Reading for the Future Reflections: Reflections Collections -- 11/22/10

Topics covered:

Reading for the Future is Official!

Reading for the Future is now officially incorporated in the state of Utah.

Dave sent the word out this past Friday, Nov. 19, 2010, writing these words to the rff Talking RFF Yahoo! Group as well as the other RFF groups,

"Articles of Incorporation for Reading for the Future (RFF) were accepted by the State of Utah. We have a post office box and a bank account. Next step is 501(c)(3)

Thanks for the support, Dave Anderson"

For months the paperwork has been submitted but there was a request to redo parts. That resulted in a few major decisions that required the Board of Directors, Trustees, and a few committees to discuss, agree on, and describe in terms acceptable to Utah. Finally, all is done.

Dave and others have worked diligently to accomplish this incorporation, fulfilling a dream spawned in the early 1990's, furthered in 1999 with the creation of the various rff Yahoo! Groups. (There were regional and working committee groups in addition to the rff group.) Additionally, most of the fees for incorporation were paid by a few members out-of-pocket (or as sponsors or private donations if you prefer those terms).

In a 10/10/10 email to the group, David Glenn Anderson stated that, "RFF started in 1996 at LACon III as a grassroots organization at the
same time as the first Goldenducks [Awards; see website]."

Reporting on Facebook and the Reflections

Facebook activity is reported in the 2 weekly FB Reports: 11/16/10 and 11/21/10. In the latest FB report are links to 2 sites useful for teaching with science fiction.

According to Facebook Stats, the Reading For the Future page on Facebook has been viewed daily 623 times and boasts 155 active users.

According to the Blogger Stats, The Reflections blog has been viewed 360 plus times to date, with about half of the visits occurring in November. The most popular page to date is the Krysia Anderson page.

A Hobby for Speculative Fiction Readers

I do not take the best photos. Hence I use photo effects to add interest to images. Then I imagine the world in a fictional universe where the image would match reality. This is a hobby easily taught to children who read books on fantasy and science fiction. Take the children on a photo safari to look for images that match the worlds in the books they are reading. Then let them alter the photos in the weirdest ways. Ask the child to relate the picture to a passage in the fictional book he/she is reading.

Historical Snippet

The second email to the rff Talking RFF Yahoo! Group was from physicist and educator, science fiction fan, and author of the Physics in Science Fiction presentation, Andrew E. Love, Jr. He talked about finding the book Yanked and a series called Last on Earth that he suspected would be YA. The series was a story about 25 teens who found themselves alone on Earth. He also reported, in 1999 mind you, an article from the Washington Post that recommended science fiction for youth:

"4) Science fiction. Start with Robert Heinlein juveniles (e.g. The Star Beast), move up to Jules Verne and a classic anthology such as Adventures in Time and Space, then take the jump to light-speed with some of the great swashbuckling classics, such as Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, William Gibson's Neuromancer, Leigh Brackett's The Sword of Rhiannon, and Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness."

per Andy Love,"Summer reading suggestions from Washington Post
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-07/04/080l-070499-idx.html (Sunday July 4, 1999 - probably a link that won't last forever"

Andy Love is another person that helped shape the RFF group of volunteers into the active body of worker bees and sci fi fans that they are. He often asked provocative questions that got the group discussing favorite books, value of science fiction, what makes good sci fi good, etc. He frequently added to the list of YA and suitable books. He has been an active sci fi con participant. And he is still asking and adding, and presenting.

On the Web: Science Fiction Awards Watch and other Awards Lists

I have visited several sites on the web lately that offer awards to authors and illustrators of children's books. Of interest to RFF are those that deal with speculative fiction. Hence, I was excited to find this site that lists awards given to science fiction literature: Science Fiction Awards Watch, http://www.sfawardswatch.com.

In the right panel of the site and its pages is a list of the awards currently listed. Information for the award is submitted by people associated with the award; so if your award is not listed, do contact the site.

Books listed for children and YA on the site that are in a book list appear here: http://www.sfawardswatch.com/?page_id=100 in a list I suspect is incomplete.

SFAW has a page devoted to the Golden Duck Awards that was posted in 2007 and modified in 2009. The 3 different awards presented as Golden Duck Awards are not listed separately in the list of awards in the right panel, but only under the Golden Duck name. (Please note that the SFAW has the Eleanor Cameron Award misspelled.)

In RFF, member Linda Stuckey is active with the Golden Duck Awards, DucKon, and Super-Con-Duck-Tivity. The latter two are organization, convention and major fund raiser for the Golden Duck Awards, which include stipends.

Also not mentioned are the two awards/listings given to children's literature by Cynthia Leitich Smith, http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/ and by Cybils, http://www.cybils.com/2010-nominations-fantasyscience-fiction.html.

C.L. Smith and her husband write fantasy novels. Her husband writes specifically for children. Cynthia also critiques novels for children, especially those of the speculative genre, and posts these critiques on her blog.

Cybils Awards are given annually to children's fiction authors as judged by bloggers who volunteer to judge, including youth. This site, too, posts critiques of children's books, especially YA fiction. Cybils is the acronym for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards.

In researching this post, I came across 2 other awards sites. I promptly posted a link to each on the Reading For the Future page on Facebook. Visit them from there or check out next week's FB Report for the links. Bye for now.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Reflections Collections -- 11/22/10