Creative Responses

Tunnell, Michael O. and James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Sadle River NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008.

Using different types of activities to talk about book is a great way to make kids excited about what they're doing. Book reports and papers get really tiring and kids generally dislike doing things like this. I think using artistic methods is one of the best ways to get kids to really pay attention to what they're reading. I remember doing dioramas in school to model a part of a book. I loved doing things like that.

Minn and Jake

Wong, Janet. “Minn and Jake.” Frances Foster Books. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003

I really enjoyed this book. Wong plays out Minn and Jake's friendship and how they interact with the others so well. I was so proud of Jake when he called for help and rescued Minn, and so mad and Henry and Vik for being upset.

Lola annoys me. I know there was at least one girl like that in my school and I couldn't stand her! I just avoided her. I liked that Wong had that kind of character because I think everyone can relate to some experience with someone like that.

I still can't decide if I like the ending. It eventually turns out okay, but I would have liked to know if Minn did get to go see Jake in LA. I also had to re-read the part about Henry and Vick becoming invisible.

Craft Lesson 2

Wong, Janet. “Buzz.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2000.

Discussion

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sounds. This can be a useful tool in writing. This lesson uses Buzz to teach what it means and how to use sound words.

How to Teach It

After reading the book, have children call out things they can remember from the story that made the sound. Then, have them come up with more sound words. For the actual activity, choose one word (or a variety) to create a class story and have children illustrate the story. They can choose or the teacher can assign pages.

Craft Lesson 1

Wong, Janet. “Apple Pie Fourth of July.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2002.

Discussion

Cultural differences are a part of life in today's time. Children need to understand differences in order understand their peers. This lesson focuses on cultural differences by looking at holidays celebrated around the world in different cultures.

How to Teach It

After reading Apple Pie, children can discuss the book itself and then discuss different holidays they know about or celebrate. Then, have coloring activities or pictures and discussions about different holidays around the world throughout the year. For example, students can learn about Dia de los Muertos, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc. They can focus on rituals, symbols, and how others celebrate these holidays.

Poetry...

Poetry is one of those things that make most people groan. It can be a beautiful thing, but I think studying it in school can cause students to start to loathe it. I love reading poetry until I had to memorize poems in middle and high school. Jack Prelutskey and Shel Silverstein were some of my favorites. I think poetry can be a fun thing. I liked activities where we could write our own poems because we were free to do what we wanted. I liked reading the poems in the chapter. I liked haikus. We got to create our own in middle school and that was one of my favorite things. When teachers try to make students understand the poem and start getting into iambic pentameter and other aspects, it really devalues the poem. I remember flying through poems by Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, and Emily Dickinson and not getting anything out of them because I was too busy searching for terms and the pentameter of the poems. I read them by myself later and loved them. I know that's not the intention of most teachers, but it's hard to really appreciate poetry just like it's hard to appreciate good stories if you can't just read them.

Picture Books

I love picture books. My favorite part about this chapter is the list of books at the end. I can't wait to start getting and reading some of these, and I remember reading some of them when I was younger. Participation books were some of my favorites. I had so many "Where's Waldo?" and "I Spy" books. Alphabet City was one of my favorites. I loved looking for the letters in the book. Of course, I knew the alphabet by then but I loved the pictures.

Genre

I've never really thought much about genres in children's literature. I know the books fall into these genres, but it's not something I really think about. I liked the flow chart that chapter 6 illustrated.

Minn and Jake Part I

We only had to read to page 72, but I couldn't stop! It was so cute. I liked how the story was in a verse format. My favorite part was when Jake compared the kids in class to animals in a past life. Later, while Minn and Jake were catching lizards, Minn compared herself to a squid, which is exactly what Jake thought she was.

BUzzzzz

I read Buzz and really enjoyed it. I think it's really great for kids to read it and use their imaginations. She describes the action and then the sound and you can put yourself there and hear it in your head.

Wong, Janet. “Buzz.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2000.

Apple Pie

Apple Pie 4th of July - Janet S. Wong

I really enjoyed this book. I think the message in it may be too much for younger children. They may only see the parts they really know, like the fireworks, the parade, and apple pie. I talked to a girl who read it to her 4 year olds, and the only message they understood was apple pie. The book has a good ending. I think it's important to read books with a global perspective to children. They need to understand where other people from other parts of the world come from.

Wong, Janet. “Apple Pie Fourth of July.” Voyager Books. Orlando, Austin, New York, San Diego, Toronto, London: Harcourt, 2002.

trescuatrocinco

Chapter 3: I found the section on unexpected insights particularly interesting. I think when a book can make you think it's really good for you. I liked the passage from Charlotte's Rose (on page 26) about the Welsh woman and baptizing babies. It was really funny. Insights from children's books are sometimes the most funny ones.

Chapter 4: Illustrations are really important to books. I enjoyed looking at the examples they had in the book. I think the illustrations in Judith Viorst's Alexander series are really great for the stories as well.

Chapter 5: I like reading stories from years ago. It's interesting to see how things have changed and what messages books put out there for children.

What is a good book?

Chapter 2 discusses the question of what is a good book. Quality of the book was a major point. Different elements are evaluated. These elements have to come together in order for a book to have real quality. I think as an educator you have to consider a child's taste as well.

Capitulo Uno

Romeo and Juliet should be read with emotion and interest. Unfortunately, when read in the classroom, it can be boring and frustrating. The chapter brought up this point. Teachers can unknowingly create unengaged reading with their students. I don't want to do that to my students.