Week 15: Anne Frank
I read The Diary of Anne Frank this week. This book is excellent, so well-written. Anne was such a smart and courageous girl. She was very optimistic about hiding out in the "secret annex" for all that time. The book teaches of the Holocaust and about the terrible things that happened to the Jews during WWII. Anne vividly describes her daily life during hard times, times with scarce food and one of solitude. This book is such a sad one, I think Anne's death came before her time. I found the Diary of Anne Frank interesting because you get to read about true encounters of a girl who is maturing as a young woman while she is hiding with her family. The book is about her struggles and mishaps as a Jewish girl during WWII.

Week 14: Nonfiction: Biographies and Informational Books
Chapter 12 is about nonfiction books, it discusses biographies for children. When evaluating biographies, one must focus on characterization, factual accuracy, worthiness of subject, balance between fact and storyline, etc. Biographies for children are about many different things: explorers of Earth and space, political leaders, artists and authors, and many other worthy people. This chapter also discusses informational books and their values. We value informational books for many reasons: gaining knowledge, allows children to experience new discoveries, introduces the scientific method. Informational books range from subjects of history and culture, nature, discoveries and how things work, hobbies and how-to books.
This week, I read Van Gogh by Ingof Walther. This biography is that of Vincent van Gogh and includes his painting in chronological order. It also tells of his life filled with loneliness. Van Gogh painted around 800 pictures and only sold one. He tried many different professions before becoming an artist. My favorite painting of his is The Starry Night; it is a picture of a Parisian night sky.

Week 13: Multicultural Literature
This chapter is one that I enjoyed very much. It is about multicultural books and their importance on today's society. Everyone should be familiar with literature about all races and ethnic groups because it teaches you to respect the individuals and to value the contributions and culture of minorities. Ch.11 discusses the topic of images and stereotypes in multicultural literature and how it became an important area of research. Research has been done on African Americans, Native Americans, Latino Americans, and Asian Americans. This chapter also focuses on evaluating multicultural literature. In order for children to gain respect and develop positive attitudes about people in all cultures, they need to read literature that presents "accurate and respectful images of everyone."

This week, I read Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza. This is a bilingual book about the author's childhood. She grew up in a poor Hispanic community in southern Texas. The pictures in the book describe her childhood memories. My favorite is the picture of her learning to make tamales.

I also read Everyone Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley. This story is one of my favorite multicultural books. It is about a girl named Carrie who is sent to find her brother in time for dinner at their parent's house. She visits several families' homes in the neighborhood. Obviously, Carrie lives a culturally diverse community: Puerto Rican, Haitian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, etc. She learns that no matter the color of your skin or your ethnicity, "everyone cooks rice." Dooley even includes nine different recipes for rice dishes!

Week 12: Little House on the Prairie
This week, I took a break form the text and I read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I like this book, I really enjoy historical fiction anyway. The story is about the Ingalls family who set out in a covered wagon to find a new life. They sell their house and set out on the road. Considering the time period, this was no simple move. They encountered all sorts of "bumps in the road", bad weather, Indians, fires, crossing creeks, etc. It wasn't all bad times however, once life was started on the prairie. Pa built his family a "little house" and lived comfortable once they settled in, they just struggled and went on a long, tough journey before they reached their idea of a new and improved life on the prairie.

Week Eleven: Historical Fiction
This chapter discusses values of historical fiction for children and instructs how to use literary elements to evaluate historical fiction. The text goes through and discusses a chronology of historical time periods: Middle Ages, Encounters in the Old and New World, Salem witch-hunts, American Revolution, Early Expansion of the U.S. and Canada, slavery and the Civil War, the Western Frontier, Early Twentieth Century, and World War II. Some historical fiction books are based on tragic events that occurred in previous decades: Trail of Tears, Holocaust, Bull Run, etc. Historical Fiction that really interests me is that of authors that write about their real life experiences such as Laura Ingalls Wilder and Johanna Reiss.

This week, I read Meet Samantha, part of the American Girl Series. The book is set in 1904 and is about a nine year old girl, Samantha Parkington, who lives with her wealthy grandmother. They have plenty of servants, but Samantha has no friends her own age. A young servant girl, Nellie, moves in and Samantha befriends her. They go on an adventure to find out why the seamstress is quitting. This book and many others in the series uses vivid descriptions and really makes you feel as though you're right back in 1904 with the girls.

Week 10: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
This chapter has been one of my favorites because it deals with real books, as I like to call them. The previous chapters have dealt mostly with short, simple books without a major plot. Contemporary realistic fiction means that everything in a story, including plot, characters, and setting is consistent with the lives of real people. This chapter explains why realistic fiction should be shared with children, how realistic fiction has changed, issues related to fiction and criteria for evaluating it. There are also controversial issues concerning contemporary fiction: sexism, sexuality, violence, profanity, and family problems. There are several different subjects in realistic fiction: family life, growing up, survival, death, and people as individuals, not stereotypes.

This week, I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I've enjoyed this book since I was in elementary school! It is about a boy who is in a plane crash and he is the only survivor. He has to survive with no food, shelter, or anything until he can get help. Brian, the main character, had to survive in nature using what he had read in books or watched on television as his guide.

Another good example of Contemporary Realistic Fiction is the Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal. As a child, I read every book in the series. The books are about twin girls, Jessica and Elizabeth and their experiences growing up. The books started out with them in junior high and every book was about a new problem or experience. The girls grew up physically and emotionally, they had family problems, boyfriend problems, school troubles. I used to like these book so much because they were so real and I'd experienced the same problems as the girls. I could really relate to a lot of the issues in the books at the time I was reading them.

Week 9: Poetry
This week, I learned a lot about poetry. Chapter 8 discusses every aspect of poetry: values of poetry, the characteristics of poems that children prefer, criteria for selecting poetry, elements and forms of poetry. It also discusses children's poets and poem classifications. There are many elements of poetry: rhythm, rhyme, repetition, imagery, shape. I learned from Ch.8 about the various forms of poetry as well: lyrics, narratives, ballads, limericks, concrete poems, haikus, etc.

I read Shel Silverstein's Where The Sidewalk Ends this week. I read this book as a child, but the edition I read the other day had several new poems also. I read the 30th anniversary edition. I have to say that of all the great poems, my favorite is Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out. It is too cute!!

Tupac Shakur's Rose That Grew From Concrete is a collection of poetry that he wrote as a teenager. Tupac's book is full of love poems, depressed poems, etc. Tupac was a man who was born to a poor family, his life was a constant struggle and he always felt inferior. Many of his poems are about being a young black man in today's society and growing up in poverty. He was a good man with a kind heart, but he was turned to violence and drugs because of his situation. My favorite poem in his collection is entitled The Power of a Smile:

The Power of a gun can kill
and the Power of a fire can burn
The Power of wind can chill
and the Power of the mind can learn
The Power of anger can rage
inside until it tears you apart
But The Power of a Smile
Especially yours can heal a frozen heart

Week 8: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This week I read the first Harry's Potter book in the series. It introduces Harry's back when he lived with his wicked aunt and uncle and his spoiled cousin Dudley. On Harry's'a eleventh birthday he received a letter from Hogwarts school of Wizardry. Hagrid comes and fetches Harry's and takes him to Hogwarts. This book also tells about Harry's's parents getting killed by evil Voldemort. Once Harry's arrives at Hogwarts, he befriends Ron and Hermione. The book is full of surprises and interesting characters and adventures. Modern fantasy books aren't my favorite, but I must say that this one is excellent! The book is even better than the movie. I'm looking forward to reading other Harry's Potter books.

Week 7: Modern Fantasy
Chapter Seven taught me a lot because fantasy is not a common genre of books for me. Modern fantasy is created "by altering one or more characteristics of everyday reality." Fantasy writing expands children's curiosity and opens their minds to new possibilities. Fantasy stories are a descendant of folktales because some are about personified animals, supernatural beings, heroes, magic, etc. This chapter describes noted authors of fantasy and their writings. There are many categories of modern fantasy such as articulate animals, toys that are alive, preposterous characters and situations, strange and curious worlds, little people, friendly and frightening spirits, time warps and science fiction.

I read E.B. White's Charlotte's Web this week. This book was one of my childhood favorites! Everyone knows this story about a pig named Wilbur who goes to live on a farm where his owners want to fatten him and turn him to bacon. Wilbur meets Charlotte, a witty spider who tries to make Wilbur famous so he won't be butchered. She weaves sayings in her web to try and spare Wilbur's life. The book is full of other festive animal friends also!

Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking is a classic! I read this book yesterday and I truly enjoyed it. It's about a young girl who lives with no parents, just her monkey and her horse in a small house in Sweden. She encounters all sorts of adventure, she even outsmarts burglars! I recommend this book to everyone, young and old.

Week 6: Traditional Literature
This week, I read and studied chapter six in the text. This is one of my favorite chapters so far because it covers stories about enchanted places and magical worlds. There are many different types of folktales: cumulative, humorous, beast, magic and wonder, pourquoi, and realistic tales. Traditional literature also consists of fables, myths, and legends as well. Traditional literature allows children to understand the world and identify universal human struggles. Ch.6 discusses folktales from all over the globe. Greek mythology is also mentioned in this chapter. Legends and myths are very similar but not the same. Myths explain nature or tells about the gods of early peoples. Joseph Campbell, whom I love, believes that myths have four functions: a mystical one that allows people to experience the awe of the universe, a cosmological one that shows the shape and mystery of the universe, a sociological one that supports and validates a certain social order and a pedagogical one that teaches people how to live.

***** For those of you interested or confused by mythology, I'd like to recommend Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth. This book is consists of an interview between Bill Moyers and Campbell. It really breaks mythology down into understandable terms. I absolutely love this book and I think it is impossible not to enjoy it!!


I read The Lion and the Mouse this week. This is a republished Aesop Fable. The story is about a little mouse who one day is the prey of a lion. The lion is about to eat the mouse and the mouse is trying to persuade him not to. The mouse tells him that is she is freed, one day she will help him out. Lion lets her go and sure enough Mouse comes back later and helps him. Lion is trapped in a net and Mouse chew through it and frees him. This a great story loved by children for decades!

I also read Reeve Lindbergh's Johnny Appleseed. This folktale tells the tale of Jon Chapman, a kind man who spread apple seeds from Massachusetts to the Midwest. Those seeds grew into trees and beautiful orchards. There are many different versions of Johnny Appleseed that portray him as a legendary hero and really embellish his story. Lindbergh portrays him as a religious man with a kind heart.

Week 5: Picture Books
This week, I read several picture books. I learned about the different types of picture books, I didn't realize that concept books and Mother Goose nursery rhyme collections are considered as picture books. Ch. 5 states, " Well-written picture story books encourage children to appreciate literary style" (pg. 158). I believe that is an interesting statement. In this chapter, they break down the categories of books: Mother Goose, toy books, alphabet books, counting books, concept books, wordless books, and picture storybooks. I learned from the text about typical characters and situations in picture books. Animals that talk and personified objects are common in picture books.

This week, I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr. The illustrations are by Eric Carle and they are great, as is all of his artwork! My Pre-K class enjoy this book, they've memorized the words and help me tell the story. This book uses rhyming and repetition. It also displays different color words and different objects.

I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom this week also. This is another good picture book. Our class loves this book as well. This book introduces the alphabet letter by letter. It rhymes and repeats phrases too. The pages are full of color and there are several shapes in the pictures. There are lots of activities that go along with this book that you can do with your students.

Since picture books are usually short and simple to read, I wanted to share one more that I really liked. Paddington's Opposites is a concept book that is fun to share with students. There is one word per page, for example on one page there is Paddington with his raincoat on and he's carrying an umbrella in the rain, and on the other page he is sunbathing on the beach(wet and dry). I use this book so that my students will have a better understanding of different objects and opposites.

Week 4: Artists and Their Illustrations
Week four was a really interesting week. I learned the basics of illustrations and how artists use certain colors and lines to express different feelings. The first thing children notice about a book is the pictures. Chapter four teaches the visual elements, media, and style used by artists and illustrators of children's books. There are many visual elements artists use when illustrating: line, color, shape, and texture. Lines and color can re-create the texture of animals and specific objects. Watercolor is one of the most common artistic media chosen by illustrators of children's books.

When evaluating illustrations for children, you should think about many different aspects. David Saylor's quote from the text sums up the evaluation of picture books. He states," the best picture book art tells a story of its own; it creates a visual world that enlarges, expands, sharpens, and reinforces an author's words."

Maurice Sendak is my favorite of the illustrators featured in this chapter. Time magazine named him " the Picasso of children's books." Sendak was the illustrator for the book Where the Wild Things Are. (You can see some of these pictures in my blog for week 3!)

Alligators All Around is an alphabet book that is as cute as it can be! Sendak created the illustrations for this book as well. The pictures are very creative. This book goes through the alphabet from A-Z. It shows alligators that burst balloons, imitate Indians, etc. This book will help children learn the alphabet and allow them to associate pictures with the letter they start with. (R is for Reindeer, for example!)

This week, I also read the book Sam and the Tigers. The illustrations in this book are excellent! Jerry Pinkney illustrated this wonderful book. Sam and the Tigers is a better version of the controversial Little Black Sambo. It is about a boy named Sam that lives in a village with tigers. The tigers talk the boy out of his new clothes. At the end of the book, the tigers are running so fast in a circle that they turn into butter and Sam eats them on his pancakes!

Week 3: Standard, Literary Elements, and Book Selection
Chapter three was a lengthy one that covers a wide array of material from literary criticism to webbing literary elements. I learned from the text, the difference between mediocre books and excellent books. Mediocre books overemphasize their message, but an excellent book's message flows with the content of the story. I also refreshed my memory by reading the section on literary elements. I read about plot, characterization, setting, theme, style, and point of view. I'd forgotten about the various types of conflict that is used in books also. This week, I learned how to choose the right book for the right child. First, you consider the developmental stage, then you choose according to personal and literary needs of the specific child. Adults choose books according to accessibility, readability, and interest.

This week I read the book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a good book to read to toddlers, especially before bedtime. It's basically a picture book. On each page, Brown tells a different object goodnight. This book is great to use to help children identify colors and objects.

I read Where the Wild Things Are as well. This book won the Newberry Medal Award in 1964. This story is an imaginary tale of a young boy, Max, who ventures out to an island full of monsters. The monsters make him "king of the wild things." This book is filled with vivid illustrations that really complete the story. This book is loved by children of all ages. I read it as a child and I still enjoy it to this day.

Week 2: The History of Children's Literature
This chapter discusses milestones in the history of children's literature. It points out that childhood has not always been considered an important part of life. Years ago, there wasn't literature specifically for children. Stories mainly used to be told orally until 1476 when William Caxton established England's first printing press. Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose, Tales of the Brothers Grimm, and Aesop's Fables are pieces of historical literature still enjoyed today. Chapter two also discusses the history of censorship and states some of the social, religious, and political reasons behind the censoring of historical literature. This chapter speaks of children and the family in children's literature. This section compares how families viewed children in the 1800s and how they view them now. These views are apparent through the the literature of these different time periods. This week I also learned the significance of the Newberry Medal award and the Caldecott Medal award.
This week I read Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. This book was published in 1990. The book points out that you'll go far if you read and are interested in books. It a rhyming book with many colorful illustrations. It says, " the more that you read, the more places you'll go." This book is written by a notable author of children's books.

I also read the Newberry Award winning book, The Tale of Desperaux. It is about a mouse named Desperaux Tilling and the adventures he goes on. The story has many other interesting characters as well. The author describes the setting so incredibly it's as if you're right alongside the characters. This book deserved the Newberry Medal for many reasons, it is really a work of art.

And last but not least, I read the book that won the Caldecott Medal in 1953: Lynd Ward's The Biggest Bear. This book is about a boy who wants to kill a bear like the other men in his village. He ends up befriending a bear and housing him at the local zoo. The boy, Johnny, visits the bear every day. The illustrations are black and white, but they are very detailed. They resemble those of Norman Rockwell. The pictures tell the story without even reading the words. I really enjoyed this book.

Week One: The Child Responds to Literature
This week I was introduced to the text by reading chapter one. It discusses how adults are responsible for helping their children become interested in literature. My mom read to me as a child and I've loved books ever since I can remember. Chapter one discusses how literature plays a part in helping us understand our cultural heriatage. It stresses the importance of considering children's stages of language, cognitive, personality, and social development when choosing books to share with kids. The differnent stages of development can determine how a child appreciates and understands literature and how they respond to it as well.

This week, I read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. This book is appropriate for language development in a child. It is very repetitive and talks about different animals. The book uses rhyming words and it is full of colorful pictures. This book gives children lots of opportunities for oral language activities that relate to the story.

I also read Eric Carle's The Mixed-Up Chameleon. This is a great book to use to introduce social development. The book is about a chameleon who visits a zoo and is curious about the other animals. He wants "ears like an elephant and a tongue like a frog." This book encourages role-playing and expands the imagination.