Audio version

2015 ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS ISSUE COGNOTES • 9

Vowell Explores History, American Identity with Fresh Eye

By Robert Manzo, Student to ALA

Sarah Vowell introduced herself and her latest book, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (October 2015 Riverhead, a division of Penguin) as she took the stage at one of the June 27 Auditorium Speaker programs. This was her first event promoting the book and she admitted she had finished writing it only a few weeks before. In her hour-long presentation, she discussed Lafayette, the Revolutionary War, and American culture, and answered questions from guest interviewer Nick Offerman.

Marquis de Lafayette, the subject of her book, was a hero of the American Revolutionary War, a French soldier who sought battlefield glory by fighting in the colonists’ war against Britain, and an enemy to both America and France.

Vowell talked about her book's larger theme of American identity, showing that from the beginning, America was a nation of factions and competing groups. The role of France in the war was divisive, with some colonists supportive of France's involvement, some not, and opinions that differed on the merits of independence from Britain.

A surprise appearance by Nick Offerman became a full interview with Vowell. Offerman, also an Auditorium Speaker on June 27 and a friend of Vowell, decided to take over the role of interviewer for her session. He broached questions about the themes within Vowell's book and her writing process.

Vowell described traveling to Brandywine (Pennsylvania), the site of a major battle and defeat for Washington's Continental Army on September 11, 1777. Ironically, when she visited, a battle re-enactment was taking place on Quaker-owned land. Quaker orthodoxy is pacifist, anti-war. These subtle historical ironies thrill Vowell and fill her books. She also described her travels to Monticello, Mt. Vernon, Yorktown, Gettysburg, France, and Thailand.

Her interest in Lafayette came about because one of her favorite novels is Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Melville's wife, as a two-year-old child, had met Lafayette during the hero's post-war visit to America. Some 80,000 people greeted Lafayette when his ship docked in New York City in 1824. Intrigued by the fuss made over this man's hero status in American culture at the time, Vowell investigated him further, leading to the book.

Vowell told Offerman that she often skipped school and took refuge in the local public library, and that at age 10, she received The Diary of Anne Frank as a Christmas present. The book spoke to her in a profound way. For the first time she realized literature was a socially acceptable place to speak one's mind.

Offerman and Vowell spoke about America and the value of public discourse and argument, and how these freedoms are unavailable to many people in countries around the world. She said that Americans are often frustrated by the open expression of sometimes hateful opinions, but should value the fact that we are not persecuted or censored as citizens in many other countries are.

ALSC Closes on a “Sweet” Note with President's Program

By Sara Zettervall, Hennepin County Library

The Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) Charlemae Rollins President's Program livened up Monday afternoon with two different but equally engaging keynote presentations on “More to the Core: From the Craft of Nonfiction to the Expertise in the Stacks.”

Author and illustrator Melissa Sweet captivated a packed audience with a visually rich presentation about her unique approach to the craft of illustration. Dr. Judy Cheatham, vice president of literacy services at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), followed with powerful data on how nonfiction picture books like Sweet's can improve literacy for children at the bottom of the achievement gap.

Sweet, along with her frequent author-collaborator Jen Bryant, received the 2015 Robert F. Sibert Medal from ALSC earlier this year for The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus. Using examples of the paintings and collages in her books, images of her visual mock-ups and studio materials, and videos of herself at work, she brought her audience on a journey through her creative process. Whether working on her own or with a collaborator, Sweet follows her inspiration to research historical figures. The resulting books have covered the lives of everyone from African American painter Horace Pippin to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon inventor Tony Sarg.

In schools where teachers read aloud once a week for 10 weeks, and children were sent home with eight books to read over the summer, literacy improved rather than sliding during the summer break.

Inspired to become an artist when she saw a modernist exhibition at the age of seven, Sweet always begins her process by asking, “Who were these people as children? What did they do to lead to the people they became?” She works on sketching and storyboarding until she finds a way into portraying the person: a particular color, word, or thought can get her started. The truth of each story is important to her, but she strives to provide interpretation of each person, rather than mimicry of their art or writing. “That's the sweet spot,” she said. “The story is still true, but the joy of my making it comes through.” For example, she first thought to use collage in book illustration while visiting the childhood home of John James Audubon. Audubon's taxidermy collection was a visual representation of his thought processes, and Sweet wanted to convey that same information on the page.

Leaving the audience with a teaser that her next book would focus on E. B. White, Sweet turned things over to Cheatham. Cheatham, a longtime educator and literacy advocate, began to work on literacy as a tool for teaching Common Core and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) when a Kentucky librarian invited her to design a training session. Her response: “I can't drive in traffic, and I can't use my phone, but I can do stuff around reading.” Eventually, in her work with RIF, she put carefully selected “best books” into the hands of teachers whose schools often hadn't been able to buy new materials for 20 years or more. Her research assessed the impact reading those books aloud and sending them home with children over the summer.

The results have been strikingly positive. In schools where teachers read aloud once a week for 10 weeks, and children were sent home with eight books to read over the summer, literacy improved rather than sliding during the summer break. Reports on this work are available on the RIF website (www.readingisfundamental.org). “If you want to write a grant with it, you should,” Cheatham said. “I'm giving you all my data.” Significantly, she tied that data back to the artistry of Sweet. She explained how important context can be for learning technical terms, or what Common Core would call “level three” literacy. Beautiful, visually rich nonfiction books for children aren't only engaging — they create a scaffolding for children's minds to climb toward full comprehension. Firefly July, a book of poems illustrated by Sweet, is one of 140 “best books” on the RIF website with free, high-quality, downloadable classroom activities that can be tied directly to Common Core and STEAM outcomes.

The lucky librarians at this session walked away with a treasure trove of swag, including their own copy of a “best book” and a postcard of Sweet's art. But their most important takeaway will be a renewed enthusiasm for great children's nonfiction.

Award-winning children's book illustrator Melissa Sweet speaks at the Charlemae Rollins ALSC President's Program on June 29.