This website will cover several topics related to children’s materials in libraries. The first topic is a study of an author, who is also an illustrator. The second topic is the top 50 books for children ages birth to 12 years. The final topic will be the top 30 media items for children ages birth to 12 years. Through completing this assignment I hope to accomplish several goals. The first is to become more familiar with skills that will be needed when developing a children’s collection for a public library. I also want to increase my familiarity with children’s materials. Finally, I want to increase my knowledge of and author/illustrator and critically evaluate their work.
By selecting top print and media items I aim to become more skilled at evaluating books and become familiar with children’s materials. I have used resources such as School Library Journal and Horn Book Journal to help individual patrons select books, but I have not used them in the context of items up for consideration in a library’s collection. For the sections on top print and media items I am assuming these are items that I would consider must haves for a children’s library collection. When completing these sections in addition to my personal thoughts about materials I will use selection tools to help me evaluate materials. In order to narrow down my choices I will need to go through a large volume of materials. Just by looking at materials I will increase my familiarity with what is available for children.
While completing the author/illustrator study I will take an indepth look at one person, Eric Carle. By learning about his background I will be able to see how his life influences both the content of his books as well as the illustrations. I will take time to systematically and critically evaluate his illustrations. Although I am familiar with the work of Eric Carle I do not know about his life, nor have I methodically looked at his work. Additionally, since his illustration style is rather consistent I will compare his style to that of a fellow children’s author/illustrator, Lois Ehlert. By learning more about Eric Carle’s life and taking a critical look at his work I hope to better understand his process, discover information I can pass on to patrons, and see a new side to his familiar works.
Thank you for visiting this site. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me at courtneysjsu@gmail.com.
Photo Credits:
Best of best [Drawing]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://studio.tailorbrands.com/brands/seen?page=1
Eric Carle & Books [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.preschool-plan-it.com/eric-carle-preschool-theme.html
Author/Illustrator Study and Top Children's Materials 