Final Reflection

I am truly happy I had the opportunity to take this class. I really enjoyed being able to read children's literature for pleasure. It's not often in my college life I give myself the opportunity to relax and enjoy picture books and novels. It was fun to read some of the books that I used to love as a kid, it really brought back a lot of memories. Not only did I enjoy the structure of the class, but I learned how to incorporate literature into my future classroom. I want to be that teacher who has an amazing library with a variety of books for kids to choose from. Learning about the different genres really opened up my eyes to all of the different things kids could be interested in. It was also interesting to me to discuss controversial books. Knowing how to talk to parents and handle situations is very important. Also being able to discuss different view points is very beneficial to me as a person and my future students. As I work on my text set, I discover what kinds of qualities good literature contains and what qualities I enjoy. This class had a very positive impact on me and my future classroom.

Amber Brown is not a Crayon

Amber brown was written by Paula Danziger. I chose this book because I remember when I was younger I used to really enjoy Amber Brown books. I think they appealed to me when I was younger because Amber was about my age when I was reading them. The title Amber Brown is Not a Crayon stuck out to me, I know it was one of my favorites. Amber is having one of the worst school years ever, but at least she has her best friend Justin to get her through. Then, just finds out he is moving away and he doesn't talk to Amber about it. Amber gets very angry and decides not to talk to Justin EVER! In the end Amber finally realizes the true value of friendship what she needs to do to get through in her life. I really liked reading this book. It just took me back to when I was younger and I felt like I could really relate to the story. I went through a similar situation when I was younger when one of my good friends had to move away. She ended up actually moving and we stayed pen pals for a long time, but the emotions that Amber Brown went thought I felt were really ratable. I remember being angry that my friend had to move and thinking it wasn't fair. I recommend Amber Brown books to everyone.. they take you back and make you feel like a kid again!

Black is Brown is Tan

Black is Brown is Tan was written by Arnold Adoff and illustrated by Emily McCully. The story is about an interracial family and their feelings. The story is written in some form of a poem. I however found this to be extremely difficult to understand. The story did not use punctuation and was not in a poem format that I was have ever seen before. An example of a page/verse is : I am mom am mommy mama mamu meeny muh and mom again. I wasn't sure what language these were all in or what race all of the different people in the story were. I really lost meaning in the story trying to read the format the book was written in. I thought it needed to be separated by some sort of punctuation or by lines. The story also talked about a lot of different people and their races. I sort of got mixed up about all of the different people that the story was trying to explain to it's readers. I felt really disconnected to the book while reading it and do not feel like I was able to truly take in the meaning and message of the story.

Blackboard Bear

Blackboard Bear was written and illustrated by Martha Alexander. The story is about a young boy who gets yelled at by his mother, so he has to go to his room and go to bed. When he goes to his room a bear that is drawn on the blackboard comes to life and they go on an adventure together. He realizes on this adventure how much he misses his mother and wants to be back in his room, so in the morning he goes back. I really did not like this story. When the bear and the young boy went on their adventure, the bear did not actually speak, but the boy responded to what the bear was saying. You could tell what the bear said by how the boy responded, but it was very weird to me. I found myself rereading the story to make sure I read it correctly. I really didn't think the story had a very good plot. I didn't really understand why it was a bear that came off a blackboard in the child's room that the story was about. I just found it bizarre that the blackboard bear was a main character in the story. I thought that the book didn't really fit together that well and that it was just a unusual combination of characters.

Dancing in the Wings

Dancig in the Wings was written by Debbie Allen and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The story is about a young girl who gets made fun of for having huge feet. She is a dancer and all of the girls in her dancing class make rude comments to her during class. When it is time for an audition for a summer program, the young girl is nervous but takes her uncles advice to try her best and make her mark on the world. In the end, the young girl is accepted into the summer program because she had to courage to try. I really enjoyed reading this story. The way it was written made it feel so real. The dialogue was so very realistic and really seemed like something a girl her age would really say. The book was also very inspirational. The young girl dreamed of dancing on the milky way. This to me was a symbol of her spreading her wings to fly, to reach her dream. While reading this I just really felt like this story was true, like it really happened to someone. I loved the detail that the story had. Debbie Allen did an amazing job of using descriptive words that really helped me to paint a great picture in my head. I would definately recommend this story to everyone!

Anno's Alphabet

Anno's Alphabet is written an illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno. The story has no words, just pictures to accompany the letters of the alphabet. There was a different letter and picture on each page. I was a little confused about the book. I felt like the pictures and chosen symbol were somewhat centered around wood. All of the letters were made out of wood and at the beginning of the book in the pages before it started, there are a few pictures of different objects made out of wood such as a book and a hatchet in a wood stump. However, not all the pictures were made out of wood. For example, K stood for kangeroo and L stood for lock. I'm just not really quite sure why this is a theme on many of the pages and not on others. On each page there is a black and white border of vines of tree branches and flowers. Again this shows that wood is a theme in the story. I just felt really confused while reading the story and it felt very old fashioned to me for it won awards in the 1970's. This is just not a book I would want to use to work with children on their letters. There was also even a couple pictures I didn't know what they were, so I'm sure it would be challenging for children.

The Bravest of Us All

The Bravest of Us All was written by Marsha Arnold and illustrated by Brad Sneed. It is about a young girl named Velma Jean who isn't afraid of anything and all of her siblings admire her bravery. One day a tornado comes and everyone finds out that Velma is afraid of the storm cellar. When her younger sister comes to rescue her she tells her it is going to be ok and they go to the storm cellar together. The book is set in the past and the children in the story talk with an ol' country accent. They also have older names such as Velma Jean and Ruby Jane. I think this really sets up the setting for the story. I also think the story had an underlying message. The more obvious message was that everyone is afraid of something and it is ok to admit it. However, the underlying message in the story was about family and the love the sisters had for eachother. I really enjoyed the story. It was very warm and touching. It reminded me of my sisters in general and how we are so different, but we are always there for each other if we need anything at all. I would do anything for my sisters and this is how I thought the two sisters in the story felt about each other.