Responses to Articles

Observations on Publishing in 2011
The thing that stood out most to me about this article was the amount out of 3,400 picture books that were about or written by authors outside of white people.  I really had no idea, until we started talking about it in class, that other cultures were so left out of picture books and literature in general in today's world.  I think it's important to focus on the books that are out there and make sure we're incorporating those into the classroom.

Children's Books by and about People of Color Published in the United States
I think this article shows some shocking statistics as well regarding how culture is represented in literature.  I do think the statistics show that we are making progress year after year with the amount of multi-cultural literature published.  Society needs to keep pushing for more and more to be put into circulation. 

Cover Matters: On Whitewashing
I found this article very interesting. I am the world's worst to judge books by their covers, but I've never found myself thinking about the color of the person on the cover or if that person's ethnicity matches the color of the actual character.  It's such a subtle gesture that I would at first think that it's just coincidence, but after reading this article, I would think it's not the case.  I also thought the whole argument that covers with white people sell better is a crazy argument.  I do think this is something that needs to be looked into in the world of publishing.  It's definitely a subtle gesture that I think is possibly holding society back slightly.

For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing
This article proves that even young kids notice subtle differences in how white children are represented in literature and mainstream media versus how other cultures are.  It's something that I think teachers can and should address in the classroom, especially if a student brings it up.

Wonder

First of all, this might be my new favorite book!!!!! Like wow wow wow!!!

Ok, now that my emotions are out in the open, I'll get on to my real blog post...

In my opinion, Wonder should be required for all middle school students.  Middle school is such a difficult time for students, even without having to deal with the difficulties that August has.  Middle school was one of the most difficult times of my life because some girls decided I just didn't need to be their friend anymore.  Basically, when you mix all the hormonal changes of adolescence with a changing social realm, kids who used to be sweet sometimes turn mean.  This book has changed my outlook on kindness as well as even how I look at someone who is different.  It really opened my eyes to how much people notice in the subtle ways we treat people who are different from us.  I think this book could have a huge impact on middle school students.  It could also lead to great class discussions about why we should be kind to all people regardless of how they look, how they act, or how they treat us.  

I also really appreciated how the book was written.  I thought it gave it a whole other dimension.  Not only was it written from several different character's perspectives, but all the parts were the same story, but from different perspectives.  If the author had chosen not to do this, there's a lot of interesting information we would have missed out on. For instance, I thought the part when Via talked about the genetics of August's disease and how she wouldn't have kids because of the risk gave us a whole new insight to Via.  Seeing how Jack felt when he was talking to the boys about August on Halloween also gave the reader empathy towards his situation too.  He was put in a hard place too, but really was trying to do the right thing in the end.  

Our Thoughts on Banned Books

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I was absolutely shocked and silent when I finished this book.  I couldn't even tell anyone about it.  All I could say to my roommates was, "I cannot believe the book I just read."  The insight that Charlie gives to the issues that teenage students deal with is incredible.  At first, I thought that the book was inappropriate, and I couldn't believe some of the material the author had chosen to include.  The further I got into the book though, the more I realized that these were real issues that some students in middle school and high school deal with every day.  I never dealt with problems like this, but for some students, drugs, sex, alcohol, and abuse are very real.  Throughout the whole book, I was trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with Charlie...was he mentally disabled in some way? I wasn’t really sure.  A few hints surfaced while I was reading, but when I reached the end and realized what he had experienced, it all made sense.  It was like those parts in movies when they do a quick flashback of lots of different scenes when the mystery is finally solved.  I could not imagine facing adversities like these and being a normal person.  Charlie wasn’t normal for sure, but who really is? Was he just super gifted? I can definitely see why this book is on banned lists for school libraries. I am not even quite sure I would let an eighth grader read this, let alone any younger middle schooler.  Although some students may be dealing with the very things in the book, I just could not let them read it! The book does offer deep insight into the struggles of teenage years, but it is troubling.  I definitely liked it and got a lot out of it, but it just seems like a lot for a middle schooler to take in. I feel like this post is a little scattered, but the book was just overwhelming and so much to take in.  I would definitely recommend it to education majors.  We will eventually come in contact with students who have experienced this kind of trauma before...I feel like I'll be much more aware of students who are having problems after reading this.   

My Picture Book Picks

No Mush Todday
by Sally Derby illustrated by Nicole Tadgell













No Mush Today was a good read.  It might be suitable for the younger middle grades.  The main character, Nonie, is very relatable for middle school students.  Nonie is dealing with having a new baby brother which can be a very common situation for middle grades students.  The language used in the story is also very relatable for students because it sounds like Nonie is just talking like she would in her every day language.  The author makes the language sound less proper to make it seem more like a child is talking.  For example, she uses "'bout" instead of "about" and "laughin'" instead of "laughing." I also loved the symbol of the ducks in the story.  This would be a great discussion to have with a classroom after reading this book, especially to introduce the concept of a symbol in a story.  Nonie carries a stuffed animal duck around with her everywhere...it appears on every page.  Read ducks come up when Nonie and her dad are out in the paddleboat, and he makes mention that they always stick with their family.  Even though Nonie is obviously having a hard time adjusting to her new baby brother, she should still stick with her family.  Deep down she wants to, she just needs a little help with feeling loved and wanted.  One aspect of the book I didn't care for too much were the pictures.  They were not as lively or colorful as they could have been.  I just found them to be nothing spectacular, but maybe that was on purpose.  This story isn't one of anything super special or adventurous, but more of just the ordinary situations of life.  Maybe the illustrations were supposed to go along with that.  No Mush Today is also about a black family which is of course always great to read as African-Americans are not represented in a lot of children's literature.

Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
A Math Adventure
by Cindy Neuschwander illustrated by Wayne Geehan















I absolutely loved this book because it combined two of my favorite things: a story book and math! The first Sir Cumference book I read was in a sixth grade math class I was observing in at my middle school at home.  It was about the number pi and how it relates to a circle.  The teacher read it to her sixth graders before they worked on an activity with finding circumference.  As I observed the students working, I was surprised how many of them referenced things in the book to help remember how to do the problems on their page.  The great thing about this book is that it incorporates the history of King Author and the Knights of the Round Table and diameter, circumference, radius, and other shapes into a story.  It also uses diagrams and drawings to show the mathematical concepts in the book.  These drawings and characters make it so much easier for students to remember what certain content area vocabulary means.  For instance, they can associate Lady Di of Ameter with diameter knowing that she can stretch the length across the middle of the circle.  The illustrations are also bright and colorful which always helps in keeping the students' attention as well.  Overall, the Sir Cumference books are definitely some of my favorite picture books to incorporate into the classroom.

Black and White
by David Macaulay

Well, this book was rather interesting.  It was on a list for top picture books for middle school and also won a Caldecott Medal in 1991 (the year I was born!).  With all this recommendation, I expected a great book, but I didn't expect how very unique and creative it would be.  I would love to discuss Black and White with a middle school English class...or heck, even a high school or college class.  I have never seen a picture book written like this one.  It has four separate stories on four windows of the page, but by the end, they're all part of the same story.  Basically, a boy is on a train and observes some of the events that happen in the other stories.  One story is about the people waiting at the train depot for the train the boy is on which has gotten delayed because some cows escaped. There's a criminal hiding in the cows as well as other places like the train the boy is on. Another story is about parents who have been stuck at the depot for so long that they started dressing themselves in the newspaper they had been reading, so their kids think they have gone crazy.  The illustrations also eventually fade into each other and one story as well.  This is one of the best picture books I've ever seen.  I literally feel like I don't even know what to say about it because I'm so blown away by it!  If for no other reason, I would share it with my students just so they can witness the sheer creative genius of the author!

Aren't These Books for Little Kids?

One criticism I have of this article is that it only talks about incorporating picture books into the Social Studies classroom, but no other subjects.  As Social Studies is not one of my concentrations, I didn't find it extremely helpful.  I do think that picture books about Social Studies topics could be used in an English classroom to incorporate another subject as well as spark different conversation.  This article also sparked an idea for me.  Picture books could be read to the whole class, a discussion could happen, and then writing could take place.  This one book could be covered in one class period.  A situation like this wouldn't happen with a novel or chapter book.  Multiple books could be covered in a class period too if students were broken up into groups.  I also liked the examples of questions that can be asked after reading the book, like "Whose story is this?" or "What voices are not being heard?" By asking questions like these, teachers can create an environment where picture books are in fact appropriate literature for middle school students.  

A Middle School Teacher's Guide for Selecting Picture Books

I thought this article was very helpful and informative.  Using picture books in a middle school classroom had never occurred to me before beginning this class and reading this article.  The more I think about it though, the more it really does make sense.  I was in a sixth grade classroom for my practicum last semester.  There was quite a variety of reading levels in our three classes.  A lot of the students felt comfortable with the chapter books they were reading, but I think a lot would have felt even more comfortable with picture books.  Although my teacher never used picture books in our classroom, I think it would have been a really useful tool, especially in sixth grade.  The students definitely would have still been interested and would not have found it too juvenile.  I would definitely love to incorporate picture books into my classroom one day whether I end up teaching math or English.  In an English classroom, I would want students to have to explore the deeper meanings that can be found in picture books, as the article discusses.  Discussing how the illustrations relate to the story as well as how the give the story meaning would also be an interesting topic for discussion in the middle school classroom.  I would love to incorporate picture books into my math classroom as well.  Writing is very important across subjects, so I would definitely want to read books, like Math Curse or the Sir Cumference books, to my classes to have them write about them as well as to help them understand math concepts better.  

First Post!

I'm beginning this blog for my LLED 5210 class...excited for a semester full of reading children's literature and learning lots!