Caldecott Award Winner

During the library bookstore assignment I got a chance to read some of the other Caldecott award winning books and I stumbled upon this picture book written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro. The book was interesting to me because it discussed the question of which came first the chicken or the egg, and then went into the different creations of a variety of animals. The book seemed like it could be controversial because of so many religions, however I found it to be informative and well illustrated for children. 

Quick, Fun, and Challenging Activities in the Classroom!

Hey Everyone!
In one of my teaching classes my professor passed around two books that were filled with lots of different kinds of quick activities that anyone can do with children. The cool part is that she was the one who wrote the books and got them published. I know as teachers and especially when substitute teaching, we are looking for quick, fun, and challenging activities to fill "dead" spots in our time in the classroom. These two books are great resources to have as a teacher and you can find both on Amazon. Here are the titles:
"Early Learning Skill Builders"
"Shape, Sizes, and More Surprises"
Both are by: Mary Tomczyk

Snowflakes

This weekend, at a family gathering, my aunt (who is a teacher) and I were talking about the kids that she teaches and the different lesson plans she has. We got to talking about me taking this TE class and she was telling me how she tries to relate books to the seasons and incorporate a project with them to show the kids how reading can be fun. She said that the last few years she has read a storybook to them about snowflakes with a theme that everyone is different and special, just like no two snowflakes are alike. She said that she then has them do an art project of making 3D snowflakes to hang around the classroom and to make at home to help decorate their houses. 

How to make a 3D snowflake

I thought this was an interesting lesson idea for the winter time. 

"To leave or not to leave"

So I was really fortunate to have taken this class semester while at the same time in my TE291A course I tutored refugee students at the Refugee Development Center as well as assisted in teaching a Special Education course at MacDonald Middle School. I didn't really find the opportunity to bring these things up in class other than during our group discussions but I took it upon myself to read 2 of the books to my kids at the schools and read excerpts of them from the larger books. On average the kids really liked the books and they really loved "Where the Wild Things Are" (probably because they are always so imaginative and energitic). I've actually had a few of my older students in the 8th and 7th grade read to their younger siblings or cousins and they seemed to love the stories even more then. The one book I seemed to have trouble getting them to like was Uglies. I'm assuming it was the book was a little ahead of the age targeted for the majority of my students but they told me it was pretty boring and would liked to have heard about more action and fighting! Either way Ms. Walker thank you for brining your insight into this class. I really enjoyed coming to class and looking at books that I enjoyed as a child in a new and more developed way. Next semester, I suggest doing more activites and watching more realted movies to the things that are read... those were the days that were the best and it gives everyone a chance to go back and re-visit having fun with books as a kid. Thanks again.

A look into the artistic side of Children's Lit!

On November 13, 2008 I was fortunate to have renowned author and illustrator Kadir Nelson come to my very own local neighborhood library. Only 4 short blocks away from my house, he visited the Eastwood branch library of the Kalamazoo public library system.

When I first arrived at the library I was able to speak with a few of the children who had spoken with Kadir previously. They were very excited about their opportunity to speak with an author and illustrator since it is not an everyday occurrence. One child attempted to entertain me by telling me some of the information he had learned about Kadir.

As Kadir started his seminar, I noticed he seemed somewhat shy. But after a while his presentation began to flow smoothly. The show was formatted to display how Kadir over time grew as an artist. Beginning with his drawings from age 3 he mentioned that he had a strong memory of his childhood. I noticed the children in the seminar were drawn in by these earlier drawings. With Kadir’s strong sense of childhood he was able to connect with the youth and captivate them and as well as the audience as a whole.

Kadir continued with his sequential array of drawings. The drawings from him at age 5 appeared to be very detailed and complete. They contained the same warm feeling you can get from reading one of his recently illustrated books. He went on to mention that he took frequent trips to the library to check out how to draw books. If pictures presented a problem for him he would trace them. Once this was said I was reminded of my elementary school years when my friends and I would check out several how to draw books on every trip. If the images were too hard to draw we would trace, but we challenged each other not to.

As he grew older he would draw everyday. His favorite people/ characters to draw were Michael Jordan and Mickey Mouse. He even showed us drawing of when he mixed the two of them together. The crowd thought that was humorous and laughed. He soon started exploring other artists like Ernie Barnes who would draw long visuals. The long visuals had a great way of communicating emotions.

He later went on to mention some very great advice that had once inspired him from Duke Ellington. This was that beauty denies negativity. Essentially this provoked the thought of feeling good from creating beauty. From this Kadir adopted this theme for his art in hopes to pass along good energy instead of bad energy in his work.

While in college Kadir became very depressed from painting the same way over and over. He then began to research other artist who helped him to regain an interest in art. Some of the artist he researched included Thomas Blackshear, Norman Rockwell, Picasso, and Michelangelo. But he never copied artwork, merely ideas to evolve his understanding as artistic style.

After his fours years at a private institution studying illustrations Kadir wanted to help with movie production. He briefly gave an explanation of why it is important to go to college for the youth in the crowd. He talked about a poster in a childhood classroom of his that had a prominent proverb which read “Wish Upon a Star, But Do Your Homework Too!” From that he was able to express how important it is to dream big, but we have to be willing to put in the effort as well as handle our daily responsibilities like being a good student.

After college he gained a position at DreamWorks working on movies. As an illustrator his job was to illustrator key scenes for movies to convince them to make the movie. He then got the opportunity to make scenes for the movie Amistad to convince Steven Spielberg to direct and produce the movie. He showed us the images he created for the movie in comparison to clips of the movie. They looked very similar. I was very pleased to see this side of movie making through illustration. Soon after, he completed more jobs making scenes for other movies. He made it clear that this is how he learned to tell stories with his artwork.

Then he talked about when he began illustrating books. He said when received a manuscript he would draw the sketches right on the manuscript. He then explained how he looks at books as if they are silent films. He feels you should not need words if the illustrations are good.

After his brief intro to illustration he talked about all the research that is necessary when illustrating a book, especially historical fiction. One story he illustrated was set in the past where the characters were working on a southern cotton plantation. In doing his research he visited an old plantation so he could draw in his illustrations. Also, he had to research small details from what tools were used at the time to facts such as what fish populated the nearby streams. I was amazed by this aspect of art that you would never know about from just looking at a picture. He explain how some critics and authors of his books and illustrations key into these details.

Overall I feel I learned a great deal of knowledge about Kadir Nelson, Illustrators, and the options of being an artist. Kadir informed us of many life lessons as well as helping us to remember how fun drawing still is. As a former novice artist and future teacher I felt that this experienced change the way I look at art and illustrations. Hearing his perspective opened a new way of viewing children’s literature. I now know that a children’s book is more than just a book. It is fundamentally a brilliant work of researched art.

Loved This Class

I thought this class was very important for anyone going into teaching to take. Literature is a very important tool to use in the classroom and it should be studied by all teachers. I feel like through taking this class I have learned lots of new things that I will be able to incorporate into my future classroom. I would reccomend this class to anyone going into teaching, or anyone that is even interested in literature!

Fever 1793

Earlier this semester I read a book called Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson for my TE401 social studies class. I thought this would be a great book to share with all of you since most of you want to be teachers and I believe most of you have not yet taken 401. The book is a fictional book about a girl named Mattie and her experiences with Yellow Fever. She never gets Yellow Fever herself but she is surrounded by many people who do, including her mother. The story is a story that keeps you wanting to read so that you can find out what happens next. It's also a story that makes you attached to Mattie and at times you feel terrible for her and want to help her (at least I did). I don't want to give away the book, but I think that it does a great job of keeping you entertained while teaching about the lifestyle in the 1700s and also about the Yellow Fever epidemic that was a big issue in 1793. It's also a great book because althought it is fiction, a lot of the information is based on nonfiction. Some of the characters are fictional characters, but things that occur are facts and some of the characters are based on the lives of true people as well. Overall I thought it was a great book and would be wonderful for a teacher to use in a classroom. I would guess it would be best for about 5th grade. Has anyone else read this book? What do you think about it?

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

I've recently read the second book in the Uglies series called Pretties. After reading Uglies for class, I was quite excited to pick up the sequel considering the cliff hanger ending of the first book. As I read, I realized more and more the parallels of Tally's world and ours. With shows like Nip/Tuck and America's Next Top Model, it feels like we're heading into a world filled with girls more concerned about being beautiful than having a brain. The second book is much like the first in that it is simply a stepping stone to the third, Specials. I wonder how all of this fame with a movie coming out and all is going to affect book sales. Maybe another Twilight? When I went to purchase Specials I saw another interesting book by Westerfeld that goes along with the Uglies series called Bogus to Bubbly: An Insiders Guide of the World of the Uglies. This book is clearly aimed at those fans who can't get enough and I feel it could be the start if a huge wave of capitalism from the series. Any thoughts?

Hugo Movie

When researching for my Hugo Cabret response I found an article about how Warner Bros. is adapting the story for the big screen.  The story is being written for its movie version by John Logan who worked on "The Aviator", "The Gladiator", and "The Last Samurai" among others.  I think the most exciting part however, is that the movie version of Hugo Cabret may be directed by Martin Scorsese.  With Logan's writing and the direction of Scorsese, the film version of this great story should match the magic and mysticism that Georges Milies once set out to create.

TOP TEN PICTURE BOOKS!!

I was reading through the online newspapers and found an article that interest me. In the Standford times there was an article " New York Times taps librarian to judge 10 best picture books" by A.J O'Connell. Caroline Ward is a librarian of all sorts, the 62 year old woman has served on many committees that award the most prestigious honors in children literature. She has served as the president of ALA's youth children services which awards the Randolph Caldecott Medal. This year she was tapped to judge the New York Times book Reviews Best illustrated children's books of 2008. The books they choose ranged from artful alphabet books and color books for toddlers to graphic novels for teenagers that deal with suicide, self- image, and sexual identity. Caroline Ward has been evaluating book for over 10 years at the Ferguson Library. since having everyday experience she was very excited to be chosen to pick the top 10 children books for 2008. On September 30th she was in the New York Times office and reviewing over thousands of books, the evaluating took all day but eventually choose 10 books.

The following books were chosen:
"A River of Words," by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
"We are the Ship," by Kadir Nelson
"Ghosts in the House," by Kazuno Kohara
"Wabi Sabi" by Mark Reibstein and Ed Young
"The Black Book of Colors," by Menena Cottin
"The Little Yellow Leaf," by Carin Berger
"Wave," by Suzy Lee
"A is for Art," by Stephen T. Johnson
"Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City" by Janet Schulman and Meilo So,
"Skim" by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

These books come from artist and nationalities all across the world and are made suitable for teens and toddlers.

The New York Times has been choosing the top 10 children's books since 1952 and plan on keeping the tradition going. Caroline Ward enjoyed choosing the top 10 children's books and said she loves helping people find books to read.

Dead Unitl Dark

For those of you who are Twlight fans you might find these books interesting. These books are based off the HBO series called True Blood. These books are very addictive. I have already read two of the books and is working on my third. The show does follow the order of the books. The show is really good too. I find this series of book to be great for anybody who has any free time on their hands. These books are about vampires who are living in small town surrounded by regular humans. they are trying to figure out how they can live together successfully, however there is a twist to it as the novel continues you will learn about a killer who is killing young woman.

"Twilight" publisher sees film boosting book sales

Article found at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081121/en_nm/us_twilight_books

Recently, I was reading up on the Twilight books, just to see what the big deal with them is because I have never read them or seen its new box office hit movie. I came across an article titled "Twilight" Publisher Sees Film Boosting Book Sales. I found this article to be interesting because it talked about the relationship between books and movies made after the books and the overall effect on not only the book, but also the affect on the teen market. The article said that the publisher of the Twilight series, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, hopes the movie will bring in a larger audience of readers for the books, but they also hope that people will not just see the movie, but read the books as well. The article reflected on the fact that movies such as Narnia and Lord of the Rings helped to boost book sales tremendously, while movies such as the Golden Compass did nothing for book sales. Finally, the article talked about how the teen market is easily swayed and they want to be reading what is popular and what everyone else is reading. Since this series and the movie appeals largely to teenage girls, the success of the books is dependant on them. Since the Twilight books had such an enormous fan base to begin with, I think the movie will have a positive effect on the books, just like the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Hugo Cabret

I saw the previous post about the Hugo Cabret movie and found it very interesting! I have the artistic response for Hugo Cabret and was able to gain some insight from this discovery. I really feel that the time period will make for a facinating and exciting movie!

The invention Of Hugo Cabret

This book was very interesting, I loved how the images in this book brought the book to life. I have never read a book that was half novel and half picture book. This book had great story to it. The book was about a boy named Hugo who lived inside of the train station. He lived alone after being left twice by two different men. Both of the men were taken away in death his father, and his uncle. This book tells the story of a boy who was lost in the world. And only had his notebook and his automan machine to keep him company. But by him unlocking this secret he is rewarded in the end. He receives a family who loves and cares for him, and he is able to live his dream as a magician, with the help of George Melies.

Winter Jokes

So all this snow and weather has gotten me into the holiday season spirt. I was browsing online and seen I few Jokes I found funny. Read and see what you think.

Q: What does an old snowman look like?
A: water

Q: What do you call santa claus after he went down a lit chimney?
A: crisp cringle

Q: Who is santa's most famous elf?
A: elfvis

Q: Whats the difference between a horse and the weather?
A: one reines up and the other rains down.

Q: Why did the women stand outside with her purse open?
A: She thought there was going to be a change in the weather

Q: Why was Santa's little helper depressed?
A: He had low elf esteem

Q: what do elves learn at school?
A: the elfabet.

Q: What does Jack Frost eat for breakfast?
A: Frosted Flakes

Q: What does the snowman use to get to work?
A: A b-ICE-icle

Kirabo, Fair Trade

I've been meaning to comment on this for a while...for those who are unaware, there is an awesome store on Albert St, next to The Post. Its a Fair Trade store called Kirabo; it supports 15 different fair trade organizations and everything in the store is hand made from over 30 countries around the world. This store, as are all Fair Trade stores, is committed to social justice and supporting people in developing countries though fair wages, healthy working conditions, environmental sustainability, and respect for cultural identity. I totally recommend that everyone stop by and check it out! The last time I was there, they had a large amount of multi-cultural children's books and I actually bought a couple of them AND they have a million things that would make great holiday presents....

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving :)

Hugo Cabret

I really enjoyed this book!  I was a little skeptical at first, seeing how thick it was and how much work I had to do this week for other classes, but I blew through it in no time!  I loved the detailing in the pictures, and how they told part of the story.  That was really intriguing to me because I have never seen a book written and illustrated that way before.  One thing that annoyed me about the book was the little girl's character.  I know that this is a children's book, but she was acting very immature throughout the entire book, I couldn't stand it!   Also, has anyone else noticed that a lot of our books have to do with parental neglect or death?  In Voices in the Park, the little boy has a very neglectful and judgmental mother.  In Esperanza, her dad dies.  In Uglies, her parents are pretties and don't really contribute as parents.  In Hugo Cabret, his dad dies and then his uncle neglects him.. (and then dies).  Why is this such an overreaching theme throughout children's books?  I mean, most have somewhat happy endings, but is this drama in the books supposed to connect to the reader?  Just some food for thought.  :)

Twilight

Hey Everyone,

I am surprised that I have not logged onto the blog and seen something about the new Twilight movie and everyones' thought about it and relating it to the books.

Well I have only read the first book and LOVED it!!! My sister was reading it and I didn't think I would like it. Then it was brought up in class and my sorority sisters were talking about it so I borrowed it from my friend and couldn't put it down.

I went to the midnight showing of the movie and thought it was pretty good for a movie based on a book. It lacked a lot of details, but I didn't expect it to include that many after watching all the Harry Potter movies and Eragon movie after reading the books.

I feel that in many fantasy books there is a lot of detail included in the text to describe all the unnatural things that occur in the book. There is always so much going on when it comes to details in books it isn't always possible to include it all into a movie without being another 3 hour Lord of the Rings movie.

So what did everyone think about the movie and/or books. Please don't give any spoilers, because some of us have not read all the books.

- Priscila

Hugo Cabret Movie

After reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret I decided to look it up online to see what some reviews had been about it.  Somewhere along the way I stumbled across this fact: they're making a movie out of it!  In case anyone else is excited about this too, here's the link: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985121.html?categoryid=13&cs=1.  Enjoy!

TE348 in my placement classroom!

I know it was a couple weeks back when we talked about diversity and lack of diversity in books but I saw something in my field placement related to this and wanted to comment on it. I'm in a second grade classroom and they were reading a story about hospitals and who works there. The pictures naturally showed a doctor as a male and a nurse as a female. However, my CT took the time to stop and discuss with the students that both doctors and nurses can be males and females. This showed that there are stereotypes in our world and that they are still portrayed in childrens books and even textbooks. However, I thought it was great that my CT stopped the students and discussed it with them. This way students will learn more than the stereotypes in the books. I just thought it was a good example of how to solve lack of diversity in textbooks in your classroom and also it shows that there definitely still is lack of diversity in textbooks.

have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Session 13: The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Looking Back on the Course

This semester has felt like it has flown by for me, so I was a little surprised to realize this week that we will be meeting for our last regular session next week! Here are a couple of suggestions for preparing for this last class:

• We'll have our last small group book discussion on The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I realize that this is a busy time of the year, but please give yourself the time to savor it! I would strongly suggest using post-its or another method to mark passages and/or illustrations that seem interesting or significant to you. For those doing 1-part papers, remember to submit your papers either by 6 pm Monday night.
  
• During the second half of class I'll provide you with a copy of the questions that will be on the final exam and we'll spend some time preparing together. Please bring your C&G textbook to use in this activity.
  
• You are welcome to hand in your blogging log (last page of syllabus) either on Tuesday or on the day of the final exam. (Although I strongly suggest that you get it out of the way!)
  

• We'll also be hearing about several authors from students doing Honors Projects!

I'm looking forward to discussing The Invention of Hugo Cabret! This will be the first time we've used this book in the course, so I'm anxious to hear what you think of it!

Extra Credit

I attended the Trillium which is a poetry reading that TE 491 holds every year. The teachers who held this was Laura Apol and Janine Certo. I really enjoyed it and will definitely attend it next year. The teachers who teach TE 491 started by reading some of their poems, their poems were very good. One of the teachers explained that every month when there was a full moon her and her friend named Frank would get together by playing on the swings, drinking wine on the roof, and even visiting her home town. Every full moon she would write a poem to explain her night. Since there are 13 full moons in a year, she did this until she completed 13 poems. She read a few of her poems and they were very good. She showed us a power point that had pictures of every full moon she experienced with the titles of the poems. The quote she started with was, “I am wounded with tenderness for all who labored in dim rooms with their handful of words, battering their full hearts against the moon” That was written by Dorianne Laux. Some of the poems names were blood moon, harvest moon, snow moon, hungry moon. Ironically the night I attended this was also a full moon. After the teachers read some of their poems the students of TE 491 read one of their poems they wrote in class. Their poems were very good, I was amazed how great the poems were since they just started this semester. Some of the poems were funny and others were very sad. Once the students finished four eastern high school students read some of their poems. One of my favorite poems read that night was written by a high school student:
You’re the provider.
You’re the chatter.
You’re the weird one.
You’re the laughter.

You’re the athlete.
You’re the socialite.
You’re the baby,
The one we all like.

But where do I fit in?
Which word is my own?
I’m still discovering who I am,
I’m not yet fully grown.

But who am I?
What words fits me best?
Am I some sort of special?
Do I blend in with the rest?
Who do I want to be?

You say I’m kind or nice,
You say I’m caring or sweet
But behind those little words,
Who do you mean?

What do you think of me?
But why should I care?
At the end of each and everyday,
God’s the only one always there.

Each poem the high school students wrote also had some art work to follow with. The girl who wrote this one started crying once she started talking about her art work. Overall, I really enjoyed this poetry experience. I actually want to take this class now because it was really inspiring. I hope that next year more people have the opportunity to attend.

Pizza!

Next week November 25th is our last class before our final! Since we are discussing our final book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" we thought it would be fun if we were to order pizza. So if anyone else wants pizza bring in about $4-5 and we will order it before class so it is delieved by the time we start our last book talk. Everyone should bring their own drinks. This is for section 003 from 3:00-5:50. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Bookstore/Library Assignment

For the last assignment, I went to the East Lansing Public Library and Barnes and Noble on Gd River. I found that Barnes and Noble seemed more interested in the sale, and that they had as many toys and gifts as they did books. I was wondering if this was true at any other stores that people in the class visited.

Have a good break everyone

Blake

The Extra Credit Poetry

I wasn't able to receive the extra credit for the poetry assignment. Which consisted of going to Trillium which is a poetry reading put on every year by the students in Te 491 poetry class. I am in this class, but being apart of this poetry night was a very good experience for me. I was able to hear class mates recite great poetry. Also a couple of high school kids came in and recited some of their pieces along with their art work, which gave the audience a better understanding of the poem. My teacher performed some poetry which was really good. Overall this was great event I feel that this event is a good way to get people to understand how effective poetry can be in someone's life. Was their any students in this TE 348 class that went to this event? And if so, what did you think about the poetry reading?

What's up with children toys?

So as i'm sure many have noticed stores have started to play holiday music and are pushing toys for children. I was walking around the mall today and looking at toys for my nieces and nephew. Everything seems so sexist to me. All the male toys have these muscules and weapons. My nephew is into these toys where every character is male, has huge muscles, some sort of weapon, and some sort of manly vehicle. I was looking at these toys in wonderderment because no guy can ever be as big as these toys were without the help of drugs. Then i went to the girl section hoping that my nieces toys would be better. No chance..it was bratz heaven in the first isle i went into. For those that don't know Bratz are these dolls who feet's come off. They have HUGE heads and tiny bodies. As i was looking at all these dolls i just couldn't forget what ive been told now. If barbie was real she would have to crawl on all fours because her bust is so large it would weight her down. How do people know this and yet toys are getting worse and worse for children. Does anyone have any good toys that are not filling children's heads with these images? I tried to even look at video games and everything there for guys is shooting, tough guys playing sports, or racing fast and nice cars. What are there for girls to play? It just amazes me how hard it is to get the gift for a child that won't give them false thoughts and that is not fully sexist.

Karen J

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Every Thursday, as a part of being a Nanny, I drive the 10 year-old and her friends to dance. Today they were talking about a book that they have been reading in class and what was interesting was that I read that same book in school when I was that age. The book is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Hatchet is the story of a 13 year-old boy named Brian. The story opens when Brian is on his way to visit his father in northern Canada, and still coping with his parents divorce. Prior to boarding a single-engine plane, Brian receives a hatchet as a present from his mother. He would never guess how critically important that hatchet would become to his physical, mental, and emotional survival. Brian ends up having to pilot and land the plane alone due to the pilot’s heart attack and death. Brian lands in water and becomes stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 54 days. He then must learn to exist in this wilderness and faces many dangers including hunger, animal attacks, and even a tornado.

This book gives the readers a better understanding of what it is like to survive in an untamed land. How someone survives is as individual as a fingerprint yet it is one of the most universal emotions for humans. Hatchet forces the reader to really think about what he or she would do if abandoned in the wild.

Uglies

So, I must be one of the few people who didn't really enjoy Uglies.  Everyone that I talked to before the class started said that the best book we would read would be Uglies.  I was pumped to read it, but was extremely disappointed by it once I actually did start reading it.  I enjoyed the beginning, and reading about all of Tally's adventures, but toward the middle and the end... it got a little slow.  Especially in Smoke.  Yawn.  I think the relationship between Tally and David is very strange, and didn't feel very natural.  I felt like the author just slide it in there to spice up this section, and to create drama between Tally and Shay.  Shay is another reason why the book wasn't as enjoyable.  I really liked her in the beginning because of her independence, but by Smoke, she had completely changed, and was all about the drama.  I guess maybe I'm just over the high school stuff that was in the book.  I'm sure if I were in middle school or high school, this book would be amazing to me.  But now that I'm almost graduated from college.... not so much.  Although, the ending was very spicy and left me hanging!  That is one thing that I really did enjoy about the book.  :)

Advertisements

I was watching cartoons while I was babysitting and couldn't help but be disgusted with the commercials that I saw. First off let me just say that the commercial breaks on children's shows are longer than the shows themselves which is disturbing in and of itself! But after our class yesterday I couldn't help but notice on the gender issues that they presented. Each commercial that featured girls were advertising baby dolls or barbies and in all of these the girls were calm and caring. In the commercials that were advertising trucks and tools there were no girls feature, only rough, loud and rambunctious boys. Its strikes me as odd that for a nation that is seeking more equality in the realm of gender roles that we have advertisements conditioning young and impressionable minds into very separate roles as males and females. You will never see a little girl in a truck commercial and yet girls are told that it is OK to play with trucks...what mixed messages are we sending children?! Girls are told that they can be anything they want and do anything they want to but all that commercials are showing them is that they need to play with dolls and focus on being domestic, whether it's playing in a kitchen, changing baby diapers, or simply getting married. Do you know how many wedding barbies there are?! In one commercial a small barbie house was being advertised and it was highlighted that there was a whole wedding area built into the house with "a cake that even grows taller"!! As if the only goal in a girls life is to get married, live in a perfect house and have perfect babies. Boys are definitely not depicted this way, but how they are shown in commercials is equally disturbing. The rough and tough image is portrayed in countless commercials and it makes young boys think that they'd be so cool and would have so much fun if they were like that too. But they should just forget about being respectful or courteous because that isn't what's valued! We are teaching such crude things in commercials and the ad industry should be more cautious, but more importantly, parents should be careful about what shows their kids are allowed to watch and monitor the ads that they are exposed to.     

For session 12 we'll be talking about the ways in which books make it into children's hands: What books are offered? What messages do children receive about the experience and purposes of reading?

Based on the sign up in class, each of you are responsible for reading one of the two following articles:

A) Read Hade (2002): “Storyselling: Are Publishers Changing the Way Children Read?"
B) Read Kohn (1995): “A lot of fat kids who don’t like to read”.

For your article, come to class prepared to explain the main idea of the article (the argument that the author is making), the type of evidence or support the author offers, and the questions/concerns/complications that were raised for you as you read. You will be responsible for teaching 1-2 other classmates about the article, so it is very important that you come prepared!

The other way we'll explore questions around how books are offered to children is by sharing our Library/Bookstore Assignments. The assignment is outlined in the syllabus, but please remember that you need to think of the essay as a response to the question: What do these spaces "say" about the relationship between children, books, and reading? It is not enough to describe the two sites you visited! You need to make an argument about what the organization and content of the spaces imply about the purposes and processes of reading! (I strongly suggest that you lead with an interpretation and then use the evidence from your visit to illustrate your generalizations.)

Finally, those who did Artistic and Personal/Facilitator roles for Uglies need to remember to submit them by 6 pm Tuesday!

I'm looking forward to hearing what you find!

Picture Books for the Ages: Featuring Kadir Nelson

Picture Books for the Ages: Featuring Kadir Nelson

In my TE:348 section I had did my midterm on a book illustrated by Kadir Nelson. I was very intrigued by his artistic style. I later came across a brochure informing me about a seminar put on by Kadir Nelson"

Date, Location

• Thursday, November 13, 7 pm - 8:30 pm
• Eastwood Branch Library
  
• 1112 Gayle Ave
• Kalamazoo, MI 49048
  

We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Kadir Nelson attributes his early success as an artist to lessons learned from his mother—to visualize his success and then practice for it. A poster in his high school math class, “Wish upon a star but do your homework, too,” affirmed and encouraged him. Hear Nelson describe how he made his dreams a reality and hear the stories behind his stunning illustrated history, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball .

This takes place in my neighborhood in Kalamazoo. I plan on attending. If you are interested in going you can e-mail for more information or directions.

Also:

On Friday at Western Michigan University he is holding a seminar where there will be a review of his recently illustrated books. Registration is required and begins at 8:00 am. The program is from 9:00 am- 4:00 pm at WMU's Fetzer Center

I also plan on attending this event. Please contact me, our course instructor, or consult the Kalamazoo Public Library website.

My E-mail:
sarkarka@msu.edu

The Uglies Artistic Response

Stereotypes in Advertising

After out discussion in tonight's class I thought that this video clip from my TE 250 class was appropriate to post on the blog. It talks about the idea of stereotypes in our media and advertising. Jean Keilborn is her name and the video is called Killing Us Softly. This is just a YouTube clip from a longer video but it hits on some key points. Men, women, race, power, etc. Although it may have a feminist view it still is a shocking video. Hope to hear from people to see what others think!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHrVyVgwRg&feature=related

Last minute extra credit

Sorry this is so last minute, but I just saw an ad for this today.

Ryan Claytor, an artist who does autobiographical comics will be doing a book signing tonight (Monday, 11/10) at 7:30 at the Schueler's in Eastwood. I don't know his work, but it might be a good opportunity to think about genre and form.

Here's more information about the event.

Uglies

After reading "Uglies", I was immediately reminded of the film, "Stepford Wives". In both "Uglies" and "Stepford Wives" the theme of conformity and body image is very evident. I thought both works were very interesting and fitting to todays society. Both send messages that it is important to hold onto your individuality, and to not lose who you are by conforming to ideas of beauty.

Uglies

I recently finished Uglies for our upcoming book discussion. I was wondering if the book reminded anyone else from class of books they had previously read. The two I kept thinking of while reading it were The Giver and 1984. If you enjoyed this book I would give those two a chance.

Mudbound

My response for Esperanza Rising was intertextual and I connected it to a book by Hillary Jordan called Mudbound. I was asked what Mudbound was about and if it was a book for children. This is not a book for children because it has war references and references to the KKK. It is a very intense book and one that is not for the weak at heart. I read this book in 2 days this summer, I was enthralled by it instantly and immediately wanted to know the outcome. To sum it up without giving too much away, Mudbound is about a girl named Laura. Laura marries a man named Henry, but is always in love with his brother, Jamie. When Jamie goes off to fight in the war Laura finally feels she can be loyal to her husband. Then Henry buys a farm in the middle of no where and moves his family to a house with no electricity or running water. Laura hates the idea of living on a farm but does it for her husband. But on top of everything, Henry's dad, Pappy, moves in with them. Pappy is cruel and rude, Laura can't stand him, but decides to put up with him for the sake of her husband. While working on the farm Henry "sells" part of his land to a black family. They pay for the land, but get to keep whatever money they make selling their crops. When their son returns from the war, the entire town is turned upside down, especially when the older men who have been a part of the KKK, including Pappy realize some things about him. Then....Jamie returns from the war....

Green Halloween

Hello Everyone!!!

I wanted to find a topic that related to Halloween, and I was searching on the Internet and found one in particular that caught my eye. It is called "GREEN HALLOWEEN" this is a program that a few schools decided to participate in for Halloween. Many of us have all heard of going GREEN which is becoming more environmental concern and efficient with our resources. GREEN HALLOWEEN is where school plan harvest or Halloween celebrations using healthy treats and reusable decorations as well as activities that are all "GREEN". The article talked about some ideas for teachers if they were having a party celebration in their classroom, I am going to provide some of their ideas for food, activities, and decorations.

Some ideas for GREEN FOOD
1. look for local fruit and pumpkins, possibly be donated
2. Think whole and colorful. For example if wanting to use black and orange because of Halloween you could make a black olive, green and orange bell pepper pizza, on whole wheat pizza crust.
3. don't use plates, or cups that are throw away, have a child bring in their own glass and plate from home and offer them a chance to win a prize. This allows the child to not be wasteful but instead reuse their own utensils.

Some ideas for GREEN ACTIVITIES
1. they can learn to make wallets, bracelets, and purses from candy wrappers
2. make art or decor from only things in nature, for example, leaves, corn stalks, etc.
3. make lead rubbing artwork
4. have a Halloween themed bean- bag toss, using recycled boxes and reused cloth for the bean bags. and pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins for inside the bean-bags.
5. make a treasure out of trash
6. have the children use their pillow cases as their Halloween bag

Some ideas for GREEN DECOR
1.use mostly decorations from nature: pumpkins, gourds, apples, hay, corn stalks, etc
2. make Halloween banners from recycled paper or newspaper and paint them and write on them
3. hit up a thrift store and see what you can find there
4. reuse everything from last year and save everything from this year to use next year.

As you can see this takes a lot of thinking and creativity to do something like this in your classroom, but it is possible and is becoming more and more popular in schools. GREEN HALLOWEEN i think is a great idea because it teaches children ways of being efficient and reusable and at the same time they still can have fun and enjoy the Halloween celebration. If i was a teacher i think i would do some of the ideas i mention because it would be different and also start trends that would influence the students to start doing outside of the classroom. I hope you all enjoyed my blog and i know it is a little different but maybe someday when you are a teacher you can use it in your classroom and think of me, since i am not an education major i will never have the chance of sharing GREEN HALLOWEEN with a classroom. Good luck and GO GREEN!

Political beliefs

I thought it was interesting that Valerie mentioned how she received an email from the College of Education stating that Professors were not to mention their political beliefs or even hint towards them in the classroom. I think that that is a very important rule to follow in the classroom and when interacting with students because it is a misuse of authority and it can influence a student's opinion. Even though I am not going to be a teacher, I think that this is very important for teachers and future teachers to keep in mind. I have had 3 of my 5 professors declare their political beliefs. I believe this in a misuse of power and over-steps the bounds of appropriateness. I do not pay to hear their beliefs, nor do I want to discuss such a personal matter in public. When a teacher reveals their political beliefs I lose some respect for them- it is unprofessional. Something for future teachers to keep in mind...

Diversity in the classroom library

Our class had an interesting discussion last week about building your classroom library and the diversity of topics that need to be available to children in the classroom. As a future teacher this discussion helped me a lot on the topic of diversity and also finding great literature that the children can realate to. When it comes down to it, it is our job as teachers to provide and extensive amount of literature that each student could relate to in some way becasue being able to relate to a book is one of the first stpes to enjoying reading.
I just really enjoyed the discussion becasue it allowed me to see what others were thinking and also concerns they may have had about building their collection, which helped me feel less alone in my worries. Thanks!

Shout out, Red group.

During break today instead of wasting money or time at the snack shop our group talked about two very interesting books.  The first we read and discussed was "Daddy's Roommate", a story of two gay men.  This book was very open and brought a lot of aspects of a domestic partnership into the open in an easy to comprehend way for a young reader.  We also read "ABC, a family alphabet book".  This brought into light the concept of homosexual partnerships through several different relationships and all of the things they do together (i.e. C is for cookie, my daddy's make cookies).  I just wanted to thank my group for being totally awesome and making break both worth while and interesting.  Big ups, red group.

"Visiting Day"

I was thinking about the book we read in class, "Visiting Day" and how much I disliked the book. My concern about the book wasn't about its literary merit but more about the fact that I believe the author unintentionally portrayed a negative stereotype of the black community. I couldn't get over that even though it was great how the author was making a black child the main focus in a children's book (when black characters in general tend to be underrepresented), but how everyone in the prison appeared to be black males. My worry is that maybe some readers may look at this book and therefore assume that all black fathers are in prison. I think that maybe the author could have avoided this issue by introducing a white child who was also visiting his or her father and having the two children meet and realize how much they have in common. 

Book recommendation: Last Child In The Woods

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder is a beautifully written eye-opening novel written by environmental philosopher and naturalist Richard Louv. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares about the well being of the next generation, and that has a genuine passion for the beauty and offerings of nature.

The book talks about how with the boom of virtual technology, peapod suburban communities, community theft, etc., the recent generation of children have never had the opportunity to build an intimate relationship with the natural world around them. Rather than look out the window while driving in the car, they watch a National Geographic documentary on the flip-down LCD screens above their heads or play playstation while they get driven to their recreational sports (sometimes the only contact with nature children have)

Louv brings up thousands of points in the book, but essentially makes the case that this lack of natural contact is affecting children in more ways than we could ever have imagined. He coined the phrase "Nature Deficit Disorder" to describe this generation of children who have been deprived of this contact. Rather than take their children out to play in the park or allow them to roam through the forest with their friends, today's overbearing "hover-parents" attempt to cope with all of societal downfalls by keeping their children inside and within their reach. And what results when this happens? The chilren accept it, stay in the homes, and become addicted to their technology.

And then when they are in school, the teachers inform the parents that their child has ADD because he or she will not sit still. Well maybe if recess wasn't cut that day and their parents would allow them to run around, the complete pschology of this student would be reversed.

Louv does not point a finger at technology, but rather at the parents of this generation. He tackles heavy issues such as childhood obesity, Attention Deficity Disorder, and promotes the up and coming (especially in Michigan) "No Child Left Inside" movement as a response to the educational program that we know turned out oh so well...

Have some spare time to read? Pick this book up. I promise it will not disappoint, and it will really get you thinking about your childhood and ways you can become an environmental steward for our upcoming generation.

old post from book talk

Karen Johnson
10/20/08
Section 2
Innocenti, Roberto. Rose Blanche. Creative Edition Inc, MI, 1985.
Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti is an unusual children’s picture book that describes World War 2 through a child’s eyes. Rose Blanche is Hitler’s idea of a perfect child, blond and blue eyed. She is filled with curiosity and does not understand what is going on. She stumbles upon a concentration camp and her childlike innocence takes over. She brings the children in the concentration camp food until the war is over. Roberto Innocenti had quite a story that inspired him to write Rose Blanche. He states in the book that he named it Rose Blanche after a group of German citizens that protested the war and were all killed. Roberto himself hid German soldiers that gave up to the Allies and saw roundups. This historical fiction goes right along with what really happened in World War 2. There are a few things off like the concentration camps. It is highly unlikely that a child could get that close to the people in the concentration camps, also the abundance of food she gives them and how she gives them food. The pictures in this book are amazing and full of detail. They cover most of the page and allow the reader to see through Rose’s eyes how the war looked. It looks very realistic and Roberto did an amazing job. Overall this book is great and the illustrations are wonderful. It is a great book to teach young children about history.

GLBT

I was just posting about something that we have talked about a couple of times in class that was mentioned for extra credit. The GLBT seminar that was being held on campus, I did not attend this one, but I attend a seminar last year. The topic was being addressed was the language used when addressing GLBT. I thought that this seminar was very interesting because GLBT topics have become increasing in the news and in people's community. As a teacher I want to be able to address these topics the correct way and to be as informed about them as I can be. I would suggest to anyone, even if you are not going to become a teacher I would recommend trying to attend one of these seminars.

I was thinking back to when I was a little girl and about any diverse literature that I had encountered. One particular book stuck out in my mind the most. The book was called, "Adopted and Loved Forever." I can recall my mom reading that book to me nearly every night for years and years because I am adopted and she found a children's book that explained what being adopted meant. I remember reading it and just knowing that I was adopted and that it was nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. I also remember that the concept of adoption just made sense after being read that book. I think this is a an example of diverse literature just because many children might not even know what adoption is. I remember I was talking to a younger child and mentioned that I had been adopted and they had no idea what that meant. It was sort of hard to explain the concept to a child with no background knowledge of adoption. I wasn't quite sure how to word it etc. I think books about adoption are very beneficial for children. I don't really recall reading any other books about the topic except for that one, but I think it is a great topic to write about.

The Harry Potter Uproar

In our last class we discussed diverse literature and how we need to have these so all students can be well rounded and incorporate every religion, race, sexual orientation and so many more diversifying things. But when I got home, I got to thinking of when I was in middle school and when the Harry Potter books first came out. Most of us were probably in middle school at this time and I remember after about a month our school pretty much freaked out. I went to a Catholic school and when they came out it was ok at first because no one had read them yet so no one knew what they were about. But then parents started complaining that it had had witchcraft it in it and we should not be allowed to read it. This was the only book in my whole entire life that I can remember causing so much trouble. So to go along with the idea that schools should have diverse literature, I still don’t understand how some parents won’t let there children read Harry Potter. I’ll admit that the last few books are a little graphic and I wouldn’t let my young child read them until they were older either, but the fact that the parents became involved and told the administration they shouldn’t allow this and then the administration followed is a prime example of how outside influences can affect diverse literature. Being a future teacher I’m really intimidated by this because I hate confrontation and I know that the literature in my classroom will be diverse. So if a parent or administration has a problem with what I am letting my students read them it will be really interesting.

Safe Schools Seminar

On thursday I attended the Safe Schools Seminar in which the film excerpts were called “For the Bible Tells Me So.” I found this discussion/presentation to be extremely facinating because it dealt with issues of religion and family acceptance. It was nice sitting in smaller groups and breaking off into discussion after each film portion was shown, similar to in class. I definitly plan on attending another lecture soon.

Trillium Poetry Reading (Extra credit opportunity)

TRILLIUM

College of Education Evening of Poetry

Thursday, November 13, 6:30 p.m., Erickson 252

Once again, the College of Education is holding a Trillium Evening of
Poetry. The evening will feature poetry by Laura Apol and Janine Certo.
Open mike time will include readings by staff, students and
faculty across departments and levels. Music of any form is also welcome.

Please consider participating in any way you wish: read an original
work, read a favorite piece by another writer, read a translation or a
poem in your own language, be a part of the audience, bring students and
friends. If you are a visual artist, please consider displaying your
work; if you are a musician, please consider performing.

Open mike readers and musicians will be given 3-5 minutes for their
performance; please plan accordingly.

We are looking forward to another wonderful evening. Please plan to
join us, and please announce this event to your classes and to the
elementary, middle and high school teachers and students with whom you
work.

If you would like to attend for TE 348 extra credit, just write up a reflection on your participation and/or experience. (If you are already in the poetry class, no "double dipping".)

Exceptionalities in Children's Books

After last week’s discussion on diversity in children’s books, I went home to try and find any that I had read as a child. I was particularly interested in books about children with disabilities, since these are few and far between. I came across The Handstand, by Barry Rudner, which I remember reading a lot when I was younger. This picture book is about a young boy who is excluded from a club because he cannot do a handstand. He meets a new friend “in the seat with four wheels” (p. 8) who, in an unexpected twist, teaches him how to win the handstand contest. Looking back at this book after our class discussion, I realized that although it does include a character with a disability, it also emphasizes the conventional lesson of acceptance. The end of the book stresses the fact that the boy has learned that his new wheelchair-bound friend is “nothing less than you and I” (p. 23). While this is a lesson that all children need to learn, there should be more books that convey the topic in a less obvious way. The books that really stand out are those that do not force the reader to think about the characters’ disabilities.

Extra Credit: Graphic Novel/Reader Biography Project

I mentioned this idea in class, but I'm working on an activity/assignment for next semester in which I'm going to ask students to tell a story about a reading memory that will help others understand who they currently are as readers.

To help us think about design/composition, I'm going to ask people to do this in graphic novel/comic book style.

I'm going to post the comic strip that gave me the idea for the project in the Extra Credit folder on Angel. (I don't necessarily think I would ask people to do a two-page spread, but it will give you an idea.) Take a look at it and, if you think you might be interested in helping with this, drop me an email!

Session 10: Biography and Nonfiction

For session 10 we'll be talking about two genres of books: non-fiction and biography! To prepare for class, please:

• Read Chapter 9 (Biography) and Chapter 10 (Nonfiction) in C & G. What are the similarities and differences between the genres?
  
• Read "The Truth about Helen Keller". What is the author's critique of the way in which Keller is depicted in children's biographies? How does she use the example of Helen Keller to make a larger argument about the genre?
• You'll see that the syllabus says to bring a biography to class. This is optional! I'll be bringing a range of books to look at.
  

Remember that the second part of facilitator and artistic responses to Esperanza Rising are due before class.

Extra credit ideas

Here are a couple of upcoming events/extra credit opportunities:

• Safe Schools Seminar: Viewing and discussion of "For the Bible Tells Me So", a documentary that explores the relationship between Christianity and sexual orientation. Thursday, October 30th, 4:30-6:30, Erickson Hall 252. (Pizza provided.)

• Visit the MSU museum and explore either Visual Griots of Mali and/or Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievment.

In either case, your 1-page write up could focus on what you learned, how the events connected to course content, new questions they raised for you, or how the film/exhibits worked as pieces of art that were designed to have a particular impact on an audience.

Other ideas related (broadly) to themes or content in the course? Run them by me!

Esperanza Rising

For Esperanza Rising my role was Artistic. Some of you might have seen that I was showing my group the presentation on the computer. I wanted to let everyone know this was a very fun way to do my project because I am not good at drawing so it allowed me to be creative. If anyone else is not a great drawer either I created this project at scrapblog.com. Below is the link if you want to look at my project.

Link to presentation

Book Reviews

I really enjoyed the Midterm books discussion that we had in the small groups. I liked giving our presentation in a smaller group versus a larger group. It made me feel more comfortable. Everyone's reviews that they did made me want to go out and check out the books. Is our final exam going to be like this?

Has anyone found a really cool bookstore to draw the children's section for our Library/Bookstore assignment? Any suggestions of one?

Big Words

This is the eighth hilarious picture book by the #1 New York Times bestselling teams of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell and they help out little people to learn communicate words in a big person’s world through this book.
The genre of Big Words for Little People is realistic fiction with illusion of reality. Events in this book could happen in real world, characters seem real and also contemporary setting. The setting in Big Words for Little People is briefly presented with words and is detailed in the illustrations with a narrative. This contemporary setting is with children who are very wild in one family and these kids start to learn words of communicate in a big person’s worlds. With the very first page, we as readers can realize that characters such as children of a family in this book will go wild. The theme, which is easily identified and understood by young readers, is established by the text and extended by the illustrations. Young readers can see the excitement to learn “big words” and it is able to be compared to their ordinary life. The sequence of action in Big Words for Little People is straight forward, clear and logical. This plot brings young readers’ emotions and sympathy. Curtis generally selects one point of view and sticks with it throughout the story. And its point of view allows readers to know a great deal about what all the characters are thinking and doing. Artistically, all of illustrations are colorful. Its composition is very detailed; especially, arts and key words that an author is focused on are well-balanced. As this family in the book has many children, it is described such as wild enough in each piece of art works. I liked each person has his/her own expression on face also.

In this delightful book, Curtis explains to students through the usage of excellently written poetry the meanings of words that are all grown up. The 22 words are used, and they are not easy for 4-8 age children to learn, but a team of Curtis and Cornell performed their task to explain these words seem easily. It is also good point that the illustrations perfectly support the text, and the text supports actually explaining the meanings of the word rather than defining them.

Mid term post on Saint George and the Dragon

This Caldecottwinning book is a fantastic folklore. A young knight set out on his first quest, by the Queen of the Fairies, to face a deadly monstrous dragon; also joining him on his quest is a princess named Una, and a dwarf. The story takes places in England many centuries ago when monsters and giants lived. The author also uses boarder’s throughout the book to really add to the feeling that is book might have been past down all these years and know you get to read it. The author also uses color to set mood throughout the book in times of peace in the book there is light sky and all the clouds are white, but the more danger the darker the clouds and sky and colors become. The author also use the size of the image to show the power that image has for example the dragon is the book is HUGE. In the book the Knight, also known as, Red Cross Knight, as some very grim battles he must face, but with is persistence sans courage is able to reach his goal, and he becomes know as St. George, the patron saint of England. In Saint George and the Dragon there are two type of writing styles. One is of the narrator, in what one would call modern English. The other is in Italics and has a very different ring to it, and is in different voices. Book teaches about overcoming adversity through persistence and courage.

Hodges, Margaret. Saint George and the Dragon.

Boston, London, Toronto: Little, Brown, and Company, 1984

only one you

I chose the book “Only One You” by Linda Kranz for my midterm book talk. It is about a little fish named Adri, and his parents teaching him the wisdom they have gained on how to live a happy life. The lessons they teach Adri would appeal to young children, as it is very simplistic, but even as a twenty-year-old college student I loved hearing what they had to say to their son. This fiction book takes you on a journey to each and every life lesson in which the parents want to ready their son for through a third person objective point of view. The Author obviously wants the reader to feel empowered after and while reading this book, because she is empowering the reader through the directions of the parents to the child fish. It is a man vs. Nature conflict- or in this case- fish vs. nature? It’s illustrated with real pictures of the sea for a background, and inspirational-style painted rocks as fish. – a spongebob-esqe approach- but it fits the book very well. It gives it a more rlaxed-carribean type theme. The book is inclusive to children of various backgrounds, which is very important when you are reading something to a large group of children. All in all, I fell in love with this book. I guarentee it will be a staple in my household and classroom someday in the future.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Aardema, Verna, Illustrators: Leo Dillion, and Diane Dillion. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. New York, NY: First Pied Piper Printing, 1975.

This West African tale takes place in a jungle and answers the question: why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears. The tale begins with mosquito telling iguana a lie causing iguana to put sticks in its ears to block out the nonsense. As iguana walks through the jungle a snake notices iguana and greets him but iguana does not respond. Snake immediately feels that iguana is planning mischief against him. This assumption quickly sets off a chain reaction and panic through the animals of the jungle. The animals’ panicking ultimately ends with mother owl so distraught she can’t wake the sun. King Lion quickly brings all animals to court to solve why the jungle is in a state of panic. Mosquito listens to the upset animals nearby which leads it to buzz in people’s ears asking if everyone is still angry at it for starting the chaos.

Every page has a stained glass appearance using watercolors and airbrush with each character outlined in white. The illustrations give you a sense of each animal’s personality. Lizard always has a grumpy look, monkey has a wild and troublesome, and mosquito is annoying. The background on each page will tell you whether it is night or day. Another feature to look for is a bird on each page which seems to represent a reader.

Teach Us,Amelia Bedelia Book Talk

Parish, Peggy, and Lynn Sweat. Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1977.
Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia is a mixture of fiction and fantasy. It is fiction because the events in the story, though some of them are very far-fetched, could possibly happen. I consider this work to be in the category of fantasy because when I read this book, this is how I imagined every student wanted their classroom to function. This book is about a woman who is asked to relay a message to the principal of the school but somehow gets the job of substitute teaching for the class. This is a problem because the main character, Amelia Bedelia, takes everything literally and always seems to mess up what others see as simple tasks. The illustrator, Lynn Sweat, uses cartoon art in order to add to the comical mishaps of Amelia Bedelia in this book. The pictures depict the literal meanings of Amelia Bedelia’s actions throughout the book. The text, along with the pictures in this book, effectively relay the message that Amelia Bedelia takes everything literally. I feel that this is socially relevant because children are always told to follow directions, and sometimes the directions are not as explicit as they could be for young minds to comprehend. This book makes it a comical situation instead of what some children may be used to when they make mistakes.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By: Judith Viorst 

Illustrated by: Ray Cruz

  In Judith Viorst’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” she accurately describes one of those days as a child when nothing seemed to go your way. From the moment that the main character, Alexander wakes up, to the moment he goes back to sleep that night, his day is filled with a series of adolescent atrocities that not only ruin his day, but further fuel his ambition to move to Australia.

The genre of this book is solely a children’s graphic novel, with an underlined theme of we all have bad days, but it’s all about how you deal with it. The unfortunate events that take place with Alexander and his responses to them generate the comical backbone of this text.  The novel is told from Alexander’s point of view, it is set in many various locations, all relative to Alexander’s life. The other characters are Alexander’s family, classmates, and Dentist.

Only the cover of the book was given color, the rest of the artwork is done in black and white, with an interesting shadowing technique throughout the book. Ray Cruz the illustrator created artwork that precisely described what was happening in the text.  There are an equal number of pages with a full-page spread, versus pages with a one-page picture, while the other has a reaction of Alexander underneath the text, leaving plenty of room for Alexander to entertain readers.

The author effectively illuminated her title in the content and the artist portrayed each occurrence precisely. Ms. Viorst seems to have a that’s life, deal with it, kind of attitude, which I can relate to, and appreciate. There are no hidden messages, just everyday calamity. Appropriate for ages 5 and up. 

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace was written by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch. In the genre of realistic fiction the things that take place in this book can most certainly be done everyday by young adventurous children in the home as well as in the classroom. The stories setting is at first in Grace's home in her backyard where she acts out all the characters in her favorite stories next the setting moves to the ballet where her grandmother takes her to see an African American star ballerina and the setting ends in school where Grace acts out Peter Pan even though her friends told her she could not be him for various reasons. The theme in this story is simple and concise you can be and do anything that you put your mind to and never let anyone tell you different, no matter who you are. The art in this story is phenomenal Mary Hoffman uses water colors to depict Grace using her imagination and using things she finds around her home to act out her favorite characters. The placement on the page at times places Grace on the cover of her favorite stories. The literary and artistic elements are very effective in this story they convey the meaning very well and the author both uplifts and entertains the reader. This book will always be socially relevant because there will always be someone who tells you cant do something and you have to believe in yourself and show them you can.


Works Cited :(Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. London England: Dial Books , 1991.).

Please, Baby, Please

Lee, Spike and Lee, Tonya Lewis. Please Baby Please. Illustrated by Nelson, Kadir. New York. Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers. 2002

The book Please, baby, please by spike lee and Tonya Lewis Lee falls into the category of realistic fiction. Textually, it is realistic fiction because it has a strong sense of actuality and it’s about people and events that could actually happen. In the story the characters illuminate life presenting social and personal concerns of a mother and child in a fully human context. The literary elements support this in many ways. On each page the time is given and the place is shown are vivid, realistic, and could possibly exist. The mother, daughter, and father reflect human beings we know and are authentic, fully developed, change throughout the story, and are influenced by the plot. The point of view reflects the mother’s day-to-day process. And finally the theme reflects and important issue of contemporary society of the relationship between a mother and child and child care. These themes are intrinsic situations that matters to young readers lives.

The art of this picture book was illustrated by Kadir Nelson, a Caldecott award winner whose oil paintings and realistic art helped to convey the story. Through use of warm colors he helps to put the reader into the story as well as reminding readers of a mother’s love. The pictures also a good use of the artwork on the page taking up the entire page and leaving no empty spaces. The line, shape, texture, color, and design work to highly define objects and give them a realistic feel.

Seven Blind Mice

Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. New York: Puffin Books, 1992.

The 1992 Caldecott award winning “Seven Blind Mice” is an exquisite children’s book that tells the story of how seven tiny creatures use their sense of touch to figure out what “strange something” has come to their pond and each come up with a different answer. This story is told by the point of view of an outsider and is a perfect combination of textual and artistic elements to make the reader fully understand the moral of the story.

The illustration is what makes this book such a great read. The whole book has the same backdrop of black that gives the reader the feeling of being blind like the mice. Each mouse has its own bright color and the mouse’s thought of what the “strange something” is has the same color as well. It is Ed Young’s use of a textured, cut-paper technique to help the readers see how an elephant’s tail just dangling there can be mistaken for a rope and an elephant’s sturdy trunk can be mistaken for a spear.

So all these elements aide in the moral of the story which is the theme of most fables and that moral is “Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole” (Young 39). Ed Young tells a fantastic story that children can understand with the aide of the pictures and gives them something to think about at the end.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Munsch, Robert. Love You Forever. Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books Ltd., 1986.
Illustrated by Sheila McGraw

Love You Forever is a realistic fiction book about the relationship between a mother and her son. She has a special song that she sings to him every night when he falls asleep. As he begins to grow up he causes a lot of trouble but every night his mom is still there for him, holds him, and sings the special song. Even when he grows up and moves out she sometimes drives to his house at night and sings to him. The mother then gets old and sick and her son takes care of her and sings the song to her. He then begins to care for his newborn daughter with the same love his mom had for him and he sings the song to his daughter.
The pictures also play an important role in this book. Each picture goes along very well with the descriptions of what the son is doing. The writing is always on the left side of the book and the picture to go with it is on the right. If you were to look solely at the pictures you would probably come up with a similar story of the love a parent has for a child no matter what they do. You might not know that the mother sings to the child every night, but the pictures are so detailed and descriptive that the main point of the story would be understood. Also, the colors of the pictures go with the context as well. All of the pictures of the mother in her son’s room are more dull and soft colors. It portrays love and caring. The pictures of the son causing trouble, being a crazy teenager, and moving out are all bright colors. That portrays more craziness and the chaos of a boy’s life. You can really sense the different emotions between the crazy days of the son and the loving relationship that the mother has with her son at nighttime. Also, in all of the pictures with the son during the day he is the center of the picture. The picture seems to be centered on his actions, whether they’re causing a disaster, being dirty, or even living in a new house without his mother. The illustrator does a great job of focusing on the son. This is a great story for children of all ages and even adults, especially if read with their child(ren).


Resource used:
Galda, Lee., and Bernice E. Cullinan. Literature and the Child: Sixth Edition.Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.

Chanticleer and the Fox- Martin Erickson

Martin Erickson
TE 348 Sect. 002
10/21/08
Chanticleer and the Fox

Retold by: Fulton Roberts
Illustrated by: Marc Davis

This story, originated by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and adapted by Barbara Cooney in 1958, was redone extremely well by writer Fulton Roberts and the legendary illustrator Marc Davis. This enchanting fable is about the vain rooster Chanticleer who rules the village as the appointed Mayor with pompous severity until the sly fox Reynard arrives with the intentions of ending the rooster’s reign and eating all the beautiful hens. Fun and mayhem take over the city under Reynard’s influence and Chanticleer soon loses all his friends and supporters, until the fox finally crosses the line. In the end, Chanticleer learns that “no one in the village is more important than anyone else” (31), and the townspeople also realize that they need Chanticleer because they “do not get up by [themselves]. [They] still need Chanticleer to wake [them]” (31). This story of how Chanticleer learns a valuable lesson, and how the villagers come to appreciate his true talents, show how vanity and pride can destroy even the best of relationships with the people you care most about.
The colorful characters portrayed by animals in this fable really bring the book to life. The book is written in third-person objective-omniscient like other classic Disney tails. The artwork, done by the famous Disney cartoonist Marc Davis, is very unique in the way that it is somewhat rough, yet very detailed and colorful. The details of the characters shine in this book and are in classic Disney form that children of all ages will appreciate.

Works Cited
Roberts, Fulton. Chanticleer and the Fox 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, California
Disney Press, 1991

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR

Wood, Audrey and Don. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. Illustrated by Wood, Don. Singapore. Child’s Play Int, 1984.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The BIG HUNGRY BEAR is a wonderful children’s book that excites the reader and gets them involved in the story. The story begins with a little mouse who is about to pick a very red ripe strawberry. The reader then goes into conversation with the little mouse warning him against the danger of picking the strawberry because there is a big hungry bear who likes red ripe strawberries that have been picked. The story continues through showing how the mouse proceeds to protect the strawberry and keep it safe from the awaiting bear’s claws. Alas, the reader comes up with a solution that all his problems can be solved if the mouse shares the strawberry with him.

This story is a great way to make kids laugh and become an all time favorite. Reader’s have the option to change the pitch in their voice and make scary noises to add fun to the story. Most likely to be categorized under fantasy, the little mouse in the story is a clever little hero who is as cute as a button and easily brings joy to children. Written in 1984 by Don and Audrey Woods and illustrated by Don, the simple text is greatly complimented by the detailed illustration and puts most of the story into the artwork and less in the words. The light shading on the background and the hard defined lines of the mouse and the strawberry help readers pay close attention to the plot of the story. This book is a great example of anticipation and is one of the many stories that children can carry with them for years to come.