Hello Everyone!
Mini, self-indulgent introduction: My name is Tia Johnson. I am halfway through my MLIS and working as a Senior Library Assistant at the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. I intend on utilizing this blog to review children's literature, namely picture books. I grew to have a fascination with what HCPLC dubs "Easy Fiction" as soon as I signed on with the public library. These books are illustration-heavy fictional texts aimed for children in the beginning stages of elementary school. I find it compelling to see the numerous tactics in which authors employ art and words to teach children vital lessons and entertaining tales. This interest increased last semester when I took the course "Materials for Children." While taking this course, I was able to note the number of methods these books could be used to teach various subjects, even outside of their primary objective. For instance, Dr. Henrietta Smith had us use a book on the Underground Railroad as an implement to teach math. It's fascinating that one can designate the same book for multiple disciplines.
I hope to use this blog as a tool to examine popular picture books and critique their entertainment value, quality of writing/art, and applicability to other topics. I plan to compartmentalize these entries by themes (i.e, mermaids, folktales, robots) and compare the texts on the aforementioned attributes. Additionally, I hope to link to and discuss fun and interesting project/program ideas that other libraries have used to supplement these picture books.
Admittedly, I didn't previously read blogs about this topic, however, I did dabble in doing Youtube-based "Storytimes with Tia" (perhaps I will post a few on here) and posted previous critiques on such series as "liciious" books by Victoria Kahn. I did a search on Google to find blogs running in a similar vein to what I intend this to be and came across the following:
http://www.kimlit.org/divine-secrets
http://tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com
I like these resources because they are authored by professionals currently in the field. They offer great tips and insight on programs, local contests, and valuable resources.
In all, I feel like this will be a very helpful tool in developing a better understanding on children's literature. I am very excited to have a semi-casual tool to critically examine children's books and hopefully discuss the topic with those with similar interests. Thanks for reading!!
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