Say what you will about Wikipedia—that it’s unreliable, that it’s unaccountable, that it’s run by a bunch of idealistic zealots—the fact remains that it is one of the most heavily accessed web resources in the world.
And so, one day as I was researching some of my favorite contemporary kidlit authors and illustrators, I found they were not mentioned in the online encyclopedia. Scott Magoon? Not there. Kate Messner? Nope. Tammi Sauer? Dagnabbit.
I think it’s time we rectified that situation. These folks deserve to go on record, especially those who have won awards for their work.
If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, I’d like to ask you a favor. Pick a favorite contemporary kidlit author or illustrator. Check to see if they’re in Wikipedia. And if they’re not, pledge to create an article for that person by the end of March. Show your love for children’s literature and the people who create it!
Remember that Wikipedia wants you to source references when writing your article. There is a handy-dandy article creation wizard for those of you unfamiliar with the Wikipedia process.
If you are interested in participating, just leave your name and the name of your chosen kidlit personality below. I’ll check in with a master list of potential pages we’re creating in early March.
C’mon, who’s with me?
I've been working all April on gathering poetry from around the school where I am a Library Media Specialist. (Click the image above for a direct link). I've pulled projects and examples of student work from each grade and used a wide variety of apps and tools to showcase what the kids are doing. It's been a lot of fun and I am really proud of their range of work. Take a look at pre-k poetry,
I noticed that many readers to this blog ended up here from Google after searching for "list of reading skills using picture books" or some similar term. Often it's a more defined search, such as "prediction skills using picture books." While I've certainly offered lots of skills-based resources and suggestions over the past year, I was never one to provide such lists. Until now.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I did a little poking around and found exactly what I was looking for.
Nancy Keane (with the help of many others) created a wiki, organizing books by genre, topic, and value, as well as recommended grade level. It's an impressive list, and a great start.
But what many readers seek are "reading skills and strategies," and this was a listing I saw lacking. I therefore started a
Focused Reading Skills List at this wiki. Already, with just the few books I've added, I can see that this list is likely to outgrow its single page format, but we'll worry about that when we get there.
So I absolutely encourage you to bookmark and share this page with colleagues. I also ask for your help in making it a truly awesome resource: please sign up for wiki spaces (at the upper right corner of the
Focused Reading Skills page) and then help me edit the page by adding your favorite picture books. The whole idea behind wikis is that they're cooperative, growing documents, and this is perhaps one of the best examples of a wiki that would benefit from multiples authors and perspectives.
Email me if you add some titles or skills, or if you have questions about how to go about doing so. Through a community effort, we can create a pretty powerful resource for ourselves and others!
The view of the water from the back of OceanCliff
Originally uploaded by teachergal
We got all of our writing and reading teaching points solidified for the rest of the school year when we were at OceanCliff yesterday. However, we went a step farther and did [...]
“Oh Jessamyn, you are such a fashion plate, I am sure you must know how to make some of those styling book earrings that every hip librarian is wearing lately, don’t you?”
“Well no, but a wiki can show you how.”
Author: Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen
Illustrator: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Published: 2004 Sleeping Bear Press
ISBN: 1585362204 Chapters.ca Amazon.com
Warm, realistic illustrations and generous, unimposing text vividly recreate the thrill of befriending an injured fox pup and the bittersweet satisfaction of her eventual return to the wild. I don’t think our two daughters could be more excited about this story if they had lived it themselves!
Tags:
childrens book,
Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen,
Podcast,
review,
Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen,
Saving Samantha,
wildlife rehabilitationchildrens book,
Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen,
Podcast,
review,
Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen,
Saving Samantha,
wildlife rehabilitation
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A few years ago as part of a picturebook class at PennState, I had to write a WIkipedia style article on a children’s writer or illustrator as a class project. I’ve always wanted to do something with that piece, but It was on Leo and Diane Dillon, and there already is an entry for them. Do other children’s lit classes have similar assignments? If so, there are several entries already written.
Hi, Tara. Don’t know if you shared this yet, but here is a list of children’s authors who are on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children's_literature_authors
I’d be happy to write an article on author/illustrator Anna Dewdney (one of her books just got made into a musical!) but I don’t know if I will be able to have it by early March. Have tons of deadlines at work this month and don’t even know how I am going to get them all done! Can I send it in a little later?
And here is a list of illustrators
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Children's_book_illustrators
This is a great idea. I want to caution you, however, that once you put articles up you may want to monitor them for a while to be sure someone doesn’t edit them and turn them into pornographic monsters. My husband used to write numerous articles for Wikipedia that were forever being changed by weirdos. Perhaps Wikipedia is doing better at keeping the weirdos out – I hope so.
Ha ha. No page on me. My first book isn’t even released yet!
Good going, Kerry! I didn’t even think to look for that. I’ll add it to the post later tonight.
Excellent! I love Gbemi!
That Wikipedia article wizard should give you a good idea about what’s involved.
Just the name of the person you want to write about is due in early March. You have until the end of March to write the article. And yeah, you could always do it after then, too!
Ok. Thanks. Shouldn’t been reading more closely. I’ll do it as soon as I can. This is going to be fun!