Books for Military children

1. Jan Marry Books for Military children Virginia Library Association Conference 27 September, 2013

2. Overview of Presentation • Explore how well literature validates military children’s experiences of constant relocations, parental absence and danger. • Military children's characteristics • Presenter’s background • Books • Learn how your library can recognize, reach and serve this often overlooked group. • Collection Development • Programs

3. United States Military Children • Two million current military children • 67.7% aged birth to 11 years old • 37.4% under the age of 5 years old • Over two million children have experienced parental deployment since 9/11 • Virginia: • Third highest Active Duty with 125,418 • In top ten of Selected Reserves with 25,325 • Over 830,000 veterans • Military affiliation at least 15% of population

4. Identifying the Group • Don’t need to identify individuals in your community before offering programs • Live anywhere – not just military installations • Active Duty = full time job • National Guard and Reserves = part time until “Activated” • Veterans, Retirees and DOD civilians • Many don’t know these books exist

5. Seeing Yourself Reflected in Print “Not only does the military constitute a separate and distinctly different subculture from civilian America, it exercises such a powerful shaping influence on its children that for the rest of our lives we continue to bear its stamp.” Mary Edwards Wertsch (1991). Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress

6. Military Children’s Challenges • Stressors • Constant relocations and school changes • Prolonged parental absence • Knowledge of parental danger • Distance from extended family • Living on a military base or overseas • National Guard and Reserves - uncertainty • Deployment frequency increased since 9/11 • Medical papers • Libraries’ roles – info, literature and programs

7. My Background • Fourteen relocations in twenty years as a military mother and spouse • Lived in six countries and four states • My children attended fourteen schools • Started investigating books for military children as a library school project in 2003

8. The Books • War can be taboo for children's books • At some point children need to learn about war to be informed citizens, but when? • Picture books: • Focus on parents going away • Middle grade: • Variable - from light to heartbreaking • Teen: • Plunge into violence and ethical and moral questions

9. Validates Military Children’s Experiences? • Constant relocations and school changes • Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry • Prolonged parental absence • My Red Balloon by Eve Bunting • Knowledge of parental danger • Refresh, Refresh by DanicaNovgorodoff • Distance from extended family • Piper Reed: Navy Brat by Kimberly Willis Hold • Living on a military base or overseas • Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell

10. The Secret Garden Effect

11. Address Military Children’s Needs • Uplifting • Night Catch by Brenda Ehrmantraut, Piper Reed: Navy Brat by Kimberly Willis Holt • Parental death or physical or mental injury • Refresh, Refresh by DanicaNovgorodof, Joseph by Shelia Moses, Black Jack Jetty by Michael A. Carestio, Our Daddy is Invincible by Shannon Maxwell • Historical fiction • A Boy At War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer (WWII), Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry(Cold War), Knit Your Bit by Deborah Hopkinson (WWI) • Adult novels for older teens • Yokota Officer’s Club by Sarah Bird, The Great Santiniby Pat Conroy • Featuring teen soldiers • Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick • Soldier brothers • Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff

12. Books’ Potential Limitations Ranks – doesn’t reflect demographics Gender – doesn’t reflect demographics Military Details – errors stand out to the knowledgeable Quality

13. Finding the Books • Wide variety of viewpoints in books • Many Library of Congress Subject headings: • Children of military personnel -- Juvenile fiction • But the books have varied LCSH • Try, for example, a particular conflict: • World War, 1939-1945 -- United States -- Juvenile fiction • Afghan War, 2001- -- Young adult fiction • Novelist • http://www.booksformilitarychildren.info/ - narrow criteria

14. Collection Development • Variety of quality • Larger publishers in review journals • Year of the Jungle by Suzanne Collins • Some self-published books have great production values and wonderful stories • Dear Baby I’m Watching Over You by Carol Casey, Night Catch by Brenda Ehrmantraut, Our Daddy is Invincible by Shannon Maxwell • Other self-published books have a role • The Soldiers Tree by Stephanie L. Pickup, My Mommy Wears Combat Boots by Sharon G. McBride • Non fiction • Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle by Brian Dennis or Capstone Press Pebble Plus Series on Military Branches

15. Thank you to Laurie for the Poster

16. Storytime • Alpha, Bravo, Charlie • Saturday morning one-off program • Advertised as all ages – babies to 90 came • Storytime Plan • Suitable materials • Books can be challenging • Songs – plenty about marching • Programs focused on military children’s issues • Moving house • Missing an absent parent

17. Displays • Passive Readers Advisory • Picture book displays - very popular • Teen displays - fewer check-outs • Broad criteria e.g. included nonfiction

18. Picture Books and Juvenile Fiction

19. Same Display – Different Location

20. Teen Display

21. Teen Display – Different Location

22. Online Reviews • Blogging for a Good Book • Pied Piper Pics • www.booksformilitarychildren.info • Novelist • Amazon

23. Blogging for a Good Book

24. Pied Pipers Pics

25. Books for Military Children Website

26. Liaison and Collaboration • Visited: • Local libraries • Military libraries • Offered programs • Discovered that their needs vary • Hope to do more with: • Local schools • Child care facilities

27. Conclusions • Military children are a large and sometimes invisible group • There are a lot of them in Virginia • The existing literature can: • Reflect their experiences and help them • Help others connect to their experiences • Librarians can connect military children and their caregivers with these books in a variety of ways

28. Questions? Jan Marry jmarry@wrl.org (757) 259-4050

29. References Department of Defense. (2011) Demographics Report: Profile of the Military Community. Updated November 2012. Retrieved from http://www.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2011_Demographics_Report.pdf DeVoe ER, Ross A. (2012) The parenting cycle of deployment. Military Medicine.;177(2):184-90 [PubMed ID: 22360065] Esposito-Smythers C, Wolff J, Lemmon KM, Bodzy M, Swenson RR, Spirito A. (2011) Military youth and the deployment cycle: emotional health consequences and recommendations for intervention. Journal of Family Psychology. 25(4):497-507. doi: 10.1037/a0024534. Siegel BS, Davis BE, Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and Section on Uniformed Services. (2013) Health and mental health needs of children in US military families. Pediatrics. 31(6):e2002-15. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0940. Epub 2013 May 27. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Veteran Population by State. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population.asp Wertsch, Mary Edwards. (1991) Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress. New York, NY: Harmony Books. Jan Marry jmarry@wrl.org (757) 259-4050