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.

One Smart Cookie

One Smart Cookie is written and illustrated by John Nez. It is about a girl who doesn't like to read, but her dog can read. She takes him to school and everyone thinks he is amazing. He saves the day because he shows the girl that there is a fire in the school and the girl has to read the emergency directions to save everyone. She finally learns how important reading is and begins to read more often. While I was reading this book I thought it might be a good book to read to a young reader who doesn't seem to like reading. It may motivate them to become a better reader. However one time in the book the kids at school don't believe the dog can read and they call the dog and the girl dumb. I didn't really think this was necessary to add this into the story, it may give kids the wrong idea that if they don't read a lot or if they are not a very good reader that they are dumb. I wouldn't want to give kids the wrong idea. I did think the book was cute and think the aspect of a dog being able to read to show how important reading is would be fun for kids.

Ugly Fish

This book was written by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Scott Magoon. The book is about Ugly Fish who lives in the tank and whenever a new nice fish comes in he eats them. Then he gets lonely because he has no friends so when the last fish comes in he is bigger than Ugly Fish so he eats him. This was a really wierd book to me. It is wierd a childrens book would have fish eating eachother for no reason. I think the lesson in the book is to treat others how you want to be treated, but I wasn't quite sure. The only way I felt I connected with the book was that it reminded me of all the goldfish we got when I was younger and for some reason they would all die within a few weeks and we were never sure why!?!

The Class Artist

The Class ARtist was written and illistrated by G. Brian Karas. It is about a young boy who doesn't think that he is a very good drawer. A girl in his class makes fun of his drawing and he has no confidence. In the end he draws a beautiful mural and this begins his journey as the class artist. The book teaches lessons of how you shouldn't make fun of people and how you should always believe in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to. The story also includes the days of the week which is a good thing to incorporate for kids. The story actually reminds me of myself. I am in an arts methods course and we had to draw a portriat of someone. I didn't think I could do it because I don't have a lot of confidence in my drawing. My roomates made fun of my attempts at drawing stick figures. In the end, my portriat turned out to be the best drawing I have ever done and my roomates were all impressed. It was a really good feeling.

My Mother's Secret Life

My Mother's Secret Life was written and illustrated by Rebecca Emberley. I picked the book off of the shelf because I thought it had an interesting title. I however, did not really like the book. I was really confused if the girl in the book was dreaming she was at the circus or if she pretended because at the end she woke up and it said her mother's breath smelled a little like popcorn. I was just really confused during the book it seemed like it kind of skipped around I wasn't sure about different things that were going on in the story. I did think the pictures were interesting. They reminded me of the I Spy books and I felt like the pictures wre almost popping out at me.

My Apron

I chose My Apron because it was written and illustrated by one of my favorite authors Eric Carle. I absolutely love the illustrations in his stories. They are somewhat child like and the look like fingerpaint and it just reminds me of being a kid and fingerpainting with my mom. The illustrations make me feel like a kid again, so young, fun, and innocent. The story is about a young man who wants to be a plasterer like his uncle so his aunt makes him an apron with a pocket in the from and he helps his uncle do his job. It was very interesting to me because my parents are redoing their house and my uncle just did the plastering for them. It reminded me of my uncle and how he loves the job he does. The book made me think about all the things I wanted to be when I was growing up like a teacher, doctor, and professional basketball player. It is fun to think about all of the dreams children have when they are younger.

Madeline's Rescue

Madeline's Rescue was written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. I actually really did not like this book. I thought it was really hard to follow and I didn't always know what was going on. It did rhyme which I usually like, but some of they rhymes didn't quite sound right and it was just hard for me to understand what was going on all of the time. The pictures were kind of interesting and they look like they are painted in a really interesting way. I just really couldn't connect with this book because it was really hard to follow.

I Heard Said the Bird

I Heard Said the Bird is written by Polly Berrien Berends and illustrated by Brad Sheed. It is about a whole bunch of barnyard animals hear from the bird that there is going to be a "new one" and they are trying to figure out which animal is going to be having the new baby. At the end it is a new born baby that the little boy in the house shows all of the animals. The book is fun because it says a rhyming part over and over and kids would be able to remember what it says. It says I heard said the bird, how siad the cow, when said the hen, where said the mare, in the house said the mouse. The book builds up excitement and you can wait to see who it is at the end. The pictures of the animals are close up. My grandparents live on a farm and it really reminded me of when I was younger and got to go play with and feed all of the animals there.

The Mine-O-Saur

The Mine-O-Saur was written by Sudipta Bardhan Quallen and illustrated by David Clark. The story is about a dinosaur that is very selfish and doesn't ever share with his friends. He realizes that he has no friends because of this and the importance of sharing and friendship. The book teaches a really good lesson about why it is important to not be selfish. It is funny because he always say MINE MINE MINE and makes it so realistic to me. The book really reminded me of a couple children at the daycare I work at. There are always those kids who don't like to share and mine mine mine is exactly what they say. It is fun for kids that the characters in the book are dinosaurs and the illistrations are really cool because they do a great job of portraying the dinosarus feelings and emotions with their facial expressions.

Year Of Impossible Goodbyes

Year Of Impossible Goodbyes wasn't a book I really enjoyed reading. I thought it started out really slow and I couldn't really get into it. However, I felt bad for the grandfather in the book. It was sad how he could be considered a scholar at one point but then have that totally change because of his background. I thought it was really interesting to compare the two different books. I felt bad for both of the children in the families. I was thinking in class when we had our group discussion that it wasn't fair for people to not feel bad for these kids. It may be true that Japan did terrible things to Koreo and that is why people don't feel bad for them, but think of the children. They didn't have any say in what was going on between the countries and they still had to go through such hard situations. I can't imagine seeing the things those kids saw and having to do the things they did. I can't help but feel sorry for all of them.

Hey, Al

Hey, Al was written by ARthur Yorinks and illustrated by Richard Egielski. It is about a janitor and his dog who live a tough life with little money. One day a bird comes and takes them to a paradise island. They love it and decide to stay there until they start to turn into birds. They decide they would rather live at home and struggle than be birds and they finally get to go back home. This book teaches a wonderful lesson. The very last sentence of the story is ,"Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found." I thought it was very touching. The book really makes you think about the things you have in life and may take for granted. I know everyday I could probably think about something that I WANT. Instead I should realize what I have and how lucky I am. I feel I am a very lucky person who has a lot to be thankful for. After I read this book I took a few minutes to sit back and think about all of the things I am thankful for and lucky to have. It is a really good feeling. This book brought with it a lot of emotions. The illustrations were also very colorful and fun, especially when they were on the island. I noticed how plainly colored the pictures were when the man and his dog were at home compared to the island to contrast the difference.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? is written and illustrated by who other than Dr. Suess. It was all about the different sounds Mr. Brown can make . Some were real sounds and some were made up sounds that he thought it would sound like. For example, a hippo chewing gum. The whole time I was reading this I was thinking about the children at my daycare and how much they would enjoy hearing and making the sounds. I was also painting a good visual in my head. I was trying to figure out what it really might sound like if a hippo was chewing gum or if goldfish kissed. I loved the pictures of course. They were very vibrant and colorful. I really noticed how much Dr. Suess uses lines in his drawings. As I looked at the pictures they reminded me of the Dr. Suess book where the red lines get stuck all over they house. I also enjoyed the different creatures in the book in some of the pictures, even Mr. Brown is an interesting character to look at.