Monday, May 10, 2010
Final Reflection
I was not too sure what to expect while coming into this class, I’ve heard you had to read tons of children’s books and blog about them. It sounded fun to me, something different than the rest of my classes! As I collected my books for my first week of reading and blogging, I found myself not too sure where and what to search for, it was then that I realized I knew (or could remember) not too much about children’s literature! It’s embarrassing to admit, being an elementary education major and all. However, I am truly glad that all elementary education majors are required to take this class because I have such a better sense of what a “good” piece of literature is, where/how I can find books, what type of books different grades and ages like, different genres in general, how to incorporate literature into my curriculum (text sets), what authors are currently a hit with students, how to make a Glogster (which I plan to use in my classroom!), and much more. I never knew there could be so much to children’s literature in my future classroom, so I am so glad I took this class. Even though it was under two hours a week, I feel like I learned a lot more than how long I was in class for. Thanks for a great semester, Jen!
Love That Dog
Since I read this book before any other poetry books I picked out for the poetry week, I was not too sure what to expect. I’m embarrassed to admit it’s been so long since I’ve read a poetry book and I cannot remember the last time I read one! But not even a few pages through Love That Dog, I knew I was going to like it. I have never read a poetry book like this, how the whole entire book are narratives from someone’s diary, and there is continuity between each entry. How creative of the author!
Sharon Creechwrites in a free verse and introduces the audience to a young boy whose teacher is making the class write poetry in their notebook, and it could be about anything. The writes about how he does not know how to write poetry, etc, but while writing things like that, he’s actually writing poetry. The audience can tell that the teacher writes back to him (even though we can’t see) because he writes his responses to the teacher in his poems. His poetry turns out to be awesome as he grows confidence in his writing. I would definitely incorporate this book into my curriculum as a teacher because I know tons of students think they can’t write poetry and have a negative feeling with it, just like the main character in this book. While reading it, they would be able to see that poetry it not all that difficult and boring, and they can see how much fun one could have with it.
Sharon Creechwrites in a free verse and introduces the audience to a young boy whose teacher is making the class write poetry in their notebook, and it could be about anything. The writes about how he does not know how to write poetry, etc, but while writing things like that, he’s actually writing poetry. The audience can tell that the teacher writes back to him (even though we can’t see) because he writes his responses to the teacher in his poems. His poetry turns out to be awesome as he grows confidence in his writing. I would definitely incorporate this book into my curriculum as a teacher because I know tons of students think they can’t write poetry and have a negative feeling with it, just like the main character in this book. While reading it, they would be able to see that poetry it not all that difficult and boring, and they can see how much fun one could have with it.
Mother Goose Rhymes
This book caught my interest because I wanted to see how many Mother Goose Rhymes I actually remembered from when I was a kid, and I was surprised at how many I remembered, including "Jack and Jill", "Humpty Dumpty", "Three Blind Mice", and much more. Since I enjoyed this book at the age I’m at now, I think this book could be for all ages, baby to adult. Gustafson has a wonderful sense of color, layout, characters and great oil paintings to look at while reading the proems. I would like to have this poetry book in my classroom no matter what grade I teach since I think all ages would like it. In addition, it would be a great one to incorporate in my poetry curriculum as examples of famous poems we can all remember.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
It's Raining Pigs and Noodles
It’s not too often you learn about the advantages to having your nose on your face, or what life is like for a boneless chicken, or lamented a night of homework, which are all part of silly poems from Prelutsky's collection 107 poems. They are all silly, catchy, and classic. As I opened the book, I bounced from poem to poem, being carried along by James Stevenson's squiggly illustrations. Though this is a fast read, Prelutsky's odd characters, like the Underwater Wibblies and Drumpp the Grump, will keep you laughing, and I’m all for some funny poetry!
I think these quirky poems will entertain readers both young and old. Prelutsky's poems are made for reading aloud, and audiences will enjoy listening to the made-up names and punch lines. Stevenson's artwork fits perfectly with the singsong style of the poems. The black and white drawings wobble and flutter around the text, interacting with it. Prelutsky's work combined with Shel Silverstein's, makes for an excellent introduction into the world of poetry for young readers.
I think these quirky poems will entertain readers both young and old. Prelutsky's poems are made for reading aloud, and audiences will enjoy listening to the made-up names and punch lines. Stevenson's artwork fits perfectly with the singsong style of the poems. The black and white drawings wobble and flutter around the text, interacting with it. Prelutsky's work combined with Shel Silverstein's, makes for an excellent introduction into the world of poetry for young readers.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun
I know I’ve definitely seen this poetry book before in different libraries and classrooms, but have never read it, which is why I picked it up to check out and give it a try. And did I like it! First of all, I’ve never heard of the poet who wrote the book, Jack Prelutsky, but I checked out a lot of poetry books by him and the ones I had read thus far have been awesome.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun is another hilarious collection of poems by Prelutsky filled with zany people, different creatures, and different rhythms. I would consider this book to be a little more unusual and slightly more gruesome (with poems like “Eyeballs for Sale!”) which I’m sure children (especially boys) just love and find very funny.
The illustrator, James Stevenson, does a great job with his watercolors, reproduced in black and white. I think this book should be read by ever child, especially those who claim they don’t like poetry. I think it would definitely change their point of view and outlook on poetry at a whole.
A Pizza the Size of the Sun is another hilarious collection of poems by Prelutsky filled with zany people, different creatures, and different rhythms. I would consider this book to be a little more unusual and slightly more gruesome (with poems like “Eyeballs for Sale!”) which I’m sure children (especially boys) just love and find very funny.
The illustrator, James Stevenson, does a great job with his watercolors, reproduced in black and white. I think this book should be read by ever child, especially those who claim they don’t like poetry. I think it would definitely change their point of view and outlook on poetry at a whole.
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young caught my attention because the illustrator of the book is Marc Brown, the author and illustrator of all the Arthur books, which I just love! This poetry book has poems about anything, from picnics to pretending, to puppies. I think it would be a great book to introduce young children about poetry and the world around them. The poet, Jack Prelutsky has chosen 200 short poems, including old favorites, traditional rhymes, and really silly verses from everyday events to special days to the world of imagination. Marc Brown has wonderful illustrations created by colored-pencil with awesome borders, which make the pages very engaging to look at.
Yellow Submarine
During my Music for the Classroom Teacher class, we had to pick out a songbook and go to a preschool and present them with an activity, and I know one of my classmates chose the book Yellow Submarine by Charlie Gardener. I’ve always considered myself to be a Beatles fan so I thought it’d be cool to check out and read the book.
Not even after finishing the first page I was extremely confused. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know too much about the Beatles or what, but all I could really say about the book is that the main characters are all the band mates of the Beatles, and they use quotes from their songs a lot in their book. There are in some place called Pepperland and are trying to get away from the “meanies”. I am definitely missing something, but I think kids might like the book because the illustrations are really neat. Some of the backgrounds look like they are random pictures coming from a TV screen in the 1960s, then random, colorful looking characters are drawn. This book is definitely trippy and confusing, but I liked how different it was from any other book I’ve read.
Not even after finishing the first page I was extremely confused. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know too much about the Beatles or what, but all I could really say about the book is that the main characters are all the band mates of the Beatles, and they use quotes from their songs a lot in their book. There are in some place called Pepperland and are trying to get away from the “meanies”. I am definitely missing something, but I think kids might like the book because the illustrations are really neat. Some of the backgrounds look like they are random pictures coming from a TV screen in the 1960s, then random, colorful looking characters are drawn. This book is definitely trippy and confusing, but I liked how different it was from any other book I’ve read.
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