From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 10:48:36 -0500

Thank you! Many thanks to everyone who participated in the September discussion of the evaluation and reviewing of picture books.

Special thanks to Janice Del Negro for taking (and making) the time to serve as a CCBC-Net guest throughout the month. Her comments and yours provided many opportunities to hear about this very wide-ranging but yet specialized subject from quite a few reviewers, editors, publishers, teachers, parents, school library media specialists, public librarians, writers, booksellers - my goodness, a good cross-section of the CCBC-Net community!

Kathleen Horning was the September facilitator. As a result, Katy probably neglected to mention her own fine book "From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books" (HarperCollins, 1997; hardcover & pbk.) in which you'll find a marvelous chapter on Picture Books.

It's always great to hear from individuals who contribute "first" messages. Keep on "stepping up," everyone! I always say that there's no such person as a "lurker" on CCBC-Net. Everyone participates, but we all participate at different levels. Some of us contribute opinions, ask questions, provide information, and find ways to move the announced discussion topic to new dimensions. Others thoughtfully read the messages, send them on to others, print them for later use, share them with colleagues, and talk about some of them with friends in other virtual and real encounters. We appreciate each of you, because you make time somehow for CCBC-Net. We also appreciate the messages you occasionally send to one of us here at the CCBC.

We always value our colleague Christopher Dowling's patient and expert support as the listserv manager. Please remember his and our plea: when you need to do CCBC-Net "housekeeping," such as changing your e-mail address or your CCBC-Net status, we urge you to write an individual message to him or to one of us (Katy, Megan or me). Please try not to send a "housekeeping" message to everyone. See the message Chris sent you earlier today for every single CCBC-Net command. Print these instructions. Keep them handy for your use in the future. Chris sends this information to everyone on the first of each month.

Having said that, I'll acknowledge what you already know. I make mistakes, too, and there they are - in public! I'm always aghast when I realize this! We know you're all human, and we hope you remember that about us, too! If/when anyone in the CCBC-Net community makes a technological error, please remember that CCBC-Net intends to be a civil community of book advocates. There is never an excuse or even a reason to write to someone in the CCBC-Net community with the intent to scold or instruct her/him about a technological error. To our knowledge, this has seldom happened. However, if you ever receive a "reprimand" because of your CCBC-Net message, or if you become annoyed about someone else's technological learning curve, please write to Chris, Katy, Megan or Ginny. Here is our open offer to mediate on your behalf. Last, thanks for remembering that we try to limit off-topic CCBC-Net announcements to the first of the month.

Thanks for remembering that we try to limit off-topic announcements to the first of the month. Today!

We welcome your suggestions for future topics and for ways CCBC-Net can be more helpful to you. Please write to one of us at any time.

Sincerely, Ginny
*********************** Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center A Library of the School of Education (www.soemadison.wisc/edu/) University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Thu 01 Oct 1998 10:48:36 AM CDT