Sunday April 1, 2001

10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Abstract:

How do adults first develop an appreciation for art? For many of us it was through the same means that we came to appreciate other aspects of our world: books, specifically, children’s books. Yet as most of us have gravitated to “adult” libraries, our acquaintance with children’s books has diminished.

The speakers will address some of the following questions: How do children develop the cognitive skills to address art? What do children’s book authors and illustrators see as the challenges of matching their audience and their message? Do “children’s books” belong in the adult library? What responsibilities do special libraries have to supplement the activities of school and public libraries?

Who’s publishing this stuff anyway? And even once we’ve accepted children’s books into our collections, how do we go about identifying, reviewing and acquiring them?

Speakers:

Michael Cart, formerly Director, Beverly Hills Public Library, lecturer, and national expert on childrenÕs literature, Art History as Inspiration, Influence, and Presence in ChildrenÕs Picture Books. When and where did the children's picture book begin? How has it evolved? How has it been influenced by the larger world of art? These and other questions will be answered in this presentation, which will provide a survey history of the picture book form from its origins in nineteenth century England to the present, a time that some are calling "a new golden age" of the picture book. Specific picture book artists and their influences, art and artists as picture book subjects, and emerging trends in today's field will also be discussed.

Susan Patron, Senior ChildrenÕs Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library: Museums in Our Laps: Art for Babies, Preschoolers, and Young Children in Illustrated Books. From the age of about two months, infants are able to see high-contrast pictures. By about six months they see colors and more complex images. As they develop, young children become fascinated by the details in pictures, which they enjoy examining minutely. From board books such as Tana Hoban's BLACK ON WHITE, whose design works perfectly for the newly-focusing infant's eyes, to Ian Falconer's exuberant monochrome drawings in OLIVIA, to David Small's funny caricatures in SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT, picture books for children present stories and information in a medium accessible to children and fascinating to the adult observer.