last post

So here I am writing the last post for this class! HOORAY! I have learned alot in this class. It has been a challenge but I think that I've fought my way through. I learned a great deal in this class. Many books that I thought I knew well had a new fact or issue revealed to me and I loved that! The most recent thing that hit me upside the head and made me go "Oh, YEA!" was in Where The Wild Things Are. I NEVER before noticed the progression of the pictures. I never saw the corrolation in the pictures and how far Max was going into another world. (his imaginary one) I loved comparing the fairy tales and the beginning and was slightly appaled at the adult undertones of some of them. (blushing)I would just like to say. . . "Those french people!!" LOL. I loved the journey we took in The Hobbit. I loved to peek into Dr. Seuss and the reasoning behind his unique style of writing. I think it's funny that I've read and Dr. Seuess my whole life and never read the little story on the back of The Cat In The Hat. :-D basically I loved this class. I wish that my grades had been better but I can only do my best with my crazy life, right? I hope you have enjoyed my blog. I will keep writing (not as much though) so I will see y'all later.
LOVES!!!

why?

well, I just don't know. LOL (Don't ask I have no idea!) This blog is going to be hard because it isn't my book list and I still have one more post after it so I'm at a loss for what to do here. I think that I will talk about what I am glad has happend to Children's lit.
1) I am glad that there was the didactic movement of the 19th century. There are lots of great stories that came from that ear. All the "Lamplighter" books that I cherish are from that time period. Many great lessons are contained in those pages of beautiful stories.
2) I am really glad that we moved past the didactic 19th century. I do love those stories but what would our childhoods be like without Charlotte and her web, Winnie the Pooh, or the Sneeches? I think they would be significantly more dull and colorless.
3) I am really glad that fantasy came to be. I am not the biggest reader of this genre but it is my opinion that it is very stimulating to the imaginations of kids. I rememer my brother being lost in the Shire with the infamous Baggins clan. It is a great thing that it does to help kids think about things outside of their own world.

Well, there are my 3 things I love that have happened to children's Lit. What is your favorite thing that has happend to children's lit?

my outside reading summaries

Ok so I forgot that I was supposed to be talking about the books I've read outside of the assigned books so I will take this opportunity to catch you up.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry: My mom read this book to us when I was younger, I remembered liking it because it was about WWII but I couldn't remember the exact story. Reading it this time was great I had a different take on the story of two young girls that are friends during WWII. I can't imagine the fear of Annemarie and Ellen as they ran from the Nazis. The scene at the end where Annemarie has to take the package to her uncle had me worried for her. :-D I love the way Lois Lowry paints pictures with words.

Noah's Ark: Wow! Where to start with this book! It is AMAZING I love that it is one of those picture books that is completly sans words and yet says so much. The way the expressions are played out on the faces of the people and the animals speaks volumes. I would DEFINITLY reccomend this book. (And I have to lots of people) The only part people have had a problem with is that there is a picture where there are animals standing outside the ark as the water gets deeper and deeper and that could cause kids to aske questions that parents don't want to answer yet.

Beatrix Potter's Nursery Rhyme Book: Ill. by Beatrix Potter: This is a great book! It's full of Nursery Rhymes that I'm not familiar with, accompanied with illistrations by Miss Potter. Who wouldn't love this book?? My favorite part was the riddles. Riddle me, Riddle me, rot-tot-tote was my particular favorite.

The Princess and The Pea; designed by Lauren Child, Photographed by Polly Borland: This is a classic fairy tale told with a twist. There are little interjections in the way it is written and the pictures are adorable. The illistrators made little people and cloted them with real cloth. Then the made whole little sets. They took pictures of this and made adorable images to cover a good story.

Half a World Away; by Libby Gleeson, Ill. by Freya Blackwood; This book deals with people you love moving away. It is about two kids (Amy and Louie)that are best friends that are together all the time. Then Amy has to move away to the city "Half a World Away." It shows the greif that comes and it shows how people deal with that grief. I liked this book alot.

The Royal Diaries of Elizabeth I; By Ketheryn Lasky: This is one of the books in the "Royal Diaries" series. I loved these books growing up because it was a fun and entertaining way to learn about history. Also, I found that everything I learned from reading these books stayed with my longer. I think this is because the characters aren't just some name in a book. They become a real person with a real life and stories to tell. This story was about (obviously) Elizabeth I. Daughter of King Henry VII and Anne Boleyn. After re-reading this book I kind of wanted to see "the other Boleyn girl" But then I decided that I didn't really want to see it.

The Theif Lord; by Cornelia Funke: This is one of my favorits that I read this semester. The story takes place in Venice among the homeless kids that have banded together and made their own way of living. The main charecters are two brothers, Prosper and Bo. The mysterious charcter is the Theif Lord. He always provides for the kids in mysterious ways. It is discovered at the end of the book that the Theif Lord isn't like the other kids at all. He isn't homeless he is actually from one of the priviledged families and he is stealing things from his own house to pay for the needs of his scraggly gang. :-D it's a great read and I HIGHLY reccomend it!

My Many Colored Days; By Dr. Seuss: I LOVE this book! It is such a great way to give kids a voabulary to expess their emotions. This could be a good tool that would help relieve some stress and frustration on the kids part. I love the pictures and vibrant colors. :-D

Stress

So the fun of this will be linking this post to Children's lit. I think I can accomplish it though. . . let's see!

My stress level is through the roof today. I can't possibly forsee everything falling into place like it's supposed to. In the next week and a half I need to get 1) Through finals alive 2) My apartment subleased 3) My apartment packed 4) All of my earthly possesions into a storage building 5) A storage building 6) Money for rent, storage unit, gas and food 7) other things to come when I think of them

I realized that it's just hard for me to switch from big picture view to focus on today view. I have to be able to flip back and forth at the blink of an eye and it takes me more liiiiiiike oh, a month. Better yet, I should be able to focus on both at the same time. I find myself stressing about all this right now and try to remind myself (about every minute) that God is in control. Also, that I am here, at this place, in this moment for a reason, but it's just SO hard! I am in the depths tonight as I am overwhelmed about everything. well that is about all.

(However, reading kids books does put a smile on my face in the midst of it all. there you go. Tied to children's lit. WHOOP!)

Enchanted

So this movie isn't tied directly to ONE book but it ties to the whole "fairy tale" theme. This is one of my new favorites. It appeals to a wide audience. Obviously from my previous posts it is apparent that I like kids movies so I didn't have an issue with it to start with. However, some frieds of mine are vehimently opposed to children's movies of all types. When this friend said that she loved this movie I knew it was a winner. This same girl has been walking around work singing songs from the movie for WEEKS! The songs (I admit they are catchy) are now permanently ingrained upon my brain. LOL I still love the songs. I think it is impossible to hear them and not smile. :-D I hope you enjoyed the movie too!!