School of Information Resources and Library Science

All students are required to:

1. Complete the
assigned reading (by the due dates indicated in the syllabus).

Value 10%

2. Reading
Record. In addition to the assigned
reading you are to read 30 books of your own choosing. The number of personal choice books in each
category are noted along with the assigned reading at the beginning of the
syllabus. Please don’t read books you
have previously read. Each of you should
keep a reading record that includes each book you read. The purpose of this assignment is for you as
a children’s literature practitioner to begin keeping a permanent, individual
record of the children’s books you have read.
You should record all of the children’s books you read during the
semester, including both the assigned texts and the 30 additional books of your
choice. You will be amazed at how useful
such a record will be. No matter how
much you understand the importance of reading, you need to be able to lay your
hands on good books to convince children that reading is a powerful, worthwhile
activity. Long after this class, your
reading record will immediately bring titles to mind and help convince the
children, teachers and parents you work with that you are, indeed, brilliant. Hopefully at the very least your reading
record will eliminate you having to spend the better part of an afternoon
rummaging through library shelves for that vaguely remembered book. Because this record should be useful to you
personally, you may choose the general format and organization. You may develop this record in whatever
format you are most comfortable with, anything from 3x5 cards to a Microsoft
Access database. What is important is
that you include information that will be important to you. The basic pertinent information that your
record should include for each book is:

Title

Place of Publication

Publisher

Publication Date

Type of Book (fiction, informational, etc.)

Genre (fantasy, realistic fiction, etc.)

Notes

Beyond this, I would strongly recommend that you include a
plot summary and/or other notes that will help remind you of particular
elements of the book you would like to remember. I sometimes find myself adding quotes or even
page references for future reference.

Value 30%

Due: Sept 28—Submit
sample book record in your chosen format to me for approval

Dec 4—Final book record due. If you have created your record in an
electronic format, I will accept it electronically. I will also accept a printout.

2. Book Lists. In the “real” world you may very often find
yourself making lists of books on particular topics (“What to read while you
are waiting for the next Harry Potter book”, or “Books with easy science
experiments” for example.) I’d like you
to create a book list of no fewer than 15 children’s books on a topic of your
choosing. The books ought to be for the
same general age of children—children are your audience, and 6^th
graders probably won’t respond well to a list that includes “baby books”
alongside books of interest to them.
This booklist should be formatted either as a bookmark or trifold flyer
that could be handed out from your desk.

Value 10%

Due: Nov 13

3. Book Talks.
As a practicing professional you may be in situations where you will be doing
formal or informal book talks for groups of children. The purpose of book talking is to be an
“enthusiastic book advertisement” and to get kids so excited about particular
books that they will have to go out and read them. Each student will be required to book-talk no
fewer than two related books for the class.
These book talks may not be on books assigned in class. By “related” I mean that you should choose
books that have some sort of connection, whether it is through the author, the
genre or whatever. Together, your book
talks should be no longer than 10 minutes at the most. Author Joni Brodart has written a number of
books about book talking, should you need a resource.

Value 10%

Due: Oct 23-Nov 20 as assigned in class

4. Article. You are required to write an article focusing
on some aspect of children’s literature based on the format requirements of a
children’s literature journal of your choosing.
You should select a particular journal, and examine several issues to
see the types of articles and topics that the journal typically addresses. Your choice of journal may be influenced by
the topic you wish to write about or vice versa. You must find out what the journals’
requirements are for article submissions.
These are sometimes included in the journal. You might also need to contact the journal
directly for this information. Write
your article based on the specific requirements of the journal. Be prepared to discuss your article on the
last day of class. I will be evaluating
the final articles on suitability for actual submission to the journals. I’d like to see some published articles
coming from this assignment.

Among the journals you might consider are:

The Horn Book

School Library Journal

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

Children and Libraries

Value 40%

Due: Oct 9—Submit your article topic,
journal choice, and article submission guidelines for that journal

Dec 4—Final Article