Winding Down the Semester

Since the semester is almost over, I wanted to review the enjoyment and knowledge that I have gained from Children's Literature. This class has been my favorite class of my whole college career so far. I have throughly enjoyed everything that I have done for this class along with all the books that I have been able to read and learn about. I wish there was a Children's Literature II class that I could take. This class has opened me up to the thought that teaching might be an option in my future since I am a political science major. Yet, in the public school system I feel that children's literature can not be fulfilled in complete fashion due to the focus of the TAKS test. I would want to spend every day talking about a book or story and after talking to my mom who is a public school teacher this does not seem possible. I came to the conclusion that if I find that my love for children's literature is strong in the future I could open up a children's store with classic books, and housewares etc.

This class has opened me up to a new light for my future. I have gained more options for my future careers just from the pure enjoyment that I have experienced by being in Children's Literature. I truly enjoyed reading all the books and learning about all the different make ups of each story.

Stinky Cheese Man Class Discussion

I was very interested in being able to read The Stinky Cheese Man. I remember at one point I wanted this book, but my mom would never buy it for me for some reason. I really enjoyed reading it, and then I enjoyed finding all the little hiddin weird parts about the story today in class. I think having the writing on the copyright page was very clever and creative. Also I thought the pictures for the authors were neat too. I am not too sure if a small child would find these little hidden parts of the book amusing, but as a young adult I was very intrigued from realizing this in class today.

I am glad I was finally given the opportunity to read this book. I am going to ask my mom if she ever remembers why she would never let me buy this book because I can't find a reason why I was not. I enjoyed the stories in the book along with the uniqeness of everything.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I just finished reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. This is a fantasy novel that was written for children. This is the first book that was written in the series The Chronicles of Narnia. Four children were sent to live with a professor during the beginning of World War II. The children decide to play hide in seek one day after the arrive at the home in the country. One of the kids named Lucy hid in a wardrobe only to find a door to an outside world which soon was found out to be Narnia. Soon enough the kids all go to Narnia and befriend Mr. Tumnus who soon was captured by the White Witch. The kids also find out that the king of Narnia is a lion named Aslan. He was sacrificed by the White Witch, but comes back to life because of some magic and defeats the Witch and kills her. All four children soon become kings and queens. They rule Narnia for a very long time, and when they return back to the real world they are kids.


I enjoyed this book very much. I like the novel much more than the movie because I can imagine the world of Narnia for myself. All the kids enter into this fantasy world that holds a possible danger to them with the White Witch who has taken over. Mr. Tumnus trys to protect and help the kids out. I enjoyed this book because the fantasy was very vivid and it made me feel like I was apart of the experience.

Class Discussion: Where the Wild Things Are

Who knew that there are so many comparisons between Peter Rabbit and Where the Wild Things Are? Today in class, the discussion opened me up to many new aspects to the story Where the Wild Things Are that I have never thought about. I have always thought that this book was a simple story with great illustrations, but I found out that it is so much more.

One interesting part of this story that I learned about today was the borders within the illustrations. The border around the page was small when Max was at home in the real world, but as he entered the imaginative world, the border grew bigger and bigger. Also, Max dressed up as a wolf to become part boy part wolf like Peter Rabbit was part boy part rabbit. Both of these characters also experienced having a female as the controlling source in the stories. Another neat part of Where the Wild Things are is how as Max returns to the reality, the illustrations go away.

I enjoyed learning about these interesting points about the story that I have never thought of before. It opens my mind up to there being more depth within such a short, simple story book.

Where the Wildthings Are post 1!

I am so excited to read Where the Wildthings Are for class. This book has been a bedside book for me since I was like two and I still have it by my bed in college. I absolutely love this book. I enjoy reading about Max's adventure to the land of the wildthings and his believing that he is the king. The pictures in this book is probably the reason I truly love it.

I am very excited about this discussion in class. I have no idea what to expect because I feel like I know everything about this book. I am interested in hearing about any factors that make up this story that I may not know about.

Number the Stars

This past weekend I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This story takes place during the Holocaust during WWII. The main character is a 10 year old girl named Annemarie. Her best friend is a Jewish girl whos family takes refuge when they find out that nazi soldiers were taking over Copenhagen. Her friend stays with Annemarie and her family and they have to prove several times that her friend is a sister. The families have to communicate in code to meet up with each other and to just converse. This is so that the nazi's can't figure out that Annemarie's family has Jews in hiding.

Annemarie has to face a lot of tragedy with loosing people she loves during this time in her life. Having to walk on eggshells is what this girl experienced for several years and every day brought about a new uncertainty. After her best friend was taken away from her, Annemarie was uncertain if she would ever see her again. Her mom found her friends necklace, and Annemarie decided to wear it in her friends honor.

Dr.Seuss

I am pretty sure that when I was younger I thought the only books that existed were by Dr. Seuss. These are the books that basically taught me to read. I remember reading these with my mom and she would want me to read back to her the pages that she previously read to me. Soon enough I was memorizing these books because of the simple rhyme of the text. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish: text like this catches a child's imagination and the pictures in the books are very vibrant. Also, the illustration in Dr. Seuss books are one of a kind and could be picked out from book to book.

My grandma has a whole collection of these children's books that are very old. It's remarkable to know that these books were popular so long ago and are still today. The books still appeal to children and are very catchy. I don't think any author could make an impact like Dr. Seuss did with his easy read books.