The 2001-2002 CBC Annual Report, covering the period July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002, provides an overview of The Children's Book Council (CBC) programs and projects, including work with educators, librarians, booksellers, national organizations, and our members. We hope that this report helps you to better understand the Council and the work it does in promoting books and literacy. The CBC is proud of its accomplishments and we are confident that we will continue to grow and expand our programs and projects in 2003.
Below is an outline of the report. To read a specific section, click on the section's heading. If you would like a hard copy of the CBC Annual Report 2001-2002, e-mail us your request along with your mailing address.
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
As I write this letter, I realize that my position as Chair of The Children's Book Council (CBC) has been framed by the horrific events of 9/11, and its one-year anniversary.
On September 25, 2001, I had the unenviable task of running the Council's Annual Meeting just two weeks after 9/11. Looking back on the last year, however,
I've had the great fortune to see firsthand the hard work, dedication, and resiliency of hundreds of professionals in the children's book publishing community who are deeply committed to what they do, providing the best
literature to children and teens across America. And that is exactly what The Children's Book Council is about.
The CBC is dedicated to encouraging literacy and the use and enjoyment of children's books. The CBC is the official sponsor of Children's Book Week, an
event celebrated in schools, libraries, bookstores, and homes throughout the United States since 1919. Beginning in 1999, the CBC has sponsored Young People's Poetry Week, an event growing in popularity each year.
The Council is a major source of information about trade books for hundreds of thousands of teachers. For many teachers the bibliographies that the CBC
co-sponsors annually with the International Reading Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the National Science Teachers Association are their primary source of information about current trade books for
children. We maintain strong ties with booksellers, preparing two annual bibliographies, Children's Books Mean Business and Not Just for Children Anymore!, as well as sponsoring an educational session and the
Children's Book and Author Breakfast at BookExpo America in cooperation with the American Booksellers Association and the Association of Booksellers for Children.
Finally, the Council's ambitious industry sales survey project has become a reality. CBC members have already received a copy of the first report, and are
pouring through the data and figuring out how it can apply to their individual businesses. This survey is a major advance in the kind of data available about children's book sales, and will only get better in the years ahead.
Again, I feel I am privileged to work within the community of children's publishing. It's a community that the CBC strives to enhance and foster through its
various efforts. It's a community that has shown it can come together in the face of adversity. It's a community that should be proud of what it has accomplished this past year. I look forward to what we'll accomplish
together tomorrow and in the years that lie ahead.
—Alan Smagler, Chair, CBC Board of Directors 2001-2002
return to top
MISSION
The Children's Book Council, Inc., is the nonprofit national professional association of publishers and packagers of trade books,
and producers of related materials for young people. Its goals are: to make the reading and enjoyment of children's books an essential part of America's educational and social agenda; to work cooperatively with other
professionals to make books and related materials the cornerstone of childhood literacy; to enhance public perception of the importance of reading by disseminating information about books and related materials for young people
and about trade book publishing; and to support major reading-encouragement programs as the sponsor of Children's Book Week and Young People's Poetry Week.
return to top
OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Council is governed by a fifteen-member Board of Directors elected by the membership. Five new
Directors are elected for three-year terms at the Council's annual meeting each fall. Directors must be employed by member firms throughout their terms of service.
Alan Smagler, Senior Vice President and Associate Publisher of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, was the 2001-2002 Council Chair. Alan's
chairmanship began earlier than expected when Anita Silvey left Houghton Mifflin and, consequently, resigned her position as Chair in May 2001. As Chair-Elect, Alan became Chair at the May 2001 meeting of the Board. When his
full term began in September 2001, the Officers elected to serve with him were: Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect Mark Vineis, President and Publisher, Mondo Publishing, Inc.; Treasurer Lori Benton, Vice President and Publisher,
Children's Books Division, Harcourt Trade Publishers; and Secretary Diane Foote, who, during her term, left Holiday House to move to Illinois. She was succeeded as Secretary by Nancy Paulsen, President and Publisher, G. P.
Putnam's Sons Children's Books/Dial Books for Young Readers.
In addition to the officers, Board members were: Donne Forrest, Director, Subsidiary Rights for Penguin Putnam member imprints; Frances Foster, Vice President
and Publisher, Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Susan Katz, President, HarperCollins Children's Books; Christine Longmuir, Director of Marketing, Children's Books Division, Harcourt Trade Publishers; Karen
Lotz, President and Publisher, Candlewick Press; Maria Modugno, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, Little, Brown Children's Publishing, completing the term of Board member Judy Wilson, who resigned from the Board on leaving
Orchard Books; Andrea Davis Pinkney, Vice President and Publisher, Children's Book Division, Houghton Mifflin; David Saylor, Vice President and Creative Director, Scholastic Inc., who joined the Board late in the 2001-2002
Board year replacing Bernette Ford on her departure from Scholastic; Andrew Smith, Vice President of Marketing, Random House Children's Books; and Katherine Brown Tegen, Editorial Director at Large, HarperCollins Children's
Books. At the conclusion of the Board year, the vacancy created by Diane Foote's resignation had not yet been filled.
The Board met in 2001 on September 25 and November 25, and in 2002, on February 27, May 29, and August 21.
return to top
MEMBERSHIP
At the close of the fiscal year, the Council's membership stood at seventy-eight children's book publishing imprints:
forty-nine Regular Members; twenty-four Associate Members; three Initiating Members; and two Affiliate Members.
During the year, nine publishing imprints joined the Council. New Regular Members included Innovative Kids and McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing. Advance
Publishing, Arimax, Inc., Cricket Books, Gingerbread House, and Raven Tree Press joined as Associate Members. New Initiating Members were Bloomsbury USA Children's Books and Roaring Brook Press, a division of The Millbrook
Press, Inc. August House Littlefolk, Candy Cane Press, Health Communications, Inc., and Sony Wonder resigned their memberships.
Approximately half of the CBC's membership is headquartered in New York City; the remaining thirty-nine publishers located outside of New York City represent
nineteen states (including New York state outside of NYC) as well as Washington, DC.
return to top
FINANCIAL REPORT
The Children's Book Council's income in fiscal year 2002 was $1,033,239. Expenses were $1,062,800, resulting in an operating deficit of $29,561.
A significant portion of the Council's revenue comes from the sale of reading-encouragement materials that are created and distributed as part of CBC's
mission. Sales, adversely affected by the slowing economy, were below expectation.
The Council's excess of expense over income reflects, in part, the Board's vigor and foresight in investing in new and evolving projects to serve both
CBC's members and professionals working with children. These activities, such as the Industry Sales Survey, Midsize Publishers Forum, cosponsored bibliographic projects, and CBC's expanding website, are described in this
report.
The Council Board is aided in its supervision of CBC finances by a Dues/Finance Committee, which is chaired by the Council Treasurer and meets quarterly with
Barry Klein, CBC Financial Officer. Members of the Dues/Finance Committee during FY02 were Lori Benton, chair; Michael Jacobs (Scholastic Inc.); Peter Muller (Random House Children's Publishing); Alan Smagler; Frank Totaro
(Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing); and Mark Vineis.
return to top
INDUSTRY SALES SURVEY
Nearly a decade ago, The Children's Book Council began work on an industry sales survey to capture
children's book sales in discrete categories across all markets. This would provide publishers and others the ability to look at, for example, sales of board books as distinct from sales of picture books.
The first survey, published in 2002, provides sales data, for the years 1999-2001, for nine categories (board books; picture books, books for grades 2-6, young
adult books, and "all other" in both hardcover and paperback) and totals. The survey report is introduced by Jean Reynolds (The Millbrook Press), who guided this project from its inception. It includes: a commentary
on aspects of the report; a description of the collection and processing mechanism; reports comparing corresponding quarter and year-to-date data, in each category, for a given year and the prior year; data tables and charts;
and a diskette with a 33-record annual file summarizing year-end values, useful for analyzing overall sale patterns, and a 132-record period file summarizing values for each period and category, useful for analyzing seasonal
trends in sales, returns, sales mix, and average prices.
Twenty-nine CBC members supplied complete data for the initial report. The Council's long-term objectives for this unique Industry Sales Survey include
expanding the number of participating publishers, expanding the number of specific categories in a manner that will encourage publishers' participation, distinguishing between fiction and nonfiction, distinguishing between
frontlist and backlist, reporting by price points, and exploring sales by channels of distribution.
Over the past two years, Peter Benton of Informed Decisions, Paulette Kaufmann, as a special consultant to the project, and Alan Smagler have worked with Ms.
Reynolds and were essential to the completion and publication of the first sales survey. CBC member publishers receive copies of the report at no cost. Others may purchase the report from CBC.
return to top
MIDSIZE PUBLISHERS FORUM
In September 2000, a group of representatives of seven CBC member publishers, calling themselves the "Midsize
Publishers Forum," met for the first time. Chaired by Mark Vineis, the Forum discussed a variety of concerns participants had in common, ranging from recruiting and retaining talented employees to capitalizing on the
Forum's combined purchasing power for a variety of services. In 2002, the Midsize Publishers Forum's first project, a cooperative advertising consortium, took
shape.
Representatives of the Forum and CBC staff worked with representatives of several library, bookseller, and consumer publications who were able to offer
favorable rates for consortium advertisements. Ads featuring titles from twelve CBC members were planned for the September 23, 2002, "Children's Holiday Reviews" issue of Publishers Weekly; the November 18, 2002, Fall Children's Issue of the New
York Times Book Review; and the December 2002 issue of School Library Journal. Further cooperative ads for placement in 2003 will be offered to Midsize Publishers Forum members.
return to top
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Professional education for personnel in member firms has always been a priority for the Council. The majority of this
programming has been developed to serve people newer to publishing. In November 2001, the Council presented a program designed for senior-level personnel in children's publishing, The Bottom Line: How We Manage it. The
program was devised and moderated by Norma Jean Sawicki, serving as a consultant to CBC. Panelists Lisa Holton (Disney Publishing Worldwide), Susan Katz, Barbara Marcus (Scholastic Inc.), Craig Virden (Random House Children's
Books), and Douglas Whiteman (Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers) spoke about the philosophies that shape and drive children's publishing divisions as well as nitty-gritty items critical to the balance sheet, such as
return on investment, cash flow, print quantities, and inventory. Registration was open only to personnel in CBC member firms and was fully subscribed.
return to top
READING-ENCOURAGEMENT MATERIALS
The Council's reading-encouragement materials program continues to enrich classrooms and libraries,
bookstores and homes, daycare and community centers. Each year, more than twenty children's book illustrators lend their diverse talents to create artwork highlighting books and reading. Materials for Children's Book Week
and Young People's Poetry Week, celebrations sponsored by the CBC, make up a large portion of the CBC's reading-encouragement program.
return to top
Children's Book Week
Observed annually in November since 1919, Book Week is the longest standing U.S. reading-encouragement
initiative for children. Each year a more diverse cross section of institutions and organizations working with children use these materials to focus on reading children's books.
Paula Wiseman (Silver Whistle) chaired the 2001 Children's Book Week Committee. Committee members included Alan Smagler, Chair-Elect; Susan Knopf (Parachute
Publishing); Anne Schwartz (Anne Schwartz Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers); Liz Szabla (Scholastic Press); and Filomena Tuosto (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers), Art Director. The theme chosen by the
committee was GET CARRIED AWAY . . . READ and the illustrators selected to create the Book Week materials were Simms Taback (poster); Christopher Myers (frieze); David Catrow, Jane Dyer, and Giselle Potter (streamers); and Douglas
Florian (bookmark poem and art).
The 2002 Children's Book Week Committee was composed of Alan Smagler, Chair; Diane Foote, Chair-Elect; Donna Brooks (Dutton Children's Books); Emily Easton
(Walker Books); Karen Lotz; and Steve Scott (Scholastic Inc.), Art Director. The theme chosen was BOOK TIME and the illustrators selected were Kevin Henkes (poster); Elisa Kleven (frieze); Janell Cannon, Yumi Heo, and Kadir
Nelson (streamers); Janet Wong (bookmark poem); and Greg Couch (bookmark art).
return to top
Young People's Poetry Week
In 1999, the Council began the annual sponsorship of Young People's Poetry Week, celebrated the third
week in April during National Poetry Month. The contributors have made this a visually exciting celebration each year. The Council has cooperated with the Academy of American Poets and The Center for the Book in the Library of
Congress to promote the enjoyment of poetry for young people. For Young People's Poetry Week 2002, both the poster and postcard were created by Leo and Diane Dillon. Poet and author Pat Mora contributed a bilingual poem.
return to top
CBC ONLINE
In spring 2001, the Council unveiled its newly designed website, which receives over two million hits each month. Visitors
include educators, librarians, writers, illustrators, parents, publishers—anyone interested in the world of children's books. In 2002, CBC Online received a Curriculum Website Award, presented by District Administration magazine, which identifies the best K-12 online curriculum materials in several content areas. Throughout the year, the Council continued to expand its website content, providing information for its members and for those working with children.
CBC Online continues to be a primary resource for teachers, librarians, and anyone working with children. CBC Perspectiveshighlights topics relevant to children's books and children's book publishing. Perspectives essays focus on a topic of interest in children's literature or children's book publishing and are written by an expert on the subject. Essays in 2001-2002 included "Science, Trade Books, and Natural Curiosity," "View from the Riverbank," "Choosing Award-winning Nonfiction for Children," "Poetry and Literacy," and "Stories and Art: Making Connections Between Picture Books and Art." "Creative Collaboration: Author-Editor Dialogues," another popular feature of Perspectives,
provides a behind-the-scenes look at the dynamics of the working relationships between artists and editors. Dialogues in 2001-2002 included Kevin Henkes and Susan Hirschman, and Karen Cushman and Dinah Stevenson. A third
component to Perspectives, "In the Artist's Studio," is the study of a specific technique used in children's book illustration, written by an artist working in that medium. Pieces by Paul Zelinsky and David
Wisniewski, discussing oil painting and cut-paper illustration respectively, launched this new feature in fall 2002.
CBC's two online bibliographies—Hot Off the Press andCBC Showcase—are regularly reviewed by teachers, librarians, parents, and booksellers. Hot Off the Press,
updated monthly, features newly published or forthcoming titles. Showcase, begun in 1996, is organized around themes and published bimonthly. Since its inception, the number of visits to Showcase has consistently grown. Beginning in 2002, Showcase is directly linked to the ABA bookstore directory, allowing visitors to locate their local bookshop for purchasing information, and to ABA's BookSense.com, a collection of independent online booksellers. Both online bibliographies feature books published by CBC members only.
CBC Online provides extensive information about children's book authors and illustrators. Meet the Author/Illustrator features essays written by children's book authors and illustrators. Featured artists in 2001-2002 included Mary Azarian, Pat Cummings, Betsy Lewin, Jim Murphy, Mary Pope Osborne, Richard Peck, Jerry Pinkney, Chris Raschka, Robert San Souci, Brian Selznick, and Simms Taback. TheAuthor/Illustrator Links page
provides direct links to websites of authors and illustrators published by member publishers. The Author/Illustrator Visits page includes information for preparing and hosting author/illustrator visits to schools, libraries, and bookstores. A supplementary resource is the Publisher
Contacts for Author/Illustrator Visits list, revised in fall 2001, which provides publisher contact information for institutions scheduling author/illustrator visits.
In 2001-2002, the What's Happening page of CBC Online expanded to include award announcements, information about CBC co-sponsored programs, non-CBC programs and conferences, and employment and internship opportunities in children's book publishing, a free listing service for member publishers. The expanded coverage of events, conferences, and programs featuring children's books and children's book publishing reflects the Council's goal for CBC Online to be a primary resource for information about children's books and children's book publishing.
CBC Online remains a popular site for those interested in writing and illustrating children's books. The CBC publications, Writing Children's Books and Illustrating Children's Books,
provide novice writers and illustrators with general publishing information. This information is currently being revised and updated. Aspiring writers can also find descriptions of members' publishing programs and manuscript
submission guidelines at the CBC Members List.
return to top
Awards & Prizes
The Council began the development of an electronic edition of Children's Books: Awards & Prizes. CBC
has published this compilation of English-language children's book awards since 1969. A comprehensive revision with the addition of searchable features, this new edition lays the groundwork for an exciting, expanded research
product. Following its planned debut in spring 2003, it will be updated annually with new components, such as artists' biographical information and book excerpts, added each year.
return to top
COOPERATING WITH EDUCATORS
Throughout the year, the Council continued its efforts to encourage educators to bring trade books into the
classroom and integrate them into curricula. Reviewers from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) selected the best trade books of the year in their fields, with
administrative support from the Council, and a liaison committee with the International Reading Association (IRA) sought new ways to bring the popular Children's Choices program to children, parents, and teachers.
return to top
Children's Choices
Since 1975, Children's Choices has been an annual project of the Council and the International Reading Association. The only nationwide list of its kind, it highlights titles selected by 10,000 U.S. schoolchildren in grades K-8. The list helps teachers, parents, and caregivers identify books likely to be appreciated by young readers, based on their popularity with the Children's Choices teams.
In fall 2001, five teams of 2,000 children, located in geographically diverse areas of the U.S., read and voted on more than 700 titles submitted by sixty-five
publishers from among books published in 2001. Local IRA members served as Team Leaders, circulating the books through classrooms and tabulating the children's votes. The annotated list of the 100 titles that received the
most favorable responses is published in the October issue of The Reading Teacher, IRA's journal for literacy educators, and is available as an offprint from IRA. A bookmark listing the Children's Choices titles is given away at a variety of other organizations' conventions as well as mailed to booksellers through the American Bookseller Association's Book Sense program. Children's Choices titles were also featured in the McDonald's Restaurants' All-American Reading Challenge program during 2001 and 2002.
Children's Choices was the topic of a symposium at the 2002 Annual Convention of the IRA in San Francisco, CA. Popular authors of Children's Choices selections Debra Frazier and Robert D. San Souci shared their work with an enthusiastic audience, and IRA-CBC Joint Committee members Shari M. Furtwangler and Shauna R. Tateoka demonstrated methods of using Children's Choices titles in the classroom. On the convention floor, an exhibit of the 2002 Children's Choices selections attracted attention from hundreds of educators as well as authors and publishers.
The Children's Choices Team Leaders for 2001-2002 were Marion C. DePierro and Janice Peterson of the Billerica (MA) Public Schools; Joyce Hart and
JoAnn Leigh of Jackson Elementary School, Greenwater, WY; Joan Brinkley and Mary Hawes of the Jefferson County (OR) School District; Denise S. Johnson of the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA; and Kimberly Young and
Elizabeth Schmar of the Lawrence (KS) Public Schools.
[Gina: Additional text is forthcoming for this paragraph. We are pulling teeth to get affiliations for these people. I would anticipate an additional 3-4
manuscript lines.]
Oversight of the Children's Choices program remained the work of the IRA-CBC Joint Committee, which met at the 2002 IRA Annual Convention in San Francisco to consider new ways to publicize the program. IRA representatives on the committee were Co-Chair Roseine Church, Cheyenne, WY; Barbara A. Fritz, teacher, Framingham, MA; Shari M. Furtwangler, teacher, Inavale School, Corvallis, OR; Stuart J. Murphy, author, Boston, MA; Linda L. Pitzen, reading specialist, Greenbriar Middle School, Chesapeake, VA; Joan C. Stevenson, Rock Hill, SC; Shauna R. Tateoka, language arts teacher, Reid School, Salt Lake City, UT; and Junko Yokota, Professor, National-Louis University, Evanston, IL. Representing CBC were Co-Chair David Wexler (Lerner Publishing Group), Lucy Del Priore (Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers), Philip Lee (Lee & Low Books Inc.), Victoria Tisch (Harcourt Trade Publishers), Andrea Wilk (Holiday House), and Phoebe Yeh (HarperCollins Children's Books).
return to top
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
Since 1975, The Children's Book Council has cooperated with the National
Council for the Social Studies to produce an annual list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People. Selected by a team of twelve social studies educators, the 2002 list of Notables was the largest ever, including 201 books published in 2001 for grades K-12. The annotated list of selected titles appeared as a supplement to the May/June 2002 issue of Social Education,
a journal of the NCSS, and included titles in categories from biography to folktales to social interactions and relationships. Thirty-five hundred copies of the annotated list were widely distributed at a variety of educational
associations' conferences as well as to individual teachers, booksellers, and other interested people.
Members of the review panel were featured at a workshop at the 100th Annual Conference of the NCSS, held in Washington, DC, in November 2001. Review panelists
shared their "Selectors' Choices" from the 2001 Notables list and provided strategies for introducing young readers to the titles. The complete collection of 2001 selections was displayed on the exhibit floor.
The NCSS review panel met in January 2002 at the CBC offices to debate nearly 600 titles submitted by over seventy publishers. The 2001-2002 review team was
chaired by Pat Nickell, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Review panelists were Jacqueline A. Abbott, Professor of Education (retired), Eastern Connecticut State University, Bolton, CT; Ann Claunch,
Program Manager, College of Education, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; John L. Daly, Chair, Social Studies Department, Wayland Middle School, Wayland, MA; Nancy K. Hof, Educational Specialist, Minnesota Department of
Children, Families, and Learning, St. Paul, MN; Donna B. King, history teacher, Stivers School for the Arts, Dayton, OH; Donna L. Knoell, educational consultant, Shawnee Mission, KS; Tarry Lindquist, educational consultant,
Marysville, WA; Marjorie A. Montgomery, social studies teacher, Frank Ashley Day Middle School, Newton, MA; Andrew D. Mullen, Associate Professor of Education, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA; Namji Steinemann, Director,
Consortium for Teaching Asia and the Pacific in the Schools, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI; and Karen E. Thompson, geography and ancient history teacher (retired), Boylston, MA.
return to top
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12
A cooperative effort of the National Science Teachers Association since 1973, the Outstanding
Science Trade Books bibliography was expanded this year to include titles for grades 9-12 in addition to the traditional K-8. As a result of this expansion, the annotated 2002 list of fifty-three titles appeared in the March 2002 issues of all three NSTA journals: Science Scope, Science and Children, and The
Science Teacher. The NSTA review panel met at the CBC offices in November 2001 to make their selections, including twelve "Selectors' Choices" of books that generated particular enthusiasm, from among some 250
submitted titles. More than 2,500 copies of the annotated list were distributed at educational conferences and in response to individual orders.
The twelve NSTA members who comprised the 2001-2002 review panel were Co-Chair Patricia S. Bowers, Associate Director, Center for Mathematics and Science
Education, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; Bonnie Barr, retired professor of education, Cortland, NY; Gloria Bolton, Instructional Supervisor, Shelby County Schools, Memphis, TN; Timothy Cooney,
Professor, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA; Judi M. Hechtman, Professor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA; Trisha Herminghaus, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, AK; Susan Hoffmire, teacher,
Phoenix High School, Phoenix, NY; Michael Lowry, teacher, The McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN; Alma Miller, educational consultant, Washington, DC; Lisa M. Nyberg, Assistant Professor, California State University-Fresno,
Fresno, CA; Larry Olsen, teacher, Apopka High School, Apopka, FL; and David Wojnowski, Coordinator, NDENR/Division of Water Resources Stream Watch/Project WET, Raleigh, NC.
The 2002 Outstanding Science Trade Books were featured in an exhibit at the NSTA Annual Convention in San Diego, CA, in March 2002. Review panelists held a well-attended convention workshop on introducing selected titles into the classroom. The list gained further exposure as the Association of Science and Technology Centers once again sponsored a traveling exhibit of Outstanding
Science Trade Books at science fairs across the country.
return to top
COOPERATING WITH LIBRARIANS
The American Library Association (ALA)-Children's Book Council Joint Committee, the Council's
longest-standing liaison committee, has historically planned international exhibits and informational programming for librarians and publishers and encouraged the development of major bibliographic tools such as Children's Books in Print.
The committee's efforts to meet its charge "to explore mutual problems concerning content, format, distribution, and promotion of juvenile books, and to propose action to resolve such problems" continued in
2001-2002.
While the committee's biennial ALA Annual Convention program was not scheduled during this fiscal year, the committee conceived and planned a program for the
2003 Annual Convention to be held in Toronto, Ontario. The program, to be titled "What's So Funny? Let's Get Serious about Humor," will feature four major voices in children's literature, renowned for their ability to
make children (and adults) laugh: Paula Danziger, Jack Gantos, Barbara Park, and Jon Scieszka.
The committee also continued its work to create and disseminate a list of recommended titles for children under age three and to find an appropriate way to
recognize and bring to public attention outstanding children's books reissued after a period of unavailability.
The 2002 committee was chaired by Dr. Lucille C. Thomas (Vice President, Board of Trustees, Brooklyn Public Library) and David Reuther (SeaStar
Books/North-South Books).
ALA representatives on the committee were: Rosanne Cerny of the Queens Borough (NY) Public Library; Gene Nelson of the Provo City (UT) Library; Veronica
Stevenson-Moudamane of the Danbury (CT) Library; Edward T. Sullivan of the White Pine (TN) School Library; Barbara J. Thielemann of Central City,
Colorado; Margaret E. Tice of the New York Public Library; Ruth Toor, editor of The School Librarian's Workshop (NJ); Charlotte C. Xanders of California State University-Sacramento; and Patricia A. Yosca of Lynbrook (NY) North Middle School. CBC appointments to the ALA-CBC Joint Committee were Wendy Lamb (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children's Books), Stephanie Lurie (Dutton Children's Books), Jeanne McDermott (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers), Suzanne Murphy (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing), and Liz Van Doren (Gulliver Books).
return to top
COOPERATING WITH BOOKSELLERS
Since 1977, the American Booksellers Association (ABA)-Children's Book Council Joint Committee has
provided a forum for the CBC to cooperate with booksellers sharing a particular interest in books for young people. In 2002, this committee continued its work to promote children's books in a variety of areas.
The 2002 BookExpo America (BEA) convention was preceded by "Find Comfort in Books: The Right Book at the Right Time," an educational program sponsored by
the committee and focusing on books that address a range of difficult issues. Popular authors Russell Freedman and Mark Teague spoke about how their work helps children to understand or find relief from contemporary concerns,
while booksellers Sheilah Egan of A Likely Story, Alexandria, VA, and Dara La Porte of Politics and Prose, Washington, DC, led a standing-room-only audience in sharing titles appropriate for specific issues.
The following morning, the BEA Children's Book and Author Breakfast, organized by the committee, saw over a thousand guests held rapt by featured speakers
Maurice Sendak and Tony Kushner, Kate DiCamillo, and John Lithgow.
The committee planned the annual Children's Books Mean Business exhibit and catalog to complement the educational program. "Find Comfort in Books: The Right Book at the Right Time" featured over 200 titles for a range of age groups, addressing issues from divorce to bullying to war and peace. The exhibit was also displayed at the 2002 ALA Annual Convention in Atlanta, and copies of the catalog were distributed at ABA regional conferences as well as educational conferences attended by CBC staff.
The 2001-2002 committee was chaired by Beth Puffer of the Bank Street Bookstore, New York, NY, and Deborah Sloan of Candlewick Press. Other ABA appointees were
Ellen Davis (Dragonwings Bookstore, Waupaca, WI) and Dennis Ronberg (Linden Tree Children's Books and Music, Los Altos, CA). CBC representatives were Steve Geck (Greenwillow Books), Angus Killick (Hyperion Books for
Children), and Liz Szabla.
return to top
Not Just for Children Anymore!
In 1997, the Council began a bibliographic project intended to help booksellers increase their market
for children's books. Not Just for Children Anymore! (NJFCA!) features a selection of books—chosen by a distinguished panel of children's book experts—that adults would buy for their personal enjoyment and
for other adults. The catalog provides booksellers with promotional ideas and helps to answer adult customers' questions about appropriate books for themselves and their adult friends and family. Since its conception, NJFCA! has enjoyed increased popularity with booksellers throughout the country.
The 2002 Not Just for Children Anymore! selection panel included: Martha Davis Beck, Editor, Riverbank Review (Minneapolis, MN); Marilyn Dugan, Owner, A Likely Story (Alexandria, VA); Wendi Gratz, Children's Book Buyer, Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Davis-Kidd Booksellers (Columbus, OH); and Charlotte Hohman, Children's Book Buyer, Baker & Taylor (Bridgewater, NJ). Fifty-six publishers submitted over 350 books, of which 110 titles were selected for inclusion in the 2002 catalog. Promotion of the 2002 catalog included mailing to 1,250 ABA Book Sense bookstores and over 350 newspapers, magazines, and state library newsletters; multiple copies of the catalog were also sent to 199 selected ABA-member bookstores. Additionally, for the first time ever, NJFCA! was
offered in the 2002 CBC Materials catalog. Titles were exhibited at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and New England Booksellers Association 2002 Fall Trade Shows.
return to top
WORKING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
In addition to working with education, library, and bookseller associations, the Council cooperates
with a number of organizations whose work is of philosophical and practical importance to children's book publishers.
return to top
First Book and the National Book Bank
CBC has formed a productive relationship with First Book, a national literacy organization
providing new books to children in need through existing local mentoring and literacy organizations. In cooperation with other national organizations and corporations, CBC joined First Book as a founding partner in The National
Book Bank. Formally launched in the summer of 2002, The National Book Bank is the first centralized system providing an accessible and cost-effective way for publishers to contribute large quantities of books to the non-profit
sector for distribution through community-based programs to children in need nationwide.
return to top
The Loose Leaf Book Company
Sadly, these twelve months saw the demise of an exciting venture in which CBC was a cooperating agency.
It is worth mentioning here because of the imagination and potential of the project. In 1999, Ben Manilla Productions, an innovative, forward-thinking audio production company, in cooperation with author and radio
personality Tom Bodett, developed the concept for a public radio program for adults about children's books. The Children's Book Council worked with The Loose Leaf Book Company to administer the selection process for the
books used on the program. For two years, a distinguished group of authors, critics, librarians, educators, and booksellers advised the Loose Leaf staff on appropriate books for shows on topics as diverse as gender, intuition,
death, and the seven deadly sins. The Loose Leaf Book Company found an immediate and appreciative audience. In a short time, 240 affiliate public radio stations were airing the show, representing over a quarter-million
listeners weekly.
Unfortunately, the show was not taken up as quickly by funding sources. Despite significant support from Random House as well as funding from Harcourt, Inc.,
Houghton Mifflin Company, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Hyperion Books for Children, Little, Brown and Company, Scholastic Inc., Winslow Press, and literary agent Sterling Lord, Loose Leaf was unable to raise sufficient operating
capital from the publishing industry or other corporate entities and in spring 2002 suspended its programming.
return to top
United States Board on Books for Young People
An important relationship dating back to the late 1960s is with the United States Board
on Booksfor Young People (USBBY), which is the U.S. National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). As a patron member, the Council appoints two members to the USBBY board of directors: Michael
Eisenberg (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers) continues to serve in this capacity through 2003; Sharyn November (Puffin Books and Viking Children's Books) was succeeded in 2002 by Mary Ann Sabia (Charlesbridge
Publishing, Inc.). In addition to developing conferences and programs about international children's literature for presentation at other associations' conventions, USBBY is responsible for administering the selection of
the United States' candidates for the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Awards and IBBY Honor List.
return to top
CBC LIBRARY
The CBC examination library has been and continues to be a popular destination for those interested in children's literature
and children's book publishing. Chris Raschka, author and illustrator, noted in a recent essay how he once "snuck into the CBC library to ogle the books." The library, open to the public weekdays during regular CBC office
hours, contains children's books published by CBC members during the current and immediate past year. The library also contains a permanent collection of award-winning and honor books for several major children's book
awards: the Mildred L. Batchelder Award; Caldecott Medal; Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; Coretta Scott King Award; National Book Award; Newbery Medal; and the Scott O'Dell Award. The library's permanent collection also includes reference books on children's book writing, illustrating, and children's book publishing; industry trade and educational periodicals; and member publishers' current and past seasonal and backlist catalogs.
return to top
CBC STAFF
In 2001-2002, Paula Quint continued in her role as President of The Children's Book Council. Barry Klein continued as Vice
President and Financial Officer working on CBC budgeting and accounting, and with responsibility for the CBC's materials fulfillment operation. JoAnn Sabatino-Falkenstein continued as Vice President, Publications and
Marketing, with responsibility for developing and promoting CBC reading-encouragement materials and the editorial direction of the online edition of Children's Books: Awards & Prizes. In July, the CBC welcomed a
baby staff member, Sophie Morgan Falkenstein, born July 3, 2001, to JoAnn and Jeff Falkenstein. Molly Ker joined the staff in August 2001 as National Programs Officer with responsibility for the Council's work with national
professional organizations. Lynne Mehley, the Council's Projects Coordinator since 2000, was named Editorial Director with responsibility for all editorial content for CBC Online, and for Not Just for Children Anymore! and CBC
Features. David Hogsette continued as Website Administrator with responsibility for maintenance of the website and coordination of online bibliographic projects. Colleen AF Venable, Administrative Assistant/Receptionist,
and Jacqueline Bent, Customer Service, have recently joined the CBC staff.
return to top
THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL MEMBERS (as of November 2002)
Advance Publishing Inc. Houston, TX
Arimax, Inc. Publishing Washington Crossing, PA
Atheneum Books for Young Readers New York, NY
Azro Press Santa Fe, NM
Barefoot Books Cambridge, MA
Bloomsbury USA Children's Book New York, NY
The Blue Sky Press New York, NY
Calvin Partnership, LLC Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Candlewick Press Cambridge, MA
Marshall Cavendish Corporation Tarrytown, NY
Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc. Watertown, MA
The Chicken House New York, NY
Clarion Books New York, NY
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Williamsburg, VA
Cricket Books Chicago, IL
Dial Books for Young Readers New York, NY
DK Publishing, Inc. New York, NY
Dutton Children's Books New York, NY
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Grand Rapids, MI
Enslow Publishers, Inc. Berkeley Heights, NJ
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc. Books for Young Readers New York, NY
Front Street Books Asheville, NC
Gingerbread House Westhampton Beach, NY
Greenwillon Books New York, NY
Gulliver Books New York, NY
Nancy Hall Inc. New York, NY
Hampton Roads Publishing Company Charlottesville, VA
Harcourt Children's Books San Diego, CA
Harpercollins Children's Books New York, NY
Harpercollins Children's Paperbacks New York, NY
Holiday House Inc. New York, NY
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers New York, NY
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, MA
Hyperion Books for Children New York, NY
Illumination Arts Publishing, Inc. Bellevue, WA
Innovative Kids Norwalk, CT
Just Us Books East Orange, NJ
Kids Can Press Tonawanda, NY
Knopf Delacorte Dell Books for Young Readers New York, NY
HJ Kramer/New World Library Novato, CA
Larousse Kingfisher Chambers New York, NY
Lee & Low Books Inc. New York, NY
Lerner Publishing Group New York, NY
Listening Library New York, NY
Little, Brown Children's Publishing New York, NY
Margaret K. McElderry Books New York, NY
McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing Columbus, OH
Milkweed Editions Minneapolis, MN
The Millbrook Press, Inc. Brookfield, CT
Mondo Publishing, Inc. New York, NY
National Geographic Children's Books Washington, D.C.
NBM Publishing New York, NY
North-South Books New York, NY
Orchard Books New York, NY
Parachute Publishing, LLC New York, NY
Patria Press Carmel, IN
Peachtree Publishers Atlanta, GA
Peel Productions, Inc. Columbus, NC
Pelican Publishing Company Gretna, LA
Platypus Media Washington, D.C.
Pleasant Company Publications Middleton, WI
Pro Lingua Press Los Angeles, CA
Puffin Books New York, NY
G.P. Putnam's Sons New York, NY
Random House Young Readers Group New York, NY
Raven Tree Press Green Bay, WI
Roaring Brook Press Brookfield, CT
Sagaponack Books St. Augustine, FL
Scholastic Inc. New York, NY
Scholastic Press New York, NY
SeaStar Books New York, NY
Silver Whistle New York, NY
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers New York, NY
Stemmer House Publishers, Inc. Owings Mills, MD
Trellis Publishing, Duluth, MN
Viking Children's Books New York, NY
VSP Books Alexandria, VA
Walker & Company New York, NY
WinslowHouse New York, NY
return to top