Author Profile - Faction and Picture Books

In one of my other classes, our professor read Patricia Polacco's Thank You, Mr. Faulker. I loved this story. I went to library, checked it out, and read it to my boys. My older son has a learning disability and he related to the girl in the story. He told me he understood her frustration. I like to read with my children stories that will help them to express their feelings. I think it is important that children know they can get frustrated. But in order for us as teachers, adults, or even as parents to help them, we need to know what they are feeling. Communication is important and a good piece of literature can enhance the ways of communicating. This is definitely an author that can provide stories that will bring out a teary eye.

Per her website, in this world of technology, I found it very interesting she does no have a computer and therefore, does not correspond be email. But also know that she has teacher activities in her website that coordinate with her books.

http://www.patriciapolacco.com/

Author Profile - Sci Fi

Colin Thompson, author of, Atilla the Bluebottle and Space the Final Effrontary is another author that I came across. His books range anywhere from Sci-Fi to fiction with nature. His writings seem to be very diverse. The one book that originally caught my attention from the Children's Book Council was about a home that was left and taken over by animals to turn into a home for a family again. Then once going to his website, I find an array of literature.

http://www.colinthompson.com/

He is truly an author of different genres. Not only can you find science fiction books, there is also: poetry, picture books, books for adults, and more.

Author Profile - Fiction

I have read Judy Blume since I was in elementary school. She had a special way of writing all the adventures of childhood. I find it amusing that I now read some of her books to my children. Earlier today we went to the library and my children and I checked out The One in the Middle is a Green Kangaroo. I know this exercise is supposed to reveal new authors, but it hard to forget the ones that tugged at our hearts when we learning to read.

http://www.judyblume.com/books/picture/kangaroo.php

Also, when we are young, we only look at the books. We don't, or, at least, I didn't look at who the authors where as people. After further reviewing, "Judy on the Web," I really like the personality of this author. She has a subsection on her page that gives her perception of censorship, on writing, and even an area that is for kids.

Author Profile - Poetry

When growing up, I didn't get to focus on poetry. We focused mostly on the form of the poem. One author, that I have come across is Brod Bagert. His works seem to be solely for the purpose of entertainment and dramatic effect.

Giant Children seems to be a good example of a book that draws boys in. I often feel that boys are overlooked in literature the same way girls have been left out in mathematics. The specific poem Bad Words is especially appropriate for all age groups in boys and girls. The author seems to really find a way to connect to his readers.

http://www.brodbagert.com/

Chapter 4 - Responding to Literature

When I was younger, I read anything from Stephen King to Emily Dickenson to Judy Blume. The list goes on. What I read depended on the mood I was in. The great thing is I had all of these books at my fingertips. I had teachers that did not make me feel like it was a bad thing that I read King's, Salem's Lot. In this chapter, it is suggested that we have a classroom library. I feel it is because of the teachers that I had and their influence of reading that I did have a broad interest and like for reading.

The beginning quote of this chapter reads, "Don't forget that a book is a private contract between a writer and a reader. Don't try to force another reader to share your contract. And. above all. don't kill the joy." This was said by Katherine Peterson, author; personal communication, September 1999. We as educators need to not only remember this for literature, but for all subjects. Remember, children learn differently. We need to accept and be proud of our students that interpret our lessons, process the lesson and then modify it to make sense to them. This is higher thinking. Hopefully, we will experience this when we are teaching.

Here is the sites to some old favorites that got me through different times of my childhood.

http://www.judyblume.com/

http://www.stephenking.com/index.html

Chapter 3 - Understanding What We Read

I really liked this chapter. As teachers, it is very important we know how to engage children into a conversation about things they have read and learned. Children have to be able to understand what they have read in order to talk about it. Today in class, Professor Pickett, spoke about how she was getting smarter just by talking to us about the lecture. If children can "retell" what they are learning, think how much smarter they can become. If they practice at retelling, there could also be confidence building up. It could be a whole new generation of public speakers. Since reentering the college scene, I have come across many students who do not like to talk in front of a people. Maybe one reason for this fear, is all of the students have been expected to sit behind a desk and listen to a teacher without being able to answer or respond back.
Something that continues to stick out in my mind is Rosenblatt's theory. I never considered how much control we have over what we read. The way our textbook states, "... text is static, and the author has no more control over it." It is true of any written piece. If if is a paper written for class or the next great piece of literature, the reader is now the translator for the words on the pages. The author has had to let it go.

Chapter 2 - Cultural Responsive Classrooms

Culture (according to our) text is "ways of knowing, believing, valuing, and thinking among a group of people." How do we determine the culture of our classroom? Well, we need to communicate with our students. Questions I found interesting from the text are: Who is head of household? What are home rules for touching? and What home responsibilities do children have? We forget that not all families are like our own. Whether good or bad, family is a huge influence on the child. The child could come from a single parent household, or not, but be a latchkey kid. Is the child in charge of all of their siblings, or is the child even with his or her natural family? Does the child have food on the table or does he/she worry about the next meal? Is there a religion practiced in the home? Atheism? Is school the safe place for the child? Although, these all seem like concerns instead of cultural attributes, they are still what is making up the child.
It seems like a child should be allowed to go to school and only have to learn, but the fact is that many of our students will have the above mentioned burdens on their shoulders. How do we let our classroom be the one place without worry? Through literature. "we read to know, we are not alone." C.S. Lewis. Literature becomes the escape. It becomes the common thread for all the students. It becomes the imagination station where anything could be possible. If only, we as educators, will remember this when we have our own classroom.

One thing this chapter did well was to emphasize how to be sensitive to our cultural differences. I also want to do this, but I also want to find ways to show my students that through our differences, we have ways of being the same.

Burrowes, A. J. (2000). Grandma’s purple flowers is a book that demonstrates the loss of a loved one and how the child copes. No matter what the cultural difference, all people will at one time experience a loss and have to find a way to cope. Her site...

http://adjoaburrowes.com/

Also, Smith, C. L. (2002) is another author that shares her multicultural background for the education and entertainment of children. More information about her can be found at...

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/

scholastic warehouse website

Hey guys, here is the website for the scholastic warehouse book sales. You can get some really great deals.

http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/states.asp?st_abbrev=TX

Right now, it does show that there are no sales events going on. You just have to check every so often.