Biographies

In class we discussed whether or not we would use certain types of biographies in the classroom setting.  I think it would be a good idea to introduce controversial biographies into the classroom, however, it would definitely depend on the age of the children and the content of the biography. For example, the biography of Adolf Hitler.  I think early high school years would be the best time to introduce them to his life and the things he did during his life time.  I think biographies are a great way to introduce children to famous people throughout history and not exposing children to those people would not be beneficial for them.

Sexual orientation.

Last class, we discussed if children literature should contain sexual orientation or not.
I want to share information which is on issue in my country.
In my country, a person who is gay, lesbian, or transgender is treated really badly. In America, people usually laugh at them (gay, lesbian, or transgender), but in Korea people think they are crazy. For example, some Hollywood stars coming out that they are lesbian or gay, and they still work as actor or actress. In Korea, a famous actor coming out could not work for 5 years because no one wants to see him on the TV. Koreans are not familiar with other types of sexual orientation because we never learned about this. (Usually the media did not mention this issue, too)
Last month one model committed suicide. He was coming out that he is gay, and many people shunned him. Many uneducated people (usually elementary school to high school students) wrote messages in his blog. (“You are crazy”, “you are disgusting creature”, “Go to hell”…etc.)
If adults teach children about sexual orientation, tragedies like this could be avoided.

I read the book "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell" and I found the book to be very fun and fast paced. It was definitely a very easy read for children, but it was a reading that would be fun to read between the parent and child due to the fact that there are many different opportunities to interact with one another during the story. The illustrations in the book seem very detailed because of the strokes used, and the water colors give the pictures more depth. This book is very similar to "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and it had the same ending, which was that the old lady ended up emptying all the things she had consumed in order to fit one last thing into her stomach. The book was probably intended for children in lower elementary grades.

Tiki Tiki Timbo's Korean Version

Last class we read book ‘Tiki Tiki Timbo’. Mr. Waters said that it is Chinese story, but when I was young I heard this story in Korea. Actually, one comedian made song with Tiki Tiki Timbo’s Korean version name (this song was popular 10 years or 15 years ago).
Korean version story is quiet same as Chinese version but Korean added reason of long name.
Long time ago, one couple had few babies but every baby was dying early. Therefore, the parents gave name to the new boy for long life. The boy’s last name is Kim and first name is Soo Han Moo (meaning that such a long life) Turtle Crane (long life animals) Sam Chun KapSa Dongbaksak (name of person who lived 180000years)……(there are 10 more words but it is hard to translate in English :( ) Korean version ended same as Chinese version. I don’t think Korean version was not published as book. Usually, Koreans think that this story is made up by Korean comedian.

Tiki-tiki tembo walla-walla bing bang so sa pinto

If my parents decided they wanted to be that creative with my name at the age of 18 i would legally change it haha.
But I enjoyed the book even though i thought for sure the boy was going to die in the well, you never know how gruesome a child's book will get!
I do like how it showed a creative meaning behind why Chinese names are so short and simple. I like the folklore of the Grimm brothers from Germany i believe. Those are really interesting. I think they are the original tales of snow white and sleeping beauty and all those stories except they are gruesome and try to teach children lessons by being scary.
Personally, I'm going to use my own folklore to tell my kids that there are street monsters that eat children up if they step foot unattended into the street so that my kids don't decide to play in the street. That may not be folklore, but it's a story that will make sure they don't get hit by a car!!!

Melyssa Ziulkowski

Voices in the Park Burning Bush

I found this interview with Anthony Browne online about Voices in the Park. Pretty interesting..

TEACHINGBOOKS: It appears that you do many subtle things in Voices in the Park to further
this message.

ANTHONY BROWNE: There’s a picture in Voices in the Park where the two dogs are racing
around, as the text says, “Like old friends,” and I’ve painted the mongrel dog with the pedigree
dog’s tail and vice versa. That’s just a little way of saying there’s no real difference between them.
The two statues above the dogs represent the woman and the man in the story. They’re set in
stone; they’re never going to change.
Another example of where I’ve used my art to further the message is in the illustration
where Mrs. Smythe and her son, Charles, are walking home. She’s just discovered Charles
talking to a rather rough-looking child, and we can hardly see Charles. He’s hidden behind her,
and totally dominated by her. The text says, “We walked home in silence.” But we can feel the
anger of this woman. We sometimes say somebody’s burning with anger; in this picture, one of
the trees is actually on fire. It in one way reflects her anger, but it also reflects the feeling of
autumn or the fall

Poetry

Last week in class when we discussed poetry I really enjoyed it because I like poetry, however, I really didn't agree that free verse should be considered poetry. At least the examples we were given seemed a little weak. I guess if the free verse had a powerful feel and meaning behind it i can see it being considered poetry, but just putting together anything and claiming it's poetry seems a little weak to me.

I do agree on the importance of poetry in childrens lit because it does teach moral lessons, tells stories, and due to its rhythm and rhyme it's easy for children to follow and enjoy.

-Melyssa Ziulkowski