Week of June 17, 2012—ALSC Notable
Children’s Books
Wednesday, June 20, 2012: Looking Deeper
at the ALSC Notables
FICTION VS. NON-FICTION
The
ALSC Notables always include fiction and non-fiction books. This year thirteen
of the thirty-three noted picture books are non-fiction. I’ll be quick to point
out that several of the other titles actually blur the lines of fiction and
non-fiction. For instance, Blackout
is a fictionalized account of an actual blackout, See Me Run is a fictional story that teaches a lot about dogs, and Ten Little Caterpillars straddles the
lines of fiction and non-fiction with its fictional story (based on fact) and engaging
factual end matter.
The
good news is that the picture-book world is a great, big place and there’s room
for fiction and non-fiction.
Non-fiction ALSC Notable Picture Books
All the Water in the World
Bring on the Birds
Do You Know Which One Will Grow?
Grandpa Green
Harry and Hopper
Little Treasures: Endearments from
Around the World
Me…Jane
A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story
Over and Under the Snow
Ten Little Caterpillars
These Hands
Tia Isa Wants a Car
Who Has What? All About Girls’ Bodies
and Boys’ Bodies
Fiction ALSC Notable Picture Books
A Ball for Daisy
Blackout
The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred
Chirchir Is Singing
Dot
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
I Broke My Trunk
I Want My Hat Back
King Jack and the Dragon
Little White Rabbit
Mouse & Lion
Naamah and the Ark at Night
Prudence Wants a Pet
See Me Run
Stars
Tales for Very Picky Eaters
Tell Me the Day Backwards
Where’s Walrus?
AUTHOR WITH ILLUSTRATOR VS.
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR
Many
picture book writers still fret that author/illustrators have an unfair
advantage in the picture book marketplace. Nothing could be further from the
truth. No discredit to illustrators, but I recently heard an editor say, “We
can find an illustrator, but finding a great story is much more difficult.” If
you think selling a manuscript is difficult, image selling you’re manuscript
AND your art simultaneously. While an illustrator does have the advantage of
showing the other half of his/her written story, the quality still has to be
outstanding to be successful. The ALSC list includes ten titles by author/illustrators.
Each of the other twenty-three titles are by an author in collaboration with an
illustrator.
The books by author/illustrator include:
Dot by Patricia Intriago
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Me…Jane by Patricia
McDonnell
See Me Run by Paul Meisel
Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh
Scheider
Where’s Walrus? By Stephen
Savage
NO SINGLE STYLE
The
ALSC Notables also reveal that the picture-world is a great, big place in
another way. Just look at the variety of styles contained in these books and
you’ll see what I mean. There are . . .
R
Wordless books\
R
Books that rhyme
R
Books that don’t rhyme
R
Books based on the familiar rhythms of other stories
R Books that
emphasize synonyms and antonyms
R Friendship
books
R Heartbreaking
stories
R Inspiring
stories
R Hilarious
stories
R Quiet stories
R Books with end
matter
R Books with
translations
R Bilingual books
R Books based on
other books
R Books based on
fairytales and folktales
R A book based on
a biblical tale
R A book with two
poems
R A book with
five chapters
R A book by a
dead man (reprinted from a backlist)
R A book that
goes in reverse-chronological order
R A
search-and-find book
The
picture book IS a great, big place
and there’s room for all of us. As long as the picture books we create are
notable.
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