Recently, my students and I were discussing story elements. You know, stuff like characters, setting, plot, climax, rising action, falling action, etc.... As examples for our discussion, we used movies that many of the kids have seen, mostly because it is such a visual medium and lots of the kids can relate. We can all relate to movies, too. Well, most of us. Some of you out there act like you're too good for television and movies, claiming you have better things to do with your time. Okay, be that way if you want....
Anyway, I brought up the example of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I felt was an excellent example to identify because it is a book and a film. Plus, lots of my kids have seen the movie and/or read the book. As the discussion got going, I overheard a child say, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a book?" Well, it is a good thing that I don't have heart problems, because I might have had a heart attack right then and there.
I know that many of you can actually believe that children don't have sufficient exposure to books because of low literacy rates and such, but there are people like me that refuse to admit such an atrocity exists. I am 31 years old, and I have been reading for 28 of those years. I went through stages where I had to read everything I could get my hands on by Roald Dahl, EB White, and Carolyn Keane (Nancy Drew, anyone?). I could go on and on about my relationship with reading then and now, but the words of Jean Louise Finch (spoken through the greatest Alabamian in history, Harper Lee) in To Kill a Mockingbird state it far more eloquently than I ever could:
I could not remember when the lines above Atticus's moving finger separated into words, but I had stared at them all the evenings in my memory, listening to the news of the day, Bills to be Enacted into Laws, the diaries of Lorenzo Dow -- anything Atticus happened to be reading when I crawled into his lap every night. Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
That excerpt means a lot to me. It says so much about my own reading education, in that I cannot remember when words began to make sense. I cannot remember a time in my life without books. They have always been there. It isn't until later that you realize how special that is.
Anyway, the fact that my children at school are somewhat ignorant to literature written exclusively for them makes me slightly nauseous. So, at the request of my friend Holly, I am going to attempt to compile a list of books that your (and my) child should have in his or her personal library. But, I need your help!!
What do you think is essential for every child's book shelf?
Give me some responses, please.
Stay tuned for a complete list - it might take a while to complete. Send me your ideas as they come to you. Don't hesitate to send me multiple messages as you come upon fabulous titles that cannot be ignored. Thanks. :)
Love to all!!!
Katie
Anyway, I brought up the example of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I felt was an excellent example to identify because it is a book and a film. Plus, lots of my kids have seen the movie and/or read the book. As the discussion got going, I overheard a child say, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a book?" Well, it is a good thing that I don't have heart problems, because I might have had a heart attack right then and there.
I know that many of you can actually believe that children don't have sufficient exposure to books because of low literacy rates and such, but there are people like me that refuse to admit such an atrocity exists. I am 31 years old, and I have been reading for 28 of those years. I went through stages where I had to read everything I could get my hands on by Roald Dahl, EB White, and Carolyn Keane (Nancy Drew, anyone?). I could go on and on about my relationship with reading then and now, but the words of Jean Louise Finch (spoken through the greatest Alabamian in history, Harper Lee) in To Kill a Mockingbird state it far more eloquently than I ever could:
I could not remember when the lines above Atticus's moving finger separated into words, but I had stared at them all the evenings in my memory, listening to the news of the day, Bills to be Enacted into Laws, the diaries of Lorenzo Dow -- anything Atticus happened to be reading when I crawled into his lap every night. Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
That excerpt means a lot to me. It says so much about my own reading education, in that I cannot remember when words began to make sense. I cannot remember a time in my life without books. They have always been there. It isn't until later that you realize how special that is.
Anyway, the fact that my children at school are somewhat ignorant to literature written exclusively for them makes me slightly nauseous. So, at the request of my friend Holly, I am going to attempt to compile a list of books that your (and my) child should have in his or her personal library. But, I need your help!!
What do you think is essential for every child's book shelf?
Give me some responses, please.
Stay tuned for a complete list - it might take a while to complete. Send me your ideas as they come to you. Don't hesitate to send me multiple messages as you come upon fabulous titles that cannot be ignored. Thanks. :)
Love to all!!!
Katie
4 comments:
All things Beverly Cleary, at least the Ramona Quimby series.....
Oh, ditto on the Beverly Cleary--and Judy Blume. They were the two staples of my pre-adolesence.
For my personal addition to your list, I nominate "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster. This book was the best teaching tool I had--I was actually able to integrate MATH with language arts! I could go on for days, but trust me; any fourth- or fifth-grader will enjoy this story.
For the guys- Gary Paulsen. Hatchet, the River, etc. It will awaken the innate sense of adventure in any boy.
Anything in the Hans Christian Anderson library. Anything and everything Beatrice Potter.
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