Outside Reading List

Outside Reading List

Book 1: Horton Hatches the Egg
Author: Dr. Seuss
Picture Book?: Yes
Posting Date: January 27, 2008

Book 2: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Author: Shel Silverstein
Picture Book?: No - Poetry
Posting Date: February 12, 2008

Book 3: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Picture Book?: No - Chapter
Posting Date: February 21, 2008

Book 4: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L.M. Montgomery
Picture Book?: No - Chapter
Posting Date: March 2, 2008

Book 5: The Magic Soup
Author: Janaki Sooriyarachchi
Picture Book?: Yes
Posting Date: March 18, 2008

Book 6: World's Greatest Mom (series)
Author: Kath Smith
Picture Book?: Yes
Posting Date: March 19, 2008

Book 7: The Red Pony
Author: John Steinbeck
Picture Book?: No - Chapter book
Posting Date: March 27, 2008

Book 8: From the Bellybutton of the Moon
Author: Francisco X. Alarcon
Picture Book?: Yes.
Posting Date: April 10, 2008

Book 9: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author: J.K Rowling
Picture Book?: No
Posting Date: April 15, 2008

Book 10: The Pearl
Author: John Steinbeck
Picture Book?: No
Posting Date: April 22, 2008

Book 11: The Bean Trees
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Picture Book?: No
Posting Date: April 26, 2008

The Cat in the Hat

Film vs. Book

Film

• Feminist viewpoint : woman is successful, hardworking, single, organized
• Utopia: society is organized, run by strict rules, uniform
• Dystopia: cat creates ruckus, breaks rules, mayhem 
• Stereotype of Girl: clean, rule follower, mature, honest, perfect
• Stereotype of Boy: adventurous, rule breaker, dirty
• Content: too mature for young children

Book

• Language: rhyming, alliteration, repetition, for children readers
• Illustration: describe what words could not
• Children: characters are underdeveloped, rule followers
• The Cat: playful, much more appropriate than the film version

Social Issues.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver is a short chapter book aimed at grade school kids. Today I spent the morning, afternoon and evening in the hospital with my roommate so I was left to spend the day reading. This ended up being a great time for me to sit and read and think about things. After reading this novel, I caught on to some important things that have been a trend in most the chapter book for kids, social issues. For example, in The Bean Tree, many issues regarding illegal immigration, rape, suicide, and adultery are introduced. I believe that as a writer for this certain age of pre-teen kids, there must be an awareness of these sensitive issues. Many times parents do not sit their children down and discuss hard issues like these with their them, so they are left to learn about them elsewhere. Well, it seems that children's writers have taken the liberty of teaching the kids through their works of fiction about these topics. Even if the book does not go into full detail about them, this allows a door to be opened in the classroom for further discussions with the teacher on these social issues. Truly, I think this is a smart move, and I applaud the writers like Barbara Kingsolver for being bold enough to talk about these taboo topics in their novels. If they do not, who will?

Book 11: The Bean Trees
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Picture Book?: No
Posting Date: April 26, 2008

Happy Birthday Kirbie!

Today Kirbie turned 21.
We celebrated throughout the day,
Trust me, it was really fun.

We even went to a bar to sing karaoke,
Kirbie and I sang classics like "loveshack",
It was a hilarious sight to see.

Kirbie is a wonderful friend,
I have known her for three yeas,
And she is one that i can depend.

Today Kirbie turned 21,
We played, laughed and sang
Our memories have just begun!

Happy Birthday Kirbie!

The Pearl

In keeping with my John Steinbeck theme, I read The Pearl. Mainly, I picked up the book because Steinbeck was the author I chose to read when I was younger and wanted to read a chapter book. The story is of an Indian family who finds fortune in the sea. Kino, the father, was diving and looking for pearls one day and comes across one of the largest pearls he had ever seen. His first action is to get a doctor to come cure his ailing son, then he wants to have a church wedding with his wife. The village and town start to hear news of Kino's pearl, and everyone starts to try and swindle him, steal from him, or even murder him. Kino lets the protection of the pearl become more important to him than anything else. After killing a man who was trying to thieve, Kino and his family must flee the village. A few days go by of quietly escaping, and the family realizes that there are a few trackers that have followed them. In the night Kino, approaches the trackers in order to kill them. During the dispute a gun shot is fired and Kino's son is killed. The next morning Kino and his wife Juana realize that this pearl has only brought evil into their lives. They return to the sea, and drop the pearl back where it belongs.

Moral: Wealth does not buy happiness.

Book 10: The Pearl
Author: John Steinbeck
Picture Book?: No
Posting Date: April 22, 2008

Imagination...

Does imagination play a role in learning and success in life? In a word, yes.

"According to Dorothy Singer, professor of psychology at Yale University and co-author of The House of Make Believe: Children's Play and the Developing Imagination, children who actively use their imagination reap a host of benefits, such as playing cooperatively and being successful in school" Imagination can help a child solve problems, by role-playing in their head, they are able to go through different situations and outcomes, and decide on the best possible one. I remember as a little kid imagining that i was grown-up, taking on roles that grown ups had. From teacher, to nurse, to mom, to even florist I was able to practice real-life skills. Imagination can also help to encourage communication and a wide range of vocabulary for a child. They often make up stories or repeat stories they have heard imagining that it happened to them. And, lastly, a child's imagination will be a lifelong skill of thinking creatively or outside the box. Through children's books, a child can become any character in any story that they read. Imagination has endless possibility.

Land of Blue (cont.)

The celebratory events were about to start, and still Samantha was no where to be found! People in the Land of Blue searched far and wide to find Samantha, so she could celebrate too. Samantha knew that everyone was searching for her, but she had hidden out above the land on an overlooking cliff, watching below. She did not want to attend her birthday party, she felt very sad because of her green skin, and just could not take being different anymore. Samantha thought that putting herself in the center of attention would only make it worse. So she hid away. The festivities began again, without Samantha there. And the town was having so much fun, they almost forgot that she was missing! When the blue firemen rolled out the 6 tier cake, everyone was so excited. Cindy even forgot that her best friend had gone missing. But, when it was time to blow out the candles Cindy remembered the past five birthdays and how fun it was to blow about the candles with Samantha. As she inhaled and made a wish, Cindy thought real hard for what she wanted. Then, with an exhale, Cindy wished to be a different color than blue. As the candles went out Cindy's blue skin faded into orange, her hair suddenly went from blue to orange as well! Samantha was watching all of this from above, and to her excitement she ran down to be with her friend. The two girls were so happy to be together, and each unique in their own color. Soon everyone in the town was wishing to change colors, and the Land of Blue was officially renamed the Land of Color.