Reflection

Children’s literature was a successful experience for me. I learned a significant amount about children’s literature and the types of books I like. I now know what I consider to be a good children’s book. After the first time our class met, I was worried about how the blog would work out. I had never done a blog before and I was unsure about the whole process of creating one. After a few weeks of blogging, I was happy that we did a blog instead of a word document. Blogging can be more personalized and creative. It also allowed easy access to the work of classmates so I could get recommendations on other books to read. Looking at classmates and commenting on their blogs was fun. Each person had their own personalized page, with a different writing style and opinion on children’s literature. I also enjoyed doing the genre and author study.
The genre study gave me the chance to explore contemporary realistic fiction, a genre I had not heard of before this class. Our genre presentations taught me a lot about the different genres and the type of books they include. The author study allowed me to learn more about Jane Yolen and her life as an author. All of these assignments provided me with a vast array of knowledge regarding children’s literature. This knowledge will help me to decide which children’s books I include in my classroom one day.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a book about a group of four best girl friends Bree, Carmen, Lena and Tibby. They all face different struggles and challenges during a summer when they are apart from each other. A pair of pants that magically fit each of them keeps them connected. Some parts of the book made me sad because one of the girls becomes friends with a girl who has cancer. Cancer is something that has plagued my family for generations so whenever the disease comes up I find it hard not to cry. I thought this was a great book that sparks many different emotions. There are parts when you laugh, smile, get mad and cry. To me, any book that can do all of these things is a good one.

Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun

Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun by Teresa Bateman is a book about an Irish princess named Kathleen. Kathleen did not wish to marry because she was not interested in any of the noblemen’s sons who liked her. Since people in the country began to talk she came up with a plan. She said she would marry the man who could win a leprechaun’s pot of gold in a single day’s time. She figured it would take an intelligent, daring man to accomplish such a task. She was right, one day a fine man named Tom came down from the mountains to take a shot at her challenge. He succeeds and they end up married in the end. Although the story was very predictable, as many fairytales and Disney movies are, I thought it was cute. Tom won the challenge by being patient with and kind to the leprechaun and these are qualities we would like children to have. This would be a good book to read when talking about Ireland or St. Patrick’s day.

Sail Away Little Boat

Sail Away, Little Boat by Janet Buell is a story about a boy and his toy sailboat. The young boy brings his sailboat to a brook and sets in the water. The sailboat begins its journey sailing down the brook. Many things are listed that it passes along the way. Eventually it finds its way to the ocean. At the end of the book, three children find the sail boat by the beach and play with it. An up close picture of the sailboat is illustrated and the reader can see that friendship is written on the boat. I thought this was a really cute book. The boat brings the little boy in the beginning so much happiness and in the end it brings a new set of a kids happiness too.

A Traveling Cat

A Traveling Cat by George Ella Lyon is a book about a stray cat named Boulevard. The young girl in the book finds Boulevard at the drive in Movie Theater and brings her home. Boulevard eventually has five kittens. Once the kittens are grown the young girl and her family give all the kittens away but one named Bruce. One day Boulevard disappears never to return again, she is a traveling cat after all. The book ends saying her home is the road. A similar experience happened with a stray cat and my family. A stray cat came to us pregnant and abused and we took her in. We named her Kallie. She had five kittens in our window well and once they were grown we gave away all of them but one. We still have Kallie and the runt of the litter, Cody at my parent’s house in Illinois. This story could have been written about my family, it was so close to what happened with us. Kallie wasn’t a traveler. She was too content to leave once she found her new home with us

The Best Place

The Best Place by Susan Meddaugh is about a wolf that has not traveled much but after a suggestion from a bird decides he should see other places before he gets too old. He always thought the view from his screened in porch was the best place in the world but he hadn’t ever seen any parts. The next day the wolf sells his house and begins his adventure around the world to places like London and the desert. After his travels he returns home and wishes he had not sold his house. Unfortunately, the rabbit family who moved in does not want to sell his house back to him. The wolf spends the night in a tree and when he wakes up he sees the sun rising right over the trees. He realizes he did not have to travel the world to see other beautiful things; he just needed to get outside of his old screened in porch. He builds a new house in the tree and decides he has now truly found the best place in the world. This is a cute story about moving outside of your comfort zone to discover new things in life. Many people get stuck in their daily routine and refrain from trying new things and being active. This is a good story that reminds us of the simple joys in life that can be found by simply stepping outside your comfort zone.

Tiny's Hat

Tiny’s Hat by Ann Grifalconi is a book inspired by the life of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday spent most of her childhood longing for her father because he was a musician and therefore always on the road. Tiny the main character in the story is also the daughter of a musician who struggles with the absence of her father. Times are good for Tiny when her father is around and he plays his music. When he leaves the loneliness sets in for her and her mother. Tiny finally finds comfort when she begins to sing. This story represents the effect that music can have on our lives. A good song can bring you right out of a bad mood or turn your day around. I can relate to Tiny’s feeling of missing a loved one and a good song can certainly brighten a mood. This was the first children’s book I found that presents the power of music.