Spring 2003

Contents

• 2003 Kerlan Award Ceremony and Buffet
• From the Curator
• Exhibits and Coming Events
• Givens African American Children’s Literature Festival
• Research Based on CLRC Resources
• Recent Visitors
• Award/Fellowship
• Kerlan Friends Memberships
• Gifts to the Children's Literature Research Collections
• Recent Acquisitions
• 2003 Naomi Chase Lecture

2003 Kerlan Award

	On Saturday, April 26th, author-poet Nikki Grimes, and the late illustrator Gustaf Tenggren, will be honored as the recipients of the 2003 Kerlan Award. The award is presented annually "in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children's literature and in appreciation for generous donation of unique resources to the Kerlan Collection for the study of children's literature." Nikki Grimes will be the keynote speaker and Gustaf Tenggren will be honored, posthumously. Nikki Grimes’ Bronx Masquerade received the 2003 Coretta Scott King Award. Gustaf Tenggren illustrated Arabian Nights, King Arthur, and more than fifty other books.. The Kerlan Collection holds original manuscripts for eight of Nikki Grimes’ titles including Bronx Masquerade (Dial Books, 2002), C is for City (Lothrop Lee, 1995), and Jazmin’s Notebook (Dial Books, 1998), along with correspondence, notes, and clippings.
Nikki Grimes. Photo by Joelle P. Adkins	The Kerlan Collection holds production materials for more than thirty of Tenggren’s titles including The Golden Goose (Random House, 1969), Poky Little Puppy (Simon and Schuster, 1942), and Tenggren’s Story Book (Simon and Schuster, 1944).
	The ceremony will begin with a breakfast buffet starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Elmer L. Andersen Library, Room 120, 222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota’s West Bank Campus. The award presentations start at 10:30 a.m. The Red Balloon Bookshop will sell books before and after the breakfast buffet and Nikki will autograph her books after the award ceremony. The Event is co-sponsored by the Kerlan Friends, Friends of the Library and others. To attend please print out the online registration form and mail with payment to the CLRC.
Gustaf Tenggren. Photo from Kerlan Collection.

The Kerlan Collection's acquisitions, individual researchers, group visits, speakers, and exhibits reflect the University of Minnesota's increasingly global interests.

Donors from other countries are generous. Friso Henstra sent an illustration from the Netherlands for the cover of a pamphlet published in 1985 listing contributors. Kevin Crossley Holland from the UK systematically inscribes gift copies of his first printings. Ib Spang Olsen from Denmark and Erik Blegvad now living in London donated art over the years, and Astrid Lindgren sent a handwritten manuscript for her Ronia the Robber's Daughter. All of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award and Honor Books originated in another language, so holdings in the Kerlan Collection include author manuscripts and translator's manuscripts in Hebrew, German, Italian and Scandinavian.
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Researchers, too, have come from distant lands. In autumn, Heidi Boisen, from the Haug School in Norway, looked at books about physically handicapped children. Prof. Wajuppa Tosso from Thailand selected contemporary realistic American books to study while on a Fulbright Fellowship. Publisher and book collector Hidekazu Sato and his niece Kimiko Abe from Tokyo perused Edward Ardizzone books. Abe became a translator to Japanese of Wanda Gag’s diary. A recent visitor on a grant in the field of Entymology requested children's books to reinforce his Portuguese reading skills.


Hidekazu Sato and Kimiko Abe

Two group visits from Japan occurred in the last decade. Twenty experts came with Professor Shigeo Watanabe from Keio University and met Twin Cities professionals for a Japan and American Children's Books Symposium. A dozen staff accompanied the Director of the Kijo Picture Book Village in Kyushu Province to view original picture book art.

Authors and specialists attract audiences in Andersen Library, as they did in Walter Library in the past. Professor Evgenios Trovozas, who gave a talk in 2000, teaches at the University of Reading in the UK, but writes children's books in Greek, his mother tongue. Author Roberto Piumini from Italy read from his books. Erik Christian Haugaard lives in Ireland because he writes more in English than Danish.

The Kerlan Collection hosted several exhibits from Europe. Editions of H. C. Andersen from Denmark, the Moomins from Finland, and trolls to contemporary characters from Norway became more familiar, as a result. The International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY) loaned a collection of contemporary books that had been on exhibit in Bologna Children's Book Fair. Gustaf Tenggren art went back to Sweden for a while. A new exhibit, including work by Tomie dePaola and Clement Hurd, is currently traveling to several sites in Japan, sponsored by the Shibuya Publishing Company.

Children's books and projects in the Kerlan Collection's further enhance the University of Minnesota's connections to the world community.

--Karen Nelson Hoyle, Curator

Coming Events
First Fridays in Andersen Library
First Fridays provide an insider’s look at special collections across the spectrum of the Twin Cities campuses. Presenters will include staff from Andersen Library, the James Ford Bell Library, the Andersen Horticultural Library, and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine. All programs are noon to 1 p.m. in Andersen Library (west bank) Room 120. Light refreshments will be served following the presentations. You are welcome to bring your lunch. Presenters will remain following the program for conversation and to respond to questions. This series is supported by the Elmer L. Andersen Library Fund Honoring Dr. Edward B. Stanford, University Librarian Emeritus.

First Friday April 4: African American Authors Books and manuscripts abound in the Givens Collection of African-American Literature. Works on display from the Children’s Literature Research Collecions will include Eloise Greenfield, Isabel Monk, Walter Dean Myers, Jacquelyn Woodson and Ashley Bryan. A researcher will describe findings in the Clarence Wigington Papers, including his architectural designs for St. Paul ice palaces about 60 years ago.

First Friday May 2: Spanning the Globe; International Special Collections We will explore the diverse and wide-ranging international scope of several of the University’s special collections. Attendees will be encouraged to think beyond traditional geographic assumptions in considering the wealth of material available in special collections and archives.

April 26 2003 Kerlan Award Breakfast - Information and Registration

April 26 Children’s Literature Network’s Historical Fiction and Nonfiction Conference. St. Peter Evangelical. Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 427 W. Mulberry Street, Saint Peter, MN. A one-day conference which explores the writing, illustration, editing, and publishing of historical fiction and nonfiction from picture books to books for young adults. Kerlan donor and featured speaker A. LaFaye will present Picking Through the Bones. LaFaye will talk about researching her books, five of which are set half a century ago and in different regions of America. Her books tackle topics such as women’s rights, racial division, and families who blossom in spite of what the neighbors are saying. A. LaFaye is the author of five historical novels, including The Strength of Saints and Strawberry Hill, and a children’s literature professor. Visit www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org for more information.

Festival of Nations, May 2-4
St. Paul River Centre
Theme: Children of the World
Minnesota’s largest multi-ethnic celebration.
General Public Hours:
Friday, May 2, 4-11 pm.
Sat., May 3, 10 am - 10 pm.
Sunday, May 4, 11 am - 7 pm.
Enjoy 100 ethnic groups in costume, authentic foods at 45 ethnic cafes, 60 cultural exhibits, including children’s books, ethnic dance groups, 30 creative folk art demonstrations, and an international bazaar.


Dancers at the Festival of Nations

For more information, contact the International Institute of Minnesota at 651-647-0191, or visit their web page at: www.festivalofnations.com

May 16: 15th Annual Minnesota Book Awards. Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul. See http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/
Book/awards.htm for more information.

May 16-17: Festival of Children’s Literature presented by the Loft Literary Center at Suite 200, Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis. Two days of lively, information filled sessions. Saturday includes keynote speakers Melanie Kroupa and Susan Marie Swanson. Visit www.loft.org or call 612-379-8999 for more information.

May 17: Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, speaks at Cedar Exchange, 500 Cedar St. St. Paul.

June 26: The Givens Foundation Symposium Tell All The Children: A Symposium on Teaching and Learning with African American Literature will be held on Thursday, June 26, 2003 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Givens Conference Suite at Elmer L. Andersen Library, 222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota’s west bank. Call 612-625-2088 or visit http://www.cce.umn.edu/summer/programs/educators/educators.html to register and for more information.

April 7 - May 19: Nashville Public Library and May 22 - August 19: Creative Discovery Museum Chattanooga, TN “Exploring the Great Outdoors: Sports and Recreation in Original Illustrations from Children’s Books” Exhibit features many works from the Kerlan, including Nancy Carlson and Barbara Cooney.

July 1 - October 31: Burton Barr Central Library, Center for Children’s Literature, Phoenix “It’s All in the Family: The Runaway Bunny and the Hurd Family”

May 14 - June 1 Museum Eki, Kyoto, Japan “Festival of World Picture Books 2003-2004”, sponsored by Shibuya Publishers

July 30 - August 4 Mitsukishi in Nagoya, Japan “Festival of World Picture Books 2003-2004”, sponsored by Shibuya Publishers

Givens African American Children’s Literature Festival

On May 17th, Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, speaks at Cedar Exchange, 500 Cedar St. St. Paul, and is free and open to the public. The book was selected for "St. Paul Reads". His typescript resides in the Kerlan Collection. The reading is part of a full day festival sponsered by the Givens Foundation.

Schedule

11:00 a.m. Readings at the St. Paul Public Library
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Family activities at Cedar Cultural Exchange
2:30p.m. Special Guest Christopher Paul Curtis

A free celebration of African American literature will honor and recognize young readers for their commitments and achievements in literacy. From 11:00 – 4:00 on Saturday, May 17, families and children will engage in a range of literary and literacy activities – readings, visits with authors and public figures , "make it and take it" activities, and much more. Families and those who work with kids will learn about a wide range of African American literature and important community resources.

The day is centered on the St. Paul READS 2003 selection, the award-winning novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963. Since late December, middle school-aged children and their families have been encouraged to read this popular novel, which follows a middle-class black family in the early 1960s from the perspective of a nine-year old boy, Kenny. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head south to Birmingham to visit the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is blown up, killing four little girls and propelling the Watsons into the heat of the Civil Rights Movement.

The St. Paul School District is promoting library and school giveaways of free copies of The Watsons in low-income communities. Individual classrooms are holding writing exercises on the themes of Heroism and Civil Rights, two central themes of The Watsons and the May 17 activities.

Research Based on CLRC Resources

Keiko Hori gave a paper at "The Newspaper Serials in the 19th Century Out
of Anglo America" Symposium, London University, Summer, 2002. Hori's Japanese translation Onna Yori Yowaki-Mono of "Weaker Than a Woman" by Bertha M. Clay was given special recognition by the Association of Japanese Libraries.

Doris Dale published Bilingual Children’s Books in English and Spanish (McFarland 2003) based on research done at the Kerlan. The book now resides in the reference section.

June Cummins, Director of the Children’s Literature program at San Diego State University, gave a talk at the Association of Jewish Studies Conference, held December 15-17, 2002, in Los Angeles, CA. Her talk was titled "Becoming an All-of-a-Kind American: The Family as Assimilation Agent in Sydney Taylor's Fiction."

Laura Ondek, student from Southern Connecticut State University, working on her MLS degree, is using the Kerlan Collection to write a paper on Carolyn Haywood.

Recent Visitors
Joyce Hakala from St. Paul researched Emma Brock for a biography of Marjorie Edgar.

Daniel Hansen, an Entomologist originally from Portugal, read Portugese books he remembered from his childhood.

Brian Horrigan from the Minnesota Historical Society acquired facsimilies from our Paul Bunyan collection for use in an exhibit.

Sally Hunter from the University of St. Thomas researched material for some writing projects she’s currently working on.

Elina Kuusisto researched material for her final presentation in her Scandinavian Children’s Literature class.

Krista Paschke from Eagan, MN researched some children’s literature graphics for use in a trade show booth.

Karen Peterson from the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont worked on an exhibition she’s curating called From Goodnight Moon to Art Dog: The World of Clement, Edith and Thacher Hurd.

Ruth Phelps from the University of Minnesota’s Family Education department researched character and personality in children’s books.

Jean Stevenson from the University of Minnesota-Duluth did research for a book she’s writing on the role of the editor in the writing process.

Joel Swearingen from the University of Minnesota helped prepare himself for an audition at the Children’s Theatre Company by examining materials housed at the collection.

Ishihara Tsuyoshi from the American Studies department of University of Texas at Austin used the collection to research Mark Twain’s impact on Japanese popular culture.

Prof. Helga Visscher, head of the Education Library at the University of Alabama visited to do research.

Karen Jorgensen and Carolyn Gwynn brought their Curriculum and Instruction classes in to use the collection.

Susan Ellingson from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN brought her class in to use the collection.

Application forms can be picked up at the CLRC registration desk. The deadline for entries is June 2, 2003. 

The Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellowship 
The Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellowship from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation will provide $1500 to a "talented writer and/or illustrator of children's books who wishes to use the Kerlan Collection for the furtherance of his or her artistic development."  Special consideration will be given to someone who would find it difficult to finance a visit to the Kerlan Collection. 

The Ezra Jack Keats Fellowship recipient will receive transportation cost and a per diem allotment.  Applications for 2003 must be postmarked by May 1st, 2003. For application materials, please send a 6” x 9” (or larger) self- addressed, $0.83 stamped envelope to: 

Kerlan Friends Renewals and Gifts from January 1, 2003 - March 15, 2003
Doris Arnold; Lewis Beccone; Karen Bihrle (in memory of her mother, Donna Johnson and for Bernie Anderson); Miriam Butwin; Vera Carney (in honor of Karen Nelson Hoyle); Kathie Celotti; Carol Erdahl; Dr. Clifford Fortin; Christine Jenkins; Mary Pat Johnson; Sally Kaiser; Dr. Verla Klassen; Margie Knoedel; Dianne Swenson Koehnecke; Joan Larson; Laverne Hoyt Mahoney; Nancy Mambi; Phyllis Mattill (in memory of Gloria Kortmeyer); Micawber’s Bookstore (in honor of Elmer L. Andersen); Karla Myers; Pogo Press, Inc.; Dr. Susan Stan; Maureen Steenblock; Prof. Kim Stelson; Susan Swanson; Donna Swindal (in honor of Eleanor S. Norton); Margaret Virum; Arvella Whitmore; Charlotte Strauel Wilmot.

Hansen, Joyce: MS One True Friend Hurwitz, Johanna: MS Pee Wee and Plush Levine, Gail: MS Cinderellis and the Glass Hill; Dave at Night; The Fairy’s Return; For Biddle’s Sake; Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; “A Visit to Grandma’s” (published in In my Grandmother’s House); The Wish

Johanna Hurwitz

Moser, Barry: IL Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Adventures of Tom Sawyer; The All Jahdu Storybook; And Still the Turtle Watched; Appalachia; Ariadne, Awake!; Around the World in Eighty Days; The Ballad of Biddy Early; Beauty and the Beast; Bigleman's Midway; The Call of the Wild; Casey at the Bat; Cloud eyes; The Dreamer; East of the Sun and West of the Moon; The Farm summer 1942; Fly!; A Game of Catch; The Ghost Horse of the Mounties; Grass Songs; I am the Dog, I am the Cat; In the Beginning; I Remember Grandpa; The Iron Woman; Jump!; Jump Again!; Jump on Over!; Kashtanka; Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear; The Magic Hare; The Magic Wood; Messiah; The Mushroom Man; My Cats Nick & Nora; My Dog Rosie; Noah's Cat and the Devil's Fire; Pilgrim's Progress; Polly Vaughn; A Prayer for the Opening of the Little League Season; Prayers from the Ark; Sky dogs; Sook's Cookbook; St. Jerome & the Lion; Tales of Edgar Allen Poe; Through the Mickle Woods; The Tinderbox; Tucker Pfeffercorn; What You Know First; When Willard met Babe Ruth; Whistling Dixie

Paulsen, Gary: MS How Angel Peterson Got His Name

Winthrop, Elizabeth: MS Island Justice