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.

Upcoming Picture Book Discussion

Picture books are still by far my favorite types of books. There are so many good stories that come from picture books. My two favorite stories that are picture books are Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are. Both of these I still own and keep on the table by my bed, and I usually read them once a week. Picture books never get old to me and I enjoy looking at the corresponding pictures that go along with the story that is being told.

I am really going to enjoy this week of discussion over picture books that we are reading in class. I really believe that even though picture books are not hard to read that they have just as much merit as a novel. I am intereseted in learning how picture books differ and if there are different ways to write a picture book. On some books I often wonder if a picture came before a story or vise versa.

The Giver

I have read The Giver now I am guessing about 4 times. Everytime I read it something knew stands out to me. From listening to the discussions in class, I have been reminded of parts of the book that I have had discussions about before and new ideas that I have never came across before. I never thought of the memories really coming back to hurt the community. I remember reading that, but I didn't think of it as that the memories would make the community a better place then. Obviously that is the whole purpose of the book, but I just think about the whole idea of the story and the community system is so mind boggeling to me. I really want to read the sequels to see what happens to Jonas and Gabe. This book and the purpose behind it is very creative and must have been hard to plan out so well.

A Dog Named Truman

Once there was a cute, fluffy dog named Truman. Truman lived with two college girls on the third story of an apartment. He did not have a backyard to play in, and he had to spend his days out on the balcony. His days were lonely because both the girls had class all day and both worked in the evenings. Truman had to entertain himself and he had four pets of his own to keep him company. There was the leopard, the blue monster, the green dog and the blue dog. All of these animals were his friends. Truman kept all of his pals together in a pile, and he would move them one at a time if he wanted them to be in a different part of the apartment.

Truman tended to get left alone a lot. He really wished that he had a real life friend who could talk to him. Soon enough, his wish came true, and all four of his pals came to life.

to be continued

celebrity

Yes, so in my hometown of La Grange this weekend, Brad Pitt was in town shooting a scene for a movie. Him and Angelina are living near Austin while this film is in production. My lucky cousin got a picture with him and I pretty much have been having an anxiety attack all weekend because I wasn't there. Well how does this fit into this class? I was thinking that Brad's posse of kids probably read a lot. They seem very worldly and I know the oldest attended a French school in NYC where he was taught in both French and English. I believe that Angelina and Brad feel that education is important and I know creativity is encouraged in their family, and one way to be creative is through writing and reading. I'm sure that both the parents read to their children because they seem so family oriented as well. Also, the kids are always with them while they are traveling. Reading just seems like something that would bring this family together especially with such a non-stop lifestyle.

My cousin reading

This weekend, I was at my aunts house and we couldn't find my cousin. We were yelling for him and trying to figure out where he had disapeared to. Come to find out, he had climbed into a tree and was up there reading a book series that he has been reading all week. He told me that he felt as one with nature while up in the tree reading the book which dealt with the outdoors. I was very impressed because he is in 4th grade and he has such a love for reading. My uncle kind of freaks out because he played major league baseball and he doesn't believe that his son is going to be the jock he was because he has such an interest in learning. I told him that books are a good experience for kids to notice situations that he may not ever get to be involved with. I told my cousin that he should read The Hobbit because he enjoys reading and he has an interest for those kind of books.

conference

My mom recently attended a writing conference in Austin and was introduced to many new books in children's literature and young adult litreature. She came back home with a whole bag of books signed by the authors that wrote them and all the books are supposed to be very good reads for younger kids. My mom said that she learned so much from this conference. A majority of it was about new techniques of writing for her to teach to her students. Everything she told me sounded so interesting. Also, she said that she understands why I love this children's literature class because she sat through a children's literature seminar which she said was very neat. All of her information that she received, and her talking about this conference boosted my interested in a career in education.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

I picked to read this chapter book because I enjoyed the story when I was younger and the whole situation amazes me. Karana, the main character, lives amongst the dogs in a cave on an island. She makes a life of her own after being stranded by her tribe. She makes friends with the women of the Aleut tribe after hiding from them. They teach each other their own languages and Karana recognizes how lonely she has been on the island by herself. Her dog eventually dies and she finds one that is his son. She takes him in and finally one day a boat comes to rescue her. The dog and her go back to be at her real home, even though she knows that her heart is on the island because that is where she was raised.

I enjoyed this chapter book because the girl had to survive on her own. She became the family of dogs and sought out goods in order to survive. It is a very adventurous story and is inspiring to know that a girl can survive in the wild.