I was personally excited to go to this event as soon as I heard the author was an elementary school student. When I was that age, I wanted to be an author and illustrator and I would write stories often but never thought about getting published. That's why Keko Laylee traveling around and speaking with his peers, could have a big impact. It may encourage children to get more excited about reading and writing because it shows that it is possible for their writing to make an impact beyond just school.
During the book reading, I was impressed by the illustrations on the screen that changed in sync with the words from the story. It's a good example of how new technology can be used to enhance the book reading experience, especially for big crowds. As I was watching the pictures during the reading I wondered why they didn't put up the words from the book as well, so that we could read along with them. Then I realized that my thoughts show socialization from college classes where the norm is powerpoints with words and reading to follow along with the teacher's words. A book reading, is all about listening, looking at the pictures, and imagining. It is a different experience from a lecture and I had forgotten that.
A more general comment about the event is that I very much enjoyed hearing about how the family worked together to create the book. Even the presentation itself portrayed how it was a family effort with Keko Laylee and his grandfather reading the book while the illustrations, by Keko's dad, were displayed on the screen. The image of the whole family participating and supporting Keko was very powerful. It caused me to reflect about my own family and how valuable working on a project with three generations of my family would be.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
I became interested in this book after reading about it in the article titled "Supporting Critical Conversations in Classrooms". The book is about a day spent in the park but it is told from the perspective of four different people. A father & daughther and a mother & son.
The issue of classism appears in the book because the mother/son come from a wealthier family and the father/daughter from a lower income family. One way the author portrays this is through how the characters are dressed and the background settings of the home and neighborhood. However, classism also appears in the 'voices' of the adult characters. The mother is quick to judge others in the park using adjectives such as scruffy, frightful, rough-looking which imply that she is looking down on them. The dad is critical but more about himself and his life and mentions being jobless. Also class differences can be seen in comparing the language/grammar use of these two characters.
With the children's voices, classism is less apparent although there is definately judgement. The boy is disappointed at first that his playmate is 'unfortunately a girl' and the girl thinks that the boy is 'a wimp' and his mom is a 'silly twit'. So its really interesting to see how even the children are quick to judge based on first impressions, however their opinions quickly change as they play and have fun together.
What I loved most about the book was how the illustrations enhanced the differences between the perspectives. Often details in the background would give clues about some of the 'unsaid' emotions. For example, when the mother is speaking about leaving the park with her son there is a picture of a burning tree in the background which could represent the mom's anger/frustration at her son for running off. The girl's perspective is interesting because her's is the happiest out of the four characters. So when the story is told in her voice the background is bright with color and fun shapes. The emotions shown in the book also connect to classism because the wealthier characters are not the happier ones which implies that happiness has more to do with perspective than money and such.
I think this is a great children's book because it addresses a lot of issues in a fun way. Its a book that you could read several times and find something new. What I think is most valuable is that it shows how differently people think and experience certain events. This is a great basis for class discussion to help children begin to understand that not everyone thinks or sees things the same way as they do.
The issue of classism appears in the book because the mother/son come from a wealthier family and the father/daughter from a lower income family. One way the author portrays this is through how the characters are dressed and the background settings of the home and neighborhood. However, classism also appears in the 'voices' of the adult characters. The mother is quick to judge others in the park using adjectives such as scruffy, frightful, rough-looking which imply that she is looking down on them. The dad is critical but more about himself and his life and mentions being jobless. Also class differences can be seen in comparing the language/grammar use of these two characters.
With the children's voices, classism is less apparent although there is definately judgement. The boy is disappointed at first that his playmate is 'unfortunately a girl' and the girl thinks that the boy is 'a wimp' and his mom is a 'silly twit'. So its really interesting to see how even the children are quick to judge based on first impressions, however their opinions quickly change as they play and have fun together.
What I loved most about the book was how the illustrations enhanced the differences between the perspectives. Often details in the background would give clues about some of the 'unsaid' emotions. For example, when the mother is speaking about leaving the park with her son there is a picture of a burning tree in the background which could represent the mom's anger/frustration at her son for running off. The girl's perspective is interesting because her's is the happiest out of the four characters. So when the story is told in her voice the background is bright with color and fun shapes. The emotions shown in the book also connect to classism because the wealthier characters are not the happier ones which implies that happiness has more to do with perspective than money and such.
I think this is a great children's book because it addresses a lot of issues in a fun way. Its a book that you could read several times and find something new. What I think is most valuable is that it shows how differently people think and experience certain events. This is a great basis for class discussion to help children begin to understand that not everyone thinks or sees things the same way as they do.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
A Children's Book that Made a Difference in My Life
For most of my elementary school years, I would not read just for fun. I liked picture books and children’s stories when I was young. I even wanted to be an author & illustrator, at one point. Yet, as I got older and was expected to read ‘chapter books’ and not picture books anymore. I lost my interest in reading because I thought chapter books were boring. So I would only read books required for school.
However, this changed when I read Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Clearly. I started reading it was because my younger brother had really liked it and I was curious to see what he liked about it. I read it and finished it that night. It was over 200 pages and I was surprised how fast I read it, simply because it was funny and I liked the dog who reminded me of my dog. Other than that I was only mildly interested in the story but this was a significant experience because it made me curious to read other books.
Afterwards I started going to the library on my own to find books to read for fun. I didn't read anymore Henry Huggins series instead I focused on teen books like Nancy Drew and other teen romance/mystery novels. So eventhough this book didn't became a favorite book or one that made me reflect/think critically about life. It made a difference in that it helped me disassociate reading as something related only to school work but see it also as something fun. And to this day reading remains one of my favorite hobbies :)
However, this changed when I read Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Clearly. I started reading it was because my younger brother had really liked it and I was curious to see what he liked about it. I read it and finished it that night. It was over 200 pages and I was surprised how fast I read it, simply because it was funny and I liked the dog who reminded me of my dog. Other than that I was only mildly interested in the story but this was a significant experience because it made me curious to read other books.
Afterwards I started going to the library on my own to find books to read for fun. I didn't read anymore Henry Huggins series instead I focused on teen books like Nancy Drew and other teen romance/mystery novels. So eventhough this book didn't became a favorite book or one that made me reflect/think critically about life. It made a difference in that it helped me disassociate reading as something related only to school work but see it also as something fun. And to this day reading remains one of my favorite hobbies :)
Monday, September 5, 2011
first recollection of reading a children's book
I still remember the first book that I read all by myself, I think I was around 6 years old at the time. What I remember most is that I was proud about reading the whole book without needing any help.
Also it was important to me that it was a book my grandma had given me instead of being a book from school with super big letters. I guess this was important because it meant it was a 'regular' book and not one used specifically for learning how to read. I read the book outloud to my grandma after I had read it to myself.
My excitement of being able to read on my own is a more vivid memory than the details of the story. I even saved the book and would occasionally read it out of nostalgia. All that I can remember is that the book was about a white girl playing outside and that the illustrations were kind of boring with plain colors, not bright colors that I usually liked.
Being biracial, I was used to having books with characters of different races, still there were rarely characters that were mixed like me. But I don't remember consciously thinking about this until I was around 7 or 8 years old. So I am not sure if my memory of the main character being different than me was a first impression or something I noticed later on.
Also it was important to me that it was a book my grandma had given me instead of being a book from school with super big letters. I guess this was important because it meant it was a 'regular' book and not one used specifically for learning how to read. I read the book outloud to my grandma after I had read it to myself.
My excitement of being able to read on my own is a more vivid memory than the details of the story. I even saved the book and would occasionally read it out of nostalgia. All that I can remember is that the book was about a white girl playing outside and that the illustrations were kind of boring with plain colors, not bright colors that I usually liked.
Being biracial, I was used to having books with characters of different races, still there were rarely characters that were mixed like me. But I don't remember consciously thinking about this until I was around 7 or 8 years old. So I am not sure if my memory of the main character being different than me was a first impression or something I noticed later on.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)