Evolution of Alice exhibit at Milner Library

Photos from the new exhibit of "The Evolution of Alice in Wonderland for 150 years" at Milner Library at Illinois State University. 

Title of Alice in Wonderland exhibit near Special Collections on the 6th floor of Milner Library at Illinois State UniversityA first edition of Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and materials inspired by Alice.

Alice puppets from the library's Lois Lenski collections

Group reading of Lincoln's Farewell Address at Milner Library

Stovepipe hats, amazing hoop skirt fashions, and train whistles carried us back 150 years during a group reading of Lincoln's Farewell Address at ISU.  We were part of a national record-breaking effort to have the most people reading en masse.  The reading was the short speech that Abraham Lincoln said to well-wishers as he left Springfield, Ill., to his new position as President in Washington, D.C.  The words are heartfelt, melancholy, yet hopeful.

I would like to thank the librarians at ISU's Milner Library who helped organize the event and particularly asked if Jacob would enjoy leaving school for awhile and participating in the event as one of the lead readers.  We were happy to have him participate in a different educational setting for a few hours.  He appreciated being part of the interesting Lincoln event.  He wore the stovepipe hat that my parents bought for him at Lincoln's birthplace in Kentucky.  He also wore a black t-shirt from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, which we have visited many times.  We thought it was great to see his name as a lead reader in the program.  And it's cool that he's in the lead of the article by the Pantagraph reporter.

When the Lincoln re-enactor gave the speech again after our first mass reading, he had a wonderful way of conveying the sadness and optimism that the new President must have felt. Gary Simpkins, playing Lincoln, understood the gravity of the situation that the Illinois man was facing.

The reading was also the kick-off for the Sesquicentenial of the Civil War.  Guess I'll have to work to remember how to spell that word because remembering the 150th anniversary of the Civil War is going to be an important moment to recollect the War Between the States.  Sometimes that seems long ago.  Then we read books, such as Russell Freedman's wonderful Lincoln: A Photobiography or Candace Fleming's The Lincolns: A Scrapbook, visit the battlefields of Gettysburg or Antietam or Shiloh, see the first capital of the Confederacy in Montgomery, contemplate the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., listen to the wistful tunes of the day, re-read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, examine dagguereotypes, consider the long-term effects of slavery, listen to the continuing battle of states rights vs. federal rights, and suddenly those days don't seem so long ago.  The historical anniversary is welcome.

ISU's Banned Book reading highlighted by national librarian association

A photograph from ISU's annual banned book this year reading made it to the big time in the librarian world.  Check out this link to the AL Focus, on the website of the American Library Association.  You'll see a photo of Jacob and I after we both read at the reading sponsored by Milner Library.  How fun to see such a grand photo!  Thanks to Toni Tucker and staff for sending the photo to the ALA and organizing the reading.

I thought Jacob did a great job reading a selection from Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren.  We had reviewed the possible books to read from and he chose a Junie B. book because we have had so much fun reading Barbara Park's books.  Then Jacob's acting classes kicked in as he practiced ahead of time and worked on the timing (credit to TheatresCool and ISU's Creative Drama for kids).  His mom and I are frequently amazed at his poise and confidence in performing. 

Glad to see that Milner Library gets promoted on the ALA site -- kudos to them!  Thanks to Milner for inviting both of us to read.

Banned Book Week 2010

The English Dept. at ISU has a long history of supporting the right to read.  In keeping that tradition, I will be participating in Milner Library's Banned Book Week reading Wednesday, Sept. 29.  I'm planning on reading a selection from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, which is often cited among the top books that parents or community members wish to be banned from a classroom, school or library.  Yet, it is also one of the most celebrated American books of the last century.

The American Library Association, which is one of the sponsors of Banned Book Week, is highlighting To Kill a Mockingbird.  Here's an excerpt from why the book has been banned:

The American Library Association website features a fraction of the controversy. For instance, the book was temporarily banned in Eden Valley, Minn., in 1977 because it contained the words "damn" and "whore lady." In 1995, the Southwood High School Library in Caddo Parish, La., yanked the book out of its stacks because of "objectionable" content.

Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center based in Alabama, has a good article explaining some of the instances when people have tried to ban To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Christian Science Monitor notes that many of the books that have been attempted to have been banned in 2009 were brought up by people living in Pennsylvania and Texas.  Here's the list of the ALA's 100 most challenged books.  As a note, just because a book may have been challenged, that does not mean the book then was banned.  Most schools and libraries take the challenges seriously and send it through a detailed committee hearing process.

The ISU English Dept.'s encouragement of the Freedom to Read was started by Taimi Ranta, an English Dept. professor who was a leader in children's literature and nationally known as a source for information about Banned Books.  For more than a decade, the English Dept. organized its own Banned Book Reading night, which was inspired by Dr. Ranta.

In thinking about banned books, it's important that teachers know exactly why they are teaching a book -- why it's worthwhile, why students should read it.  If the book may be controversial, it's okay for a teacher to have a back-up if a parent objects.  But keep in mind, so many books are published each year and so many are available -- the idea is to encourage children, teens and adults to read.

Talk on Lewis Carroll next Tuesday

The Friends of Milner Library have kindly invited me to speak at their spring meeting about "The Place of Lewis Carroll in Children's Literature."  My talk will be Tuesday, March 30, at 7 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Founders Suite. 

I plan to give a talk and slide presentation based on my recent book from Routledge with a focus on Carroll as a book author, publisher, marketer, entrepreneur, scholar.  I will examine the importance of the Alice books within the history of children's literature -- including why they're pivotal in the field. I thought I would also briefly touch on some of the myths and misconceptions of Carroll.  I'm also working in a few thoughts about the recent Alice in Wonderland film as well.

Thanks to Toni Tucker at Milner for organizing the talk and to Eric Jome for additional publicity from Media Relations.