Martin Erickson Sect. 002- Jane Addams Book Award to be presented

"Since 1953 the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually acknowledges books published in the United States during the previous year that address themes or topics that engage children in thinking about peace, justice, world community, and/or equality of the sexes and all races. This year's winner in the Younger Children category is The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom by Emily Arnold McCully (Farrar Straus Giroux). The winner in the Older Children category is We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin by Larry Dane Brimmer (Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills).

The award winners were named earlier this year, and the awards will be presented in October. For further information, including a list of honor books, visit the Jane Addams"

http://blog.reading.org/archives/cat_childrens_literature.html

Bedtime stories now available on children's iPods

A company called audible.com is now making children's books available for iPods. While this may seem like an attractive concept, I believe it keeps children from actually learning to read and gives them a more convenient way of "reading" the book. While the company argues this will help reluctant readers to begin enjoying reading, the American Library Association believes it is important to correlate the reading of words to the text. While the idea coincides with our technology today, I would not encourage books on iPod to take the place of reading.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVJ_FvIE3fhZEL9RqUEbAKmWw41AD90B3KV00

Valerie Hemingway Book Signing/Talk

As I was driving in my car yesterday back up to East Lansing from my hometown I heard an ad on the radio about a book signing and talk by the author Valerie Hemingway as part of The Great Michigan Read statewide reading program. She spoke tonight at the Library of Michigan; I'm sorry I am just posting this now in case any of you wished to have heard her speak tonight. I immediately thought of this class when I heard this announcement on 99.1, and it sparked curiosity that made me want to research a little bit more about her to see what she is all about. Valerie Hemingway is the author of Running with the Bulls, which is a memoir of her years as Ernest Hemingway's secretary. There is also going to be an exhibit at the Library of Michigan in Lansing that goes until May 5 that focuses on the influence of northern Michigan and the Nick Adams stories. It is open to the public 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. I hope some of you check this out if this interests any of you.

I thought it was interesting that on this random drive I heard an announcement that related so well to this class.

End of the Semester:(

Well Class,

This semester has been fun, I have had the privilege of learning a plethora of information as well as meeting new people. Valorie thank you for your hard work, help and concern for us as students. I wish you well and hope your contract and the strikes work in your favorite. Bye class, have a great summer!

Shane

Some housekeeping

Here are a couple of housekeeping reminders:

• Don't forget to bring your record of blogging to class. If you do, you need to email me the information ASAP.
• For those who had facilitator and artistic response roles for group choice, don't forget to submit your second papers!
  
• Rather than using the SASE method of returning finals, I'll email within a week to let you know your grade on the final and any comments that will help clarify the grade.
• By your final session (today for section 001 and Thursday for section 003), you should have received all assignments back with feedback. If you haven't, there's been a glitch. (Although I sent them, it seems like a number of people didn't get their Uglies responses back.) Please email me and I'll resend whatever you are missing. (Be specific about which paper you are missing.)
  

After grades are in I'll go through your feedback forms and post at least one more time to let you know how I'll use your feedback in my teaching next semester! (And I'm very happy to continue our discussions on this blog. I keep my "subscriptions" even after the class ends!)

TE348= Best Class!

I just wanted to take a second to reflect on this past semester. I really enjoyed this class a lot. Going into this semester I was very hesitant about this class. Growing up I was not much of a reader. The first couple of weeks I didn't have a lot to contribute to the class because I was unfamiliar with children's books. I didn't want to become the teacher who doesn't incorporate reading into the classroom, only because I am hesitant about literature. I was hoping that this class would broaden my horizons to learn and engaged in children's literature and it did just that! 

After the first group discussion I just fell in love with this class. I really liked how the class was set up and I enjoyed how much of an input we had in the course. The discussion were very insightful and interesting. 

I really liked this class is how all TE classes should be. Being engaged and involved in the learning process throughout really helped me connect to each and every book we discussed at a personal level. I have a whole new attitude towards reading. I loved the books that were covered, and I loved analyzing them on a deeper level. This class was amazing, I loved every bit of it! :) I'm sure many of you feel the same way!

Favorite Fantasy and Science Fiction Books

Hey everyone! I meant to post this back when we were talking about fantasy and science fiction but I forgot about it until now. Fantasy and science fiction are particular favorite genres of mine in children's and young adult literature. I thought I'd share some of my favorites from these genres that might be more unknown for you to check out.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles- Patricia C. Wrede
Dealing with Dragons; Searching for Dragons; Calling on Dragons; Talking to Dragons
The Secret of Platform 13- Eva Ibbotson
Which Witch- Eva Ibbotson
Island of the Aunts- Eva Ibbotson
Eragon- Christopher Paolini
Eldest- Christopher Paolini
The Seventh Tower series- Garth Nix
The Fall; Castle; Aenir; Above the Veil; Into Battle; The Violet Keystone
The Wish- Gail Carson Levine
The Two Princesses of Bamarre- Gail Carson Levine
Gathering Blue- Lois Lowry
Messenger- Lois Lowry
The Cure- Sonia Levitin
A Wind in the Door- Madeleine L'Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet- Madeleine L'Engle
Many Waters- Madeleine L'Engle
An Acceptable Time- Madeleine L'Engle

Here is the list of resources and interview fro Christopher Paul Curtis:

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/BuckingSarge.htm
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=983
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/ 2000/jul00_lamb.asp
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-curtis-christopher-paul.asp
http://school.familyeducation.com/reading/fathers/37548.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/Christopher paulcurtis/christophercurtis.htm

Plastic Surgery Children's Book

So I was reading Us Weekly.com and came across an article that was called, "New Children's Book Explains Mom's Plastic Surgery". I included a link below, but the article is written by a plastic surgeon who thought it was a good idea to write a book that explains that surgery helps moms feel better. I can only imagine that this is going to be a very controversial book and thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss whether or not people would have this book in their classroom.

http://www.usmagazine.com/new-childrens-book-explains-moms-plastic-surgery

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Reward with Reading Programs

Hey guys,
So in class today we quickly mentioned the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards children gain from different incentive reading programs. I had mentioned that my elementary school participates in a program that dedicates March as 'reading month' and the whole school has a class by class competition to see which class can read the most books and the class that does read the most gets a pizza party at the end of the month. I found this competition for extrinsic motivation and reward less than desirable as a kid, but many found that it helped them. The reaction to this kind of competitive reading is inconclusive at best. I find that having "sleepovers" or parties that are dedicated to having kids read in a relaxed setting where they can read with their friends for fun is more beneficial for a school to conduct as to build on a child's intrinsic motivation to want to read for pleasure.
My question is: what incentive programs or just reading programs did your schools have and did you think they were beneficial?

TI: getting out of trouble?

In respect to Kalya's post about Snoop Dogg...

I was watching the news when I heard about the rapper, TI's, deal he made to reduce his sentence time for prison. I have very mixed feelings about this. Should a rapper who is known to have been buying illegal machine guns off of a convicted felon, be able to talk to children about gun savety and gang violence? He states in his website that
"TI also encouraged the youth to turn away from negativity and stressed that certain situations can interfere with positive growth and success in life."
also it states that:
"Later that day TI was pulled aside by a parent expressing gratitude and respect for TI and stated his message was heartfelt and sincere and will inspire her child to do better."

I have a hard time understanding how to believe messages from those who are 1) forced to talk to children about these things to keep them out of jail. (I would do almost anything to keep out of jail, and I bet he would as well.) and 2) Hearing this message from a man who sold crack as a teenager, went to jail for three years, and then was buying machine guns and silencers illegally...

What does everyone else think?
Should famous artists, like TI, be able to reduce and basically get rid of the charges by talking to our youth in schools?

http://www.trapmuzik.com/
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WireStory?id=3727227&page=2

Boys vs. Girls toys

I was really interested in our conversation in class last week about how boys and girls are directed towards certain colors and toys from birth. My brother-in-law is a perfect example of a person who is responsible for assisting children in what they should play with or like. My sister and brother-in-law have two children, a three year old girl and a two year old boy. They designed the girl's room in pink and purple with princess dolls, Barbies, and ponies. My nephew's room was immediately themed in sports since the day he was born. My brother-in-law purchased trucks, planes, robots, and space toys for my nephew and encourages him to be interested in watching sports with his daddy. However, my sister stays at home with her kids and teaches both my niece and nephew that it doesn't matter what toys you play with. Although my brother-in-law is learning and understanding that it is not right to assign gender to toys, he reacted interestingly to my sister's Christmas list for their son which had a tea set on it. He is slowly getting over this phase of wanting his son to be a macho man. This has been a learning experience for me as well because as hard as it is with media and toy store selections, I want to allow my children to pick and play with what toys they want.


I wanted to research more about experiences with gender specific toys and found this website. Check it out!:
http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2188/Gender-appropriate-toys-Is-it-a-big-deal-for-your-son-to-play-with-a-baby-doll/

Snoop Dogg writing children's books?

While looking on the internet for news on children's books. I came across many articles saying the Snoop Dogg is writing his own series of books for children. http://au.launch.yahoo.com/080414/10/1p3dp.html I thought this was interesting due to his reputation and behavior so I decided to check out the link to his site promoting the book. http://allhiphop.com/ The website reads "The world's most dangerous site". I found it interesting that a website promoting children's books would have so much inappropriate material on there for young readers. I don't understand why he would correlate his other work (targeted for a mature audience) with children's material. I was just curious if these factors would affect any of your decisions to read/buy/provide such a book in your classroom.

Also, happy national library week Apr 13-19. --learn something new everyday

Final exam

Hi everyone,

Our session next week will be our final exam. To study, I would suggest reviewing genre definitions and criteria and looking through power points from class (I just posted the ones that weren't up). As a reminder,

• When you come into class I'll hand you a picture book and an exam.
• Read the book, cover to cover, paying attention to the text and illustrations. (Remember that things like the publication date, author's notes, presence/absence of references, etc. may be important in your evaluation.)
• Respond to the questions on the exam, drawing on specific examples from the book, definitions from class, etc.
  
• Your responses will need to be concise and demonstrate what you've learned this semester. Your job is to evaluate/interpret, not just summarize/describe the book!
• If you would like your exam returned to you, please bring a self-addressed stamped envelope.
  

Other things to remember:

• If you haven't handed in the log of your blogging activity, please bring it to class.
  
• The second half of the facilitator and artistic responses for the group choice book are due before class.
  

If you have any questions, will you post them here so that everyone can read the answers?

Two poetry events!

Poem in Your Pocket
Thursday, April 17th

The Academy of American Poets has declared "Poem in Your Pocket" to be the theme of the 2008 National Poetry Month. They are encouraging all of us to put a poem, or poems, in our pocket (small poems) on Thursday, April 17th, and as we go through the day, reach into our pockets and pull out those poems to share with folks we encounter. You could have ten copies of the same poem in your pocket, or ten different poems. Or twenty. Or thirty.

TRILLIUM
College of Education Evening of Poetry
Wednesday, April 23, 7:00 p.m., Erickson 252

April is Poetry Month, and once again the College of Education is holding a Trillium Evening of Poetry. The evening will feature poetry by Laura Apol and Janine Certo. Open mike time will include readings by staff, students and faculty across departments and levels. Music of any form is also welcome.

Please consider participating in any way you wish: read an original work, read a favorite piece by another writer, read a translation or a poem in your own language, be a part of the audience, bring students and friends. If you are a visual artist, please consider displaying your work; if you are a musician, please consider performing.

Open mike readers and musicians will be given 3-5 minutes for their performance; please plan accordingly.
We are looking forward to another wonderful evening. Please plan to join us, and please announce this event to your classes and to the elementary, middle and high school teachers and students with whom you work.

Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Hey Class,

My group chose Speak for our groups book choice. I feel as though I didn't quite give it the best representation in class. It really is a great read, coming from an adult! I know summer is approaching and you probably have your mind set on just the opposite of reading. Sooo, I wanted to recommend the movie. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in class. I rented it from Blockbuster Video, it's in the Drama section. It's only like $4.00. Speak the movie is almost an exact replica of the book. Some of you might recognize it as a Life Time movie. Rape is a very serious topic, however, the movie does a splendid job of adding some High School humor to the whole production. This movie/book is a very interesting take on this subject. I highly recommend you guys take the time to watch the movie ( 1 hour and 30 min.) or read the book (198 pages) this summer. I promise you will truly enjoy yourself! Good-luck and I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

-Megan

Dove Campaign

I liked the message of the Dove campaign videos we watched in class, so I decided to check the other ones out after class. Some people may criticize these videos for being over the top but I think the media goes too far portraying beauty and body image to our society. This was illustrated in the video with the little girl who had thousands of images flashed past her throughout the day. Many people are affected by these images, especially when reading billboards or magazines, and these images may also affect people unconsciously. Even though I like reading magazines, I have to keep in mind that the models are not real people since many of them have been altered by a computer to fit the ideal standard of beauty. I think more campaigns celebrating the importance of real beauty should be advertised to our society because these standards and stereotypes have gotten ridiculous.

Here is the Christopher Paul Curtis Information:

Genre:

Historical Fiction
The Great Depression
-Hoovervilles
The Civil Rights Movement
-The Church Bombing
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
-Teenagers in Low-Income Areas



Literary Elements:
Humor
•To entice readers, especially children
•Bud’s Rules
Character Development
•Detailed, In-depth, believable, and relatable characters based on real life


Family:
In his Books
•Different Views of Families Shown
•Importance and Positive Aspects of Family
In his Life
•Uses as Inspiration, Ideas, Editors

Interview:
http://content.scholastic.com/brows media.jsp?id=92

Books:

•The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963
Random House 1995
•Bud, Not Buddy
Scholastic Inc. 1999
•Bucking the Sarge
Random House 2004
•Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money
Random House 2005
•Mr. Chickee’s Messy Mission
Random House 2005
•Elijah of Buxton
Scholastic Inc. 2007

Resources:

Christopher Paul Curtis’ Website:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/christopherpaulcurtis/index.htm
Offical Scholastic Website and Video Interview:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/search/?query=Christopher+Paul+Curtis&Ntt=Christopher+Paul+Curtis&Ntk=SCHL30_SI&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=0&Nty=1&No=0
Biographies:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=493
http://www.answers.com/topic/christopher-paul-curtis
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2000/jul00_lamb.asp
Interviews:
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-curtis-christopher-paul.asp
Teacher Resources:
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/curtis.htm

"A lot of fat kids who don't like to read"

“Rewards are not merely ineffective over the long haul but actually counter-productive.” Alfie Kohn’s A lot of fat kids who don’t like to read, discusses how children rewarded for reading are likely to have a greater interest in the reward, rather than the actual reading. A major topic in the article is Pizza Hut’s program called “Book it!” which rewards children for reading with pizza. I personally remember a similar bribe my elementary school used to “motivate” students to read (the class that collectively read the most in a month won a party). I’m interested to hear of other extrinsic motivators used in schools. Do you think this in fact had an effect on your interest, or lack of interest, in reading?

Response to Caroline's Post

Congratulations on winning nationals, I know how much hard work that takes! :) When I played Junior Olympic Volleyball in high school, I remember Nationals being the best time of the season...you got to spend more time with your team & being that you're in a different city there's always plenty of new things to do! Our Club Softball team actually just got asked to a tournament out in Las Vegas the weekend of the 26th so we'll have to decide if we're going or not, but we'd be playing a ton of colleges from out west, so it would be like our minnie nationals lol I also can't believe that this semester is almost over either! It seems like just yesterday we had our first day of class sitting with our little nametags on the desks HAHA This year has been really fun though, a great class that I would definately recommend to other students! :)

Volleyball Nationals

I just got back from our national volleyball tournament that was held in Texas tonight and we have been there since last Tuesday! Not that anyone really cares, but my team won our division for the girls, meaning we won the entire tournament and are now national champions!! It's all that i can really think about right now because I am still so excited so i just thought i would tell all of you my good news! I also can't believe how fast this semester has gone..only one more class and the final and then we're done with te348 which is so weird to me. I feel like this year has flown by like always, especially this second semester! Anyway i hope everyone had fun with our group choice books this week and i will see all of you in class tomorrow!!

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Today in class we talked about how The Uglies relates to Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. My group discussed these videos and how they relate to the themes in The Uglies. Here is a link to the website. http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/dsef07/t5.aspx?id=7373 We watched the first two videos in class today.
Kayla and I were talking about a club called RUBI (Respecting and Understanding Body Image). I also really like this YouTube video that I saw at a RUBI meeting. Check it out and tell me what you think! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQZwZVBDAHI By the way, if you are interested in this kind of thing and want to get involved, you might want to check out a RUBI meeting next year (they just had their last one of this year).

Session 13: Group choice and Pol/Econ of Reading

Hi everyone,

It's amazing that next session will be our last "real" session before the final exam session. This semester has gone by so fast! We'll have three foci: your small group book choice discussions; the politics and economics of storyselling; and preparing for the final exam. To prepare, please:

• Read and complete your role responses for class. Although I realize that you've seen your group members do your roles, I still encourage you to reread the syllabus to clarify what you need to do. (For facilitators and artistic responses, this includes writing a paper before AND after the session.)
• Read: Hade (2002): “Storyselling: Are Publishers Changing the Way Children Read?" AND/OR Kohn (1995): “A lot of fat kids who don’t like to read”. Come prepared with a hard copy of your article and ready to discuss and debate the highlights of the article. (There will be a quiz!)
  

• Although I'll accept them during the final exam session, you can hand in your blog participation log (last page of the syllabus) as well.
  

We'll also do some end of the year wrap-up like SIRS forms and feedback, so we'll be busy!

21

So I just went to go see the movie 21 and I absolutely loved it!! It was crazy how people could count like that in their head lol call me naive but do you think that could really work? I was thinking about it the whole movie. Not that I would ever try but it was interesting!! P.S- 5 dollar movies at NGC on Tuesdays is a great deal!!

The Uglies Series

In completing The Uglies it left me curious to what happens next. Did anyone go onto read the next book in the series. Or even better did anyone choose it as their group book choice? I would be interested in seeing how they enjoyed it in comparison, or would they recommend a completion in reading the series?

Horton Hears a Who

A friend sent me this note in an email and I thought I would pass it on to you!

Peter Sagal (from Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me) has an interesting editorial criticizing Horton Hears a Who for being sexist.

I haven't seen the movie, but if his description is accurate, it sounds like he has a good point.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89318829

Check Out a Museum!

hey guys! I was at the library recently and stumbled upon something really cool!

From October 25,2007 - October 24, 2008 You can check out passes at your local library to museums! These passes last up to seven days, and up to two or four people may be admitted on each pass. These passes get you into that museum FOR FREE!!!All you have to do is choose the museum you would like to visit from the stand located by the reception desk and bring the card for that museum to the circulation desk. The library will give you a museum pass that admits you inot the museum through the date printed on the slip. After that date the slip expires- no need to return it to your library.

This is a great opportunity to visit some really great museums-for free! I've already visited the DIA this way. You should really take advantage of this while it lasts!!

Folklore--The Jolly Postman

I just wanted to tell everyone about a great book that I found when digging through my childhood storybooks: The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters by Janet and Allen Ahlberg. This was one of my favorite books as a child because it was so different than any other book I had read, yet it incorporated common fairytales into the story in a unique and exciting way. The book is about a postman delivering the mail to some memorable fairytale characters. Each page consists of text on the left hand side and what looks like a real letter on the right hand side (the page acts as the envelope and there's actually a letter inside!). For example, the first stop on the postman's route is to "Mr. and Mrs. Bear" and the second stop is to "The Occupant, Gingerbread Bungalow, The Woods." The book is complete with six actual letters for each of the characters and their families--I think this is what I liked most about the book. I also enjoyed how the characters were portrayed as modern-day fairytales almost--their stories differed from that of the original fairytale story. For example, when the postman pulls up to Cinderella's Palace there is a sign on the outside that says "SOLD." Another reason why I took to the book so much was because of the rhyming, interesting text. Also. I was a big lover of fairytales when I was a child (especially Cinderella) and I think it was interesting for me to see a different representation of her than I was used to seeing. If you're looking for an interesting book that kids will absolutely love, try this one out. The book has so many surprises inside, kids will fall in love with it!

Session 12: Science Fiction & Fantasy

For session 12 we'll be talking about two of my favorite genres!

• Read "Fantasy and Science Fiction" (chapter 6 in C & G). What relationship do science fiction, fantasy, and folklore have to one another? How are they distinct? What criteria do C & G offer for the genres? How would you evaluate Uglies based on that criteria?
• Read Uglies and prepare for small group discussion. Be sure to mark passages that strike you as interesting, either because of their literary quality or because they would be interesting to discuss!

Weird Friends-juvenile nonfiction

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to share with you a great book where kids can learn science while having fun. For my SME class we were given individual topics to present and research on. I was given patterns of relationships between organisms. I had a very hard time coming across books that demonstrated this topic to younger children. However, I ended up finding a wonderful book called Weird Friends:Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. This book teaches kids symbiosis in a friendly and fun way. It explains that even though we think animals hurt each other in certain relationships, they are forming partnerships that may even help each other. The text in the story never ends bad or sadly. For example in a predator-prey relationship they will explain that the predator sneaks up on the prey but then they end the paragraph with the traits that the prey has to escape.
The artwork is great in this book. The illustrations are swirled with watercolors and have very vibrant and bold colors. Although you can see in the drawings that some of the animals in the pictures are not happy with the result of their partnership, this book is one of the lest violent ones that I have seen. As I mentioned before, every paragraph ends with a happy and safe ending. I believe that the emotions on the animals faces are there to let the reader know who is unhappy and who is benefiting from the relationship.
Overall, this is a great book when teaching kids about organism relationships and partnerships without being violent and depressing. I know that I will be using this book as a resource for my SME class and when teaching about this topic.

Greek Week

Hi everyone I just saw the post about MSU's Relay for Life and just wanted to encourage everyone to try and get involved because its such a great cause. On a second note MSU's Greek Life kicked off greek week last Friday with their Relay for Life and it was a great turn out. We are already really close to our goal of a quarter of a million dollars. For those of you who don't know, Greek Week is events held all week with the different competitions all raising money for different causes. Although Relay for Life is one of our main donations money is also raised for Share Laura's Hope, Mary Beth Knox Foundation, Make a Wish Foundation through MSU stars and Special Olympics. This Saturday is Songfest which is a dance competition and it is $5 entry fee with money going to these great foundations and is at 3pm at the Aud. It is a lot of fun and would encourage you guys to attend =)

Tip for Uglies

I just finished reading the second round of responses from section 1's Esperanza discussion. Almost all of the facilitators said something about how it was hard to go back to the book and find examples as their groups talked.

For Uglies I would suggest that everyone come up with a post-it or note taking system so that people can find their favorite passages, moments that bugged them in the story, etc. (I'll do the same.)

Creative non-fiction

On Saturday I heard Ira Glass, the host of the radio show "This American Life", speak. If you haven't heard his show, each week he interviews people as they tell stories from their lives and then puts several together around a theme. He does a little commentary and uses music to set the tone of the story. (He's also in the second season of a tv version on Showtime. I haven't seen it.)

Glass talked a lot about the power of storytelling and the "narrative arc" that his program follows. He also had some words of encouragement for writers and artists along the lines of "Yes, your work is going to suck for a long time, but if you keep at it eventually it will get better." (He even played one of his early radio shows to demonstrate how far he's come.)

I guess I thought about our class because he's been so successful in creating a non-fiction format that is entertaining and informative. Several people in Monday's section talked a little bit about taking a creative non-fiction class. I'm curious to hear more. What did you read? What types of writing did you do? (Any creative children's literature, by chance?)

Relay for Life

One day. One night. One community. Your Relay For Life^® is about celebration, remembrance, and hope. By participating, you honor cancer survivors, pay tribute to the lives we've lost to the disease, and raise money to help fight it all right here in your community. You won't want to miss one moment of this life- and community-affirming event!

Relay for Life - MSU is April 18th and 19th on the track next to Spartan Stadium. This is a life changing event. If anyone is interested PLEASE contact me! We are always looking for walkers and donations!

To get more information please go to our web site at : www.spartansrelay.com
Or contact me at munromel@msu.edu

Biography reminder!

Just a reminder that you need to bring at least one children's biography to class this week! We'll be using them of an activity, so it is important that everyone participate. :-)

Unintentional Increase in Birth Control Prices

In 2005, Congress passed The Deficit Reduction Act, which excluded 400 safety-net clinics from the low cost birth control program.  Over 3 million students and low-income women have seen their birth control prices increase from $10 up to $40 to $50.  Because of this price explosion, many women have had to choose between reliable birth control and other necessities 1.

A couple weeks ago I went to Washington D.C. on a school-funded trip to lobby against the increased prices of birth control at places like Planned Parenthood that has affected numerous college students and low income women in general.  On November 1^st, The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, which would “restore and protect access to discount drug prices for university-based and safety-net clinics”¹,was introduced.  Our group, The Jewish Women’s Forum, lobbied on behalf of the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, as we met with the staffers of Debbie Stabenow and Mike Rogers in efforts of persuading them to pass this act.

Our group is currently in the process of creating a website so that anyone can post their signature online to show Congress how many women (and men too, for that matter- there has been an increase in unwanted teen pregnancies) are affected by the increase in birth control prices.  As soon as this is created, I will post it here and it would be extremely helpful if you would take an extra minute out of your time to sign the petition.

It may not sound like a large increase but when added together, women have gone from paying about $120 to about $600 annually, an increase of $520 at the end of the year!  To me, that is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary.  So on that note, what are all your thoughts about this issue?

1 American Association of University Women--Two Minute Activist, Support the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act in the House.

http://www.capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=10595661

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Brookfield: Roaring Brook Press, 2003.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a great Biography/Historical fiction about a street performing man name Philippe Pitit who dreamed of walking between the Twin towers. He and some friends dressed up as construction works while the buildings were still being built and snuck to the top. It took them all night to get everything ready with a few close calls in between. That morning he walked across the rope, people began to spot him. Police were yelling you are under arrest. When he eventually came down from the rope he was arrested and the judge's "punishment" was for him to perform in the park for children. This brave/illegal act that Pitit took part in left at least one good memory of the towers for the people of New York. This book brings about themes of dedication, devotion, passion, and carrying on the memory of things even if something tragic brought it down.

The thing I criticize is the age appropriateness, after this book some children may go out and attempt to walk a rope across something with no training or. Also I don't think younger children will understand the concept of carrying on the memory because they may not know what happened to the towers or the severity of it. The artistic techniques in this book are very unique. Two pages in the book fold out making the rope walking experience seem very intense and real. Also he builds of his color use from dark to light throughout the book. I thought the very last page with the towers within the cloud being shown as a memory was very creative and intense and send a huge message.

JJS

Non-Fiction Texts in the Classroom

The think that I find interesting about these upcoming topics, biographies and non-fiction, is how important these genres are in using literacy across the curriculum and in incorporating reading throughout the curriculum. Not only are they great ways to use children's literature in all subjects, but they also are beneficial learning tools in helping kids learn by using different teaching methods. These books can also provide references to go along with fictional texts. Non-fiction and biographies can clarify facts from fictional stories. I also think its important to use a broad set of non-fiction texts. I often find myself using more social studies and historical non-fiction books, however, using non-fiction books in science and math can be very important and allow students who are more language based a way to understand science. Does anybody know any really good science non-fiction books for upper elementary?

Jewish Folklore

On Thursday evening, Howard Schwartz spoke at the Union on “Jewish Tales of the Supernatural”. Howard Schwartz is a writer whose focus is on Jewish folklore. I had never heard of Jewish folklore before and I was interested in what this is like. Because I was raised Jewish, I wanted to see if the morals presented in these Folktales are ones that I would like to identify myself with.
At the presentation, there were many picture books lying out with Jewish folklore stories. I had a couple minutes to look through one of the books, and I also stayed to hear the speaker talk about a couple Jewish folktales.
Like other folktales I have read or heard of, there were underlying themes and personification with animals. The themes, however, were different from other folktales. For example, in the book I read, the theme was to keep the Sabbath.
Some of the main themes in the folklore Howard Schwartz shared were ideas I do not necessarily agree with. This led me to reflect on many things, including folklore itself. What significance does folklore play in religion? What is the difference between biblical stories and religious folklore?
If any of you are interested, he is giving another lecture on Saturday, March 29 at Noon, on the topic “Is There a Jewish Mythology?” You can contact Congregation Shaarey Zedek for more information.

Ma Dear's Aprons-Historical Fiction

McKissack, Patricia. Ma Dear’s Aprons. New York: Simons & Schuster Publishing, 1997.

Patricia McKissack’s, Ma Dear’s Aprons is based on true events in which her great mother whom was called Ma Dear (short for mother dear) occurred when she lived in the early 1900s of rural Alabama. David Earl about 5 years and the only child of Ma Dear always knows what day it is by the color of his mother’s apron, as they do her daily duties for the families that she works for everyday. Through the tasks, whether he enjoys them or not his mother always makes time for them to spend happy moments together even when she’s tired. Everyday David Earl sees an apron except on Sunday which is a no work day for his mother when they can go to church and have dinner by the creek peacefully and quietly together.

Floyd Cooper uses color and texture to support the text in which McKissack depict real life people not just characters in a story. Just is why I styled this art as representational because of how realistic the characters look as he used the fall, rusty and faded colors. The beautifully art texture enhances Mckissack’s text as the characters’ facial features and expressions resemble life. The author provides a note that describes her memory of her great grandmother and how she struggled to maintain while still providing for her family. This book is great way for toddlers 6 and under to see a story about other races as well as a theme of loving your family.

EboniC

The Rabbit's Tale : Folklore

Han, Suzanne. The Rabbit’s Tail. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999.

This Korean Folklore is an exciting adventure between a cowardly tiger and a courageous rabbit. It tells the tale of how rabbits came to get their short fluffy tail because back in the day a rabbit‘s tail was much longer. The story starts when the tiger gets scared from an ‘evil creature‘. Amazed that anything could scare a tiger, the brave rabbit dashes off to see the creature. The tiger doesn’t want him to go but the rabbit does not listen and instead gets himself in trouble with the ‘evil creature’ which changes the future of rabbit tails forever.
The illustrator, Richard Wehrman uses a naïve art which is an art that is intense and the artist focuses on emotions and visions. Folk art is also illustrated in the pictures where the Korean culture stands out significantly in the artwork.
The author’s note at the very beginning of the book really helps the reader understand more about this Korean folktale and the importance of using the tiger and rabbit as characters. I really enjoyed how Suzanne Han focused on informing the reader about the story before actually reading it so we got to appreciate the culture more. I would like to say the age most appropriate for this book is 10 and up due partly to the scary artwork depicted in the tiger, but also references to a thief and an ox being eaten by the tiger.

Using Picture Book with Adults

I would like to bring up the discussion that occurred in Monday's class about the idea of using picture books with not only younger aged readers but also with adolescence and adults. In my opinion this is a very vital and useful tool for all ages. Students have may different learning tactics. Some learn through oral means, while others learn from visual means. Pictures add a lot to an experience of reading. You are never too old for pictures. Pictures can trigger many thoughts about the text that might not have been brought up without that visual aid. I don't think that you can define an age where pictures are inappropriate to use in the learning process. Pictures are used throughout all subjects and all grades of education. In math we look at bar graphs and pie charts, in social studies we look at maps and timelines. All of these elements are a variation of pictures. Many times with novels, the reader only has the colorful cover page to help portray the book. This picture usually lures the reader to the book from the bookshelf. I think we should consider the value children's pictures books have on a child's learning and apply them to the education of all ages. Something that might capture our eyes, can also capture our minds. 

The Truth About Helen Keller

Being a sophomore in college, I find it unbelievable that I never knew anything about Helen Keller's passion for social change. I of course learned the typical story of Helen Keller in elementary school that only focuses on her childhood instead of her efforts in her adult life. As I was thinking about how my elementary school, along with many others, failed to educate me fully about Keller's life, I began thinking about all the information missing from my elementary education that I have only learned in my college years. For instance, last year I learned the true Rosa Parks story; how the movement actually began with a sixteen year old girl but they did not find her fit to represent the movement. Also in my history class this semester, I am learning many things about America's history that were lacking and sometimes are contradictory to what I learned in high school. I can't help but wonder all of these are missing from early education. Do they not feel that young students are ready to deal with these concepts?

Session 11: Biography and Nonfiction

For session 11 we'll be talking about two genres of books: non-fiction and biography! To prepare for class, please:

• Read Chapter 9 (Biography) and Chapter 10 (Nonfiction) in C & G.
• Read "The Truth about Helen Keller". What is the author's critique of the way in which Keller is depicted in children's biographies?
  
• Bring 1-2 children's biographies to class. We will use them for an activity, so it is very important to have them in hand!
  
• Come prepared to talk with your group about your group book choice!

• Remember that the second part of facilitator and artistic responses to Esperanza Rising are due before class.
  

If you want to share ideas about group choice selections, please post comments and questions on the post about group choice.

Group book choice

At the end of session 11 (the day we do biography/non-fiction), I am going to ask groups to tell me what they've chosen for their group book choice.

Start asking around for ideas, checking out internet resources, and looking in your C&G book. (I'm also a big fan of talking to librarians, teens hanging out in the YA section of the library, etc.) Usually it helps to have some focus. What do you want to be reading? A book by a favorite author? A graphic novel? A particular genre? Or a book on a particular topic?

The only "rules" are:

• Choose something that you want to read. Everyone should be excited about reading the book!
  
• Choose something that is rich enough to support all five response roles (this is why picture books are hard to select)
  
• Not to select a book used in TE 448 (sorry)
  

Here are some books that either students have used in the past or that I can imagine prompting interesting discussion:

• The Golden Compass (fantasy)
  
• Howl's Moving Castle (fantasy)
  
• Feed (science fiction)
  
• One of the sequels to "Uglies"
  
• So Yesterday (contemporary realistic fiction)
  
• Nothing but the Truth (multi-vocal/multi-genre)
  
• TTFN (IM novel)
  
• The Realm of Possibility (multivocal)
  
• The Arrival (graphic novel)
  
• American Born Chinese (graphic novel)
  
• The Westing Game (mystery)
• Catalyst, Speak, or another of Laurie Halse Anderson's books
• Novels selected from one of the multicultural awards lists
  

This list feels a little random to me. I encourage people to comment and add other suggestions!

Too young?

Hi Everyone!
After reading Esperanza's Rising I had a quick question that we didn't address in class. I nanny for a girl who loves reading and I was thinking that she would really enjoy this book. When reflecting back on the book though I thought of many topics that were brought up during the reading that might be difficult for a young child to grasp, but what would be considered too young? I couldn't place an age group on this book and I was wondering what you thought. She is 10 years old and is an avid reader but I'm kinda thinking that this book might be too much for her. Let me know what you think : )

Non-fiction vs. Textbooks

While reading chapter 10 in our textbook for next week’s class, I started thinking about several points concerning children’s nonfiction that I hadn’t previously thought about. “You probably remember only isolated fragments of information from your elementary school textbooks…We learn best when our emotions are involved and when we are actively engaged, and we learn more readily when we pursue our own-rather than someone else’s interests” (261). We know that students enjoy learning more and are generally more successful when material is related to them in some way, so it makes sense that children respond better to engaging nonfiction literature as opposed to endless facts listed in textbooks. If nonfiction encourages a more meaningful experience and helps children retain information longer, why don’t we integrate them more into school curriculums and rely less heavily on dull textbooks? What do you think?

Relay for Life

Every year the Greek community at Michigan State University has a week called "Greek Week" that is a series of events that are meant to raise money for the American Cancer Society. There are different events that you can attend each night that cost $5 to get in and all of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Foundation. These different events include MTV night which is a bunch of amazing hip-hop dances that are really fun to watch on Tuesday April 1st, Battle of the Bands which is singing and instruments on Wednesday April 2nd, and then Songfest which is also a dance/singing event that is cool to watch on Saturday April 5th. How it works is every Sorority and Fraternity are paired up and they have to perform in each of these events and the point of it all is to raise money! If any of you are interested in coming to watch any of these events they will be taking place in the Auditorium and are all at 7:00. You are all welcome and encouraged to come and just remember that its for a great cause!! Also if anyone is interested in just donating money to this organization let me know..my email is slaterc4@msu.edu so just let me know and i can help you do it online!!

Pumps & Glitter II (McDonel Hall Drag Show)

Hey all this is a cool and fun event attend if you can.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=12228133851

Time and Place

Date:	Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Time:	9:30pm - 11:00pm
Location:	McDonel Hall Kiva

Come join us for THE event of the semester. You never know what might happen!

Planned events include a showing of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" as well as performances by the HOTTEST dragstars on campus. But please... expect the unexpected.

Math advisory report

I found this article on the following website, http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/03/03132008.html. It talks about how math education is lacking in this country and how children need to be taught math skills at an early age in order to succeed. This report gives an outline to when certain concepts should be taught to students. One of the highlights talks about how students need to learn algebra in order to succeed in college. How important is math education to the complete education of a child?



PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Highlights Findings of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
Spellings Stresses Importance of Effort, Algebra and Early Math Education

FOR RELEASE: March 13, 2008

Contact: Samara Yudof or Elissa Leonard (202) 401-1576

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the release of the final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. Created in April 2006 by President George W. Bush, the historic panel worked for more than two years reviewing the best available scientific evidence to advance the teaching and learning of mathematics. The final report and its findings were passed unanimously at the panel's meeting today at Longfellow Middle School in Falls Church, Va.

"This report represents the first comprehensive analysis of math education to be based on sound science," said Secretary Spellings. "The National Math Advisory Panel's findings and recommendations make very clear what must be done to help our children succeed in math. We must teach number and math concepts early, we must help students believe they can improve their math skills and we must ensure they fully comprehend algebra concepts by the time they graduate from high school. The Panel's extensive work will benefit generations of American students."

The experts on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel represent over six centuries of experience in their respective fields. They have received testimony from more than 200 individuals and nearly 150 organizations, and reviewed more than 16,000 research studies.

The report respects the role of teachers as those in the best position to determine how to teach a given concept or skill. Instead of defining methods for teaching, the report offers a timeline of when students must master critical topics. The panel determined that students need to develop rapid recall of arithmetic facts in the early grades, going on to master fractions in middle school. Having built this strong foundation, the panel stated students would then be ready for rigorous algebra courses in high school or earlier. Noting changing demographics and rising economic demands, Secretary Spellings stressed the significance of the panel's findings on algebra.

"The panel's research showed that if students do well in algebra, then they are more likely to succeed in college and be ready for better career opportunities in the global economy of the 21st century," said Secretary Spellings. "We must increase access to algebra and other rigorous coursework if we hope to close the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their peers."

The panel also found that the earlier children learn math, the better their chances of success.

"Just as with reading, the math knowledge children bring to school at an early age is linked with their performance in later grades," said Secretary Spellings. "I hope parents will seize upon this finding and, just as we encourage with reading, they also spend time with their children working on numbers and core mathematics concepts."

Adds Secretary Spellings, "It is vital that as our children continue to learn new mathematics concepts, we encourage them to believe that working harder in math will lead to achieving better results. Studies have shown that it is effort, and not just inherent talent, that makes the critical difference between success and failure. When it comes to math, it seems hard science says it is truly worth the effort!"

The Secretary will convene a national summit based on the recommendation of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel.

For more information on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel and its findings, please visit www.ed.gov/MathPanel.

MSU Fast Pitch Club Softball Team Fundraiser

Hey Everyone!
My softball team (MSU Club Softball) is having a fundraiser @ Buffalo Wild Wings on Albert Ave. on April 9th from 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. If you come and bring a flyer we'll get 20% of your tab. We dont' get any funding from the university so we need all the help we can get...There is an event on facebook so you can look it up under: MSU Women's Fast Pitch Club Softball Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser! and from there you can print off the flyer (I'll also bring some of them to class next week too so just ask me for one!) We'd really appreciate if you guys came out and supported us, so we hope to see you there!! :) GO GREEN! GO WHITE! GO STATE!

Author visit - TOMORROW!

Meet Best Selling Young Adult Author Lauren Myracle!
Tuesday, March 25th at 7:00 p.m.
Lauren Myracle is the author of numerous best selling books for tweens and teens. She will be visiting Schuler Books to talk about two of her newest books, Thirteen and L8R, G8R.

Thirteen, the much anticipated sequel to Eleven and Twelve, continues the story of Winnie Perry, who is FINALLY a teenager! But Winnie is about to find out that the bigger you get, the bigger your problems get too!

L8R, G8R, now available in paperback, is the best-selling sequel to TTYL and TTFN, Myracle’s innovative novels for teens told entirely through instant messages. Following best friends Maddie, Angela, and Zoe, also known as the winsome threesome, as they get closer to graduation, L8R, G8R shows just how important it can be to have your best friends only an instant message away!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Rosen, Michael. We'Re Going on a Bear Hunt. New York: Macmillan Company, 1989.

As I began to read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt I took a step back into my childhood. Michael Rosen, author of this entertaining children’s book, used imperative literary elements to capture the hearts of young children around the world. Through Rosen’s words, and illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, the book—published in 1989—is still a big hit inside libraries, classrooms, and homes today. This adventurous and fictional book aims to emphasize the importance of a child’s imagination. The story is about a father and his children’s wild adventure in hopes to come face-to-face with a bear. Centering around various settings such as a grassy meadow, a river, dense mud, a dark forest, and a snowstorm, the family finally reaches the dark cave where the bear rests. The plan backfires, however, when the bear begins to chase them all the way home. Luckily, they end up safely in bed.

Overall I feel the pictures made the biggest impression for me. Switching between black and white charcoaled pictures, to a beautiful use of watercolors, Oxenbury demonstrated the use of both representational and impressionistic art. From the meadow to the cave, Oxenbury realistically depicts nature in its actual environment. Amongst this, she used beautiful and vibrant watercolors to highlight the lighting in each picture. From cover to cover, the textual and pictorial relationship remains symmetrical with one another. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is a wonderful children’s book triggering the imagination of kids all around the world. As I finished reading the book it seemed as if no time had passed between my childhood and now.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt Historical Fiction

Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1993.

This adventurous book would go along perfectly with a lesson on African-American history. Written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by James Ransome, this books gives a captivating story of a young Black girl named Clara who is a slave sold away from her mother to anther plantation. After struggling to keep up with the work in the field, Clara is taught how to knit by Aunt Rachel which will allow her to work in the big house instead of the hard labor of a field hand. As Clara proceeds to master her new craft, she begins to create a quilt from left over fabric she comes across resembling the surrounding plantations leading to the underground railroad.

The illustrations in the book are phenomenal and rich in colors such as red, yellow and green suggesting warmth, excitement and renewal. From glancing at the pictures makes you feel as if you are standing next to the characters as you listen to them speak to you while feeling the hot sun beat upon your head and smelling the sweet earth they are harvesting. The illustrations not only reinforce the text they also aides the reader in understanding the life of African-Americans during the long periods of slavery.The illustrations add the emotion that could not be captured in words alone. The dialect given to the characters also help to make the story more realistic as it relates to the era and setting of how western Blacks spoke back in that time. Will Clara ever get a chance to finish her quilted map before Master finds out? Will her and her friends manage their escape, or be whipped and caught for the second time? Join Clara on her courageous journey following her beautiful quilt to freedom at the underground railroad!

Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1981. ISBN:0-590-42233-2

Jumanji a creative children’s book about siblings, Judy and Peter, who are alone in their upper class home bored leading them to the park where they find a board game, “Jumanji-A Jungle Adventure Game.” The children began playing the game and find themselves in an assortment of predicaments. These events develop as the children roll the dice trying to move their pieces across the board and out of the jungle. The climax is reached when jungle animals surround them and Judy has the pressure to roll a twelve in order for the game to be complete. She does just that and shouts, “Jumanji!” and the chaos of the house disappears. The theme was revealed when Judy realizes to stop the craziness they must continue the game until they are out of the jungle. Showing the theme of finishing what you start.

Using charcoal drawings and surrealistic art the audience is sucked into the story by both text and illustrations. The drawings are all very textured and detailed. Illustrations are placed on a full page on the right page with a white boarder. The main objects in the illustrations are the largest in the drawing with some 3.D characteristics. The tension of the text is felt as the illustrations grow darker or lighter with the lighter pages feeling the safest.

Jumanji a fantasy, Caldecott Medal book told in 3rd person has simple text and eye-catching illustrations appropriate for imaginative elementary readers and has a theme relative to all ages of life.

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?. New York, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

A fun-filled nonfiction and the winner of the Caldecott Honor, which is very informative on animals and how they use their different senses; sight, smell, touch, hear, and taste. This was an entertaining book, because before the reader is exposed the actual animal, the only things shown are noses, eyes, mouths, etc; along with being educating, it also becomes a guessing game. The authors did a very good job in making this educational book enjoyable. The illustrations in this book are cut-out pictures and made into a kind of collage. The cut-outs look as though they have different textures and make the reader want to touch the animals shown. There is a large variety of different animals that are used to help the reader to understand what their noses, ears, feet, eyes, mouths, and tails are used for. The pictures alone would not be able to bring the reader knowledge about the animals because all the reader would see would be an animal, but how do they use their senses? The text in this book is very important in telling the reader what they need to know. Although the pictures in this book may seem a bit simple, it had to have taken time to get the “textures” of the animals just right, because the feel of every animal is different and the readers can all sense that from seeing the pictures. At the end of the book, it showed all of the animals that were mentioned and had more information on them so that the readers would have a better understanding of the different animals.

other sources:
Cullinan, Bernice, and Lee Galda. Literature and the Child. 5th ed. Wadsworth, 2002

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter- Folklore (Fakelore)

Stanley, Diane. Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter. New York, New York: William morrow and Company, inc., 1997.

Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter puts a contemporary twist on the original tale, Rumpelstiltskin, by including powerful female roles, a change-of-heart king, and love interest who is not a handsome prince. This story is set in medieval times and starts off similar to the original story where Rumpelstiltskin helps the miller’s daughter spin gold so she will be free from the greedy king. In return, Rumpelstiltskin wants her first born child and promises to read to the child every night and even coach little league. The miller’s daughter falls for Rumpelstiltskin and they move to a farm far from the king to bare a child. The story then follows their daughter’s adventure years later of being captured by the king when they cross paths in town. Rumpelstiltskin's daughter helps portray the theme of the story and teaches the king that money is not everything and in turn he helps out his town which he had abandoned.
The colorful and comical artwork for this story is very detailed. I enjoyed the castle paintings because they represent replicas of famous artist’s work that feature the greedy king. My favorite pages are the beautiful pages colored in gold to show that the townspeople are happy and content. The third person point of view allows us to see each character’s wit and cleverness individually by their comments. Overall, Diane Stanley does a great job creating an updated, contemporary, witty, and fun version of a tale we all know and like.

Looking into this “fakelore” I found out there is a musical on the book also! Check it out!
http://www.rumpelstiltskinsdaughter.com/

Days with Frog and Toad-Arnold Lobel

Days with Frog and Toad
The book Days with Frog and Toad, written by Arnold Lobel, is a well recognized and awarded Children’s Fiction Picture book. It come from a list of various f other “Frog and Toad” books, some of which having won the Newberry or Caldecott.
This specific book of the series shares short stories about 5 different occurrences for them. Toad comes across each obstacle (from a lesson in procrastination in “Tomorrow” to a touching story of friendship in “Alone”). Every story shows how a good friend should act; children enjoy reading these stories because they can see themselves in one or the other characters shoes.
The illustrations in this book are blander than most other children’s books. The color choice is dull but still reflects their personalities by making the naïve Toad brown and wiser Frog dark green. The pictures mimic the text, making this a possible selection to give to students having harder time learning to read. The illustrations are cartoonistic, putting a focus on lines to emphasize. On some of the pages, the artwork is placed randomly around the page, and sometimes takes the same amount of space as the text. It makes the text more fun to read.
Overall, I believe the book Days with Frog and Toad would be a great book to assign students in a lower elementary level class. It could be used to go along with a theme of friendship because of the relationship Toad and Frog have with each other in the stories. Also, it is a great book to get students excited about higher levels of reading due to the books transitioning from a picture book into a chapter book form.

Lobel, Arnold. Days with Frog and Toad. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1979.

A Chair For My Mother

Williams, Vera B. A Chair for My Mother. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1982.

This is a story told by the young girl who selflessly devises a plan to donate her hard earned money to her single working mother and grandmother. She wants to help buy a piece of comfy furniture after a fire destroyed their home and belongings. The family fills a huge jar with spare coins they collect each day and optimistically count the money inside nightly until the day when the jar is full and their dream of a comfy armchair is obtained.

Vera B. Williams's (author and illustrator) use of the little girl as the narrator creates a selfless and optimistic theme of a child trying to give something of value to her mother. She plays on the child’s hopeful narration and invites readers of any age to relate to and enjoy the realistic story. The specific setting of the story is never mentioned, but obviously it is located in a city which allows for a large spectrum of readers to insert themselves into the story. Williams's Caldecott Honor illustrations enhance the story further by expressing the scenery and mood of the story through artistic color and borders. Williams's relationship between text and art helps a wide range of audiences understand visually her theme of selflessness; a solid lesson for kids and adults to learn and review which I believe is Williams’s hidden meaning behind her book.

Say, Allen. Grandfather's Journey.

Say, Allen. Grandfather’s Journey. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.

Grandfather’s Journey is about a young Japanese-American man who leaves his homeland of Japan to travel across sea to the beautiful sights of America. As you read this historical fiction, you learn the story of a grandfather who is struggling with the love of two countries throughout his life and his ongoing travels between the two places, told to you by his grandson. You will be finally introduced to his grandson at the end of the story when he decides to travel and stay in California after his grandfather passes away. The grandson says, “The moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other,” (31) and that is exactly how his grandfather felt all his life.

Each page has an impressionistic watercolor still life illustration of landscape or people, and you feel like you’re looking at a family photo album as you turn each page. Say’s brush strokes and lines do a great job illustrating age in people and shows tremendous detail. The colors are neutral and complement the emotions of the characters, and the shapes direct the reader’s eye to the positive space of the picture.

Allen Say does a great job putting his own voice into a story while the purpose was to educate children about a different culture. This book is relevant in today’s society and is appropriate for middle to upper elementary depending on comprehensive ability.

Animalia By Graeme Base- Fiction/Poetry/Animal Fantasy

Base, Graeme. Animalia. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 1993.

If you still tend to “judge a book by its cover” then I don’t think you’ll be able to pass up Animalia written and illustrated by Graeme Base. Animalia is an alphabet book but it offers much more than just teaching the letters in their appropriate order. Each page is dedicated to one of the 26 letters of the alphabet and it contains a phrase using only words that begin with the designated letter. One of the words on each page is the name of an animal that starts with the given letter, thus explaining the title: Animalia. Base has filled each letter’s page from top to bottom with objects that begin with the showcased letter. So although the phrase may consist of only a few words, nearly all illustrations complement the letter. Base’s artwork style is a mixture of representational and surrealistic art with a great use of vivid color and intense texture.

I think beyond the sheer enjoyment this book brings, is a great teaching and learning tool. Each phrase uses alliteration and encourages vocabulary exploration. Since alliteration is used, it can be difficult to find words that make sense but also start with the appropriate letter, so some of the words are not found in everyday language. The illustrations alone are a learning tool that make readers question the strategic placement of each object.

Overall , Animalia is a fun, informational book that will leave readers of all ages entertained for hours!

Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

Muth, Jon. Zen Shorts, New York: Published by Scholastic Press, 2005.

Zen Shorts is a fictional/folklore picture book that challenges the human mind and forces it to reexamine every aspect of our lives: The habits, desires, and uncertainties. The story involves three children (Michael, Addy, and Karl) who form an unlikely friendship with a panda bear named Stillwater who happens to be their new next door neighbor. The days that follow have each of the children visiting Stillwater, where he provides stories that challenge and encourage the children to think in ways that never occurred to them before.

Using water color and ink was a fitting approach in constructing the artwork of the picture book. The pale colors create an atmosphere that is calm and relaxing. Despite the use of water color the features are oddly complex and realistic, every detail penetrating the reader’s senses. The story is placed in the pictures, instead of a separate section of the page. If the text had been a separate section it would have shown incohesion, and moved away from the serenity of the book.

“When you look into a pool of water there is a clear reflection. If the water is agitated the reflection is unclear.”[1] Our minds are like that. When we are agitated, we cannot see the truth. Jon Muth effectively demonstrates his ability to challenge the human mind. The story reflects how we consistently examine our own personal behavior and learn from our experiences. The story is appropriate for ages 5-10.

[1] Quote found in back of Zen Shorts

Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

Muth, Jon. Zen Shorts, New York: Published by Scholastic Press, 2005.

Zen Shorts is a fictional/folklore picture book that challenges the human mind and forces it to reexamine every aspect of our lives: The habits, desires, and uncertainties. The story involves three children (Michael, Addy, and Karl) who form an unlikely friendship with a panda bear named Stillwater who happens to be their new next door neighbor. The days that follow have each of the children visiting Stillwater, where he provides stories that challenge and encourage the children to think in ways that never occurred to them before.

Using water color and ink was a fitting approach in constructing the artwork of the picture book. The pale colors create an atmosphere that is calm and relaxing. Despite the use of water color the features are oddly complex and realistic, every detail penetrating the reader’s senses. The story is placed in the pictures, instead of a separate section of the page. If the text had been a separate section it would have shown incohesion, and moved away from the serenity of the book.

“When you look into a pool of water there is a clear reflection. If the water is agitated the reflection is unclear.”[1] Our minds are like that. When we are agitated, we cannot see the truth. Jon Muth effectively demonstrates his ability to challenge the human mind. The story reflects how we consistently examine our own personal behavior and learn from our experiences. The story is appropriate for ages 5-10.

[1] Quote found in back of Zen Shorts

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ronald Himler

Fly Away Home is a story of a homeless boy and his father who live in an airport, each day moving to a new terminal in an effort to go unnoticed. One day the boy sees a bird trapped in the airport and when the bird escapes through a door, he realizes that he also will find a way out someday. Some readers may not be able to relate to being homeless and having to live in an airport, but they can probably relate to the feeling of being trapped in a situation at some point in their lives. Since the story is told through the eyes of the boy, children can relate to his feelings and adults can relate because they were children at one time.
The idea of being trapped can be felt through both the pictures and the text. The pictures help to capture the boys’ sadness and the dull colors enhance the readers' feelings of pain and lifelessness. Both the boy and his father always wear blue, a color often associated with sadness and the pictures seem to close in around the words, drawing the eyes of the reader inward which may represent feeling trapped, as well.
According to The Horn Book, "the problem of homelessness, so distressing and so difficult to explain to children, has found moving expression in a simple, universal picture book…"[1] I agree, homelessness can be hard to explain and the feelings of those who are homeless can he hard to get across. This book helps children and adults experience the pain of the homeless through words and pictures.

[1] This quote can be found on the back of Fly Away Home.

Bunting, Eve. Fly Away Home. New York: Clarion, 1991.

On the Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson, Jacqueline. On the Other Side. New York, New York: G.P. Putnam's Son, 2001.

Jacqueline Woodson lays this story out like a beautiful poem with her fence that is used as a metaphor for the racial divide. The book is set in the south during the time of racism and the divide between whites and blacks. The story is about a summer friendship that overcomes that racial divide. The narrator, a young African American girl named Clover, lives next to a fence that separates her town. Clover's mother tells her she is never to climb over the fence because it wasn't safe. One summer morning while playing outside, Clover notices a girl on the other side of the fence. Becoming curious of each other as the summer goes by. One day they both finally get up enough guts to meet one another and they decide not to listen to either of their mother's and sit upon the fence which once divided them as if it was meant just for that.
The illustrations in this book are absolutely breathtaking. E.B. Lewis uses watercolor to capture the summer time in the south. The use of blue and yellow in the pictures show happiness and unity. The part where he captures the sadness of Clover not being able to go outside with the rain outside. On one of the pages shows the social status by the separation of the two by a cement line. You can tell the curiosity of the two children yearning to meet one another. Lewis depicts the time with the dresses and the sneakers. The sun is shining but there are dark shadows.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales consists of stories that are inspired by and loosely based on classic fairy tales.  It features a narrator, Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk and follows him through his interaction with other fairy tale characters.  All of the characters and stories have a twist, such as Little Red Running Shorts instead of Little Red Riding Hood, and Chicken Licken instead of Chicken Little.  The settings and points of view vary from story to story, but a common theme of sarcasm and irony ring throughout the different tales.  For example, none of the stories end in the typical happy ending of the classics.

The artwork is very elaborate, and the text itself is incorporated into the story.  The font size and color change depending on which character is speaking, and even the title and dedication pages stay true to the sarcastic nature of the book.  The images fuse together both realistic and abstract images.  The abstract image will be painted, with what appear to be clippings of realistic images surrounding it. 

  C&G refers to this book as Literary Lore, which are described as fracture fairy tales that imitate or change traditional folk tales. (Cullinan & Galda, p. 175).  A child reading this would have to be old enough to understand the link between the classic stories and the revised ones.  A young child might not be able to understand the humor of the book, whereas older children and adults find it hilarious.  The book is very entertaining, and would be a lot of fun to read for several different age groups.

Scieszka, Jon, and Lane Smith.  The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.  1st ed. New York: Viking, 1992.

Black Cat By Christopher Myers

Myers, Christopher. Black Cat. New York: Scholastic Press, 1999.

Black Cat is a children’s picture book written and illustrated by Christopher Myers. The book’s genre is general fiction, poetry and rhyming. This book is about a black cat that freely wanders through the inner city streets and alleys of Harlem day and night. The unobserved narrator throughout the book asks the cat where is it’s home, and where does it go. It appears the cat has no home, and wanders freely as he (or she) pleases.
Black Cat is written in a rhythmic poetry, which style matches the unique illustrations of the book. The book can be enjoyed by wide age group, but the book’s poetry may be too complex and it’s references to foreign things may be to difficult for young children to understand.
The illustrations in this book are very unique. Myers uses real photographs shot in Harlem and Brooklyn, and transforms them into eye-catching collages by adding his own ink and gouache (a type of paint).
I think this book portrays the themes of identity, freedom, and a home. The cat is free to roam wherever and however he wishes. This book may evoke the reader to think about their home life, and realize that they are lucky to have a home, although this book also shows that the cat enjoys his freedom and independence without a home. At the end when the cat is asked where is it’s home, the cat responds, “anywhere I roam.”
If you like this book, you would also enjoy Harlem, written by Walter Dean Myers, and illustrated by Christoper Myers.

Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey

Clever Beatrice is an original folktale written by Margaret Willey and illustrated by Heather Solomon. Set in the late 19th century in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the author uses a third person account to cleanly direct the plot. The story begins with an establishment of characters; Beatrice and her mother have fallen on hard times, however, there is a rich giant over the hill. In the ending the problem is resolved without difficulty; Beatrice outsmarts the giant and wins his riches. Willey’s overall theme is that intelligence will triumph over physical strength.
Solomon uses collage technique with acrylic, oils, and watercolors throughout the illustrations to supply visual contrasts and patterns that convey movement and reality. She produces impressionistic art that effectively combines small morsels of color and texture to create a complete picture. The illustrations are three-dimensional with thin angular lines and geometric shapes. The earth tones used reflect the simplicity of woodland life.
Willey’s accomplishes her intent to entertain and educate. Her story reflects on an economy relying on the lumber industry, “One way [to make money] is to cut down trees with the lumberjacks,” states Beatrice’s mother (p. 3). This ever-present relationship between people and the environment is relatable for all generations. A hidden message Willey includes is that when times are rough one may need to call upon all of their personal strengths to overcome tribulations. This folktale is appropriate for ages 4-8.

Willey, Margaret. Clever Beatrice. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001.

Click http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/experts/willey.asp for an interview in which Willey comments on her inspiration and techniques used while writing this book.
If you are interested in Upper Peninsula folktales this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bloodstoppers-Bearwalkers-Traditions-Upper-Peninsula/dp/0674076656 offers a compilation of stories collected by a folklorist in the late 1940’s.

The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown

The famous pair, Margaret Wise Brown and illustrator, Clement Hurd, have once again produced a heart warming bedtime story, The Runaway Bunny, sure to make any child’s dreams sweet. The story first introduces a little bunny informing his mother that he is going to run away, with the mother replying that if he does she will find him. Each page, the bunny fabricates a plan of action he will take to get away from his mother by adopting different professions that put him up on mountain tops and out in the ocean. No matter what he does his mother seems to finds him every time. Unconditional love is easily portrayed by the mother each page, which makes it a simple lesson for children to hold on to.

The illustrations in the book are setup differently than most, where with each page that includes text, the picture is a black and white sketch. Then, there is a spread following the black and white pages that has no border or words, bright colors, and is an example of impressionistic art as an oil painting. Since the whole book is based on a conversation between a mother and her little bunny boy, each black and white page explains what that character intends to do. Each color page, therefore, exhibits the result of their intentions. The book’s simple story line with repetitive phrases, cumulative pattern of events, and literal illustrations of the content makes it a perfect book for children that are learning to read.

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Runaway Bunny. New York City: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1972.