Social Justice.
This is a buzzword that you hear a lot these days. Simply put, it is when you put forth ideals of a just society by challenging injustice and valuing adversity. There are plenty of books that deal with issues like this. We have had to read eight books all about this issue over the past two weeks. Because they are all dealing with the same overall issue, I decided to combine them into one reflection (hope that's ok!).
Two of these books are repeated from weeks before: An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank and The Iguana Tree. The first book mentioned above is all about the persecution of a factory superintendent, Leo Frank. The people initially arrest a black watchman, but then turn to this Jewish-American superintendent. They proceed to gather evidence to try and persecute him for the crime. The second book is about these boys who cross the border from Mexico into the US and look for work in the Carolinas. It is all about the struggle they face on their journey to freedom. This one isn't social justice as much as it is global awareness - teaching students what kinds of things really go on in the world around them. Students can be so jaded and naive when it comes to issues like this, having never gone through them themselves.
The other books that we were to read over the course of this week can be ranked in the same two categories: Social Justice and Global Awareness. There is some crossover of course, in the books like I am Malala and Sold, but they all tie in to these overarching themes.
The article added to the eight books for these two weeks was incredibly powerful. On the very first page, I loved this quote:
"Literature has the power to transform our thinking.
It can be a window into the world to help us recog-
nize and understand the problems and injustices that
pervade societies and make us realize that we need
to take action to make a difference."
How powerful is that? Literature has that kind of power in our lives. Just a book? Wow. That's huge.
That really makes you think about the kind of power that teachers and librarians truly have. By simply recommending a book to a student/teenage patron, you are opening up their eyes to the injustices of the past, of the present, of the world. You're teaching them about the world and inspiring them to make a difference.
I really liked the section of this article that gave all of the ideas for literary response. I think I will be adapting them for use in my classroom with the novel that we are starting after spring break - The Fault in Our Stars. Not social justice or global awareness, but still neat ideas that I can use.
Bibliographic Information:
Alphin, E. (2010). An unspeakable crime : the prosecution and persecution of Leo Frank. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Hiaasen, C. (2005). Hoot. New York: Yearling.
Lai, T. (2013). Inside out & back again. New York, NY: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.
McCormick, P. (2008). Sold. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks.
Perkins, M. & Hogan, J. (2008). Rickshaw girl. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
Skloot, R. (2011). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks.
Smolen, L., & MacDonald, S. (2009). Adolescent Literature and Reader Response: "It's about Global Awareness and Social Justice!" International Journal of Learning, 15(10), 207-212.
Stone, M. (2013). The iguana tree. Spartanburg: Hub City Press.
Yousafzai, M. & Lamb, C. (2013). I am Malala : the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban. New York, NY: Little, Brown, & Company.
Showing posts with label LIB 5195. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LIB 5195. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Reflection #9: Disability and Differences
I love that there are books out there that touch every aspect of life. So far for this class, we've read books about LGBTQ issues, diversity, multicultural struggles, books that have been banned/challenged because of controversial content, and now, we've read books that have characters with disabilities or something that makes them just a little bit different than other characters.
I first read Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. This was such a great read. Poor Joey. He struggles with his ADHD so much. He gets into all kinds of trouble. I felt so bad for him. I hurt through the whole book, just like I hurt for my students who are struggling with this. It is so hard for them to stay seated for 8 hours a day, not talking, and listen to teachers talk about things that they don't completely understand. The focus aspect is hard enough, but when you are hyperactive on top of it, it's like the world is working against you. I think this book is perfect for anyone who is struggling with a similar disorder, or for someone who knows someone like Joey.
Marcelo in the Real World was another book that pulled on my heartstrings. When Marcelo was forced to work in the mailroom at the law firm instead of with the ponies at his school, I was upset for him. I know this is all supposed to teach a lesson about overcoming adversity and whatever, but books like this just upset me.
The book about Temple Grandin was inspiring. I've always found her story to be inspiring, in general. She overcame so much and worked to create new methodology in relation to herding cows. She embraced her disability and excelled because of it.
The two articles for the week were also very interesting (not as interesting as the consumerism articles from last week that I absolutely loved, though ;) ). I loved the three reasons for writing a literary character with a disability: "to teach about a disability, to focus on the life of an individual with a disability, or to tell a story that happens to include an individual with a disability." Kids need characters like them in literature so they don't feel so alone. This is especially true of children with disabilities. They need to see themselves in something so that they can relate.
I love the idea of teaching about disabilities and differences with picture books. I think that giving students a more creative approach to such a difficult concept gives students the freedom to question and think before they make a decision. Students are quick to judge one another and will sooner laugh and mock than just accept someone who is different from them, especially when they are younger. It's because they just don't understand why the difference exists. The older they get, the more accepting they become, but it is still hard to understand. Picture books can really help teachers and students address these difficult concepts.
Bibliographic Information:
Gantos, J. (2014). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: Square Fish, Farrar Straus Giroux.
Lok, C. (2009). Book Therapy: The Power of Picture Books for an Inclusive Classroom. California Reader, 42(2), 24-28.
Montgomery, S. (2012). Temple Grandin : how the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Stork, F. (2011). Marcelo in the real world. New York: Scholastic.
Wopperer, E. (2011). Inclusive Literature in the Library and the Classroom. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 26-34.
I first read Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. This was such a great read. Poor Joey. He struggles with his ADHD so much. He gets into all kinds of trouble. I felt so bad for him. I hurt through the whole book, just like I hurt for my students who are struggling with this. It is so hard for them to stay seated for 8 hours a day, not talking, and listen to teachers talk about things that they don't completely understand. The focus aspect is hard enough, but when you are hyperactive on top of it, it's like the world is working against you. I think this book is perfect for anyone who is struggling with a similar disorder, or for someone who knows someone like Joey.
Marcelo in the Real World was another book that pulled on my heartstrings. When Marcelo was forced to work in the mailroom at the law firm instead of with the ponies at his school, I was upset for him. I know this is all supposed to teach a lesson about overcoming adversity and whatever, but books like this just upset me.
The book about Temple Grandin was inspiring. I've always found her story to be inspiring, in general. She overcame so much and worked to create new methodology in relation to herding cows. She embraced her disability and excelled because of it.
The two articles for the week were also very interesting (not as interesting as the consumerism articles from last week that I absolutely loved, though ;) ). I loved the three reasons for writing a literary character with a disability: "to teach about a disability, to focus on the life of an individual with a disability, or to tell a story that happens to include an individual with a disability." Kids need characters like them in literature so they don't feel so alone. This is especially true of children with disabilities. They need to see themselves in something so that they can relate.
I love the idea of teaching about disabilities and differences with picture books. I think that giving students a more creative approach to such a difficult concept gives students the freedom to question and think before they make a decision. Students are quick to judge one another and will sooner laugh and mock than just accept someone who is different from them, especially when they are younger. It's because they just don't understand why the difference exists. The older they get, the more accepting they become, but it is still hard to understand. Picture books can really help teachers and students address these difficult concepts.
Bibliographic Information:
Gantos, J. (2014). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: Square Fish, Farrar Straus Giroux.
Lok, C. (2009). Book Therapy: The Power of Picture Books for an Inclusive Classroom. California Reader, 42(2), 24-28.
Montgomery, S. (2012). Temple Grandin : how the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Stork, F. (2011). Marcelo in the real world. New York: Scholastic.
Wopperer, E. (2011). Inclusive Literature in the Library and the Classroom. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 26-34.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Reflection #8: Marketing & Merchandising, Series Books
This has been my favorite week to read material for thus far. I love to think about consumerism and how it affects today's youth.
Both articles that were required reading for this week talked about what consumerism is, what a market child is, and how it affects kids. An example of this from the article would be American Girl. Children don't request a specific doll, typically. Not at first. The parents or grandparents, someone in the life of the child, recommends the doll or gives the child the doll. With the doll comes the American Girl books and movies. The child then becomes more and more familiarized with the American Girl character. When the child goes to the library, they want more books focused on their favorite character. They want to watch more movies about their character. It is not that their imagination is stifled in anyway. The kids can still play and make up stories about their doll. It's all about familiarity and comfort. They want to stick with what they know.
The same can be said about a lot of the series books that we read today. The Hunger Games is a HUGE series right now. It has completely blown up. Suzanne Collins must be loving that. But, really, we read the books first. After we loved the first book, two more came out. We read them because we loved the characters in the first book. We were all about the relationships between Katniss and Peeta or Katniss and Gale, depending what ship you're on. We wanted to read to find out what happened after Katniss and Peeta BOTH won the hunger games. Then came the movies. Of course, the trailer alone sparked book sales. People wanted to see the movie having read the book, and then the movie came out and made books popular all over again. This series has continued to rise in the ranks as the movies continue to be made. We continue to read and purchase these books and movies because of our familiarity and love for the fictional characters.
The negative aspect of this consumerism and market child mindset is that it prevents a lot of students from branching out and trying new things. Teens get so wrapped up in what they know and what their friends are doing/reading/watching that they don't try anything new. I am thankful that I was always so curious about new books that I was constantly discovering new things. But it worries me that today's youth is not like that. I don't think their imaginations are stifled because of it, but I do think that there is a limit of some kind that happens because of it. Hmmm....something to think about, for sure.
Bibliographic information:
Bickford, J. (2010). Consumerism How it Impacts Play and its Presence in Library Collections. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 8(3), 53-56.
Carman, P. & Pease, J. (2009). Skeleton Creek. New York: Scholastic Press.
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.
Larbalestier, J. (2009). Liar. New York: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books.
Sekeres, D. (2009). The Market Child and Branded Fiction: A Synergism of Children's Literature, Consumer Culture, and New Literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(4), 399-414.
Both articles that were required reading for this week talked about what consumerism is, what a market child is, and how it affects kids. An example of this from the article would be American Girl. Children don't request a specific doll, typically. Not at first. The parents or grandparents, someone in the life of the child, recommends the doll or gives the child the doll. With the doll comes the American Girl books and movies. The child then becomes more and more familiarized with the American Girl character. When the child goes to the library, they want more books focused on their favorite character. They want to watch more movies about their character. It is not that their imagination is stifled in anyway. The kids can still play and make up stories about their doll. It's all about familiarity and comfort. They want to stick with what they know.
The same can be said about a lot of the series books that we read today. The Hunger Games is a HUGE series right now. It has completely blown up. Suzanne Collins must be loving that. But, really, we read the books first. After we loved the first book, two more came out. We read them because we loved the characters in the first book. We were all about the relationships between Katniss and Peeta or Katniss and Gale, depending what ship you're on. We wanted to read to find out what happened after Katniss and Peeta BOTH won the hunger games. Then came the movies. Of course, the trailer alone sparked book sales. People wanted to see the movie having read the book, and then the movie came out and made books popular all over again. This series has continued to rise in the ranks as the movies continue to be made. We continue to read and purchase these books and movies because of our familiarity and love for the fictional characters.
The negative aspect of this consumerism and market child mindset is that it prevents a lot of students from branching out and trying new things. Teens get so wrapped up in what they know and what their friends are doing/reading/watching that they don't try anything new. I am thankful that I was always so curious about new books that I was constantly discovering new things. But it worries me that today's youth is not like that. I don't think their imaginations are stifled because of it, but I do think that there is a limit of some kind that happens because of it. Hmmm....something to think about, for sure.
Bibliographic information:
Bickford, J. (2010). Consumerism How it Impacts Play and its Presence in Library Collections. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 8(3), 53-56.
Carman, P. & Pease, J. (2009). Skeleton Creek. New York: Scholastic Press.
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.
Larbalestier, J. (2009). Liar. New York: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books.
Sekeres, D. (2009). The Market Child and Branded Fiction: A Synergism of Children's Literature, Consumer Culture, and New Literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(4), 399-414.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Reflection #7: Multicultural Representations
In literature, there are many different ways that different cultures are represented. This has been an issue, especially when it comes to the American Indians and African Americans. Most authors are white. This is a well-known fact. Most award winning authors are white men. This was discussed in a previous reflection. I don't tend to think about such things. I just read for pleasure, not for analysis. However, this week required more analysis than I anticipated.
The first article that I read this week was "Two Professors Critique the Representations of Africans and African Americans in Picture Books." It was very interesting to me that the study chose a white professor and an African American professor. I suppose they did this to balance out any bias. It was a great idea and it was eye opening in many aspects. There were several things that the white professor, Margaret, did not even notice until the African American professor, Wendy, pointed them out.
The pictures in the book sometimes did not match the tone of the prose/poetry on the page. I usually just interpret everything as a whole; I don't look at the individual pieces. They did.
They also noticed that most of the stories that were about Africans or African American families painted people in a positive light. This is unrealistic for family life, period...but especially untrue of the hardships that African American slave families had to go through in the past. Same thing for African families. The themes present were mostly positive and uplifting as well - like "hope."
It made me curious as to why they always produce fictional picture books like this. Are they meant to inspire students of color? Are they meant to give them hope that they can overcome their past? Are they meant to remind students of how far their families have come these days? I'm not sure. It's fiction.
The books for the week are great examples of multicultural literature. From the harrowing story of crossing the border from Mexico presented in The Iguana Tree to the trial of a black watchman in An Unspeakable Crime, stories about multicultural experiences are everywhere. Most of them end in a positive manner with these same happy themes present, like "hope" and "overcoming adversity." These books do as well.
I wonder if there are fictional books that present the darker side of these multicultural experiences. I'd love to read one, just for historical purposes.
Bibliographic Information:
Alexie, S. & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.
Alphin, E. (2010). An unspeakable crime : the prosecution and persecution of Leo Frank. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Gangi, J. M. (2008). The Unbearable Whiteness of Literacy Instruction: Realizing the Implications of
the Proficient Reader Research. Multicultural Review, 17(1), 30-35.
Smith-D'Arezzo, W. M., & Musgrove, M. (2011). Two Professors Critique the Representations of Africans and African Americans in Picture Books. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(2), 188-202.
Stone, M. (2013). The iguana tree. Spartanburg: Hub City Press.
The first article that I read this week was "Two Professors Critique the Representations of Africans and African Americans in Picture Books." It was very interesting to me that the study chose a white professor and an African American professor. I suppose they did this to balance out any bias. It was a great idea and it was eye opening in many aspects. There were several things that the white professor, Margaret, did not even notice until the African American professor, Wendy, pointed them out.
The pictures in the book sometimes did not match the tone of the prose/poetry on the page. I usually just interpret everything as a whole; I don't look at the individual pieces. They did.
They also noticed that most of the stories that were about Africans or African American families painted people in a positive light. This is unrealistic for family life, period...but especially untrue of the hardships that African American slave families had to go through in the past. Same thing for African families. The themes present were mostly positive and uplifting as well - like "hope."
It made me curious as to why they always produce fictional picture books like this. Are they meant to inspire students of color? Are they meant to give them hope that they can overcome their past? Are they meant to remind students of how far their families have come these days? I'm not sure. It's fiction.
The books for the week are great examples of multicultural literature. From the harrowing story of crossing the border from Mexico presented in The Iguana Tree to the trial of a black watchman in An Unspeakable Crime, stories about multicultural experiences are everywhere. Most of them end in a positive manner with these same happy themes present, like "hope" and "overcoming adversity." These books do as well.
I wonder if there are fictional books that present the darker side of these multicultural experiences. I'd love to read one, just for historical purposes.
Bibliographic Information:
Alexie, S. & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.
Alphin, E. (2010). An unspeakable crime : the prosecution and persecution of Leo Frank. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Gangi, J. M. (2008). The Unbearable Whiteness of Literacy Instruction: Realizing the Implications of
the Proficient Reader Research. Multicultural Review, 17(1), 30-35.
Smith-D'Arezzo, W. M., & Musgrove, M. (2011). Two Professors Critique the Representations of Africans and African Americans in Picture Books. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(2), 188-202.
Stone, M. (2013). The iguana tree. Spartanburg: Hub City Press.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Reflection #6: LGBTQ Characters & Themes
Just one article this week!? This can't be real life? I feel like there is so much more information out there on LGBTQ literature and why it matters to the library.
Although, this article was packed with good information.
I thought it was interesting that one of the first questions asked, jokingly, about an LGBTQ book is whether or not the character dies. It leaves out the possibility for a novel with these themes having a positive, uplifting ending. What does that say for our LGBTQ students or teenagers who are just looking for answers within the pages of these novels? That it always ends in tragedy? While I'm not a supporter of LGBTQ anything, I am glad that these novels have grown and evolved to give students/readers something more positive to look for in the books.
Another big evolution in GLBT literature is the inclusion of more books about transgendered characters. This was not something that anyone felt comfortable discussing until recently. These books give confused teens another resource - characters with whom they can identify.
For me, as a future librarian, I will do just what the article for this week said to do: "put them on the shelf and treat them like any other book." I'm not going to be promoting these titles and I won't be recommending them, but I'll include them in my library. I'm not censoring information because I don't agree with it. That's ridiculous.
The two novels for this week: Between Mom and Jo and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe fit perfectly into this category. In the first mentioned book, Nick has a family with two moms - his birth mother and her wife, Jo. They have marital issues and he feels completely alone throughout the struggle. He feels like he's in the middle of it. This is a book that you can identify with if your family has issues, period. It doesn't matter that he has two moms...but if you are in a situation where you have two moms, it makes the subject matter even more relatable. The book mentioned second, Aristotle..., is going to be more helpful for those teenagers who are struggling with their sexuality in that Dante is very open about his, and Ari is not. It's a slower read, but it really makes the reader think. That's the point of LGBTQ books, I think. To make you think. To make you curious. To push you.
Bibliographic Information:
Although, this article was packed with good information.
I thought it was interesting that one of the first questions asked, jokingly, about an LGBTQ book is whether or not the character dies. It leaves out the possibility for a novel with these themes having a positive, uplifting ending. What does that say for our LGBTQ students or teenagers who are just looking for answers within the pages of these novels? That it always ends in tragedy? While I'm not a supporter of LGBTQ anything, I am glad that these novels have grown and evolved to give students/readers something more positive to look for in the books.
Another big evolution in GLBT literature is the inclusion of more books about transgendered characters. This was not something that anyone felt comfortable discussing until recently. These books give confused teens another resource - characters with whom they can identify.
For me, as a future librarian, I will do just what the article for this week said to do: "put them on the shelf and treat them like any other book." I'm not going to be promoting these titles and I won't be recommending them, but I'll include them in my library. I'm not censoring information because I don't agree with it. That's ridiculous.
The two novels for this week: Between Mom and Jo and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe fit perfectly into this category. In the first mentioned book, Nick has a family with two moms - his birth mother and her wife, Jo. They have marital issues and he feels completely alone throughout the struggle. He feels like he's in the middle of it. This is a book that you can identify with if your family has issues, period. It doesn't matter that he has two moms...but if you are in a situation where you have two moms, it makes the subject matter even more relatable. The book mentioned second, Aristotle..., is going to be more helpful for those teenagers who are struggling with their sexuality in that Dante is very open about his, and Ari is not. It's a slower read, but it really makes the reader think. That's the point of LGBTQ books, I think. To make you think. To make you curious. To push you.
Bibliographic Information:
Camacho, H. (2011). Where GLBT Literature is Going and Why It Matters. Voice of Youth Advocates, 34(2), 138-139.
Peters, J.A. (2006). Between Mom and Jo. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Saenz, B.A. (2014). Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Reflection #5: The Politics of Book Awards
For this week, we were required to read three children's books: Dead End in Norvelt, The Lock Artist, and Tuesday. These are all award winning children's books. It is obvious why they are award winning. Dead End in Norvelt is absolutely hilarious and the characters are very real. The Lock Artist leaves you wanting to know more about Mike and his past. I didn't want that book to end. Finally, Tuesday is a very well done picture book that won the Caldecott. I actually use pieces of this picture book to teach my 7th grade students how to analyze a text.
The articles, however, were the more interesting pieces for me this week. One piece of information that caught me about the Caldecott winning books were that the authors are overwhelmingly male. The only time that the number of females outweighs the number of males was in the 1960s - a time devoted to women's rights and other controversial issues. That surprises me. I would have assumed that anything related to picture books would have been more female than male. I'm not sure why I was under that impression, but I was dead wrong.
This trend continues into the books themselves. Only 17 (or 23%) of the award winning Caldecott books have a strong female leading character. That means that 77% of Caldecott books are written with a male leading character and, on top of that, the majority of them are written by male authors.
My thought: WHAT ABOUT MY FEMALE READERS?! I know that you can identify with a male character if you are a female, but why should you have to? Why doesn't this seem like a fair competition? Hmmm...just food for thought, I suppose.
Moving on to the Newbery Award.
Patricia Gauch wrote an article called "What Makes a Good Newbery Novel?" and used it to try to define what makes a book Newbery-worthy. Her first thought: a remarkable character. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. An award winning book must have an award winning character. Stereotypical response. I wanted more. On top of a character, Gauch says that "the stage of a Newbery book is key" and that this stage must be right for the hero/heroine. Sure. Setting and situation are important. Then, she said the thing that makes it different: "one of the surest marks of a Newbery is its last moments of story. Last scenes." So you need to have a remarkable character, a stage that fits the hero/heroine, and something pivotal happening in the story's last moments. This information made me want to attempt to write a Newbery-worthy story ;)
Then, I read the last article.
So many good points were made in the article "Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?" Basically, it echoed my original thoughts on award winning books. Just because it has won an award doesn't mean it is a good read. I have always struggled to love these award winning books. Growing up, my parents would buy the Newbery winners for me to read, and I would hate them. The only one that I can remember loving was Bud, Not Buddy and I had to read that for a class assignment. So, reading this article didn't shock me at all. I'm not surprised that librarians are not vouching for these newer winners.
There needs to be new, fresh criteria for selecting what books receive the award. I'm just not sure what that criteria is.
Bibliographic Information:
Crisp, T. and Hiller, B. (2011). Telling Tales about Gender: A Critical Analysis of Caldecott Medal-Winning Picturebooks, 1938-2011. Journal of Children's Literature, 37(2), 18-31.
Gantos, J. (2013). Dead End in Norvelt. Harrisonburg: Square Fish.
Gauch, P. (2011). What Makes a Good Newbery Novel? Horn Book Magazine, 87(4), 52-58.
Hamilton, S. (2011). The Lock Artist. New York: Minotaur Books.
Silvey, A. (2008). Has the Newbery Lost Its Way? School Library Journal, 54(10), 38-41.
Weisner, D. (2011). Tuesday. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
The articles, however, were the more interesting pieces for me this week. One piece of information that caught me about the Caldecott winning books were that the authors are overwhelmingly male. The only time that the number of females outweighs the number of males was in the 1960s - a time devoted to women's rights and other controversial issues. That surprises me. I would have assumed that anything related to picture books would have been more female than male. I'm not sure why I was under that impression, but I was dead wrong.
This trend continues into the books themselves. Only 17 (or 23%) of the award winning Caldecott books have a strong female leading character. That means that 77% of Caldecott books are written with a male leading character and, on top of that, the majority of them are written by male authors.
My thought: WHAT ABOUT MY FEMALE READERS?! I know that you can identify with a male character if you are a female, but why should you have to? Why doesn't this seem like a fair competition? Hmmm...just food for thought, I suppose.
Moving on to the Newbery Award.
Patricia Gauch wrote an article called "What Makes a Good Newbery Novel?" and used it to try to define what makes a book Newbery-worthy. Her first thought: a remarkable character. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. An award winning book must have an award winning character. Stereotypical response. I wanted more. On top of a character, Gauch says that "the stage of a Newbery book is key" and that this stage must be right for the hero/heroine. Sure. Setting and situation are important. Then, she said the thing that makes it different: "one of the surest marks of a Newbery is its last moments of story. Last scenes." So you need to have a remarkable character, a stage that fits the hero/heroine, and something pivotal happening in the story's last moments. This information made me want to attempt to write a Newbery-worthy story ;)
Then, I read the last article.
So many good points were made in the article "Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?" Basically, it echoed my original thoughts on award winning books. Just because it has won an award doesn't mean it is a good read. I have always struggled to love these award winning books. Growing up, my parents would buy the Newbery winners for me to read, and I would hate them. The only one that I can remember loving was Bud, Not Buddy and I had to read that for a class assignment. So, reading this article didn't shock me at all. I'm not surprised that librarians are not vouching for these newer winners.
There needs to be new, fresh criteria for selecting what books receive the award. I'm just not sure what that criteria is.
Bibliographic Information:
Crisp, T. and Hiller, B. (2011). Telling Tales about Gender: A Critical Analysis of Caldecott Medal-Winning Picturebooks, 1938-2011. Journal of Children's Literature, 37(2), 18-31.
Gantos, J. (2013). Dead End in Norvelt. Harrisonburg: Square Fish.
Gauch, P. (2011). What Makes a Good Newbery Novel? Horn Book Magazine, 87(4), 52-58.
Hamilton, S. (2011). The Lock Artist. New York: Minotaur Books.
Silvey, A. (2008). Has the Newbery Lost Its Way? School Library Journal, 54(10), 38-41.
Weisner, D. (2011). Tuesday. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Reflection #4: Censorship & Banned Books
Censorship and banned books are issues that we, as librarians, will always have to deal with. This was very thoroughly discussed in the readings for this week (the four articles and two books).
First, the article on children's views of censorship had some great points. I found it incredibly interesting that Sarah, one of the children used in this study, felt that censorship as a whole was negative because "reading, like is good for people and you should be able to read whatever you want." but she then goes on to explain that some material should be available in the library, but limited to a particular audience (like older kids). The overwhelming idea from the students was that parents should not be able to place limits on what children read, even if some thought that they could stop them if it was "really bad." As librarians, we have to make the literature available to everyone, but make sure that it is in the appropriate location (this was agreed on by the kids as well).
Another article this week, "Issues and Trends in Intellectual Freedom for Teacher Librarians," focused more on labeling books for content and even having to remove them from the library because of content. The big phrase in this article was "The more things change, the more they stay the same." We have all of this developing technology, which is awesome, but our thought processes are still staying the same when it comes to controversial material. One librarian reported that they have had five titles removed from their school librarian because of content, and while that is up to the director, it still is unfair that we have to censor material.
The other two articles have to do with a book that has been challenged multiple times because of its content - And Tango Makes Three - a picture book that delves into LGBTQ themes. While the book is carefully researched, contains endearing characters, and is very well-developed from a literary standpoint, it makes some readers/patrons uncomfortable because it is targeting young children (being a picture book). When reading the article about the creators of the book, it is clear that there was an agenda in making a book like this. One of the authors, Justin, made it his goal to provide support to queer students while at Harvard and jumped on this project. While I don't agree with this being for younger children, and I'm not a supporter of the LGBTQ scene, I do not think that we should censor any material. I'm a big advocate of having all available information out there and patrons can pick and choose what they want from what we have.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is another book that has been challenged because of its content involving witchcraft and wizardry. I find this absolutely preposterous. There are tons of books that are within this fantastic world and this particular series was targeted because of it's popularity.
Censorship shouldn't happen and books should not be banned. Period. If a kid can see that, we, as librarians, should see that as well.
Bibliographic Information:
Isajlovic-Terry, N., & McKechnie, L. (2012). An Exploratory Study of Children's Views of Censorship. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 10(1), 38-43.
Macock, A. (2011). Issues and Trends in Intellectual Freedom for Teacher Librarians. Teacher Librarian, 39(1), 8-12.
Magnuson, M.L. (2010). Perceptions of Self and the "Other": An Analysis of Challenges to And Tango Makes Three. School Library Media Research, 131-139.
Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rowling, J.K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic.
Storts-Brinks, K. (2010). Censorship Online. Knowledge Quest, 39(1), 22-28.
Young, C.A. (2011). Creating a Controversial Picturebook: Discussions with the Creators of And Tango Makes Three. Journal of Children's Literature, 37(2), 30-38.
First, the article on children's views of censorship had some great points. I found it incredibly interesting that Sarah, one of the children used in this study, felt that censorship as a whole was negative because "reading, like is good for people and you should be able to read whatever you want." but she then goes on to explain that some material should be available in the library, but limited to a particular audience (like older kids). The overwhelming idea from the students was that parents should not be able to place limits on what children read, even if some thought that they could stop them if it was "really bad." As librarians, we have to make the literature available to everyone, but make sure that it is in the appropriate location (this was agreed on by the kids as well).
Another article this week, "Issues and Trends in Intellectual Freedom for Teacher Librarians," focused more on labeling books for content and even having to remove them from the library because of content. The big phrase in this article was "The more things change, the more they stay the same." We have all of this developing technology, which is awesome, but our thought processes are still staying the same when it comes to controversial material. One librarian reported that they have had five titles removed from their school librarian because of content, and while that is up to the director, it still is unfair that we have to censor material.
The other two articles have to do with a book that has been challenged multiple times because of its content - And Tango Makes Three - a picture book that delves into LGBTQ themes. While the book is carefully researched, contains endearing characters, and is very well-developed from a literary standpoint, it makes some readers/patrons uncomfortable because it is targeting young children (being a picture book). When reading the article about the creators of the book, it is clear that there was an agenda in making a book like this. One of the authors, Justin, made it his goal to provide support to queer students while at Harvard and jumped on this project. While I don't agree with this being for younger children, and I'm not a supporter of the LGBTQ scene, I do not think that we should censor any material. I'm a big advocate of having all available information out there and patrons can pick and choose what they want from what we have.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is another book that has been challenged because of its content involving witchcraft and wizardry. I find this absolutely preposterous. There are tons of books that are within this fantastic world and this particular series was targeted because of it's popularity.
Censorship shouldn't happen and books should not be banned. Period. If a kid can see that, we, as librarians, should see that as well.
Bibliographic Information:
Isajlovic-Terry, N., & McKechnie, L. (2012). An Exploratory Study of Children's Views of Censorship. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 10(1), 38-43.
Macock, A. (2011). Issues and Trends in Intellectual Freedom for Teacher Librarians. Teacher Librarian, 39(1), 8-12.
Magnuson, M.L. (2010). Perceptions of Self and the "Other": An Analysis of Challenges to And Tango Makes Three. School Library Media Research, 131-139.
Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rowling, J.K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic.
Storts-Brinks, K. (2010). Censorship Online. Knowledge Quest, 39(1), 22-28.
Young, C.A. (2011). Creating a Controversial Picturebook: Discussions with the Creators of And Tango Makes Three. Journal of Children's Literature, 37(2), 30-38.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Reflection #3: The Debate over AR and Reading Counts
Accelerated Reader is one of those things that is debated a lot. I have never heard of or seen Accelerated Reader used in a good, productive way. That doesn't mean that it can't be done or that it isn't done in some areas. It's just usually one of those things that people seem to do because they are told to do it, not because they believe in its value.
After reading "Accelerated Reader Can Be an Effective Tool to Encourage and Bolster Student Reading," I might just be persuaded that AR can really be effective. The story in this article about Billy, the student who couldn't read on grade level, was inspiring. I wish I had a program like this that I could use with my 7th graders who don't read on grade level. I have one student in particular that I would like to sit down and work with. He's a very reluctant student who uses the phrase "I just can't understand why we have to have a reading class when everyone knows how to read good in 7th grade" all the time. I have to remind him that he is no longer in a reading class - that we are now in English/Language Arts - and we focus more on the analysis of text. He thinks it's stupid and a waste of time, even though he isn't on grade level himself. AR could really help him out.
The article "Reading Management Programs: A Review of the Research" also inspired me to want to use these programs in my own classroom. It helped me understand that it's all in the implementation of the program. They shouldn't be used punitively, but only to encourage students to read voluntarily and make progress. There are extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, which I like the ideas of incorporating in all things, not just with AR or Reading Counts! programs. Apparently, research also shows that these reading programs truly are effective in promoting student progress in reading. If research backs it up, who am I to argue?
The last article that was required for us to read this week was all about the controversy surrounding AR. In "Accelerated Reader: The Controversy Continues - A Literature Review of the Effectiveness of Accelerated Reader in Increasing Reading Achievement and Student Motivation," a lot of my original issues with the program were brought to light. For example, the quizzes are simple. They only focus on basic comprehension and don't inspire a lot of critical thinking about the text. My job as an ELA teacher requires students to think critically about a text and analyze the decisions the author has made in creating the work of fiction or nonfiction. AR quizzes are too simple and do not reflect any of my Common Core standards. On the other side of that, some students that I teach are lacking in the basic comprehension of grade level texts. I find myself having to explain things that I should not have to explain to thirteen year old students. Maybe, if they had used AR throughout elementary school, they would be closer to grade level and be able to comprehend these more complex texts. Overall though, according to this article at least, the "jury is still out" on whether or not AR and other reading management programs really do improve student achievement and increase their motivation.
After reading these articles, I'd love to give it a shot.
Bibliographic Information:
After reading "Accelerated Reader Can Be an Effective Tool to Encourage and Bolster Student Reading," I might just be persuaded that AR can really be effective. The story in this article about Billy, the student who couldn't read on grade level, was inspiring. I wish I had a program like this that I could use with my 7th graders who don't read on grade level. I have one student in particular that I would like to sit down and work with. He's a very reluctant student who uses the phrase "I just can't understand why we have to have a reading class when everyone knows how to read good in 7th grade" all the time. I have to remind him that he is no longer in a reading class - that we are now in English/Language Arts - and we focus more on the analysis of text. He thinks it's stupid and a waste of time, even though he isn't on grade level himself. AR could really help him out.
The article "Reading Management Programs: A Review of the Research" also inspired me to want to use these programs in my own classroom. It helped me understand that it's all in the implementation of the program. They shouldn't be used punitively, but only to encourage students to read voluntarily and make progress. There are extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, which I like the ideas of incorporating in all things, not just with AR or Reading Counts! programs. Apparently, research also shows that these reading programs truly are effective in promoting student progress in reading. If research backs it up, who am I to argue?
The last article that was required for us to read this week was all about the controversy surrounding AR. In "Accelerated Reader: The Controversy Continues - A Literature Review of the Effectiveness of Accelerated Reader in Increasing Reading Achievement and Student Motivation," a lot of my original issues with the program were brought to light. For example, the quizzes are simple. They only focus on basic comprehension and don't inspire a lot of critical thinking about the text. My job as an ELA teacher requires students to think critically about a text and analyze the decisions the author has made in creating the work of fiction or nonfiction. AR quizzes are too simple and do not reflect any of my Common Core standards. On the other side of that, some students that I teach are lacking in the basic comprehension of grade level texts. I find myself having to explain things that I should not have to explain to thirteen year old students. Maybe, if they had used AR throughout elementary school, they would be closer to grade level and be able to comprehend these more complex texts. Overall though, according to this article at least, the "jury is still out" on whether or not AR and other reading management programs really do improve student achievement and increase their motivation.
After reading these articles, I'd love to give it a shot.
Bibliographic Information:
Luck, S.A. (2010). Accelerated Reader: The Controversy Continues - A Literature Review of the Effectiveness of Accelerated Reader in Increasing Reading Achievement and Student Motivation. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 38(2), 3-9.
Hansen, L.E., Collins, P., & Warschauer, M. (2009). Reading Management Programs: A Review of the Research. Journal of Literacy & Technology, 10(3), 55-80.
Solley, K. (2011). Accelerated Reader Can Be an Effective Tool to Encourage and Bolster Student Reading. Knowledge Quest, 39(4), 46-49.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Reflection #2 - Graphic Novels and Transliteracy
When people think of libraries, they tend to only think of the books on the shelves. It's hard for people to remember that a library is so much more than that. It is a center for information. This information comes in so many diverse formats. Last week, I reflected on e-books. This week, it's all about graphic novels and transliteracy.
The first article we had to read this week, "Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe," discussed many different formats for books, including ebooks, interactive storytelling, and interactive fiction. This is something that is incredibly interesting to me. I've always loved the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. They allow you, as a reader, to control the story. While I am a fan of linear storytelling in which you follow a clear beginning all the way to the clear ending of the book, there is something so refreshing in choosing your own path through a work of fiction.
Interactive storytelling is also of interest to me. The article describes it as a way for children to have "different ways to access the content of the story." I think this is something that is very useful for our children. Not all kids learn in the same way. For them to have the option to have a story read to them, turned into a game, or to read along with highlighted text is very useful. I think these diverse types of fiction would be very useful in the classroom as well. As a teacher, I could see the benefit of having multiple types of the same novel going on in the same classroom. It would help students!
The other article we had to read was "Teaching Media Literacy with Graphic Novels." I loved the way that this article defined media literacy - a combination of "several languages or forms of communication" which include pictures, audio, and the written. This is another thing that we, as teachers and librarians, have to keep in mind. The combination of pictures, audio material, and written material helps our students learn. It puts together many of the different learning styles into one piece of text. This is why graphic novels can be so helpful for our students. It allows them to grapple with material that they may not have grappled with before. It opens their minds, as well.
The primary readings for the week - Skeleton Creek, The Arrival, and Tuesday - are examples of transliteracy and graphic novels that the articles discussed. Skeleton Creek is an interactive piece of fiction that gives readers a chance to get involved in the text. The Arrival and Tuesday are graphic novels with little to no text. They force readers to use images to create a story in their minds. The Arrival is very dark, whereas Tuesday is a lighter text. These two texts show how diverse graphic novels can really be.
Bibliographic Information for these texts:
Carman, P. (2009). Skeleton Creek. New York: Scholastic Press.
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe. Learning & Leading with Technology. 39(3), 12-17.
Monnin, K. (2010). Teaching Media Literacy with Graphic Novels. New Horizons in Education, 58(3), 78-84.
Tan, S. (2007). The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Weisner, D. (2011). Tuesday. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
The first article we had to read this week, "Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe," discussed many different formats for books, including ebooks, interactive storytelling, and interactive fiction. This is something that is incredibly interesting to me. I've always loved the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. They allow you, as a reader, to control the story. While I am a fan of linear storytelling in which you follow a clear beginning all the way to the clear ending of the book, there is something so refreshing in choosing your own path through a work of fiction.
Interactive storytelling is also of interest to me. The article describes it as a way for children to have "different ways to access the content of the story." I think this is something that is very useful for our children. Not all kids learn in the same way. For them to have the option to have a story read to them, turned into a game, or to read along with highlighted text is very useful. I think these diverse types of fiction would be very useful in the classroom as well. As a teacher, I could see the benefit of having multiple types of the same novel going on in the same classroom. It would help students!
The other article we had to read was "Teaching Media Literacy with Graphic Novels." I loved the way that this article defined media literacy - a combination of "several languages or forms of communication" which include pictures, audio, and the written. This is another thing that we, as teachers and librarians, have to keep in mind. The combination of pictures, audio material, and written material helps our students learn. It puts together many of the different learning styles into one piece of text. This is why graphic novels can be so helpful for our students. It allows them to grapple with material that they may not have grappled with before. It opens their minds, as well.
The primary readings for the week - Skeleton Creek, The Arrival, and Tuesday - are examples of transliteracy and graphic novels that the articles discussed. Skeleton Creek is an interactive piece of fiction that gives readers a chance to get involved in the text. The Arrival and Tuesday are graphic novels with little to no text. They force readers to use images to create a story in their minds. The Arrival is very dark, whereas Tuesday is a lighter text. These two texts show how diverse graphic novels can really be.
Bibliographic Information for these texts:
Carman, P. (2009). Skeleton Creek. New York: Scholastic Press.
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe. Learning & Leading with Technology. 39(3), 12-17.
Monnin, K. (2010). Teaching Media Literacy with Graphic Novels. New Horizons in Education, 58(3), 78-84.
Tan, S. (2007). The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Weisner, D. (2011). Tuesday. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Reflection #1: The World of E-Books
This week, we were required to read any children's book in an electronic format and three articles about e-books.
I'll start with the e-book that I chose. I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. I had read this book before, in print. My students love to read books from this series. However, I much preferred reading it in an electronic format. I was able to read the entire book in about thirty minutes. While I am a fast reader, the e-format made it a lot easier to complete the reading. Overall, it is a faster process of analyzing and gaining information, in my opinion. I love the features e-readers provide their readers: highlighting, making notes, accessing an online dictionary, etc. You can do these things with print, but an e-reader makes it so much simpler.
As far as the articles go, well, a few things stood out to me. First of all, it shocks me that e-books are more expensive than print books for a library. I think there were things mentioned in the articles that I hadn't thought about before. When consumers purchase e-books from places like Amazon, the Kindle edition is typically cheaper than a print version. When libraries purchase e-books, however, they have to pay for the content and license to share that content with their patrons. This raises the cost. Then, when the license runs out, they have to make the decision whether or not to repurchase. Just from that alone, I can see why libraries are very hesitant to purchase e-books. The article "Purchasing E-books in Libraries" mentioned that "...82 percent of public, and 44 percent of school libraries are already offering e-books,..." and after reading these articles, I can understand why the others haven't gotten on board yet.
The article "E-Book versus Print" showed that in a public library, print books circulate more than e-books (or at least in that particular library). While that is good news for the library as a building, as a center for information and BOOKS, it almost makes you wonder why public libraries offer the option at all, especially with the cost concerns. Other studies that this article mentioned are solely limited to academic libraries. I can understand why the trend in academic libraries is that e-books are used two to three times more than print books. It's all about ease of access to information. As a graduate student myself, I'd rather pull up a book on my MacBook or iPad, find the information I need quickly, and not have to worry about checking out a print book just to use for one paper. It makes the process much simpler.
One of the biggest "issues" that libraries face today is the growing demand for e-books. Some might even say that e-books and e-readers make libraries and librarians obsolete. This is absolutely not true. In fact, Steven Roxburgh, author of "The e-Future," states that he's not worried about librarians at all. He says that "we'll always need librarians to organize, track, and deliver content."
This is a brilliant time for authors and illustrators. Their content is being sold, shared, and read more and more now that e-books are as popular as they are. The issue is whether the library should be another outlet for patrons to get e-books. I say, yes. Offer the most popular titles and don't worry about the rest. The most popular titles will be circulated and you will get a return on your investment.
I'll start with the e-book that I chose. I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. I had read this book before, in print. My students love to read books from this series. However, I much preferred reading it in an electronic format. I was able to read the entire book in about thirty minutes. While I am a fast reader, the e-format made it a lot easier to complete the reading. Overall, it is a faster process of analyzing and gaining information, in my opinion. I love the features e-readers provide their readers: highlighting, making notes, accessing an online dictionary, etc. You can do these things with print, but an e-reader makes it so much simpler.
As far as the articles go, well, a few things stood out to me. First of all, it shocks me that e-books are more expensive than print books for a library. I think there were things mentioned in the articles that I hadn't thought about before. When consumers purchase e-books from places like Amazon, the Kindle edition is typically cheaper than a print version. When libraries purchase e-books, however, they have to pay for the content and license to share that content with their patrons. This raises the cost. Then, when the license runs out, they have to make the decision whether or not to repurchase. Just from that alone, I can see why libraries are very hesitant to purchase e-books. The article "Purchasing E-books in Libraries" mentioned that "...82 percent of public, and 44 percent of school libraries are already offering e-books,..." and after reading these articles, I can understand why the others haven't gotten on board yet.
The article "E-Book versus Print" showed that in a public library, print books circulate more than e-books (or at least in that particular library). While that is good news for the library as a building, as a center for information and BOOKS, it almost makes you wonder why public libraries offer the option at all, especially with the cost concerns. Other studies that this article mentioned are solely limited to academic libraries. I can understand why the trend in academic libraries is that e-books are used two to three times more than print books. It's all about ease of access to information. As a graduate student myself, I'd rather pull up a book on my MacBook or iPad, find the information I need quickly, and not have to worry about checking out a print book just to use for one paper. It makes the process much simpler.
One of the biggest "issues" that libraries face today is the growing demand for e-books. Some might even say that e-books and e-readers make libraries and librarians obsolete. This is absolutely not true. In fact, Steven Roxburgh, author of "The e-Future," states that he's not worried about librarians at all. He says that "we'll always need librarians to organize, track, and deliver content."
This is a brilliant time for authors and illustrators. Their content is being sold, shared, and read more and more now that e-books are as popular as they are. The issue is whether the library should be another outlet for patrons to get e-books. I say, yes. Offer the most popular titles and don't worry about the rest. The most popular titles will be circulated and you will get a return on your investment.
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