Books are expensive. The next book in a series you have been anticipating comes out, in hardback no less, and suddenly you’re deciding whether or not you can add guacamole to your burrito at Chipotle and you stop tipping your Uber drivers for the next month. Lucky for all book lovers in Champaign-Urbana, books for ages 0-18 can be purchased in paperback for $2 and in hardback for $5 at the Center for Children’s Books (CCB) at the University of Illinois for three whole days. From February 15 to 17 you can visit CCB from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. during their 15th Annual Book Sale and peruse books for toddlers, early readers, young adults, and all ages in between.
How is this possible you ask? CCB at the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences (GSLIS) is partnered with The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. The Bulletin reviews about 700 books a month, directing their comments and critiques at librarians and educators in order to aid their ability to reach students and inspire them to read. Due to the sheer volume of books that CCB receives from publishers for The Bulletin to review, many of which are duplicates, the Center does not have the room to house them and The Bulletin cannot always review every book they are sent. In addition, the Center likes to keep the 16,000 books contained within their collection fairly recent (reviewed by The Bulletin within the last 5 to 7 years). Therefore, some of the books at the sale will also include those previously reviewed by the The Bulletin to make way for new books to be added to the collection.
But you shouldn’t just visit and support CCB because of their annual book sale. It is the research CCB does year round to promote reading, literature, and scholarship centered on children’s books that makes the Center so special. CCB’s book collection primarily houses contemporary children’s and young adult books, making it the ideal place to study and research literature and the role it plays in children’s lives. Specifically, CCB “supports ongoing research from its faculty affiliates and other scholars in the areas of youth literature and media, its history and the history of youth librarianship, and storytelling and folklore.” In other words, as Lauren Gray, one of CCB’s graduate assistants told me, CCB works to ensure that the best books possible are available and exposed to the right people (librarians and educators) and that young readers are motivated to listen, read, engage, and perhaps one day, produce their own stories.
An especially important aspect of the work that CCB and The Bulletin does is the Gryphon. The Gryphon Award “is given annually in recognition of an English language work of fiction or non-fiction for which the primary audience is children in Kindergarten through Grade 4. The title chosen best exemplifies those qualities that successfully bridge the gap in difficulty between books for reading aloud to children and books for practiced readers.” What makes this award important is that is showcases novels for an age range in which children are transitioning from having books read aloud to becoming independent readers. CCB, The Bulletin, and GSLIS believe this critical period does not receive enough attention, and began awarding the Gryphon in 2004, as a way to shed light on amazing books that are specifically helpful and useful to use during this transition. This year’s Gryphon Award was given to Little Robot, authored and illustrated by Ben Hatke. Past Gryphon Awards can be viewed at CCB website’s archive.
One of the Center’s most recent undertakings is the App Authors project. This grant-funded project is working to provide the resources for children in the middle grade range to learn how to make their own apps. App Authors, a project in its beginning stages, is kicking off where a previous project, the Closing the App Gap, ended. Through App Authors, “GSLIS will partner with schools and libraries across the country to develop a curriculum for children aged eight to twelve, for eventual use in other library and school settings.” Both research projects are looking for ways to engage students, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) areas, as well as, bridging the gap between children who have access to apps and app based technologies and children who do not. Books can be universally enjoyed and appreciated. In much the same way, apps are created so that people from all over can have access to and use some of the same resources, from finding a new restaurant to learning a new language. It only makes sense that libraries and librarians would become a place for children of diverse backgrounds to come together, learn about, and create their own apps.
When I asked Gray if she could show me around their library, one of the first thing she showed by was the 398.2 corner, which for those of you who do not know, is the Dewey decimal for fairytales. The back right corner of CCB, the perfect reading nook with cozy chairs, is dedicated to housing all the magical stories we are all so familiar with, and more than a few you likely haven’t heard of at all. CCB pays special attention to fairytales and folk tales when adding books to their collection. The Center tries to acquire as many different versions of fairytales as possible, and in turn, The Bulletin reviews them. GSLIS even has a storytelling class, which Gray informed me is quite popular, which was in no way a surprise. I am sure that all of us looking back on our childhood can think of an adult in our lives, who was great at telling and reading stories. The teacher who did the best voices, the grandpa that acted out the scenes, or the mom who read the same story over and over because she knew it was your favorite.
While the 398.2 corner houses many old books, CCB is always looking for ways to showcase what is trending and popular with young readers. For example, CCB has a new graphic novel section. Anyone can also go in and peruse the ‘New Books’ shelves. CCB’s collection is non-circulating, but even though you can’t take those books with you, anyone of the Center’s staff would be happy to direct you to popular genres, books, and authors.
To learn more about CCB, The Bulletin, and what they do within GSLIS you can visit their website, give them a call at (217) 244-9331, or shoot an email to ccb@illinois.edu. Any of their staff or volunteers would be happy to talk with you about CCB research, popular books, or give recommendations on how to engage young readers.
If you are interested in visiting CCB and attending the book sale, you can stop by the GISLIS building at 501 E. Daniel St. in Champaign from 10am-6pm February 15-17.