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Children's and Young Adult Literature

New Exhibit! El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros - Children's Day/Book Day

by Linda Salem on April 15th, 2024 | 0 Comments

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros Children's Book Exhibit!  Fourth floor of SDSU's Love Library in the Children's Collection.

SDSU's multilEach story matters Every child countsingual and bilingual children's collections are on display to emphasize the importance of literacy for all children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and our daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages, and cultures.  Find El Día reading lists by grade/reading level at https://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists/Dia-2024. For more information about the history of Día, see https://www.ala.org/alsc/initiatives/dia/d%C3%ADa-historyThank you for reading!


Q & A: What's the Key to Finding Kids' Books in Public Libraries, School Libraries, and on the 4th Floor of the SDSU Library?

by Linda Salem on August 31st, 2023 | 0 Comments

What is the key to finding kids' books in public libraries, in school libraries, and on the 4th floor of the SDSU Library?

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It's easy! Go to the numerical section on the bookshelf that corresponds to the subjects.

In the image above, Dewey Decimal call number ranges and their subjects are pictured. The Dewey ranges and their corresponding subjects that appear in the image are: 

000-099 Computer Science, Information & General Works

100-199 Philosophy & Psychology

200-299 Religion

300-399 Social Sciences

400-499 Language

500-599 Science

600-699 Technology

700-799 Arts & Recreation

800-899 Literature

900-999 History & Geography


Act Locally, Read Globally! WorldKidLit and the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.

by Linda Salem on August 5th, 2023 | 0 Comments

! September is #WorldKidLItMonth

 

#WorldKidLit Project World Kid Lit is a global, groundroots community focused on raising awareness of world literature for young people.  #WorldKidLit encompasses children’s and young adult books, stories, authors and illustrators, from other countries, and books translated into English from other languages. Check out their website for lots of book reviews of translated children's books, reading lists, and much more! 

 

Global Literature in Libraries Initiative raises visibility of world literature for adults and children at the local, national and international levels by encouraging collaboration between translators, librarians, publishers, editors, and educators and by helping libraries engage readers in exploring world literature. Increased access to books in English translation means increased access to diverse perspectives in books. They award Annual Translated Young Adult Literature Book Prize, they create book lists and themes tied to major translation awards and topics, they offer library programming ideas, they support non-US publishers of English translations and non-US, non-English-language publishers to be able to promote books in libraries, and much more. Check out their website for more information.

Thanks for reading! 

 

 


¡Celebremos!: Pura Belpré Award at 25

by Linda Salem on June 19th, 2021 | 0 Comments

¡Celebremos!: Pura Belpré Award at 25

2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award that recognizes excellence in the portrayal of the Latinx experience. It also celebrates, commemorates, and preserves the pioneering work of Puerto Rican librarian, author, and storyteller Pura Belpré who believed that readers need to see their stories in children’s books. The award promotes outstanding works of literature for youth by Latinx and Hispanic authors who live in the United States. The May/June 2021 issue of the Horn Book Magazine celebrates this anniversary with articles about Belpré and her legacy. A resource list at the end of this post list these and other resources about Belpré.

Pura Belpré Award winners

Reforma’s Pura Belpré Award 25th Anniversary

Pura Belpré's letters and papers at Hunter College's Center for Puerto Rican Studies 

Who was Pura Belpré?

Pura Belpré promoted diverse books and stories for Spanish-speaking children at New York Public Library (NYPL). Belprés career distinguished her as NYPL’s first Black Puerto Rican American Latina librarian and Spanish children’s specialist (Nunez 2009, p. 59). Her work for NYPL spanned 1921 to 1978. Due to a lack of books with Puerto Rican folktales in the library, Belpré became well-known for sharing these stories through storytelling, puppet theater, and by writing and publishing her own volumes of folktales. Her outreach programs served as a model to librarians and teachers who established similar programs for serving Spanish-speaking communities throughout the country (Hernandez-Delgado 1992, 432).  Belpré’s work included reassessing “local library collections in meeting the interests of the local community” (434). In 1971, seeing the need for a list of children’s books in Spanish, she coauthored Libros en Espanol ~ which became a valued collection tool for teachers and librarians (435). More about Pura Belpré's life and career at the New York Public Library is featured in Herbert Norat's blogpost Pura Belpré: Library Storyteller.

Award Origin

To recognize and honor Belpré, in 1996, Reforma, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking in partnership with the American Library Association’s (ALA) Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC) began awarding the Pura Belpré Book Award to books for young people that best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. 2021 marks the first year that the Pura Belpré Award categories will include young adult books.

SDSU Assistant Librarian Mara Cota Shares Her Experience Serving on the Pura Belpré Award Committee

Mara Cota, SDSU Assistant Librarian, served on 2021 Pura Belpré Award selection committee. Cota’s appointment to the committee came as a result of her long-time involvement with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and her experience serving on both the Printz and the Alex awards committees in the past. Cota is Mexican and was born in the United States. She delights in considering her background in doing this work and being able to see it in works of literature for young people. Cota says these books explore cultural experiences of people living in the U.S., in Central America, and in South America.

“The work of the committee was very focused on titles that emphasize the Latinx experience”, says Cota. “As much we would like the numbers of these books to be high, the number of books is quite small.”

Mock Book Awards

One exciting part about book award season is that students throughout the country form their own mock book award committees to select the titles they think should be recognized with the various ALA ALSC Youth Media Awards like the Pura Belpré Award. I asked Cota what advice she would give to young people participating in mock awards committees in their schools and libraries. Cota says that doing this work is about reading the books over and over again so that your view of the book deepens. She says committee discussions are characterized by the distinctive backgrounds and experiences of the committee members. Cota says kids should give themselves time to discover the books, to read and re-read titles. They should use a note-taking system to jog their memory about books. Kids should stay open to different kinds of books than those they might normally read. They should go into the process with an open mind and give each of the books a chance.

Interested in learning more Pura Belpré? Check out the following books and articles.

Belpre, Pura, and Conwell, Mary K. “Libros en español: An Annotated List of Children's Books in Spanish.” New York: New York Public Library, 1971.

Denise, A. A. (2021). Titi Pura: A Conversation with Cristina Maduro and Lisa Fenstermarcher. Horn Book Magazine, 97(3), 20-23. An interview with the great nieces of Pura Belpré about their Titi Pura.

Denise, A., & Escobar, P. (2019). Planting stories: the life of librarian and storyteller Pura Belpré.New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

El Paso to Pura Belpré. (2021). Horn Book Magazine, 97(3), 17. A short story.

González, L.M. (2021). ¡Celebremos!: 25 Years of the Pura Belpré Award. Horn Book Magazine, 97(3), 12-13. Reflections on the legacy of Belpré through the award.

Hernandez-Delgado, Julio L. 1992. “Pura Teresa Belpré, Storyteller and Pioneer Puerto Rican Librarian.” The Library Quarterly 62 (4):425–40.

Long, A.K., & Lugo, S. (2021). Pura Belpré Award by the Numbers. Horn Book Magazine, 97(3): 28-29.  An interesting content analysis using data about past Belpré award winners.

Lugo, S. (2021). (Re)Claiming Our Literature. Horn Book Magazine, 97(3), 9-10. A fellow Boricua children’s librarian discusses Pura Belpré and the relationship between languages, identities, ideologies, and nationalities across Latinx communities.

Medina, M. (2021). What the Pura Belpré Award Means to Me. Horn Book Magazine, 97(3), 14-16.  Essay from author Meg Medina about the meaning of the Belpré award to her life.

Nunez, Victoria. 2009. ~ “Remembering Pura Belpré’s Early Career at the 135th Street New York Public Library: Interracial Cooperation and Puerto Rican Settlement during the Harlem Renaissance.” Centro Journal 21 (1):53–77.

Salem, Linda. (2021). “Documenting the Portrayal of Diversity in Children's Books.” Collection Management, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2021.1888834


Anti-racism, Educators, and Children's Literature

by Linda Salem on August 12th, 2020 | 0 Comments

Please visit the new exhibit Anti-racism & Educators as Allies with more grade level recommendations. 

Here find children's books and books for educators about anti-racism.

Introduction

It is vital that educators “counter racism and violence against Black men and women” (May 28, 2020) as officially declared by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and in solidarity with the San Diego State University Senate Resolution (June 4, 2020).   As allies, educators are empowered, especially through books, to educate ourselves and facilitate age-appropriate conversations about racism with our students.  

We join with BCALA in “the condemnation of the systematic social injustices of Black people and People of Color” and we share in The Brown Bookshelf’s commitment “to the ongoing work of amplifying and celebrating Black voices, rejecting white supremacy, and empowering young readers” for a more socially just classroom and the wider community. 

We join with author Ibram X. Kendi to affirm that children’s literature is an avenue to teach about social injustice, race, how to be an antiracist, and most importantly, to celebrate whole and joyful Black lives.

Classroom Read Alouds

Antiracist Baby 

by Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

(PK-2)

Ashley Lukashevsky’s colorful illustrations show diverse toddlers and their parents happily living antiracist lives as prescribed by Ibram X. Kendi in nine steps “to make equity a reality.”  Each rhyming step teaches caregivers the active role they play in raising an antiracist baby.  First published as a board book and now in picture book format, Lukashevsky’s inspiring illustrations complement Kendi’s important messages about cultivating justice.

 

    I Am Every Good Thing 

   by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James

   (PK-2)

  Award-winning author and illustrator Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James      team up again to show Black boys’ humanity in this timely, newly released     realistic fiction text.  Black boys are affirmed, through poetic statements, that they are good.  James’ oil paintings display Black boys thriving and good, conveying an antiracist message for all readers.

 

Woke Baby 

by Mahogany L. Brown and illustrated by Theodore Taylor

(PK-2)

Close-up illustrations by Theodore Taylor, a Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award (2014) winner, depict a joyful woke baby who raises his fist and babbles songs of freedom, enacting gestures of resistance.  Told in second person, you, Mahogany L. Brown commands the justice-oriented baby of color to “cry out for justice” and “grow up to change the world.”  This inspirational depiction also offers allies an opportunity to discuss a commitment to justice.

 

The Undefeated 

by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

(Grades 1-5)

 

The Undefeated is a multiple award-winning poetic text that inspires readers with excerpts by some of the most celebrated Black American poets.  Colorful and vivid illustrations show the endurance of unforgettable athletes, artists, and activists.  Teachers can use this text as a springboard into students’ biographical exploration of many inspiring Black Americans who defied defeat.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down 

by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney

(Grades 1-8)

Through watercolor and India ink depictions of four friends’ protest of segregation, this nonfiction text provides a historical account of white-only lunch counter sit-ins.  Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s nonviolent philosophy, David, Joseph, Franklin, and Ezell stand up to injustice by sitting down at a Woolworth lunch counter.  Readers will realize that all forms of protest help lead the way to justice through the powerful role models in Sit-in.

 

For Educators

What follows are current antiracist resources to help preservice elementary teachers begin this life-long process of self-reflection with respect to privilege, power, and bias in our institutions and our lives.

How to Be an Antiracist

by Ibram X. Kendi

“Being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination,” remarks Dr. Ibram X. Kendi in How to be an Antiracist.  Through anecdotal self-reflection of his own life, Kendi incorporates history and cultural theory that will push the reader to examine one’s own beliefs, beliefs that may be blatantly or insidiously racist.  Kendi is a leading expert on antiracism and this book accelerates the idea that one must actively choose to be antiracist.

So You Want to Talk About Race

by Ijeoma Oluo

Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk about Race is described as a straightforward conversation about the racial divide in the United States of America that is present in our schools, workplaces, government, and in commerce.  Oluo’s perspective, as a Person of Color in the racially charged United States of America, is considered honest and even humorous.  Readers clearly understand that action must be taken to tear down racism.
 

Teaching for Black Lives

Edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au

ISBN:  9780942961041 

from Rethinking Schools

A Skipping Stones Honor Award (2019) winner for teaching resources, this urgent text emerged from the Black Lives Matter movement.  Editors Watson, Hagopian, and Wu show how a responsive classroom can connect curriculum to Black students’ experiences as well as underline the importance of activism.  Resources are provided. 
 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the above descriptive reviews are not wholly original but rather influenced by online resources particularly the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database and the rich Teaching Books digital resource for educators.

Gretchen McLaughlin

Teacher Librarian/SDSU Library School Intern Summer 2020 (Supervisor Linda Salem)

References:

Ashby, R. E. (2020, June 1). Statement Condemning Increased Violence and Racism 

Towards Black Americans and People of Color. Black Caucus American Library 

Association.https://www.bcala.org/statement-condemning-increased-violence-an

d-racism-towards-black-americans-and-people-of-color.

Rhuday-Perkovich, O. (2020, June 6). KidLit Rally 4 Black Lives: Anti-Racist Resources 

for Children, Families, and Educators. The Brown Bookshelf. 

https://thebrownbookshelf.com/2020/06/04/kidlit-rally-4-black-lives-anti-racist-res

ources-for-children-families-and-educators/.

San Diego State University Senate. SDSU Announces Resolution on Police Practice 

and Education. San Diego State University College of Professional Studies and 

Fine Arts. https://psfa.sdsu.edu/about_us/news/san-diego-state-university

-senate-resolution.


 


Kadir Nelson's Undefeated Awarded the Caldecott Medal. More Youth Media Awardees Here.

by Linda Salem on January 27th, 2020 | 0 Comments

The Youth Media award winners were announced this morning. 

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:

Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Kwame Alexander and published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Three Caldecott Honor Books also were named: Bear Came Along, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, written by Richard T. Morris, and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group; Double Bass Blues, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Andrea J. Loney and published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; and Going Down Home with Daddy, illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and published by Peachtree Publishers.

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:

New Kid, written by Jerry Craft, is the 2020 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by the author and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

See all of the award winners here.

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/2020-youth-media-award-winners/


"Find just five things to improve" and other advice to young writers. In memory of beloved children's author Andrew Clements.

by Linda Salem on December 3rd, 2019 | 0 Comments

Today readers, librarians, and teachers mourn the loss of beloved children's author Andrew Clements. We have read and recommended his fiction for decades. This morning I emailed the news to my library coworkers and one immediately emailed back "One of his books is on my living room table at this very moment." I met Andrew at the ALA Newbery/Caldecott Awards Banquet one summer and felt like I had met a rock star. 

Clements' advice to young writers? Find just five things to improve in your writing to make the difference between writing that is really good and writing that's just okay. 

Click here for a great video of Clements offering more advice for young writers. 

For a remembrance of Clements, please check out Shannon Maughan's article in PW today about this beloved children's author.

Rest in peace, brother Andrew. 

-LS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Students Review Día de los Muertos Children's Books in ENGL727 Chicanx Children's Literature Taught by Professor Phil Serrato

by Linda Salem on October 24th, 2019 | 0 Comments

 In Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead, author George Acona uses colorful photographs and illustrations to explain each day of the holiday—All Hallows’ Eve onOctober 31st, All Saints’ Day on November 1st, and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd…. Pablo and his family … welcome his deceased abuelita home by decorating the family’s ofrenda with marigolds, bread of the dead, and sugar skulls. -- Rachel 

In Day of the Dead author Linda Lowery reminds readers that “life is a gift” worth celebrating and that this holiday of Aztec and Spanish celebrations of deceased friends and family…[is] a lively and community-oriented holiday intended to commemorate spirits of loved ones and to bring families together through parades, cooking, and story-telling. It serves as a reminder that death is natural and often leaves behind imprints of love in the lives of others.

-- Nayeli 

 

 

 In Día de los Muertos author Roseanne Thong and illustrator Carlos Ballesteros’ depict the holiday as a celebration of the departed, an acknowledgement of death’s normalcy. Styles of cubism, couplet form, graveyard poetry, collage, and a bilingual lexicon are used to portray the process of readying one’s home and community to welcome communication and festivities with the dead. Thong enshrines the young as co-equal record-keepers of ancestral narratives and highlights the roles children play in bridging the past to the present, making sure that even the “small angelitos” are memorialized through artwork.-- Alex 

 In The Spirit of Tío Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story by Janice Levy, Nando and his mother celebrate the Day of the Dead honoring late Uncle Fernando by telling fun stories of his life. Nando strolls through the vibrant market, purchases traditional sugar skulls and pan de muerto (bread of the dead). Musicians and performers in skull masks crowd the streets as Nando and his mother process to Uncle Fernando’s grave. A beautiful portrayal of Mexican customs.

-- Sofia

In Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston and Jeanette Winter, a brother and a sister

 help their family prepare for Día de los Muertos. They watch and help their family prepare traditional foods, gather decorations, and celebrate the lives of family members who have passed. The majority of the book is written in English, but the inclusion of particular words and phrases in Spanish is easy to decipher, making it perfect for second language acquisition or reinforcement. With a warm tone and colorful illustrations, the authors express to readers the joy of this holiday. --Benjamin 

 

Catrina’s Day of the Dead by Adriana Morales Marin stars Catrina and her cat, Misifus, both deceased, as they journey to their altar in a decorated cemetery. The author elaborates on the purpose and significance of items offered at the altar, includes fun activities like making skull candy and papel picado, and explains how the Day of the Dead became a celebration in Mexico. A great book to read for all ages. -- Rafael

With affirmations that “The Day of the Dead is nothing like Halloween,” The Dead Family Díaz, by P.J. Bracegirdle with illustrations by Poly Bernatene, is a trans-cultural exploration of the Mexican holiday el Día de los Muertos. The author demonstrates how knowledge and understanding of cultures different from one’s own can disrupt the fear and othering perpetuated by stereotypes and prejudiced beliefs, and the book offers positive representation to underserved communities in children’s literature. The cartoonish skull face of the main character, Angelito, juxtaposes the more realistic skulls and skeletons found in paintings and posters peppering different walls and alleyways around the town, diminishing the fear with which a young reader may approach such images. -- Jared

In Luis San Vicente’s The Festival of Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras the author offers a uniquely fanciful conceptualization the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos. Death is not vilified, but rather respected and admired. Whimsical illustrations are textured with rich fun, featuring calacas young and old dancing across the page to take part in celebrations focusing on the value of their lives rather than their losses. The effect is the elimination of the fear behind death and readers to accept this jovial point of view as natural and uplifting. The author establishes Día de los Muertos as a democratic observance involving all walks of life.

-- Vanessa

In Rosita y Conchita: A Rhyming Storybook in English and Spanish, co-authors and

illustrators Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger tell the story of two sisters in parallel worlds—the living and the dead—and challenges the notion that interpersonal connection is severed upon one’s passing. Just as Rosita is drawn and guided by the scent of chocolate chip enchiladas, the sound of her sister’s song, and the path of cempasúchil to the altar, readers are drawn in to the book by adorable twin sisters, colorful, cartoon-esque illustrations, and melodious rhymes. The bilingual, side-by-side rhymes establish English and Spanish as equally important, also establishing the importance of a bilingual readership. -- Melissa

The bilingual picture book The Remembering Day / El Día de los Muertos by author Pat Mora and illustrator Robert Castilla is the story of a young girl named Bella and her grandmother Mamá Alma in a pre-Columbian village. When Mamá Alma dies she tells Bella, “I will always be with you.” Bella begins the annual tradition of the Remembering Day and she celebrates with feasting, singing and crafting a marigold path for her grandmother to follow.

-- Ashley

 


Coretta Scott King Book Award turns 50!

by Linda Salem on August 6th, 2019 | 0 Comments

The SDSU Library Children’s and Young Adult Literature Collection is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Award. First established in 1969, this annual award is given to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.  The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.

Be sure to stop by the fourth floor and see our new bulletin board recognizing the latest titles awarded this prestigious honor. A collection of past award-winning titles and books on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King are also on exhibit and visitors are encouraged to check them out!

SAVE THE DATE! In conjunction with this special anniversary, on September 4th, 2019, in room LL430, from 3 to 5 pm, Outreach Librarian Gloria Rhodes will host spoken word poet Ronald Williams, author of the book Lost Pharaoh, for a program on self-identity. 

For more information on the Coretta Scott King Book Award Anniversary please visit http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/csk50

To find out how you can get more involved in exciting events like this please visit the Black Resource Center at SDSU.

 

Post by K. Bliss and L. Salem


The Lost Love Letters

by Linda Salem on February 7th, 2019 | 0 Comments

One summer day, Kirsten Josephson, her mother and her grandmother came across a box of hundred-year-old family love letters. Years later, Kirsten would photocopy these love letters written on thin onionskin paper and begin her work as illustrator for Dear Heart: The Courting Letters. This book is a transatlantic love story about her great grandparents, Gertie and Fred. It was written and researched by her parents, renowned children's author Judith Josephson and Ron Josephson. 

I asked Judith why we love handwritten love letters. 

 JJ: A personal handwritten letter shows something about the personality of the writer. Fred’s handwriting was meticulous and beautiful and he wrote 16-page letters in brown ink. It showed his attention to detail and the way he shouldered responsibility. Gertie’s handwriting was rounded and open-ended, much like her approach to life. Sometimes her writing trailed up the edges of the pages or onto programs she inserted. Gertie was an amateur artist, so many of her letters had little sketches or drawings on them. Fred often signed his letters with designs of x’s after his name. As he had been born and raised in childhood in France, he sprinkled French phrases throughout his letters.

I have an envelope of Gertie’s antique paper reliefs with beautiful cutouts of flowers.  Long ago, people might have slipped them in their letters. Both Gertie and Fred poured their feelings  and emotions into the letters, telling each other what they were thinking, dreaming about, and wondering. In a handwritten letter, there is no pressing an emoji to convey feeling. Instead, words and illustrations do that job.

I also asked Kirsten about her work as illustrator.

LS: Considering your background in art, graphics and print media, what was your biggest surprise when using love letters as primary source materials for illustrations?

 KJ: Since the letters were so thin, the handwriting on the other side of each page would often show through on the digital scans. I had to make image adjustments in Adobe Photoshop to lighten or remove the handwriting from the back side.This entire experience has been a surprising journey for me. (After finding the letters as a teen) little did I know that years later, I would use those letters along with other family relics (photographs, postcards, and paintings) to create artwork for a historical romance novel. It was a reflective experience using these delicate primary source materials

I found myself connecting back to skills I had developed via my amazing Graphic Communication professors at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, accessing the beauty in typography, paper weight, printing, embossing, and photography to create designs in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. 

Another surprise was the mystical feeling that came over me at times when working at length on images of my great-grandparents Gertie and Fred—people whom I had never met. At times, it seemed as if they were sitting right there with me.

LS: When sorting through photos, letters, postcards, and memorabilia from Gertie's and Fred's lives, how did your theme come together? What guiding concept emerged to govern your design board?

KJ: My design board was driven by the chapter content. I looked for artifacts that could be used to symbolize travel and transportation, modes of communication, geography, family, history, love, time, and real-life people and places. The detailed postal stamps on the letters from the U.S. and the U.K. in the early 1900s provided beautiful accents to the chapter openers. The ornate postcards from over a century past meshed well with the themes and provided a wealth of imagery and color.

LS: How did you choose your color scheme?

 KJ: To stay true to Gertie and Fred, I wanted the color scheme to reflect the colors of their original onionskin letters. The letters are in a variety of colors, such as light pink, cream, tan, and mint green. I used those colors as a foundation color scheme for the book and infused cranberry and hunter green as a dark accent.

LS: Are there any process issues you'd caution other illustrators to consider when using primary source materials?

 KJ: If you are working with antique primary sources, another important process issue to consider is the time it takes complete image restoration. Many of the photographs I worked with were over 100 years old and contained scratches and mold. I spent countless hours

restoring images in Adobe Photoshop to repair images to their original state so that the reader would better connect with the images and not just view them as “antique.”

We had to make sure that we checked copyright; this is always an important practice when working with primary sources. Generating hundreds of digital files for a large project like this, it was easy to become disorganized. I eventually developed an organizational structure that contained logically named folders, subfolders, and files (based on chapters, people, geographic locations, etc.). This structure has served me well over the past few years when I’ve needed to quickly access images for marketing purposes. 

Many thanks to Kirsten Josephson and Judith and Ron Josephson and of course to Gertie and Fred for helping us out with this Valentine’s edition post of Illustration News. Dear Heart The Courting Letters is available in the SDSU Library's collection on the fourth floor at call number PS3610.O66784 D43 2016 and on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Heart-Judith-Pinkerton-Josephson-ebook/dp/B01M0FYT3O.

Also, we extend our thanks to the Josephson Family Endowment for supporting the children's literature collection for many years. Happy Valentine's Day and thanks for reading.


  Recent Posts



New Exhibit! El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros - Children's Day/Book Day
Q & A: What's the Key to Finding Kids' Books in Public Libraries, School Libraries, and on the 4th Floor of the SDSU Library?
Act Locally, Read Globally! WorldKidLit and the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.
¡Celebremos!: Pura Belpré Award at 25
Anti-racism, Educators, and Children's Literature
Kadir Nelson's Undefeated Awarded the Caldecott Medal. More Youth Media Awardees Here.
"Find just five things to improve" and other advice to young writers. In memory of beloved children's author Andrew Clements.
Students Review Día de los Muertos Children's Books in ENGL727 Chicanx Children's Literature Taught by Professor Phil Serrato
Coretta Scott King Book Award turns 50!
The Lost Love Letters
From Newspaper Article to Picture Book. Armando and the Blue Tarp School by Edith Hope Fine, Judith Pinkerton Josephson. Hernan Sosa, illus. Lee & Low Books.
The Clara Breed Historical Children's Collection at San Diego State University. A bibliography of books in the collection.
The Juvenile Collection Move --Same Place, Better Organization!
Pointing to the moon. Catching up with picture book author and SDSU alum Cindy Jenson-Elliott.
Classic Children's Books in the Mary Louise Olsen Collection
Gene Luen Yang Recommends Writers and Artists in Comics, Animation, and Graphic Novels in CLAQ Special Issue
The Edward Gorey Personal Library - Explore it today
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Oliver Wilson's Survey (1937)
CFP Children's Literature Society panels at the American Literature Association May 24-27, 2018
Don and Lydia Freeman Added Illustrations in Beady Bear, Pet of the Met, and Chuggy the Blue Caboose.
New Exhibit - The Author A.B.C.s from the Collection of Peter and Helen Neumeyer, July 2017
The SDSU Children’s Book Collections in the SDSU Library
Ukiyo-e, the Floating World Picture, and Children
Fairytale Illustrations - Relief and Illumination
Chris Riddell and letterpress texture in The Sleeper and the Spindle (2015).
Celebrate el dia!
Takeo Takei and Miss Clara Breed
Making Color from Insects in Illustrated Scientific Materials
Books on Color for Artists, Illustrators, Graphic Novelists, Conservationists, Chemists, and Historians. An Annotated Bibliography by Linda Salem and Margaret Drehobl

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