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Apr. 4th, 2008 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckOops! Wrote this earlier today and then forgot to post it. Fortunately, it's me pondering and so isn't time sensitive.
I want an online resource that gives reviews of older children's books, nothing newer than ten years ago and emphasizing books twenty or thirty years old. The reason for this is that I'm cruising BookMooch to find books Delia's pre-school might be able to use and keep finding things that look kind of interesting but about which I can't find any further information.
Today's example is a book called Run Away Habeeb!. I'm trying to add diversity to the collection, so I clicked on it based on the title. Amazon gave a cover image that looks like it's aimed at the right age group and a page count that supports that. Google yielded a single sentence plot summary after I checked another three sites. None of that answers my underlying questions-- Is the book respectful of Moroccan culture? Is it accurate in its portrayal or exoticized? Is it appropriate for 3-6 year olds? Are there skanky race issues? Religion issues? How dated is it?
In the same person's list of things to give away, I've found three or four books on other countries. They all look old enough to be somewhat inaccurate just due to changes in the world at large (without considering changes in sensibilities). Only one of them has a blurb on Amazon, and it's a review that labels it superficial. For 3-6 year olds, superficial isn't a big problem, but the negative language around that term in the review makes me hesitate. Is it better to have one book on Australia that's no more than mediocre and is very dated or is it better to have nothing? Is it fair to criticize a book aimed at small children and about something as large as a country for not including many details?
When looking at a kids' book, how accurate do I want it to be? Do I want it to include accurate but scary information? In a book about floods or tornados or earthquakes, scary is on some level inevitable, and the information may be useful later, but... What's the cost/benefit for pre-schooler there? What about accurate but depressing information? When I'm looking at books about the environment or about recent immigrants to the U.S. or even Bible stories, I have to consider the balance between happy stuff that won't upset small children but that glosses over real violence, real prejudice, real things to worry about and accurate stuff that may upset kids and will upset some parents (or simply may never get read because it's not cheerful).
Then, of course, there's the question of whether I'm simply being too picky given that I'm looking at books that are effectively free. I'd rather add good books to the collection, but given the (lack of) price, how much should I worry about this stuff? I've got some books that I think look reasonably good on our wishlist. I don't really expect that most of them will ever become available. They might, though, and keeping points just in case seems wise. Then again, I don't know for sure that whoever has my job next year will keep up the account. (I have one lead on someone who could be trusted to, but it's not solid yet, not until I talk to them.)
And a very heartfelt thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fairmer for giving the pre-school three BookMooch points. I'll probably put those toward Magic School Bus books. Our teacher thinks highly of them and says the kids like them a lot.
I want an online resource that gives reviews of older children's books, nothing newer than ten years ago and emphasizing books twenty or thirty years old. The reason for this is that I'm cruising BookMooch to find books Delia's pre-school might be able to use and keep finding things that look kind of interesting but about which I can't find any further information.
Today's example is a book called Run Away Habeeb!. I'm trying to add diversity to the collection, so I clicked on it based on the title. Amazon gave a cover image that looks like it's aimed at the right age group and a page count that supports that. Google yielded a single sentence plot summary after I checked another three sites. None of that answers my underlying questions-- Is the book respectful of Moroccan culture? Is it accurate in its portrayal or exoticized? Is it appropriate for 3-6 year olds? Are there skanky race issues? Religion issues? How dated is it?
In the same person's list of things to give away, I've found three or four books on other countries. They all look old enough to be somewhat inaccurate just due to changes in the world at large (without considering changes in sensibilities). Only one of them has a blurb on Amazon, and it's a review that labels it superficial. For 3-6 year olds, superficial isn't a big problem, but the negative language around that term in the review makes me hesitate. Is it better to have one book on Australia that's no more than mediocre and is very dated or is it better to have nothing? Is it fair to criticize a book aimed at small children and about something as large as a country for not including many details?
When looking at a kids' book, how accurate do I want it to be? Do I want it to include accurate but scary information? In a book about floods or tornados or earthquakes, scary is on some level inevitable, and the information may be useful later, but... What's the cost/benefit for pre-schooler there? What about accurate but depressing information? When I'm looking at books about the environment or about recent immigrants to the U.S. or even Bible stories, I have to consider the balance between happy stuff that won't upset small children but that glosses over real violence, real prejudice, real things to worry about and accurate stuff that may upset kids and will upset some parents (or simply may never get read because it's not cheerful).
Then, of course, there's the question of whether I'm simply being too picky given that I'm looking at books that are effectively free. I'd rather add good books to the collection, but given the (lack of) price, how much should I worry about this stuff? I've got some books that I think look reasonably good on our wishlist. I don't really expect that most of them will ever become available. They might, though, and keeping points just in case seems wise. Then again, I don't know for sure that whoever has my job next year will keep up the account. (I have one lead on someone who could be trusted to, but it's not solid yet, not until I talk to them.)
And a very heartfelt thanks to
fairmer for giving the pre-school three BookMooch points. I'll probably put those toward Magic School Bus books. Our teacher thinks highly of them and says the kids like them a lot.
