Monster!

In my Reading 302 class last week, every person in class was given play-dough and told to make a “monster of our own creation”. It was so interesting to see the unique monster each person came up with. I thought about how neat it would be to see the monsters children in a classroom would make! We have been instructed to give our monsters personalities and write a short story about it. My monster, so far is named Ira and his super power is his whistling ability. I would love to hear children’s stories of monsters they made. I am always delightfully surprised when I get the chance to hear children’s creativity!

Book 7: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Mighty Max doesn't really have any friends. He's big and scary looking, and he's learning disabled, dumb too. When Freak, also known as Kevin moves down the street they become friends. Freak is a little over three feet high and knows everything, at least that's how Max sees it. The two have always been picked on and bullied by classmates and others, but together, with brains and strengh and a height of more than seven feet ,they become Freak the Mighty! The book's themes are bullying and friendship. It would be especially encouraging for kids who experience bullying or aren't seem as very smart. It turns out throughout the book that Max isn't "dumb", when Freak explains what they're learning in school to him, he understands. That could be encouraging to kids who feel ostracized from others. A great great read!

Limerick!

We have read so many poems in the last week or so, and I have really enjoyed reviewing some I already knew and learning new poems. In honor of that I wanted to write a poem of my own. I decided on a limerick because they’re so bouncy and fun, and already structured! The 77557 pattern limits you just enough to make coming up with one less complicated!

There once was a daisy named Claire
And though she was really quit fair
No one noticed her much
For you see there was such
A great bunch of bluebonnets right there!

I absolutely love e.e. cummings’ poetry! I like that one of his main focuses in his poetry is nature. Now I know most poets write plenty about nature. However, the way cummings puts words together is kind of close to magic. I love how he squishes words together and omits punctuation and then moves words around to make the meaning more clear. My favorite one of his poems in the Sword Anthology is “maggie and milly and molly and may”. Each of the girls has a unique experience at the beach and it reflects their personality. The last line “For whatever we lost(like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea” is something I never really thought about before is true.

book 6: "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" by Mo Willems

Mo Willems is the author of the popular “Pigeon” books. These include “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Too Late!”, and “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!”. The thing that is so captivating about Pigeon is his simple desire to do whatever it is the reader is supposed to keep him from doing- in the case of the bus and staying up too late. With “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!” the reader just observes a little duckling’s attempt to keep Pigeon from eating his find. Kids are so drawn to these books because they can tell the Pigeon “NO!” when he begs to drive the bus. It’s so funny because kids are always in the situation of the Pigeon, asking for something they can’t have or do. However they feel no sympathy for the Pigeon and revel in telling him no, he can not drive the bus however much he asks!

Book 5: Ida B:and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan

Ida B. Applewood talks to the trees in the orchard, sends letters to Canada by homemade raft down the brook, and best of all gets to spend her days at home learning and playing. One of Ida B’s most charming characteristics is her magnetic personality. She pulls the reader, willingly, into her world and allows us to enjoy her well prepared plans for any possibility. When Ida B hears the trees’ news that something bad is coming she has no way of preparing for what is coming. By the end Ida B has grown as an individual and the story has gone in a circle and slightly mirrors the beginning. This book causes the reader to think about how their attitude and actions affect those around them and to see things in another perspective.

The first time I read poems by William Carlos Williams they just seemed odd to me. They’re certainly uniquely different from most of the other poems I read when I was younger. In sixth grade I had to do a report on a poem by a poet and I drew Williams. I was torn between the poem “This is Just to Say” and “The Red Wheelbarrow”. I finally picked “This is Just to Say”. It’s so short and simple but the imagery is clear. You can’t help but see the purple plum coming out of the icebox and tasting so sweet and cold. My favorite line though is about how “you were probably saving for breakfast, forgive me they were delicious”. Once one can adjust to the different style these poems actually carry a lot of meaning, though some of it may be hidden, as in the wheelbarrow.

Jack Prelutsky’s poems were so hilarious to me as a child and I still find them funny! I went to his website and Wow! It is so enjoyable! The website has songs he wrote and sings and a section for parents and teachers. That section has activity sheets and tips for parents when they read with their kids. It’s really great. The most enjoyable section though is the one for kids! It has a short biography, sports cards with funny poems, and old family photos that were really neat! Also there’s a bunch of fan letters from kids which are hilarious to read! There’s a question and answer section that I found informative and fun of course! Prelutsky also gave advise to aspiring writers-“Read! Read! Read! And Write! Write! Write!"

Visit!: www.jackprelutsky.com

Cats!

T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” is an enjoyable read and as a child who loved animals I enjoyed it when I finally picked it up a couple years ago. Long before opening the book of poems though, I saw Cats the Musical. When I was little I knew a handful of the songs because we had a cd of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs. My very favorite was Magical Mr. Mistoffoles! The musical is interesting but truly, so strange. From the book we read the poem of “Macavity the Mystery Cat”. If one is going to read this poem it’s helpful to read my favorite part of the book, “The Naming of Cats”. Eliot explains that all cats have an everyday name their owner gives them but they also have a name that is only theirs and no others. Here is the last lines of the poem in Eliot’s own well phrased words:

“The name that no human research can discover - But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess. When you notice a cat in profound meditation, The reason, I tell you, is always the same: His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name: His ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular Name.”

It is amazing to me how easily he can keep his words in correct rhyme and rhythme and still convey his point so well and fluently.

For Christian’s it is important to teach our children biblical truths and principles and about what it means to know and follow Christ. Children’s books are a great tool to use to teach kids biblical truths. There are Christian children’s books that discuss concepts such as the importance of Christmas and Easter and Jesus’s life. Then there are those that focus on why we go to church and then there are those that tell a story as a metaphor to God and his love for his children. One of my good friend’s mom has a book published that she wrote and illustrated which teaches biblical truths through the ABC’s. It is colorfully illustrated with childlike watercolors and is very appealing to children. The book is “S is for Shepherd” by Tricia Lowenfield and it is adorable! It is such a wonderful tool to go through with kids and a different way for them to learn stories and important concepts from the Bible.

Several months ago when I was excavating in my garage back home and searching for some college stuff, I discovered some boxes of old books and games from my childhood that never made their way into our house. Most of the books I recognized but there was one big and colorful one I had absolutely no recollection of. It’s title was something to the effect of “We’re all different”. The really neat thing about this book was how on every page it would show some aspect of our world/universe. It had a section about animals and planets and languages. The best section was the one about people and how we are not all the same. It had pictures of all sorts of people, from African tribesmen to Dutch children. This book’s theme was teaching children how everyone isn’t the same, even though it can feel that way in our little bubbles as kids. We are all special and different and loved by God. I really liked this book and the way in which it presented such an important theme. It was sad to me I hadn’t been interested enough to have read it as a child or maybe it was just discarded somehow. I think books with similar themes are very important to children and I know as a teacher a portion of my books will focus on this essential topic!

"Gobble! gobble! goblin! There you go a wobblin'!"

I found MacDonald’s “The Princess and the Goblin” infinitely more pleasing than “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I enjoyed finding examples that supported MacDonald’s belief in the spirituality that can come with imagination. MacDonald believed the imagination could be a tool which God could use to reveal himself. I agree with this belief and enjoyed discovering how he supported it in the tale. Upon meeting our hero, Curdie, we learn his strongest defense against the goblins is songs. The most powerful are those he makes up with his creative mind. Through this idea that imaginative songs can fight evil, MacDonald argues for art and creative imagery as a way to serve God. Some Christians, especially during MacDonald’s time, may have found the idea of art and its forms idle and useless as opposed to working and “being useful”. MacDonald’s idea about art was probably a pretty new and revolutionary in some ways.