Bodart - The Worlds Best Thin Books

SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com

PO Box 317
Oxford
OX2 9RU, UK

Copyright 2000 by Joni Richards Bodart

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bodart, Joni Richards.

The worlds best thin books : what to read when your book report is due tomorrow / Joni Richards Bodart. Rev. abridged ed.

p. cm.

Rev. abridged ed. of : 100 world-class thin books. 1993.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-1-57886-007-4

I. Bodart, Joni Richards. 100 world-class thin books. II. Title.

Z1037 .B66 2000 PN1009.A1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.481992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

To Patty, Cathi, and Martha

For all youve done, for all you are,
And for all we are together.
Thanks for making the hardly possible
A wonderful reality!

One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible.

Henry Brooks Adams (18381918)

The Education of Henry Adams, 1907

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments for
the Revised Edition

This is the book I was sure would never happen, and I want to acknowledge the people who helped make it a reality. First, Shirley Lambert, who saw its potential and encouraged me to make the necessary changes to update the original material. I look forward to working with her on numerous books in the future.

My circle of family and friends have, as always, been patient and supportive during the creative process. I am particularly grateful to my computer guru, my cousin Patty Comer, whose calm responses to my frantic phone calls helped me through more than one crisis, whether they involved computers or not, and who took me away from the computer (Hi! Lets do lunchI just discovered a new restaurant!) when my stress level went over the top. Teresa Burkert and Mildred Hall, Branch Manager and Senior Librarian, respectively, at the Woodbury Branch of the Denver Public Library, let me take two weeks off on very short notice so I could finish typesetting the manuscript almost on time. Teresas weekly question, Hows the book doing, Joni? has become a familiar refrain during the last few months. I appreciate their friendship and support very much, just as I do the interest and support I have received from the rest of the Woodbury-Smiley family. Thanks, gangyoure all great!

Then there are the friends, old and new, who help keep me sane and centered, even when my life is at its most chaoticPatty Campbell, the best bestgirlfriend anyone could ever have, Jim Heiser, still a good friend, shared his paper and printer with me (the final camera-ready copy was made on his printer), Cathi MacRae and Martha Franklin, long-distance friends who make me grateful for E-mail, and Floyd (Laff) Lafferty, new friend, generous dispenser of encouragement, laughter, and hugs, who spent long, boring weekends proofing the final manuscript and helping me put together the table of contents and the indexes, a job that was far more massive than those few words can convey!

Thank you, thank you, one and all. Theres no doubt in my mind that I couldnt make it without you!

Joni Richards Bodart

Acknowledgments

Many people contributed to this book in a variety of ways. Patty Campbell suggested that Libraries Unlimited contact me when they asked her who she thought would like to write it. David Loertscher and Martha Franklin caught me up in their enthusiasm about it and helped me see it as a book that I wanted to write.

A group of dedicated school and public librarians took time from their busy schedules to first talk to me and then to send in their ideas about which titles should be included and which omitted. Thanks to all of them: Joan Atkinson, Stella Baker, Jane Chandra, Beryl Eber, Marion Hargrove, Patrick Jones, Lyn Knapp, Cathi MacRae, Susan Madden, Hazel Rochman, Helen Tallman, Debbie Taylor, Barbara Thorngren, Diane Tuccillo, Laura Weber, and Lynda Welborn. People also sent in lists of thin books from the following library systems: Alameda County Library (California), New York Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Prince Georges County Memorial Library (Maryland), Cuyahoga County Public Library (Ohio), Contra Costa County Library (California), Springfield City Library (Illinois), Mesa Public Library (Arizona), King County Public Library (Washington), Cherry Creek Schools (Englewood, Colorado), and Irving Intermediate School (Texas).

I also appreciate the assistance of the reference staff at the Columbine Branch of the Jefferson County Public Library (Colorado) for helping me verify bibliographic data and also filling what seemed to me to be hundreds of requests for books I needed to read, frequently on short notice, before deciding whether to include them or not.

I would also be remiss to omit the friends and family that encouraged me and helped me keep going when the going was somewhat less than easy. First and foremost, my closest circle of friends who both prodded and encouraged me, and some of whom set examples for me by sticking to their own deadlines: Patty Campbell, Cathi MacRae, Martha Franklin, and Harry Madden. When I stayed with my mother, Frances Noble, for several weeks after surgery, she put up with a computer always set up on her dining table, stacks of books everywhere, and a daughter who preferred quiet to company while she worked.

And, finally, I want to say thanks to the students in the classes I visited in Florida and Colorado who, when I told them what book I was working on, immediately picked up their pencils to jot down the name and inquired anxiously about when it would be available.

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement, the reminders, the feedback, the work, and the support each of you contributed. As always, I could not have done it without you.