From: Kathleen T. Horning <horning>
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:00:34 -0600

All the books from last year like this (Dangerous Book... Best Book... etc) were designed to look like their early 20th Century counterparts. What this seems to say is "Grandpa, buy me!" They are obviously trying to appeal to adults rather than kids.

KT

Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706

Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933

horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/



Steward, Celeste wrote:
> Exactly...a caring adult is needed to open the door...because I honestly
> don't believe that a child would pick up The Dangerous Book for Boys or
> the Daring Book for Girls on their own...just my opinion...
>
> If these books could speak to today's kids, they'd need more than a
> plain cover minus snazzy artwork and the chapters with little or no
> pictures. While they may have great value, it's a light shining under a
> barrel. Perhaps that's why some of the old classics are being reissued
> now with updated artwork and covers. They have a timeless quality but
> they just need a little refreshment to recapture their old charm.
>
> Celeste Steward,
> Collection Development Librarian
> Alameda County Library
> 2450 Stevenson Blvd.
> Fremont, CA 94538
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> [mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Jean
> Hildreth
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 10:52 AM
> To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Subject: [CCBC-Net] Old is New Again
>
> A thought regarding these "old chestnuts" and the newer book versions of
> childhood activities from a more innocent time: Yes, they present a
> world of less structured, more child-created activities than many
> children are experiencing today. But equally important is the fact that
> they 1.) allow for unstructured time in the lives of our children, and
> 2.) nurture the natural imagination and creativity which allow a child
> to use that time to grow in an entirely different way, one seemingly
> incomprehensible to the average adult. (We used to call it having time
> "to watch the grass grow.") And the difference between the
> super-structured, lesson-oriented, plugged-in, turned-on, always "busy"
> kids and those with the "old chestnut" books and do-it-yourself
> creative ideas is often the difference between the kid who is "bored"
> when faced with free time and the kid who is delighted and entranced
> with some time and space to create his/her own diversions and learning.
>
> I say, "Bravo!" to books like "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and "The
> Daring Book for Girls." What might also be needed is some caring and
> wise adult who will take the time to read aloud even a chapter or so to
> a curious kid. Just to open the door...
>
>
> ~Jean Hildreth
> Luxemburg-Casco Middle School
>
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Received on Tue 26 Feb 2008 03:00:34 PM CST