and most of all, encouraged the use and enjoyment of their school and public libraries. In December 2006, the Public Library Services Branch, Ministry of Education approved a grant to create the resources for libraries across the province to participate in the program. We designed a Reading Link Challenge logo. We publicized the logo and the
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website address, http://readinglink.bclibrary.ca with promotional materials which included bookmarks, rack cards, magnets, pencil, stickers, book bags. We created a twenty-eight page guidebook and put it into PDF format so it could be downloaded from the website. We hired a production company to produce a 5 minute DVD illustrating the spirit of the challenge, interviewing principals, teachers, librarians, parents, and some of the children at the challenges. Ada Con delivered a powerpoint presentation at the Public Library Services Branch day of Provincial Reading programs on April 19, 2007 at the Burnaby Public Library, as well as the Beyond Hope Conference held in Prince George, B. C on May 4, 2007 to promote the Reading Link Challenge as an easy program to institute in any community. What makes this program unique is the international cross border assistance and cooperation we have received from Seattle Public Library and Kalamazoo Public Library. In the book selection process, multicultural themes, boy/girl interest, high/low reading levels, and different genres are taken into consideration. We choose at least four titles of the six books that all teams would read in common and a special videoconference challenge is held, a highlight for all the participants. It is not feasible to expand this current arrangement to include more B.C. libraries in the videoconference. However, libraries may wish to add another level to the challenge with other libraries in their region. Perhaps one day, there may be a British Columbia wide challenge. If you are interested in participating in Reading Link Challenge in 2008 – 2009, check out the website: http://readinglink.bclibrary.ca or Contact Ada Con, 604-927-7997; email: ada.con@fvrl.bc.ca Yours sincerely, Ada Con 604-927-7997
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Baby Board Book ReviewsReviews and article written by Joanne Canow, Children’s and Teen Librarian, Renfrew Branch, Vancouver Public Library, reprinted from BabyVibes online “zine” with the kind permission of Lisa Foeste, the editor at: www.babyvibe.ca What follows is a continuation of the monthly book reviews about baby Board Books Joanne wrote for the zine, Babyvibes this past spring. Joanne has been the YAACS representative on the BC Books for Babies Executive
Baby Boo! Amazing Baby, San Diego: CA, 2003. The Amazing Baby Series of baby board books is a great choice for babies of all ages. Many in the series are sure hits because they are simple books with lovely photographs of babies staring out at the reader. The books include photos of babies from various cultural backgrounds, making it easy for your little one to identify with the faces in the photos. We all know what happens when babies see other babies at the park, in the library, in baby time programs, and at the mall – they ogle, stare, point, drool, and generally make delighted noises. Baby Boo! will get the same response from your little one! Jane Cobb, the Vancouver Public Library’s Mother Goose Trainer and Facilitator highly recommends this type of book for young babies in her programs. The cover of BabyBoo! has a black and white photo of a baby on it, as well as a blue heart with glittery eye-catching reflectors cut into the cardboard cover. Your little one
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will definitely want to reach out to touch it – their tactile interest is developing. The six inch square chunky book is easy to hold and visually attractive.
The sixteen page book begins with simple rhyming words: “Wakey, wakey, sleepy baby,” on the left hand side, mimicking the way we “read” English books from left to right. On the right hand side is a photo of a baby still peacefully sleeping in its comfy bed. The story proceeds with the words, “Kiss, Kiss, I love you!,” with a correspondingly charming photo of a baby whose lips are puckered into a kiss. After this cheerful “wake-up,” and lots of giggly happy faces, the book moves into a peek-a-boo word and photo sequence. The highlight of the book is on the last page. With the words, “Peekaboo! It’s you!,” on the left, your baby looks at his/her reflection in a large (almost full page) face-shaped mirror. This will encourage lots of interest, laughter, and spontaneous peek-a-boo activities that your child will want to do over and over again. BabyBoo! is a simple book that your child will quickly learn to ‘read’ or anticipate with pleasure – an important early literacy skill that kids pick up on the road to reading. van der Put, Klaartje. Little Lamb: Finger Puppet Book. Chronicle Books, San Francisco: CA, 2006. I wish that I had visited KidsBooks in Vancouver a little earlier this season! The Finger Puppet books I found there would have made fabulous Christmas present suggestions for all babies, right up to the toddler age. These charming board books are small, easy to handle, and include sweet, sweet finger puppets in their book design. The puppets poke through die cuts in the book to tell the story and bring it to life. There is a series of these delightful puppet books, including: Little Lamb, Little Duck, Little Ladybug, and Little Bee. I chose to buy the Little Lamb Finger Puppet Book for my story times. The lamb puppet was the cutest – the most recognizable of the animals depicted in the series. It really looks like a lamb when used as a puppet (as opposed to the duck, which wasn’t quite as convincing). As well, babies see depictions of lambs in tons of baby books, so it’s a familiar theme. The board book is short. It has twelve pages of simple text – thirteen when you include the cover the lamb pokes out of. The illustrations are very bold, colourful, and simple – sure to catch your baby’s attention. The puppet tells and acts out a simple story about how he loves to play, munch on grass, and smell flowers. He watches butterflies and gazes at the clouds until bedtime. The story engages the imagination while being eye candy for any baby who is lucky to have it read to him or her. Little Lamb: Finger Puppet Book will delight your baby, while introducing language and vocabulary for brain development. Just as important, these books will introduce play in your developing relationship of trust and love that will grow as you share the magic of books. Your baby will enjoy having this book read over and over and will eventually be able to use the puppet to ‘read’ the story to you!
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O’Connell, Rebecca. Illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max. The Baby Goes Beep. Millbrook Press, Brookfield: CT, 2003. This storytime favourite is published as both a large picture book and board book. Wilson-Max is renowned for picture books illustrated by simple and vibrant paintings. His works for young children resonate with depictions of love shared between babies and families. The bright and playful illustrations work well with Rebecca O’Connell’s lively and rhythmic text that celebrates a day in the life of a baby. A popular book for library babytimes, parents and babies delight in imitating the rhythmic chanting in the book; with their voices, tapping feet, clapping hands, and smooching lips. The librarian, too, gets a big charge out of “Shhing,” the baby off to sleep at the end of the book. In either format, the book is large and square (and easy to hold). The board book is best, as your baby will be comfortable chewing it and drooling on it (part of their book-handling developments) and will grow to embrace it as a favourite toy. Both the text and images are big and bold. Beginning with a “Beep Beep,” while playing with a toy car wheel and ‘beeping’ his father’s nose, the baby continues to “Boom Boom,” while unpacking groceries with mom, “La La,” while playing patty-cakes, “Flip Flip,” while reading a book, “Yum Yum,” while eating lunch, “Splash Splash,” when having a bath, “Smooch Smooch,” when getting ready for bed, and finally, “Shh Shhh,” as the baby drifts off to sleep. The words and rhymes accumulate into chanting songs that repeat the rhythmic actions of the story. For example, the phrase, “The baby goes Beep, The baby goes Beep Beep, The baby goes Beep Beep Beep Beep,” is as cumulative as the energy of the book. The last image displays the exhausted parents resting in bed – an image all parents can relate to. Rebecca O’Connell is a children’s librarian who, after many years of storytimes, wrote this rhyming story because it’s pace, text, and illustrations make it a successful read-aloud book for Babytimes. It will surely become a favourite in your home and will entertain your baby well into their toddler years. The Baby Goes Beep is an excellent example of how early literacy works. By reading great books to our babies on a regular basis, we provide comforting and pleasurable experiences of storytimes that will later translate into an interest in songs, books, stories, and language when they are ready to read. I Heard a Little Baa. Elizabeth MacLeod. Illustrated by Louise Phillips. Kids Can Press, Toronto:ON, 2007. This delightful little board book is also a popular lift-the-flaps baby book (published in 1998). The BC Books for Baby’s Committee chose this title as their 2007 book (program runs from 2006-2008, with a new board book chosen each year). Kids Can Press happily published it as a baby board book. This is the 2007 Board Book edition, hot off the press, and found in all English 2007 Books for Babies Bags. It is a favourite choice in our Babytime, Mother Goose, and Man in the Moon programs at the Vancouver Public Library and is well used in all our early literacy Outreach activities.
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I Heard a Little Baa is a chunky square board book and easy to hold. The illustrations are big and simple and viewed as fourteen double page spreads throughout the book The story is a guessing game that begins with, “I heard a little baa, It woke me from my sleep, First I saw a woolly face,” on the left side of the double page spread and, “ Baa” on the right side. When you turn the page, there is a big fluffy sheep bounding across the two pages, with the text, “And then I saw a sheep,” on the right hand side. There are six more similar scenarios in the book, giving many opportunities to guess who will be on the next page and make the animal noises together. The story ends with a peek-a-boo and a giggling boy. I’ve heard from parents that this book quickly becomes a favourite and eventually toddlers enjoy telling the story to their parents. The sing-song quality of the text is rhythmical and has the quality of a lullaby. Encourage you child to anticipate the next animal and sing out the animal noises. This will greatly increase their pleasure and contribute to them “knowing” the book in a very short time. This is an important early literacy skill that kids pick up on the road to reading. So is the pleasure of enjoyable storytime experiences, contributing to positive associations with reading and with books that will last a lifetime. BC Books for Baby’s has produced beautiful book bags for all babies born in BC in 2006 and 2007 (and 2008). Each year there is a new English board book chosen for the book bags. There are also book bags with wonderful bilingual board books in predominant languages spoken in BC. Included in all the bags is a children’s CD, an information book for parents, coupon, and lots of library information. They are available from your health nurse or midwife. If you didn’t receive one of these colourful and sturdy bags with your baby’s first board book, ask for one at your local library. Remember, books are for babies too! BCLA Email Lists – 101The British Columbia Library Association offers a number of email lists (also called listservs) to which members can subscribe. Each has its own topic area and as a subscriber you receive emails that are sent to the main email address for that list. Here are the possible email lists‡:Main BCLA list (bcla-list) – Contains general information and announcements from BCLA, including job postings from around BC
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Academic Librarians in Public Service (alps-list) – For the exchange of ideas and to share expertise among academic public service librarians Acquisitions and Collection Development Policy Interest Group (acdc-list) – For those interested in acquisitions and collection development Advocacy for BC Libraries (advocacy-list) Intellectual Freedom Committee (ifc-list) – Works to uphold the principles of the right to read, view, hear, and discuss any idea on any subject Information Policy Committee (ipc-list) – Advocates for library users equitable and affordable access to information and to ensure government information policy safeguards public interest Information Technology Interest Group (itig-list) – (currently inactive) For anyone interested in information technology in libraries Libraries Across Borders Interest Group (lab-list) – Provides assistance to libraries internationally and locally to develop library services Library Technicians and Assistants Interest Group (ltaig-list) – Committed to developing and strengthening ties between Library Technicians and Assistants and the library field Special Needs Interest Group (snig-list) – For anyone interested in library services to people with disabilities Young Adult and Children’s Services (yaacs-list) – For anyone interested in issues related to Young Adult and Children’s Services ‡ most descriptions are adapted from the section or interest group’s own description on the BCLA website How to Subscribe or UnsubscribeThere are two ways to subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) these email lists:
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Sending Messages to Email ListsIf you want to send a message to a list once you have subscribed to it, just send an email to the appropriate address listed below:
This document is adapted and borrowed from the BCLA email list subscription page at http://www.bclibrary.ca/listservs/bcla/
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Extreme Sports & Adventure Booktalk BooksKristina Batiste & Bill Nikolai LIBR 528 March 7, 2007 This booktalk is aimed at grade 7-9 readers. 
Vertical Limits This book features a trio of talented teen climbers - Jake, Pete and Katja. Most of the story is set high in the peaks of the Bugaboo Mountains in eastern British Columbia. Jake and Pete are best of pals, but perhaps not the ideal climbing partners, as Pete is a afraid of heights - his climbing is limited to “low heights where no ropes are necessary. Jake is obsessed with scaling granite walls towering 150 stories. Katja has her own problems, arising from her having had to deal with her mom’s recent passing. She’s not particularly sociable and her daring climbing moves make it appear that she has a death wish. Jake attempts an epic climb by himself - against the exhortations of both Pete and Katja, leading to an epic adventure for the three of them. An interesting interview with the author – who lives in Vancouver – is available at: http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/profiles/withers.html 
Soul Surfer The true story of a 13-year old girl, Bethany Hamilton, whose passion is surfing. She lives on Kauai's North Shore, and has surfed since she was very young, entering and winning her contests when she was just seven years old. Her best friend, Alana, is also a surfer and together, with Alana's dad and brother, Bethany is out paddling on a bright Hallowe'en morning when she's attacked by a shark. The shark takes off her left arm and Bethany is fortunate to survive. Her faith in God and a very supportive and loving family and friends help her get through some dark hours. A story of inspiration that starts in childhood, the account takes us to Bethany's early teens, when he talks about the aftermath and discusses how her faith has helped her deal with the trauma. Bethany Hamilton’s personal web page is at: http://www.bethanyhamilton.com
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The Mutt: How to Skateboard and Not Kill Yourself This is the life story of Rodney Mullen, a skateboarding sensation and multimillionaire. Much of the story concerns personal struggles and issues dealing with introversion, almost-obsessive intellectual pursuits, and friction with an overbearing father. Rodney has to come to grips with his love of skateboarding and the fact that his dad wants him to undertake more mainstream, normal pursuits. He also has to deal with the eventual illness and death of his mother, and his venture in the business side of skateboarding. This story covers Rodney’s life from a first person perspective, from early childhood to his mid-twenties and marriage. More information about Rodney Mullen can be found at: http://www.rodneymullen.net 
Extreme Sports: In Search of the Ultimate Thrill This is a large format illustrated encyclopedia that summarizes a variety of extreme sports. Readers are introduced to the sports via photos and short sections of text. The sports include air sports (B.A.S.E. and bungee jumping; gliding - both hang gliding and soaring; high wire walking; ski jumping; sky diving, surfing, and flying), land (indoor and outdoor climbing; adventure racing; aggressive inline skating; BMX; caving; extreme motocross; extreme, freestyle, and speed skiing; land and ice yachting; speed and mountain biking; mountain, skate, and snowboarding; snowmobiling; street luge), water (barefoot water skiing; cliff diving; SCUBA and freediving; jet skiing; open water swimming; powerboat and round-the-world yacht racing; snorkeling; speed sailing; surfing and windsurfing; wakeboarding; whitewater). We are given an introduction, a little history, and some current background, including names of leading athletes. Some terminology is explained. The risks are outlined and warnings issued. Two websites that focus on extreme sports are: 
Bonus: (not from our booktalk) Adrenalin Ride: In the Zone, a Time Life DVD “Adrenaline Ride cranks with the most intense and outrageous sports on the planet. From surfing to street skating . . . from motocross to BMX . . . from wakeboarding to snow machines . . . this series has it all. Check out star athletes pulling off their sickest tricks in an epic collection of the most incredible footage shot by the best extreme filmmakers in the industry and backed by an eclectic mix of rock, punk, hip hop, and electronic music. You're not going to want to miss a second of this mind-blowing action . . . so strap in and experience the ultimate ride!” [from the DVD case] In addition, there are numerous magazines and e-zines that will take you to the limit …
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Emmanuel’s Gift A documentary DVD, this is the extraordinary story of Emmanuel - a mountain biker with a difference. He’s only got one leg, but he didn’t let that stand in his way when he wanted to play soccer, bike across Ghana, or participate in triathlons. Extreme sports at its best, demonstrates that athletes come in all shapes, and that ‘extreme’ can mean more than just dangerous. 
Rough Waters A book that examines the complex relationships of family through a screen of grief and adventure. After the sudden death of their parents, Greg and Scott go to live with their uncle on a Colorado river. Leaving behind their old lives is hard, but practical, younger Scott tries to deal with it as best he can. Unlike Greg, who may risk everything for the rush of the river. Exploration of relationships, trust, and the realities of dealing with the loss of a parent. 
The Edge An engaging read about Declan, an avid skateboarder and tagger. Declan gets in a little bit of trouble with some friends, and the law, though unlike his friends, he’s given a second chance. ABut can even the thrill of snowboarding help him escape the demons in his past? An interesting look at how actions can follow people into the future. 
Bull Rider & Blue Moon
This is a great pair of quick-read books about rodeo life, perfect for reluctant readers. In Bull Rider, Layne is desperate to take up bull riding, but his mother isn’t so sure...because Layne’s father was killed by a bull. In Blue Moon Billie Jo buys what looks like glue on legs, and tries to train her to become a barrel racer. But while Billie Jo gets closer to cute Cole, the neighbor boy, and starts working with her horse, she soon finds that the horse has some secrets...
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Other Voices: MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE FOR YOUNG ADULTSSubmitted by Min Kyung So and Catherine Howett For: LIBR 538
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RESOURCES Bodart, JR. 1994. The Booktalker’s Companions: Volume 1. Denver, Colorado: BookHooks Publishing. Books R4 Teens. http://utopia.utexas.edu/explore/books/multi.html
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Cai, Mingshui. 2002. Multicultural literature for children and young adults: reflections on critical issues. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Darby, MA. & Pryne M. 2002. Hearing all the voices: multicultural books for adolescents. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. Gates, PS. & Mark, DLH. 2006. Cultural Journeys: multicultural literature for children and young adults. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. Jwaid, R. & Rizzo, M. 2005. Building character through multicultural literature: guide for middle school readers. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. Readers Club: Young Adult Multicultural http://www.readersclub.org/subcategory.asp?cat=4&id=35 Schall, L. 2003. Booktalks and more: motivating teens to read. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. How Do Picturebooks Work?Summary of BCLA conference session by Phyllis Dalton “How do Picturebooks work?” was a talk given by Kathryn E. Shoemaker based on her research done for her doctoral dissertation at BCLA on April 21. Ms. Shoemaker has illustrated more than 30 books including My animal friends by R. David Stephens which was selected by the B.C.government to be distributed by elementary schools to families with three-year-olds who attend the schools’ open houses. She has also illustrated A telling time by Irene Watts, a 2004 Kristallnacht story in which three different time periods are illustrated in three different styles. Children’s literature academics, literacy researchers, illustrators, writers, linguists and semioticians (people who study signs and symbols and how we make sense of them) have been asking this question as our society shifts to a more visual culture and the picturebook; a multimedia experience of text, pictures and design; is an important part of this culture. Picturebooks as an integration of words and pictures; neither one able to stand alone, are a 20th century phenomenon with early examples being Virginia Lee Burton’s The little house, Wanda Gag’s Millions of cats and Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal. They are to be distinguished from illustrated books in which both the text and the pictures could stand alone; the text as a story and the pictures as works of art. So, how do picturebooks work? Each page is an information unit with a balanced combination of what is already known and predictable and what is new and unpredictable. Social semiotics becomes important as what is known and predictable depends on the knowledge the viewer or reader has of the symbols used based on their previous exposure to them in a situation where they can learn what they mean, and is influenced by the culture where this occurs. In Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak, Max has his own room; a concept that many people in other parts of the world wouldn’t be able to relate to.
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Picturebooks have a reading path that carries the reader or viewer from text to picture and back to text in a sequential way. Many, more recent picturebooks have more than one reading path, The Three Pigs by David Wiesner being an example. The best picturebooks have layers of meaning that can be extracted by repeat readings or by being an older more experienced reader. There are more picturebooks being published such as The Rabbits by John Marsden or Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne that may be enjoyed by children on one level but only more sophisticated readers would appreciate all levels of meaning. In summary, what did I learn from this session that I could apply to my job as a children’s librarian. It is important when choosing books to read to groups of children to choose books with a level of symbols, both words and pictures that would be largely familiar to that age group. Unfamiliar symbols should be discussed. Some picturebooks will not lend themselves to storytelling but must be shared as books as the illustrations are critical to the whole experience and the group must be small enough so all children can easily see them. When reading books to groups of children it would be good to model following the reading paths and noting design details that make the book a more enriching experience. We may already do these things because we have the experience to know this is good practice but it is interesting to have a better understanding of why it is good practice. The most astounding piece of information I learned though it doesn’t really change anything: many of the books we call picturebooks aren’t. They are really illustrated books. Bibliotherapy in the Public Library:
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aspects of people’s personalities, and using these insights to promote personal growth or to solve problems (Hynes and Hynes-Berry 58). Bibliotherapy differs from a book club in that rather than looking at the book as a literary object, the book is a tool and the group sessions involve discussing one’s personal, emotional reactions to the material (Ibid. 43). Bibliotherapy has been used extensively with children, in school, library and clinical settings. Children may not be able to easily articulate their problems, but may be able to recognize them in literature (Gould and Mignone 11). Reading may help in working through threatening feelings, as there is a distancing element in considering a character in a book, rather than speaking directly about oneself (Olsen 424). The process of introducing a story or poem to children may involve showing the cover, and introducing the character and themes (Heath et al. 569). The story is often read aloud and then discussed. An important step is to assess whether the children have understood the story (Ibid. 570). Puppetry and/or drama can be incorporated into the bibliotherapy process (Gould and Mignone 12). Writing, drawing and play associated with the topic are important components, especially with young children whose ability to articulate their feelings may not be fully formed. Another technique is to extract an inconclusive episode from a book and allow participants to propose their own solutions (Hynes and Hynes-Berry 94). The role of the facilitator is to guide the discussion, and intervene in gentle ways, either nonverbally or verbally. It may be necessary to introduce points to focus the discussion, or to head off negative interactions or statements (Hynes and Hynes-Berry 160). The facilitator also ensures that there is a satisfying closure to each session, which may involve a summary of the discussion, a rereading of the literature, or introducing the topic for the next session (Ibid. 167). In choosing books to use in bibliotherapy, established booklists can help guide one’s choices, but it also very important to know the reader(s), their reading level, and the type of character and story they are most likely to respond to. Olsen believes that knowing the child is more important than knowing the book (428). The book should have a protagonist of about the same age as the child, and the plot should feature events similar to what the child is going through (Gregory and Vessey 129). Fiction is the most common choice, but biography could also be used effectively (Hendrickson 41), although Michael Warner disagrees, suggesting that children are not likely to be able to see famous figures as real people who might have had problems similar to their own (35). It is important that quality literature be chosen, free from easy solutions or unrealistic happy endings (Warner 35, Heath et al. 569). The text should focus on finding a solution to a problem, rather than the drama of the problem itself (Chatton 35). The developmental stages of children should be taken into consideration when planning bibliotherapy sessions. A story may be frightening if a child doesn’t fully understand that it is a story and separate from themselves. Bibliotherapy should be used with caution with young children, and there should always be follow-up and guidance with their reading. In the absence of a formal program, parents are often the ones who need to take on this role. Greenall noted that leaving a sad child alone with a book may be more alienating than doing nothing, especially if they are trying to work through emotions around something as traumatic as a death (5). For librarians wishing to undertake the full process of bibliotherapy, two options are open: to work in partnership with mental health professionals in the community or schools; or to gain professional training in bibliotherapy themselves. A librarian may be able to refer interested patrons to a practitioner more skilled in counselling, once the librarian has offered reading material to the patron. She could also act as a consultant to social service practitioners and therapists who are interested in bibliotherapy, but lack specialized knowledge of literature. Librarians have also been co-facilitators at community bibliotherapy sessions alongside trained therapists (Doll and Doll 92-
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94). The second option is for librarians to receive training in bibliotherapy, and provide their own programs for children or adults. The Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy in the United States awards the designations of Certified Poetry Therapist for those undertaking developmental bibliotherapy, and Registered Poetry Therapist for clinical therapists (Hynes, “Possibilities”, 264). For either designation, a specific number of training hours must be completed (National Association for Poetry Therapy). In Canada, the Association for Bibliotherapy and Applied Literature holds annual conferences in the field (Cheu). Librarians already practice bibliotherapy to a certain extent in their daily work. Training in the interpersonal techniques and skills of counselling would only enhance their abilities to serve their patrons. However, not all librarians are interested in or confident about entering into more personal relationships with library patrons. Some librarians already experience difficulty in maintaining professional boundaries with certain patrons. For children’s librarians, the situation is complicated by the necessity of involving parents/caregivers in the bibliotherapy process, while at the same time trying to respect children’s privacy. However, for those who are interested, there is scope for introducing bibliotherapy programs into libraries, or working with community partners in delivering outreach programs. Works CitedChatton, Barbara. "Apply with Caution: Bibliotherapy in the Library." Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 1.3 (1988): 334-8. Cheu, Hoi F. “A BA L : Association for Bibliotherapy and Applied Literature.” 2004. 14 Jan 2007 <http://laurentian.ca/abal/>. Doll, Beth and Carol Doll. Bibliotherapy with Young People: Librarians and Mental Health Professionals Working Together. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997. Gould, Barbara T. and Paula Mignone. “Bibliotherapy: An Integrative Approach to Children’s Literature. Catholic Library World 64.4 (1994): 11-16. Greenall, Barbara. "Books for Bereaved Children." Health libraries review 5.1 (1988): 1-16. Gregory, Katherine E. and Judith A. Vessey. “Bibliotherapy: A Strategy to Help Students with Bullying”. Journal of School Nursing 20.3 (2004): 127-133. Heath, Melissa Allen, et al. "Bibliotherapy: A Resource to Facilitate Emotional Healing and Growth." School Psychology International 26.5 (2005): 563-80. ERIC. 10 Nov. 2006 <http://toby.library.ubc.ca/resources/infopage.cfm?id=695>. Hendrickson, Linda B. "The "Right" Book for the Child in Distress." School Library Journal 34.8 (1988): 40-1.
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Hynes, Arleen McCarty. “Possibilities for Biblio/poetry Therapy Services in Libraries”. Catholic Library World 61 (1990): 264-267. Hynes, Arleen McCarty and Mary Hynes-Berry. Biblio/Poetry Therapy: The Interactive Process: A Handbook. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press, 1994. National Association for Poetry Therapy. “Training and Education.” 2006. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://poetrytherapy.org/training.html>. Olsen, Henry D. “Bibliotherapy to Help Children Solve Problems.” Elementary School Journal 75.7 (1975): 422-9. Smith, Alice G. "Will the Real Bibliotherapist Please Stand Up?" Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 2.3 (1989): 241-9. Warner, Michael. "Bibliotherapy: Two Sides to the Coin." School Library Media Activities Monthly 6.3 (1989): 34-6. News to Watch for:The Kaleidoscope Conference 2008
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