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26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE
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From: nell colburn <nellcolburn>
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 07:41:59 PST
Hello friends and colleagues. That was me cheering in the back of the room at the Newbery/Caldecott press conference when Tomie dePaola's 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE was announced as an Honor Book! I was thrilled to see this book recognized by the Newbery Committee; I think it's a gem.
The first in a planned autobiography series, it covers the year-and-a-half that Tomie's family spent building his childhood home when he was five years old. Each of the nine short chapters focuses on an incident in Tomie's childhood and each one has great child appeal. It's aimed at the beginning-chapter-book crowd, the kids who have just "graduated" from his picture books?and every anecdote he chooses to share about his early life is right on target for kids this age. It would be hard to decide which scenes to booktalk?there are so many hilarious choices.
I think that as a picture book artist Tomie has had so much experience selecting material to fit the 32-page format---?refully choosing scenes that will most engage a young audience---that his skill has carried over to his writing, and to the chapter book format.
Tomie also engages his young audience by writing in the first person, using lively dialogue. This makes his narrative immediate and authentic. Most of his sentences are short and snappy. And each chapter is not only short, but well-paced and suspenseful-- making it easy for young readers to follow and understand.
Another strength of the book is the artwork. Tomie's black and white pencil drawings appear on almost every page. They add greatly to the book's charm as well as to the young reader's understanding of the text?and to the wonderful humor of Tomie's writing.
If you haven't read this book yet, treat yourself! After I featured it in our in-house notables program in early January, lots of staff took it home, loved it, and went right out to buy copies for the children in their lives.
As a book buyer for a large library system, I buy lots of books for biography, autobiography and author study assignments. It's very exciting to find a title that can be used for these purposes?and will make great recreational reading as well. I want more biographies like this one!
Nell Colburn, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Maryland
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Received on Tue 01 Feb 2000 09:41:59 AM CST
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 07:41:59 PST
Hello friends and colleagues. That was me cheering in the back of the room at the Newbery/Caldecott press conference when Tomie dePaola's 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE was announced as an Honor Book! I was thrilled to see this book recognized by the Newbery Committee; I think it's a gem.
The first in a planned autobiography series, it covers the year-and-a-half that Tomie's family spent building his childhood home when he was five years old. Each of the nine short chapters focuses on an incident in Tomie's childhood and each one has great child appeal. It's aimed at the beginning-chapter-book crowd, the kids who have just "graduated" from his picture books?and every anecdote he chooses to share about his early life is right on target for kids this age. It would be hard to decide which scenes to booktalk?there are so many hilarious choices.
I think that as a picture book artist Tomie has had so much experience selecting material to fit the 32-page format---?refully choosing scenes that will most engage a young audience---that his skill has carried over to his writing, and to the chapter book format.
Tomie also engages his young audience by writing in the first person, using lively dialogue. This makes his narrative immediate and authentic. Most of his sentences are short and snappy. And each chapter is not only short, but well-paced and suspenseful-- making it easy for young readers to follow and understand.
Another strength of the book is the artwork. Tomie's black and white pencil drawings appear on almost every page. They add greatly to the book's charm as well as to the young reader's understanding of the text?and to the wonderful humor of Tomie's writing.
If you haven't read this book yet, treat yourself! After I featured it in our in-house notables program in early January, lots of staff took it home, loved it, and went right out to buy copies for the children in their lives.
As a book buyer for a large library system, I buy lots of books for biography, autobiography and author study assignments. It's very exciting to find a title that can be used for these purposes?and will make great recreational reading as well. I want more biographies like this one!
Nell Colburn, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Maryland
______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Received on Tue 01 Feb 2000 09:41:59 AM CST
