Books Received
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Books Received
The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics. By Dennis Kitchen and Paul Buhle. New York: Abrams ComicArt, 2009.
Cartoonist and satirist Harvey Kurtzman played an important role in the underground comics movement of the 1960s and 1970s, but before that he was one of the creative forces behind Mad magazine during its early years. In this lavishly illustrated biography of Kurtzman, Dennis Kitchen and Paul Buhle cover Kurtzman's entire career and discuss his lasting impact on the history of American comics.
Children's Literature in Action: A Librarians' Guide. By Sylvia M. Vardell. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited 2008.
Intended as a textbook for college students preparing to become children's librarians and media specialists, this volume provides practical suggestions on selecting children's books for school and public libraries and conducting book-based programs for children. Vardell also includes background information about the various genres of children's literature and discusses children's literacy development.
The Coretta Scott King Awards, 1970–2009. 4th ed. Edited by Henrietta M. Smith. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2009. Published in time to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Coretta Scott King Book Award, this volume provides detailed information about all of the books that have won this award or have been designated as honor books. The volume also includes biographical profiles of many of the authors and illustrators who have won this award.
The Fiction Gateway: Enriching the Curriculum with Children's Literature. By Suzanne Eberlé and Noelle Williamson. Victoria, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research Press, 2009.
This handbook is designed to help librarians, teachers, and parents suggest books to children who are independent readers and looking for books related to the subjects they are studying in school. Although this book is intended primarily for an Australian audience, American readers who want to know more about Australian children's literature will discover a number of authors and books that have not yet cracked the American market. [End Page 394]
He Was Some Kind of a Man: Masculinities in the B Western. By Roderick McGillis. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009.
Roderick McGillis is well known for his scholarly work on children's literature, but he is also a critic and historian of popular films. In this book he analyzes the iconic image of the American cowboy as presented in the B westerns from the 1930s through the mid-1950s. These films were widely watched by children during this time, and they played a role in shaping children's societal and cultural values. McGillis is especially interested in what these movies have to say about masculinity and the relationship between males and females.
Little Machinery: A Critical Facsimile Edition. By Mary Liddell. Edited by Nathalie op de Beeck. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009.
When Mary Liddell's Little Machinery was originally published in 1926, it broke new ground in its depiction of the relationship between human technology and the natural world. It also made history as one of the first children's books to feature a robot as a central character. Nathalie op de Beeck provides a scholarly essay at the end of this edition in which she situates the book within the culture of the early twentieth century, especially in terms of societal attitudes concerning the advancement of technology.
Tune Up to Literacy: Original Songs and Activities for Kids. By Al Balkin. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2009.
Al Balkin wrote this book for school librarians and others who conduct literacy programming for young children. He provides many practical suggestions for how music can be incorporated in activities designed to teach literacy concepts. He also includes the words and music to songs that he has written for such programming. [End Page 395]
