Final Reflection

This has been a wonderful experience. When I first started this class I was new to the blogging and glogging world. Now, I feel a lot more comfortable with the process and found it to be quite fun and it really expanded my creative abilities with analyzing all sorts of picture books and novels. I was the most surprised at my instant love of graphic novels. Without this class, I can honestly say that this never would have happened. This class has really opened my eyes to a variety of children’s literature, new perspectives, opinions, cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles. I have a new appreciation for this class and children’s literature. Having a child, myself, helped me pay attention to the controversial side of things. I have learned to be more aware in some ways and will try to be more accommodating in other ways. Overall, I loved this class and feel it will be an asset to my teaching career.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

This is such a great novel that really dissects poetry and not only helps define it but helps identify it in a new way. Originally, the boy identifies poetry with a stigma attached to it. He thinks only girls write poetry and all of the words must fit perfectly in place. It is a creative story with beautiful poetry! This book really makes you think outside of the box.
Another great thing about this is a book is that it can suit all ages, child or adult! I love how everything fits so nicely together. Our classroom activity was very helpful in creating color and personality to this book! The chance to act it out changed my perspective on ways to make a poem come alive. I realized that it doesn’t just have to come from one reader. Sometimes it can be read by a group working together to craft animation from a variety of imaginations. I love that dog and I love this book!

I Saw Your Face by Tom Feelings

This has a wonderful sentimental meaning behind this poem picture book. The illustrator actually drew these portraits while he travelled around the world to find many beautiful faces with the commonality of having an African descent. I feel many of the pictures are a bit depressing because they have solemn, somber faces. Not one single person is smiling. Some of the people look like they are posing; others just look deep in thought. There are sketches of all ages and I am a bit shocked that no one is smiling, especially the children. I like how the images are set up on each page. There are very few things in the background. Additionally, there are only a few words on each page, mainly stating where each drawing came from and arranged words creating a rhyming scheme. I think all of this helps avoid distractions against the large sketches of the people. It is interesting that Tom Feelings did not include any action shots, unless, his intentions were to only go with one theme. I thought it was quite unique how none of the portraits are colored in. There are all outlined in blue, brown, or black with a background color of either beige or light blue. I found that pretty fascinating because his choice of these monotone dreary colors truly added to the feeling of loneliness and sadness of these people.

I think this book it trying to send a powerful message to its readers. Although they seem to show no emotion; I can immediately sense immense pain through their eyes. You can almost see the injustice they feel deep in their soul. It’s interesting how these sketches were drawn all throughout the world yet; it looks as though everyone in here is from the same community. It sends the message to me that they are all alike in some way no matter where they live in the world.

Homegrown House by Janet Wong

This is an interesting poetry book because there is no specific rhythm or rhyming scheme. I was amazing at the powerfulness it had to really put me in the little girl’s mind and perspective of moving all the time. She was desperately searching for some normalcy and routine and I could strongly feel that throughout the whole book. I can’t imagine having to move so much as a child. I, personally, moved a lot as an adult and found it pretty difficult in many ways to adjust. However, as a child you are still trying to find your identity and a sense of belonging.

The author could have just as easily made this a regular picture book but I am so glad she did it as a poetry book. It is more resonating this way. She is so good at what she does. Additionally, the choice of watercolors and the style she used them in captured a lot more emotion and scenery in my head than was actually there on the page. I was very curious as to whether this is a true story or not. I appeared that it was the author sharing truths from her childhood and reminiscing about the good times that she will forever cherish and take with her as she grows old. It also touches a lot on her hardships and how she gets through it all which I find very inspirational. As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this book. I really learned to love this girl and appreciate her for all that she has been through and how she handles it all. I loved how Janet was able to truly get into the mind of the child and speak about the certain details that would be going through an eight year old’s mind. The simplicity of it all actually made it more complex and multifaceted. Great Book!

Buzz by Janet Wong

This book explores all of the every day noises that happen in our lives today. It’s interesting how there isn’t only one type of buzz noise but yet multifaceted buzz noises that represent the buzzes in our lives. This is a wonderful poetry book that accentuates the author’s personality. It emphasizes all the everyday things that make buzzing or brief loud noises.

The text was big and bold using syntax. The illustrations were very cartoonish and simplistic. I actually truly adore the simplicity of it. The young boy always seems so excited to learn and I love that he is so happy. The boy is just enjoying life and I think it is a fantastic children’s poetry book because it makes learning poetry blissfully fun and cheerful! This is a book I would read to my classroom as well as my kids at home. I am, personally, drawn to it because of the child’s truthful and natural curiosity of everyday things and, especially, noises.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars by Douglas Florian

It’s neat how certain pages have a circle cutout so when you flip the page it is linked to the theme or object on the next page. It brings a feeling of wonder and surprise to the following page. I love how one of the poems is designed as a spiral. You have to continually turn the book in circles to read the words. I not only enjoyed the rhyming on each page as well as the beautiful bright watercolors, but I enjoyed learning about a lot of interesting facts about the universe. The page numbers are only located on the left-hand side of the left pages in the middle. It gives the effect of looking like small indents to an index. There are also glimpses of real photos within a few of the paintings. For example, when they painted the picture of the earth on different parts of the land or water they zoomed in and placed a picture of an animal that lived in that area to show there was life on that planet. There is also a galactic glossary in the back that adds some additional information to the galaxy and its planets. This is a wonderful book for children to have fun with while learning about space. The illustrations are really what completed this book. Each page has something new and exciting to look at and learn about. I like the wide range of shapes he used and labeled each shape on the galaxy page. It included shapes and titles such as barred, barred spiral, elliptical, egg shaped, spiral, flattened, ball shaped, and irregular. It’s great that they provide options for further reading so students who maybe want more information about space but not necessarily in poem format can use these resources available. I also noticed that the copyright information was in the back as well. I actual think it works great with the author deciding to do that because it looked really neat with how he jumped right into the book at the beginning making the first illustrations really stand out.

Dirt on My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy

This is a fun-loving joyous book with all kinds of adventures that explore many themes that all revolve around the truths of life. I think it is a fantastic book because it really centers on happiness and how the small things in life can mean so much. It reminds me of my innocence as a child. For example, one page talks about fly away balloons and wondering where they go. I used to write my name and address on helium balloons to try to determine how far and where they travel to. There is so much curiosity as a child and this poem picture book plays a lot into a child’s nosiness nature. This is such a fun-loving book. It really touches on the perspective of the child and the joys they have doing every things such as taking a bubble bath or playing hide-and-seek. It is quite interesting to see Jeff Foxworthy write a poetry book because I when I think of him I think of a comedian about rednecks. This truly shows his multidimensionality. I think almost anyone can relate to some of these poems in this book. I love it reaches such a wide audience. I think this would suffice any grade level because we all experience these things at one time or another in our lives.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyui Choi

This is quite fascinating reading from a perspective of a Korean girl after reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove from the perspective of a Japanese girl. It makes me wonder what it would have been like from the view of a male enlisting during this time.

Honestly, I was surprised to hear Mother’s story and that she made it to the south side alive. The whole experience for everyone involved was amazing to see them fight through all of this. It was unfortunate to read that Kisa and Aunt Tiger didn’t make it out alive. I am very proud of them for making it through all of those trials and tribulations. I was kind of taken back that Sook and Inchun opened up about trying to find their mother after crossing the border after being betrayed by the guide who helped the Russians capture their mother. It’s interesting how Sook emotions about the Russians fluctuated throughout the novel. At first she somewhat trusts them, then is afraid of them and wants to escape them and flee to the south. She appears to have somewhat mixed feelings the whole time which is a big confusing but intriguing nonetheless. It is almost as if she wants to take a liking to them but has to keep her guard up and remind herself of all the horrible things they are doing in the North to innocent families. It is neat how you learn a few words and terms in Korean and Japanese. I felt sad when the Japanese cut down Grandfather’s pine tree and then he died three days later. Also, if Kisa and Aunt Tiger would have tried to cross the border at the same time as Mother, I wonder if they would have eventually made it to the South alive. I have no doubt they would have been captured. What I am not sure of is if they would have been slain or forced into slavery. It was interesting how they began to label everyone as either in the group pink or red. My impression was that the pinks were those on the north that were not as loyal to the Russians as the Reds were. The Reds were known to be brainwashed and basically followed the commander.

Another thing I noticed was that Sook was often called Nuna by her younger brother Inchun. I was wondering if it meant either person in charge or guide. Maybe Nuna meant older sister or sibling? Either way, being called Nuna I assumed had a sense of responsibility attached to it. I think Sook felt an obligation to protect her younger brother. However, Sook seemed a little jealous of her older sister Theresa who became a nun. All and all, there is a lot of substance in this book to dissect. I think it is a book children should read to get a better understanding of our history. Stories like these, I feel, give children a better understanding of our history than just a book of listed facts.

All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant

I was fortunate to teach this book to a small group of fifth graders yesterday while we were out in the prairie learning about the insects, decomposition, grasses, plants, trees, and flowers of the grasslands. This book had a lot of pertinent information and to-the-point facts about the grasslands that I think would be useful to children of all ages. I realized that I could read this book to any child but only the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will mostly likely grasp the more difficult terms. The pictures were absolutely wonderful in displaying the main idea on the page. This would be especially helpful for young kids but I think older children will find it valuable nonetheless. When I showed students these pictures they were captivated with the images. For example, I showed them a photo of the root system beneath the soil and how long the roots extend underground and through the picture they appeared to fully grasp the extent of a root and its purposes and importance is serves to keep the prairie alive through goods times and bad. Additionally, I observed the students’ attention spans between and at each area we went to which helped me to develop an opinion on how effective the words and illustrations were. The drawings looks like oil paints and matched exceptionally well to what the message on the page was trying to describe. Overall, I think this book has a lot of essential facts about the grasslands as well as some great photos that can help in inquiry based learning about the environment.

Explore the Grasslands by Kay Jackson

I was fortunate to teach this book to a small group of fifth graders yesterday while we were out in the prairie learning about the insects, decomposition, grasses, plants, trees, and flowers of the grasslands. This book had a lot of pertinent information and to-the-point facts about the grasslands that I think would be useful to children of all ages. I realized that I could read this book to any child but only the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will mostly likely grasp the more difficult terms. The pictures were absolutely wonderful in displaying the main idea on the page. This would be especially helpful for young kids but I think older children will find it valuable nonetheless. When I showed students these pictures they were captivated with the images. For example, I showed them a photo of the root system beneath the soil and how long the roots extend underground and through the picture they appeared to fully grasp the extent of a root and its purposes and importance is serves to keep the prairie alive through goods times and bad. Additionally, I observed the students’ attention spans between and at each area we went to which helped me to develop an opinion on how effective the words and illustrations were. The drawings looks like oil paints and matched exceptionally well to what the message on the page was trying to describe. Overall, I think this book has a lot of essential facts about the grasslands as well as some great photos that can help in inquiry based learning about the environment.

Foods of Italy by Barbara Sheen

This is a wonderful book to expand a child’s knowledge about foods from a different culture, country, and even continent! It does a great job of developing the main ideas of the literature. I have grown to realize that I really enjoy reading informational books. This book has such a way of making the facts so intriguing. The educational value is very important to me and that children will mostly likely find it useful. I would use this book to teach a lesson about the four main ingredients used in Italy as well as the significance of the varieties of pasta.

The illustrations are extremely realistic and truly painted a picture in my mind of what it would be like to experience the foods of Italy. It was very appealing and mouth watering to see and learn about the different dishes they most commonly prepared for their people. I felt like I wanted to join in and celebrate with them and their culture. I personally love Italian food. It is a favorite of mine! I wouldn’t talk about the wine like they touched on. However, by mentioning it, it does make it more real in feeling the sense of the experience of being in Italy.

All About Seeds by Troll Associates

This is a wonderful book for young children. It teaches the basics of all types of seeds and how they go about spreading their seeds to reproduce. Also, some seeds that young children might not have ever expected to be seeds are addressed and pointed out such as acorns and pine cones. Additionally, I feel many children are unaware of the variety of ways that seeds can travel. The illustrations are beautifully done to match the theme of each page. I think younger children under the age eight will take a liking to this book. It is simple and to the point for young children who cannot process a bunch of information on each page of a book very quickly. It is a wonderful informational book that I would recommend using this as part of a lesson plan. There is a lot of useful information that can be used and learned from this book. I think the author did an exceptional job on writing this book to attract an array of readers. I am not sure what types of paints or colors the illustrator used but the paper seemed to be somewhat iridescent with non-fictional drawings which I really liked and thought fit in well.

SO FAR FROM THE BAMBOO GROVE by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

This is a tragic yet triumphant story. It is interesting to read it from the viewpoint of a young Japanese girl who lived in the heart of World War II. It’s mind boggling to see how people were treated; almost as if they were inhuman. I cannot imagine how painfully it must have been for them at the time. I can only envision the pain she experienced after everything was over and her parents were dead. I acknowledge the courage it must have took to write this book. The author wrote it with such truthfulness and from the heart instead of sugarcoating her thoughts and feelings, even if sometimes it didn’t put her in a good light. Sometimes I wondered why Ko was so harsh on Yoko. However, towards the end I see her learning to do things and appreciate things that much more. Even though towards the end, Yoko was still suffering one way or another she made the conscious choice to stop complaining and be more thankful for what she has.

It does make me upset after I read about Yoko’s journey to Japan and then all of her classmates make fun of her (even though they didn't know her story). It takes a lot of courage to put up with that . I must say I give a lot of credit to her mother and her sister who help her strengthen Yoko with some tough love. They really help her be the better person and not stoop to their level. I am surprised that Yoko never mentioned anything about her story in class. I am glad that she made two close friends: Naido and Corporal Matsumura. She is pretty smart at picking real friends. As she knows from firsthand experience, you can’t judge a book by its cover, which she never did with her friends.

I cannot even fathem the impact this journey had on her, especially as only an eleven year old child. I am surprised they didn’t spend much of the mother’s money after she died and were able to save it. Most importantly, I am glad Yoko had instilled in her to take rejection and use it to make her a stronger person. It really shows you when it comes down to it that material items and possessions do not matter so much in the scheme of life; it is family that matters. Family is what makes people whole and complete. Family is what keeps us going on the inside. After all of this happened, Hideyo, Ko, and Yoko must have shared and indescribable bond. All they had left for family was each other. It really makes me think about the hardships that I think I have and be tremendously thankful for the freedom and shelter I have.

GO TO BED, MONSTER! by Natasha Wing

This is about an adventure between a child and a pretend monster who comes alive after she draws him with the help of her crayons. This reminds me a lot of role reversal. The young child becomes the fun loving parent who attends to their child’s needs except can only take so much. It is interesting how children only see the fun side of things instead of all the work that comes along with it. This is similar to the picture book, “Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant” because the child wants to take on the role as a grown-up.

I find it fascinating that the child is extremely young but manages to read and read and read to the monster. I’m not sure if she is pretending to read based of the pictures she sees on the pages or is actually reading. I know in my practicum class I work with kindergarteners who cannot read but analyze what is going on with the illustrations and attempt to make up their own interpretations or story of what is happening. I also noticed how wise this child is for her age in other aspects of her life such as grooming and her nurturing nature. Stories like these are reminders for me to never underestimate a child’s intelligence. I hope someday I will truly appreciate my child’s imagination. Through this book, it helped me recognize what they really have to offer. It reminded me of the book “I’m the Boss” in the sense of reminiscing about past time and childhood fantasies. I thought the inside cover pages were a unique addition to the story. It contains more drawings from the little girl, in crayon again. The book gave the impression that everything was supposed to look like it had been drawn from crayons, especially the monster. However, surprisingly, it was done using oil paints and pastels.

Elbert's Bad Word by Audrey Wood

This was a picture book about a young boy who learns a bad word at an adult dinner party. He then carries it on into his own experiences. It basically manifests into a word Elbert thought was acceptable. It makes me realize how crucial one word can really impact a group. Of course, there a lot of factors that plays into the context of how it comes across. This is basically what deciphers the strength of the word. I know from my experience kids are not expected to say bad words and that’s where is becomes the more of a shock. This is where I think it is desperately essential for adults to model the correct behavior because children are like sponges and they will soak up everything you say and do. However I am strongly against the method they used to punish him to teach Elbert not to say bad words. Maybe metaphorically it seems to make sense to wash his mouth out with soap but that not only does not rid the child from saying a bad word, it also does not promote a positive attitude or good behavior. If I had to predict I would assume he will soon rebel in other ways.

Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant? by Jake Wolf

This is a cute little story about a little boy wanting something. He feels he needs a companion but honestly doesn’t have any concept of the process of taking care of it. It reminds me of the things I used to wonder about when I was a child. I think it’s great that they have just the boy and his father. It helps represent the ever-growing non-stereotypical family. They show immense love and happiness with one another which I believe resonates through to its readers showing them what a strong bond they have between each other.

On the contrary, I wonder if this young boy is actually trying to outsmart his dad. Instead of starting with asking for a dog or cat and risking his father’s rejection of the idea he starts with asking to own a wild animal or two. I’m not sure which way I want to go on this one. However, if my child presented me with the ideas of different wild animals to have as pets I would probably soon compromise and suggest settling with a cat or dog. The cartoonish style drawings of the animals really add a strong connection to the words on each page. The illustrations were very fun-loving and made me chuckle throughout the story. It is a marvelous family book.

The Parrot Tico Tango by Anna Witte

The Parrot Tico Tango seems to be a book intended to be about second chances. We all do something we wish we didn’t do. However, this parrot takes all the animals’ fruit and has no remorse. That is, until he is caught. Then he asks for forgiveness. Just like in real life, many criminals feel sorry for what they have done after they have been caught. I don’t very often hear about the people who feel bad about what they have done and take steps to undo what they have done until they have officially been caught in the act. Everything is situational though. I wonder what the parrot would have done if he wouldn’t have dropped all of the fruit?

It seems like a lot of these authors have sentimental values to the books they write. I find, in my opinion, there is a lot of insight or messages to young children and many times adults in numerous children’s books. There were lots of deep bright red, blue, yellow, and green colors. I, unfortunately, still wasn’t a big fan of the illustrations. I think some of the colors and drawings should have been a lot more subtle. Furthermore, I think the intention was to create a rhyming scheme with the words but, again, I think this failed too. I am on the fence as to whether I value this to be a good children’s book or not. I would like to present it to a child and see how engaged they get.

I'm the Boss by Elizabeth Winthrop

At first, my prediction is that it is a feisty young child who constantly demands things as if she is the boss of the family. What I come to learn, though, is for a day she dresses up as a grown-up and pretends she is the boss. This is such an adorable book that brings me back to a lot of past times. I remember when I used to play ‘house’ and sometimes I was the mom while other times I was the baby. I couldn’t wait to play and make believe. It’s funny how when you’re a kid you so badly want to be a grown up but when you’re a grown up you would just love to be a kid again. When I was a kid I remember thinking it could never be possible to be a grown up except for in my imagination. I mean, I knew I was getting older everyday but I really didn’t have a true concept of reality of how I would be as a grown-up even when I tried to picture it in my head. I think some of it had to do with the fact that I could only think in concrete terms rather than abstractly. I tried to fathom someday I would be a grown-up but I didn’t believe in my heart that I would actually be one before the age of eleven. I love the light-heartedness of this story. It had a wonderful ending with Julia training her dog and finally getting to be the boss of somebody. In the end, she realized she gained a companion. It made me smile.

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Midterm Reflection

It has been such a great semester so far. Honestly, I feel such a great amount of freedom of expression. It was wonderful having no pressure and specific formula that I had to mold to. It left me with copious options to speak about my own interpretations and views of the books that I have read. Frankly, it has really opened my eyes more than ever before about what literature has to offer. I don’t feel the pressure to conform to a textbook expected response. I feel like I can openly communicate my thoughts and feeling without the fear of being ridiculed. There is no ‘correct’ response. Of course, I may attribute it some to my growth as a reader and a learner. I never expected to be a blogger and let alone, someone to enjoy blogging. I used to have a different opinion of blogging. It just proves that you really can’t judge something until you thoroughly and truly understand or experience it yourself. I have had the chance to analyze some wonderful children books and get a further understanding of richness many of these books have to offer. The most surprising thing to me so far this semester is my love for Graphic Novels. I must admit, I did not think I would, at all, become a fan but I actually ended up really appreciating them. Lastly, after reading and commenting on several controversial books I look in retrospect and realize how naïve I used to be. This is all new to me and I am grateful for this opportunity. It gives me a practice run before I have to face the real thing in a classroom. I hope to continue having positive memorable experiences throughout the rest of the semester that will help me continue to learn and grow as a teacher and more importantly a person.