Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 24, 2026

 Sept. 22-28 is Banned Book Week. My favorite book, Charlotte's Web, was added to the banned list in Kansas in 2006, when a group of parents declared that the idea of talking animals was "blasphemous and unnatural." Can you guess which banned book this quote came from? "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children...let's get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him to preserve our family line..." A.) Beloved by Toni Morrison B.) Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck C.) Dracula by Bram Stoker D.) none of the above. The answer is D, because the quote is from the Bible, Genesis 19:30.


Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 17, 2024

 Today's trivia celebrates Haitian picture book writers. Carline Smothers is a first generation Haitian who couldn't find books for her young  daughters about Haitian culture, so she wrote some. Two of her titles are Fanmi Mwen (My Family) and Mmmmmm! Soup Joumou, written in English and Haitian Creole. Jinica Dauphin is Haitian/American and an elementary school teacher in Florida. Her book Haitian Flag Day, Fleurina's Way tells about a little girl learning about her heritage as she plans a perfect celebration. Author M.J. Fievre was born in Port-Au-Prince Haiti and now lives in Miami. Her book Haiti A to Z  is "a bilingual book about the Pearl of the Antilles." Preshoolers will learn about Haitian traditions as well as the Creole alphabet sounds. It's always a good idea to learn to appreciate other cultures, but particularly Haitian culture, especially now.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for September 10, 2024

 As a child, this Long Island author/illustrator drew on every piece of paper she could find. She enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City at age 18, where she met and married Swedish artist Karl Larsson. Their daughter Hilma's experiences as a child exploring the city led to her 1929 book All Around the Town, and family pets were featured in her series of books about Angus, a curious young dog. While writing Angus and the Ducks she learned about Peking ducks along the Yangtzee River. She chose not to illustrate The Story About Ping and instead asked an artist who had lived in China to create the pictures of the young duck and his adventures. This book is still popular today and remains her greatest contribution to children's literature. This is Marjorie Flack.