Caleb the Farmer

Once upon a time there was a boy who lived on a farm with his family. His name was Caleb. His grandparent's had lived on it. His great grandparent's had lived on it. His great great\grandparent's had lived on it. Caleb knew that it was his responsibility to take care of the cattle after his father was gone. Even though the only education that required was what he learned growing up, he still went to college. He majored in Animal Science with a double major in Horticulture, and a minor in Biochemistry. Often friends would ask, "what do you want to do with that?" He always responded, "I don't know." He had some ideas about the great things he could achieve in life, but at the same time, his heart was drawn to the land he had grown up on. Many people wondered why he wanted to stay in his hometown when he was so brillant and could accomplish so much. He eventually learned that no matter how much money you could make or how famous you could be, what's important is that you do something you love. He returned home to help out his parents and raised his own children on the farm he had grown to love.

Children's Books of Awareness

I did a random search of literature on the internet and found that there are many books out there for children that teach them awareness in multiple social topics. Most of these books aren't targetted at any particular social topic but the subject of the book is such that reading the book could turn into a teachable moment for other real world issues. For instance, the website listed below suggested that reading "Eliza and the Dragonfly" by Susie Caldwell Rinehart to teach about nature and bring in Earth Day. This books apparently takes the reader through the life cycle of a dragonfly. The website also suggested "Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism" by Laurie Lears to teach children about autism during National Autism Awareness Month. There were also books that discussed Passover as well as Children's Cookbooks. I like the idea of sharing books like these with children because they're not just a story about a child's relationship with their parents or a child's inner creativity, they're educational about a social issue important to society.

Sendak's Moon

I leanred (although I'm not sure how reliable it is) that Sendak was "sickly" as a child. The website that I was researched off of said that the moon that is in most of his pictures in most of his books represents his mother (in reality) always there looking out for him when he was a young boy: "The moon is his mother peaking out the window at him when he was a child to be sure that he was alright!" The website I found this at was: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/sendak.htm. That site has referenced this information to a Berkeley website, so I'm pretty sure it's legitimate. But I just thought this was interesting and felt the need to share. This is an interest additional piece of information to the fact that the moon gets bigger and bigger as the night goes on and the boy character becomes "more wild."

Seussville

I spent quite a good deal of time on the official Seuss website, www.seussville.com, to learn more about it and eventually write a review. I found the website very entertaining and think a child would be even more so entertained. In the "Playground" section of the website, there are interactive games that are simply pure fun or have an educational purpose as well (for example, the Fox in Socks game teaches reading and simple vocabulary). There is also a biography of Dr. Seuss, which helps explain a lot about how he came up with his creatures, the color choice, his story line inspirations, etc. It was fun to read about him and his mischevious childhood. The colors were the same as his books, basic and simple, appealling to children. The music was enchanting, although after too many plays it would probably become repetitive. I think the website would be very appropriate for young and old readers alike.

Peter Rabbit

After discussing Peter Rabbit in class today, I realized that there's a few metaphorical references in relation to the Christian religion. First of all, the garden that Peter Rabbit enters could be taken as the Garden of Eden in the beginning of the Bible. Secondly, Peter's temptation is what causes him to take food, much like Adam and Eve's temptation. However, instead of a spiritual God, the farmer represents his punishment. Also slightly relevant but a little bit of a stretch is Peter's undressing. It is as though when he entered the garden, he was pure and whole in God's eyes, and therefore covered up. However, as he commits sin and does wrong, he is unclothed and in front of God, which parrallels the Scriptures in an opposite manner. Lastly, he has to work to find his way back home, which is similiar to the Christian faith in that we're welcome home (to recieve God's gift of Jesus and eventually enter Heaven) we just have to find it and accept it, like Peter accepts his mother's special treatment.

The Story of Rob Roy

The Story of Rob Roy, written by David Ross, is a book my family picked up while we lived overseas in Scotland. It is the story of Rob Roy MacGregor, a famous Scottish hero. He lived as a cow herder in the seventeenth century, often preforming acts of Robin Hood, robbing the rich to aid the poor. What I found difficult about this book was the organization of content. It hopped from talking about a story of Rob Roy in his twenties in the first chapter to telling of his youth in chapters two and three, and then spoke of him at an older age in the next few chapters. Also integrated through the tales of his life is Scottish history with several dukes, lords, kings, and queens. The royal lineage was hard enough to follow, especially in trying to connect it to Rob Roy. The vocabulary and sentence structure were simplistic enough for a piece of children's literature, but the flow and organization of information was hard for me to piece together, nevermind a young reader.

Number The Stars

I really enjoyed reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I've read it twice before but it has been awhile (at least two years). What I loved was the way Lowry's writing still kept me on my toes even though I already knew the ending. I vaguely remembered there was a casket but not actually a funeral but I was still completely forgetful of why. I was kept on the edge of my seat, as it were, as to what exactly was in the coffin. Secondly, I remembered that at some point Annemarie, the main character, would have to make a fearful errand but I really couldn't remember what it was or how it was that she managed. It was particularly pleasent for it to still be an unfamiliar story and I think a lot of that is owed to Lowry's skillfull writing.