Summer 2011

I'm very much enjoying my summer so far, but I've been very busy.  It has been run, run, run.  Brandi and Katie are both very involved in sports, so there has not been much time for rest and relaxation.  Plus, tomorrow, I turn 40!!! I remember when I used to think that was so old!  Where has time gone?

The Two Foolish Cats by Yoshiko Uchida

The Two Foolish Cats            Yoshiko Uchida


In this adaptation of a Japanese folktale, Yoshiko Uchida beautifully describes the greedy nature of two cats who learn a great deal from their own foolish behavior.  When one thinks of a classic children's tale, a story like this should come to mind. With colorful illustrations as well as fablistic characters, children are drawn to this book, as I saw with my own daughter who read the book as soon as I was finished with it; she loved it.  Of course, like most folktales, this story also has a moral:  act silly and greedy and you will pay a hefty price.  I think this is a good lesson for both children and adults alike to consider.

Still, this particular book by Uchida is not characteristic of other writings.  After researching her, I discovered that many of her other books discuss the Japanese-American plight, particularily during and after the World War II era.  In fact, in her book, The Invisible Thread, Uchida describes her own life of growing up in Berkely, California, as a Nisei--a second generation Japanese American--and her family's internment in a Nevada concentration camp during World War II.  Futhermore, her novel Journey Home depicts the life of a Japanese-American girl and her family after their release from an American concentration camp. Admist anti-Japanese feelings of fear, mistrust, and violence, this young girl and her family must try to rebuild their lives.

I plan on reading one of these books to find out more about this issue because I, like many other people, was basically unaware than such things occured in my own country.  When the words concentration camp are uttered, I have always thought of the atrocities committed by the Nazis to the Jewish people.  However, although nowhere near as severe as that, Japanese-Americans were definitely mistreated themselves during this era, a fact unbeknown to many Americans such as myself. 

Still, like other authors such as Laurence Yep, by reading the writings of such authors as Uchida, American students will be able to learn about a culture much different than their own, and, hopefully, develop both an appreciation and an understanding of these diverse cultures.

Later, Gator by Laurence Yep

Later, Gator      Laurence Yep

Later, Gator is the first book that I've ever read by Laurence Yep, but it definitely won't be the last.  I really enjoyed this book and laughed very hard several times while reading it.  Teddy is definitely a prankster, and although I couldn't relate personally to his plight since I myself am the youngest of two siblings, I relate to his point as seen through experiences of my own three children.  Still, even more than the plight of Teddy, reading this book helped me better understand the differences between the Chinese and the American cultures, which were referenced to several times in the book.

When reading this book and thinking about the allusions to the differences between the Chinese and American cultures, I remembered a short story I used to teach when I taught high school called "The Good Deed" by Pearl Buck.  This story discusses the Chinese belief that all women have the right to be married and should not be forced to find a husband on their own.  I remember how most of my students were astonished by this idea.  Usually, arranged marriages are viewed as a very bad thing, but when explained by Old Mrs. Pan in this story, several of my students--although not agreeing with the idea--were able to see the issue in a different light. 

This is very much like what I learned by reading Later, Gator.  At first, I didn't understand why on Earth these parents wouldn't show more affection to their children, but as the customs are better explained, I could understand this idea much better.  And, as a result, like my students who read The Good Deed, I, too, was able to see an issue with which I did not agree in a difference light.  I think this is a very important aspect of all literature, not just children's literature.  By teaching students that just because they may not agree with someone else about a given subject, they still can respect others' rights and opinions, and, therefore, build a better, more accepting society for everyone.

Before reading this book, I researched and reviewed several other books by Yep.  He is a writer of several Chinese-American stories and through his stories, children can have a better understanding of a different culture, a culture that they may not otherwise be exposed to if not for Yep's books.  Yep does a very good job in creating realistic characters and settings which very much bring the Chinese culture to life and help readers better appreciate a culture which is, in most aspects, very different than our own American culture.

Coretta Scott King Award book--2005

Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison

Like the Caldecott Award books, I also read several Coretta Scott King Award books in this class, some of which I will discuss later in some of my other assignments.  However, I really enjoyed reading the 2005 award receipent, Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison.  I read this book last week at the ERC on WKU's campus, and I just couldn't put it down.  Not only were its words wonderfully written, but also the pictures really spoke to me, especially the images of the faces of the white women who, while dressed very pretty, had such ugly looks of anger and hatred on their faces, glaring and screaming at the little African-American children who just wanted to go to school and have the same opportunities that their children had.  My daughter was with me the day I read this, and I kept thinking about how horrible it would have been to have seen my children go through something like that.  When it comes to my kids, I'm like a lioness protecting her cubs, but I also try to treat other children like I would want my own children treated--with kindess, fairness, and compassion.  Therefore, I just don't understand how these people could have acted like this.  But, I guess fear and ignorace can lead to people reacting badly in certain situations.

Also, the image in this book of the segragated water fountains reminded me of my own father and a story he once told me. Being in the military, my father was exposed to many difference races and cultures, so he always taught my sister and me that there were good and bad people of all kinds; we shouldn't judge people by the way they looked.  He told us about a time when he and his bunkmates--a man of Mexican descendant and an African-American man--went to a restaurant to eat.  When the waitress refused to serve his friend just because he was black, they all got up and left.  I was really proud of my father for doing this; I'm sure this wasn't easy for him, but he knew the difference between right and wrong and always taught us children the same way. The images from this book really brought these stories clearly to my mind.  Stories are just words, sometimes, but pictures can really bring those words to life.

Finally, the pictures of the four girls to whom this book is dedicated actually made me cry.  These girls were just at church when they were killed in a racist bombing.  Morrison eloquently reminds readers to remember these young girls, to remember that they were killed before their lives even really began, and, although things are a great deal better now than they were back then as far as race equality is concerned, we should all still never forget the people who sacrificed and took a stand for equality.

Caldecott Vs. Newbery Award Winners

During this course, I have read several Caldecott and Newbery Award Winners.  However, throughout my education career and training, I have actually been far more familiar with Newbery books than I have Caldecott books.  Prior to this course, if asked the question, "Which is a better award--Newbery or Caldecott," I would have definitely said, "Newbery, of course!"  Now, I'm not so sure.

First of all, according to the American Library Assocation's  (ALA) website, "The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children" (ALA website, 2011, Newbery Award List section).   Therefore, one can see that earning this award is a great achievement and includes such all time greats as my favorite book and the best book I have ever read, The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Still, whether this award is better than the Caldecott Award is up for debate, but I don't really think so. 

Again, according to the ALA, "The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children" (ALA website, 2011, Caldecott Award List section).  As I have discovered by reading several picture books during this semester, pictures can tell a story without ever using a single written word.  In fact, sometimes picture books can actually stimulate one's imagination more than written words because readers are actually making up the story as they go from what they interpret from the pictures.  Therefore, just like Newbery books, Caldecott books honor extraordinary storytellers, even though one story is told through words and the other, through illustrations. Therefore, I see the awards as being very equal; one being just as honorable as the other.

Works Cited

American Library Association.  (ALA).  (2011).  Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/.

Caldecott Winners

 

Caldecott Award Winners 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, and 2003

The five recent Caldecott Award Winners which I read were the following:  The Lion and the Mouse, The House in the Night, Floatsam, Kitten's First Full Moon, and My Friend Rabbit. Since I teach middle school students, I must admit I hadn't spent much time reading Caldecott books; I didn't know what I was missing.  I simply loved them!

The first two I read were at Barnes and Nobel--The Lion and the Mouse and Floatsam.  I had no idea how well an illustrator could tell a story, without the use of one single word.  I really think that picture books like these can get children into literacy before they can even read a word.  I really liked Floatsam, but I must admit, The Lion and the Mouse was my favorite.  Pinkney's use of watercolors to create dreamlike, yet realistic images of the characters is simply stunning.  I really loved this book, and I thought it was going to be my ultimate favorite picture book; that is, until I read The House in the Night.

I read a copy of The House in the Night at the ERC on campus, and I was blown away by its illustrations.  At first, I was surprised by the lack of color; my thought was, "How can this be a Caldecott Award Winner and not have color illustrations?"  What I didn't realize until I started looking through the book was that it did use color, especially when emphasizing the brightness of the moon, but the whole idea behind this story was to distinguish between the moon's brightness and the darkness of the night.  And, as I said before, I had no idea how wonderfully these pictures could tell a story.  Without the illustrations, this book would have had nowhere near the same effect upon me that it had.

I also read Kitten's First Full Moon--which also used pencil sketch-like illustrations--and My Friend Rabbit, a beautiful, color-illustrated book and the kind of book I actually expected to see when looking for Caldecott Award Winners.  Still, although I did have my favorites, I was really amazed by all of the books, and I am very glad I had the opportunity to not only read them but also to share them with my own children.  Again, this gave me a new insight into literacy--children can begin to become literate without be able to read a word. 

 

Children's Books as Feature Films

The three children's books that I have chosen to discuss that were made into feature films are Freak the Mighty, Hatchet, and Holes.

First, Freak the Mighty, a novel with a movie version called The Mighty, is a wonderful, heart-warming book that shows how friendship can overcome many of life's obstacles and teaches the moral lesson that people shouldn't be judged just by looks alone.  This is one of my favorite books, and I teach it to my seventh grade classes every year.  We also watch the movie and, usually, students enjoy both about the same.  While the book and the movie do have the basic plot and characters, some minor details are changed--how the boys meet, how exactly Kevin finds Max when Max is kidnapped by his father, etc.  Of course, these changes are more than likely included  for "dramatic effect," but I never understand why the book just can't be left alone and the movie follow it more precisely. Still, I guess that is why I am a middle-income teacher and not a multi-millionaire movie producer.  Go figure!

Again, another of my favorite children's books which is not very much like its feature-film version is Hatchet. The movie version is actually called A Cry in the Wild, which is why I had a difficult time finding it the very first time I taught this book.   While the plot is basically the same--Brian Robeson is the sole survivor of a plan crash in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, left to try to live on his own--many elements of the book are changed, especially with the inclusion of a mysterious white wolf who comes to Brian's aide in the movie but is never once mentioned in the book.  Probably, dramatic effect--again--is the reason for this, but I think that the novel has enough excitement and adventure that nothing else should be added. 

Finally, the book Holes is actually a book with a feature film version that actually follows the novel very well.  In fact, I really can't think of any major changes between the two.  How refreshing!  I can say that the only down-side to this would be the fact that a student could watch the movie, not really read the book, and still pass the AR test.  However, it is nice to know that the producers thought this book well-written enough that nothing had to be changed or dramatized. 

Sttill, I do always try to show a video version of a story, if possible.  I think this helps the students see if their visual interpretations of the characters, setting, and plot are like that of the movie producers.  However, sometimes, as I have found with the novel The Outsiders, watching the movie can corrupt one's  imagination into always seeing the actor's' face every time that character is mentioned.  For example, I always picture C. Thomas Howell each time I teach The Outsiders and start reading about Ponyboy.  Sometimes, I wish I didn't do that, but I don't seem to be able to stop myself.