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.

The Life of Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry was born in 1937 and grew up traveling all around America, and even to Tokyo, because of her father's position in the military as a dentist. Her older sister died at a young age and she married young-after one year in college. With her husband she had four children in four and a half years, all the while travelling around the United States, living in six different states. I think it is evident that many of her novels reflect her experiences from her youth. She even claims that "A Summer to Die" is a retelling of the of her sister and how she is missed in their family.

One thing I found particularly interesting about Lowry is her choice of theme in all her works: "the importance of human connections." After reading about this, I've realized going through "The Giver" that her whole story is about human connections- the way children relate to one another in their age group, the way the family unit relates, the way the nurturer relates to newchildren, the way a brother relates to his sister. In her autobiography, she comments that in "The Giver" she built on that common theme and shows, "the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment." Once the reader is aware of her aim, it is especially easy to find.

Ignorance is bliss?

As we were going through the discussion today about "The Giver," several topics flooded my mind. One thing I began to think about was the common phrase "ignorance is bliss." I feel like every character in "The Community" is ignorant. And is there bliss? I believe it's difficult to say. If you're living in that community, where no one knows anything else besides it, I believe that I would be happy, much like all the characters are portrayed in the book. However, having knowledge of color, animals, love, weather, responsibility, etc. I don't feel like I would ever be blissful in that situation but only happy in the position of knowledgable. It is arguable that for one to know of love and joy that one also is familiar with pain and sorrow. However, on any given day I would take the pain and sorrow with the love and joy than be void of all of it. I believe that only because of the pain and fear I experience I know how much more great is the love in my life.

Green Eggs and Ham

As a child, I was never read Dr. Seuss stories, at least not memorably. I've never understood (and actually almost don't like) the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and stories such as "Oh the Places You'll Go," "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish," or "Horton Hears a Who." However, I chose to read "Green Eggs and Ham" because one of my friends began reciting it to me and I realized that if she loved it that much as a child, to read it often enough to memorize it, than it must be worth something. I did enjoy it, although I think it's lost some of the sparkle that it had for my friend, probably because she read it at a young age and it was written for that audience. However, one of the things I noticed is that it is somewhat educational. It teaches about animals (the mouse, fox, and goat), modes of transportation (car, train, boat), and also talks about other basic nouns that would help build a child's vocabulary, such as rain, dark, box, house, etc.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Even though we discussed a little bit of Tolkien's life in class, I was intriguied and decided to do some further research on his life. He was born in 1892 under the name John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. When he was a young child, he was bitten by a baboon spider. It's probable that the spider in "The Hobbit" evolved from this childhood memory. Also contributing to his laters works is the exploring that he did as a young child as well as the fact that he learned Latin at a very young age and could read at the age of four- he particularly enjoyed works by George MacDonald. When he was sixteen, he met his future wife but was to see her until he turned 21 because she was Protestant and he was Catholic. When he finally did turn 21, she had become engaged to another man. However, upon his confession of love to her she returned the ring, converted to Catholism, and they wed. Tolkien was a professor at Oxford. While he was there, he was involved in a literary "club" while he was a professor at Oxford called "Inklings." Many other notable authors were involved in this club, including C.S. Lewis, author of "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Mere Christianity."

The Hobbit Wordsearch

I've created a wordsearch that incorporates most of the major characters in the Hobbit and some of the smaller characters.