Number 21
(February 2012)
A EEveryone is invited to a talk by author Bobbie Pyron at 2
p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at the Woodward Park
Library, 944 East Perrin Avenue in northeast Fresno.
Pyron will discuss her book, A Dog’s Way Home. The
program, which is co-sponsored by the Arne Nixon
Center, is part of the Fresno County Public Library’s The
Big Read under the leadership of Linda Aragon. The Big
Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the
Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and
Library Science and Arts Midwest.
This year The Big Read features The Call of the Wild
by Jack London and will offer a variety of programs in
March and April, including this one, which is suitable for
readers of all ages. Refreshments will be served. The
author’s books will be available for sale and autographing
from Petunia’s Place bookstore. In addition, the library’s
own therapy reader dogs, the Tail Waggin’ Tutors, will be
present before and after the talk, on hand for children to
sit and share a book with or simply to pet.
Pyron lives in Park City, Utah, with her husband,
Todd, three dogs, and two cats. Pyron describes A Dog’s
Way Home as “a personal love letter to Shelties” and to
the classic dog stories Lassie Come-Home and The
Incredible Journey. The book tells the story of Abby and
her Shetland sheepdog, Tam. Far from their home, Abby
and Tam become separated after a terrible car accident.
Abby is sent to the hospital but Tam is no-where
to be found. Abby believes Tam is still
alive, but will they ever find their way home to
each other? Information about Pyron and her
books can be found at www.bobbiepyron.com.
In conjunction with The Big Read
program, the Woodward Library will host a
special art exhibit. Fresno State professor
Doug Hansen will present designs by students
in his illustration class based on The Call of
the Wild.
A Dog’s Way Home, part of
Fresno’s The Big Read
THE
Secret Garden Party:
Sunday, April 15th
ANCA, the Arne Nixon Center
Advocates, invites everyone to its
tenth annual Secret Garden Party,
Sunday, April 15th, from 3 to 5 p.m.
The party will have an inter-national
flair this year as ANCA
honors writers Alma Flor Ada, who
was born in Cuba, and F. Isabel Campoy,
who was born in Spain. These pro-lific
authors, who now live in Cali-fornia,
have published hundreds of books, writing alone
and together, in Spanish and in English. This year they
donated 2,200 children’s books, mostly in Spanish, to the
Center, and have pledged to donate their papers, too.
Please join us for tapas, sangria, and other Hispanic
treats in a beautiful Spanish style garden in north
Fresno. The party’s exact location will be revealed to
underwriters and ticket holders upon registration.
Underwriters for the party are needed; they will
receive tickets to the party and acknowledgements in
promotional materials. The $1,000 Sponsor fee includes
up to eight tickets for the party, a Leo Politi lithograph
(see article on page 6), and life membership in ANCA.
Patrons, for a $500 fee, get up to six tickets; and Con-tributors,
for $250, receive up to four tickets. Individual
tickets are also available for $50.
The garden party is ANCA’s major annual
fundraising event; all profits benefit the Arne
Nixon Center. Funds raised this year will
support Phase II of the Leo Politi Garden,
adding art by Fresno’s most famous children’s
illustrator to the existing hardscape and land-scaping
that completed Phase I, funded by
ANCA. The garden, which opened in 2010, is
on the east side of the Henry Madden Library.
More information is available by calling
Mila at 559.278.8116 or by sending e-mail to
mrianto@csufresno.edu.
Tales & Tidbits
from ANCA
(Arne Nixon Center Advocates)
by Denise Sciandra, ANCA President
hanks to California author April Halprin Wayland,
who has pledged her papers to the Arne Nixon Center.
Her first book, To Rabbittown, published by Scholastic in
1989, received a starred review in School Library Jour-nal,
was reprinted as a Blue Ribbon paper back, stayed in
print for more than eight years, and sold 64,000 copies.
Her first donation,
made in November
of 2011, included
cor r e spondenc e,
artwork, audio re-cordings,
drafts,
and multiple edi-tions
of this book
and others: The
Night Horse, It’s
Not My Turn to
Look for Grand-ma!,
Girl Coming
in for a Landing,
and New Year at
the Pier. The author’s website is www.aprilwayland.com.
Her blog is www.TeachingAuthors.com, offered by six chil-dren’s
authors who also teach writing. Wayland is the
only west coast author on the blog.
2
ucky me! My grandson likes to read with me.
Two-year-old Sam is turning into a car guy like his
grandpa. He favors trucks, especially trash trucks. So, I
went in search of picture books on this subject. It seems
as though there are quite a few.
Sam loves Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash,
by Barbara Odanaka. In this story, two little pigs jump
out of bed and rush to the window when they hear the
trash truck coming (just like Sam does). When we get to
the page that says, “Smashing, mashing, lights a-flashing,
gobbling garbage, gulpity-gulp,” Sam anxiously antici-pates
that I will make an exaggerated gulping sound, and
when I do, he laughs out loud—every time.
Another favorite is Smash That Trash (dubbed The
Crunch Book by Sam) from Jon Scieszka’s Trucktown
series. After a few readings, Sam was reading it to me in a
loud, emphatic voice using primarily the sound effects.
Here’s his telling of it. “Trash day! Smash day!” “Gotcha!”
“Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!” “Watch me fly.” “Crash! Smash!”
“Dump!” “Honk! Honk!” “Crunch!!!”
Sam also provides the sound effects in Virginia Lee
Burton’s classic, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!” “Bing! Bang! Crash! Louder and
Louder, Faster and Faster!”
One of the most significant pages to Sam in Don Free-man’s
Corduroy is “Pop!”, when Corduroy yanks the but-ton
off the mattress and the floor lamp crashes to the floor.
Sam can shift seamlessly from a loud, raucous story to
a soft, gentle one.
A favorite bedtime story is On Mother’s Lap, by Ann
Herbert Scott. This warm, soothing story shows how
many things can share mother’s lap with Michael in the
rocking chair—including baby sister. Sam’s favorite
illustration is of Michael alone in the chair entirely
covered by his reindeer blanket. On the final page are
these words: “His mother gave him a squeeze,” at which
time I give Sam a squeeze. In anticipation, he pulls my
arms a little snugger around him.
Another bedtime favorite is Baby Dear, by Eloise
Wilkin. Daddy brings Mother and Baby home from the
hospital with a baby doll for big sister. Both “mothers”
care for their babies. Sam anxiously asks for this story
over and over. He knows that there is a baby in his
mother’s tummy. Does he see himself in this story?
Sam will become a big brother in March. Lucky me, I’ll
have two little ones to read to!
April Halprin Wayland
donates papers
L
T
The ANCA Board wears Emerald City green glasses at
Angelica Carpenter’s Oz-themed retirement party.
(Angelica’s last “Curator’s Corner” message appears on
the facing page.)
by Angelica Carpenter
CORNER
CURATOR’S
reetings from a recent retiree with a new title,
Curator Emerita. It was a difficult decision to retire
at the end of 2011, as I absolutely loved my job,
which I consider to be the best in the world.
However it could be tiring (largely because I make
it that way) and I was ready for a rest and a change.
So now when I am at the Library, I’m there as a patron instead of a
librarian. I’m writing a new biography for young adults, about Matilda Joslyn
Gage, who was L. Frank Baum’s mother-in-law. That’s how she came onto my
radar, through my interest in Baum and Oz, but she was a famous feminist
and author in her own right. After she was widowed she spent winters with
the Baums—her daughter Maud, Maud’s husband Frank, and their four sons.
She encouraged Frank to write down the stories he told his sons, and to
submit them to a publisher. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that Baum’s
Oz is a feminist utopia, ruled by women.
The Henry Madden Library is a terrific resource for authors. Before
moving here, I wrote three books in a Florida city with minimal library
resources. In Fresno I wrote two more, a much easier task with access to an
outstanding academic library. My habit of writing about Victorians means
that I need to read many books published in the Victorian era. It always
surprises me how many of these are in the Madden collection. And if they are
not, I can get them through Interlibrary Lending. A million books, dazzling
databases, and specialist librarians who have helped me to track down all
kinds of elusive information (such as, what year did bustles go out of
style?)—research is fun here and wonderfully productive. While writing this
book, I will stay involved with the Arne Nixon Center, as a volunteer and a
Life Member of ANCA.
I have also signed up to FERP, as part of the Faculty Early Retirement
Program, starting next fall. This program allows retired faculty members to
work part-time. My plan is to catalog, or help with exhibitions, or process the
papers of authors or illustrators, or to do anything else that is needed. But
not full-time and not early in the morning!
It’s a wonderful job when you get to do anything you can dream of. If
anyone had told me when I was eight years old that someday I would
get to put on a national Oz conference, my daughter says that I would
have started planning it right then.
My plans were not accomplished alone—they
involved the help and support of many other people, in
and out of the Library. I thank all of you for taking my
wild ideas seriously.
The Library plans a national search to fill my job. In
the meantime, the Arne Nixon Center will be led by
Jennifer Crow, who is already working on some
interesting new projects. My email will still be the
same— angelica@csufresno.edu—and I look forward
to hearing from friends and colleagues as I
continue to work in children’s literature,
in a slightly new capacity.
The Arne Nixon Center for the
Study of Children’s Literature
Henry Madden Library
California State University, Fresno
5200 North Barton Ave. M/S ML34
Fresno CA 93740-8014
Phone: 559.278.8116
Please call for an appointment.
Website: www.arnenixoncenter.org
Jennifer Crow, Librarian
Email: jcrow@csufresno.edu
Mila Rianto, Library Assistant
Angelica Carpenter, Curator Emerita
Angelica Carpenter, Editor
Janet Bancroft, Designer
Peter McDonald
Michael Cart
Tawfic Farah
MAGIC MIRROR
MAGIC MIRROR
Published by
Staff
ANCA Board of Directors
ANC Governing Committee
Alma Flor Ada
Steven Mooser
Magic Mirror
Denise Sciandra, President
Phone 559.229.5085
Email: denises@comcast.net
Jessica Kaiser,
1st Vice President, Programs
Kristene Scholefield,
2nd Vice President, Membership
Audry Hanson,
Corresponding Secretary
Jennifer Crow,
Recording Secretary
Cynthia MacDonald, Treasurer
Cheryl Caldera
Dan Dunklee
Ruth Kallenberg
Jo Ellen Misakian
Judith Neal
Ellis Vance
ANC Advisory Committee
G
3
Original
sketch of
Freddy the
Pig done by
Kurt Wiese
for Jim Frazier,
now a part of the
Center’s collection.
Center receives major
Brooks donation
IBBY comes to Fresno
and wins rave reviews!
hanks to Jim Frazier for his recent donation of materials
related to Walter R. Brooks, author of the Freddy the Pig
series. His gift included original art by Kurt Wiese, letters to
Frazier from Brooks’s widow, Brooks’s 1930 passport,
photographs, rare books that had belonged to Brooks, an
unpublished manuscript, newspaper clippings, and more.
Frazier, a childhood Freddy fan, got on a bus in his native
Springfield, Missouri, when he was just 13 (and his mother
let him do this!), and made a pilgrimage to upstate New
York to the home of his favorite author, Walter R. Brooks.
Brooks had passed away, but Frazier received a warm wel-come
from his widow, Dorothy. Later she gave him many of
the materials that he donated to the Center.
Michael Cart, past president of the Friends of Freddy
fan club and a founding member of the Center’s Governing
Committee, came from his home in Indiana to welcome a
previously unmet fellow Freddy fan, and to see just what
was being given. Frazier, who teaches Spanish at Baker Uni-versity
in Kansas, drove the materials to California. It was
only as he asked for directions to Fresno State that he and
curator Angelica Carpenter realized that they used to work
together at a branch of the Springfield-Greene County
Library in Springfield, Missouri,
in the late 1970s.
BBY, the International Board on Books for Young People,
attracted 250 people from six continents to its ninth U.S.
Regional Conference co-sponsored by the Arne Nixon
Center on October 21-23, 2011. The record-breaking atten-dance
was boosted by a donation from ANCA member
Bette Peterson, who funded scholarships for 18 students,
most of them teachers enrolled in graduate courses.
Accompanying these photographs taken at the conference
are reports from a few of the winners, presented anony-mously
and edited slightly for clarity.
T I
Jim Frazier and Michael Cart
in the Arne
Nixon Center.
“The weekend started with the General Session at the
hotel ballroom . . . [we] randomly sat at a table and five
authors from California happened to be seated with us
… I felt as if I were at the Academy Awards and there
were celebrities right at my table.”
Pam Munoz Ryan
Dorina Lazo Gilmore
“I especially enjoyed the sessions with the authors. I
related to Pam Muñoz Ryan’s description of her life as a
child and how the ‘benevolent neglect’ she experienced
allowed her to pedal her bike to the library where a cool,
air-conditioned room and a book were her escape from
the Bakersfield heat.”
“I found the first Filipino children’s
book I have ever seen, Cora Cooks
Pancit. Luckily the author, Dorina
Lazo Gilmore, was at the conference
and I had the opportunity to speak
with her. My husband was surprised
to see a book about pancit, a Filipino
noodle dish. It was the first he had
read with a reference to his culture.”
“I am a fan of Grace Lin’s books because of the personal
connection I hold with the books that describe her child-hood
memories. These types of books did not exist when
I was young. The joy of reading something similar to
my own childhood . . . is extraordinary.”
5
Adwoa Badoe, Beverly Naidoo, and Roger Mello
“The IBBY conference offered me the opportunity to
fraternize with other teachers and with authors and
illustrators of children’s books who believe that we can
peacefully bridge the gap between nations and people. In
essence, the conference stressed the belief that although we
are made of many “bits of fabric,” we can come together
and create a single vision of the world.”
“I never expected this conference to broaden my
horizons as an educator the way that it did. It
made me aware that I must continue to strive
to make my students open and inclusive of the
world around them. Location may limit us but
literature opens and expands our world.”
“I met Adwoa Badoe. She grew up in Ghana,
West Africa, and now lives in Guelph, Ontario.
Adwoa was so down to earth and easy to talk to.
We talked about her flight from Canada and
her celebrity status, of which she said, “No, I am
just Adwoa and I am enjoying my life.”
“The highlight for me was meeting illustrator
David Diaz. I learned three new rules for life:
Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up!”
“Overall it was a great weekend. Hearing about world peace through
literature was fantastic and a goal everyone should focus on.”
“One of [the California auth-ors],
Alexis O’Neill, was very
familiar to me. I use her anti-bullying
children’s literature on
a frequent basis in my classroom.
We had a very engaging and infor-mative
conversation at our table with
the authors. They were so gracious and friendly.”
Above: Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy
Right: Alexis O’Neill
Virginia Pilegard and Grace Lin
Some of the IBBY group visited Yosemite (Half Dome is seen in the distance).
“Down the Rabbit Hole”
exhibition
Politi family donates
original lithographs
“D I
6
own the Rabbit Hole with Lewis Carroll and Leonard
Weisgard” was held last September 16–October 26 in the
Library’s Ellipse galleries. Leonard Weisgard’s daughters
traveled from Denmark to view the Center’s exhibition of
their father’s artwork lent by their cousin, Peter Roos.
Speaker Leonard Marcus discussed Weisgard’s work and the
history of the Little Golden Books.
n order to help fund the completion of the Leo Politi
Garden at Fresno State, Paul Politi and Suzanne Politi
Bischof, Leo Politi’s children, have generously given the
Arne Nixon Center a set
of original lithographs
of their father’s wonder-ful
artwork. The 12 dif-ferent
lithographs, illus-trated
in both black and
white and color, depict
various scenes of chil-dren
dancing, playing,
and reading, as well as
scenes of Politi’s favorite
panoramas. The sizes of
the pieces vary; the lar-gest
is 26” x 20”, and can
be viewed at www.arne
nixoncenter.org. For a gift of $1,000, donors will receive a
lithograph. Selections and numbers are limited, so choices
will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Phase I of the Leo Politi Garden was completed in 2010
and celebrated with a dedication ceremony. Hardscape
walkways, seating areas, garden lighting, a tiled water
fountain, and lush plantings were installed. Phase II will
complete the garden by adding pieces of Leo Politi’s
artwork. Two of Politi’s sculptures, originally carved in
wood, will be cast in bronze and set atop previously created
concrete pedestals. Reproductions of his colorful mosaic
sidewalk tiles will also be added to highlight the garden.
Completing this project will provide an appropriate tribute
to Leo Politi and his friendship with Arne Nixon. If you
would like to make a donation to help complete the
garden, please contact Marcie Morrison at marciamo@csu
fresno.edu or at 559.278.7177.
Right:
The Mad Hatter
(aka Dean Peter
McDonald), kicks
off the grand
opening of the
exhibition.
Far right: Cheryl Caldera examines an anamorphic
bronze table created by sculptor Karen Mortillaro.
Left to right:
Abby Weisgard,
Peter Roos, Chrissy
Weisgard, and
Leonard Marcus.
SIGN ME UP!
I/We would like to join the Arne Nixon Center
Advocates and enclose a donation. (Donations
are tax deductible as allowable by law.)
Make check payable to Fresno State Foundation.
Mail to: Jennifer Crow
California State University, Fresno
Henry Madden Library
The Arne Nixon Center
5200 North Barton Ave. M/S ML34
Fresno CA 93740-8014
Phone: 559.278.8116
FAX: 559.278.6952
Email: jcrow@csufresno.edu
Name (s)
Address
City/State/Zip
Phone
Email
(Please circle one) Ms. Mr. Mrs. Mr. & Mrs.
New membership Renewal
1,000 Life membership
Patron membership
Sponsor membership
Advocate membership
Sustaining membership
Student membership
Other amount
500 Benefactor membership
$
$
$ 250
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7
Student empowerment project
ajor book donations from such outstanding children’s liter-ature
experts as Michael Cart, K.T. Horning, and others have
resulted in quick growth of the Center’s LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) collection, making
it one of the largest such collections of LGBTQ literature for
young people in the country. As a special collection, the
Center’s books do not circulate: they are here for research and
may be viewed in our reading room.
In order to make these titles more accessible to students who
would greatly benefit from their use, the Center is proposing to
reach out to local area high schools and their libraries to do-nate
copies of the top 20 best titles listed in the Center’s
holdings. These titles will be chosen by experts in the field of
LGBTQ literature for young adults. In addition to the initial
donations, the Center will work with the GSA (Gay-Straight
Alliance) clubs on the campuses, along with their librarians, to
choose another 20 titles to add to their libraries.
To highlight the book donations, a fascinating speaker from
southern California, Lee Wind, will make a presentation to
each of the schools. His message of empowerment and accept-ance
addresses how to overcome prejudice, homophobia, and
misogyny. He also talks about respect, caring, and love.
A traveling exhibit will create excitement and showcase the
books. This exhibit will include not only the books and related
ephemera, but also videotaped messages from prominent
people discussing the books and how their lives have been
impacted by the literature.
The final component of the proposal is the creation of a
monitored website that will enable viewers to participate in the
project. It will display the core collection of books and the
accompanying videos. Users will be able to add their own com-ments
and video messages, creating an interactive exchange of
anecdotes, impressions, and conversations about the books.
We believe this enlightening project will reach out to our
high school students and, through literature, help to reduce
incidents of harassment and bullying and to increase a greater
acceptance of diversity.
For more information about the project, please contact
Jennifer Crow at the Center. If you are interested in donating
to this project, please contact Marcie Morrison by email at
marciamo@csufresno.edu or by telephone at 559.278.7177.
M
I prefer to receive my newsletter via email.
1The Call of the Wild by Jack London
2My Uncle’s Wedding by Eric Ross
3Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
4Welcome Home Mouse by Elisa Kleven
Answers to quiz
Please plan to join us!
March 31
Big Read Program with Bobbie Pyron
2:00 p.m., Woodward Branch Library
April 15
Secret Garden Party
3:00-5:00 p.m., Location TBA
California State University, Fresno
The Arne Nixon Center for
the Study of Children’s Literature
Henry Madden Library
5200 North Barton Avenue M/S ML34
Fresno CA 93740-8014
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Fresno, California
Permit No. 262
Can you identify the books that end with these lines?
(Answers on page 7)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Buck did not read the newspapers or he would have known that trouble was
brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle
and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.
One day Uncle Mike and his boyfriend Steve came by to tell us the big news.
School was finally out and I was standing on a picnic table in our backyard getting
ready for a great summer vacation when my mother walked up to me and ruined it.
Stanley was trying to help Mom make pizza, but SLOSH he spilled the oil,
SPLOOF he sprayed the flour, SPLAT he tipped over the bowl of tomato sauce.
