Saturday, April 26, 2008

Books Made Into Movies

The following is a list of popular children's books that have been transformed into successful movies!:

* Alias Madame Doubtfire, Anne Fine - Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993
* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland, 1933, 1951, 1966, 1985 ; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1972 ; The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, 1987
* Anne of Avonlea, Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne of Avonlea, 1987
* Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables, 1919, 1934, 1956, 1972, 1985
* The Apple Dumpling Gang, Jack Bickham - The Apple Dumpling Gang, 1975
* Aquamarine, Alice Hoffman - Aquamarine, 2006
* Arrow to the Sun, Gerald McDermott - Arrow to the Sun, 1973
* Arthur series, Marc Brown - Arthur's Missing Pal, 2006
* Le Avventure di Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi - Pinocchio, 1940, 2002 ; The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1936, 1996
* Babar the Elephant series, Jean de Brunhoff - Babar: The Movie, 1989 ; Babar: King of the Elephants, 1999
* The Baby-sitters Club series - The Baby-Sitters Club, 1995
* Bambi, ein Leben im Walde (Bambi: A Life in the Woods), Felix Salten - Bambi, 1942
* Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo - Because of Winn-Dixie, 2005
* The Magic Bed Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks, Mary Norton - Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1971
* The BFG, Roald Dahl - The BFG, 1989
* Black Beauty, Anna Sewell - Black Beauty, 1946, 1971, 1994
* The Black Stallion series, Walter Farley - The Black Stallion, 1979, The Black Stallion Returns, 1983
* The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron, 1985
* Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson - Bridge to Terabithia, 1985, 2007
* The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat, 2003
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, 1971 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005
* Charlotte's Web, E. B. White - Charlotte's Web, 1973, 2006 ; Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, 2003
* The Cheetah Girls, Deborah Gregory - The Cheetah Girls, 2003 ; The Cheetah Girls 2, 2006 ; The Cheetah Girls 3: Indian Adventure! (future)
* Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, Ian Fleming - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968
* The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans - The Christmas Box, 1995
* Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Norman Bridwell - Clifford's Really Big Movie, 2004
* Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Dyan Sheldon - Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, 2004
* Curious George, H. A. Rey and Margret Rey - Curious George, 2006
* Danny, the Champion of the World, Roald Dahl - Danny, the Champion of the World, 1989
* A Day with Wilbur Robinson, William Joyce - Meet the Robinsons, 2007
* O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc (The Two Who Stole the Moon, Kornel Makuszyński - The Two Who Stole the Moon, 1962
* Dumbo, Harold Perl - Dumbo, 1941
* Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine - Ella Enchanted, 2004
* Eloise at Christmastime, Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight - Eloise at Christmastime, 2003
* Eloise at the Plaza, Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight - Eloise at the Plaza, 2003
* Eragon, Christopher Paolini - Eragon, 2006
* The Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney - The Face on the Milk Carton, 1995
* Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner, Lykke Nielsen - Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner, 1994
* Freaky Friday, Mary Rodgers - Freaky Friday, 1976, 1995, 2003
* From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg - From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, 1973, 1995
* Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, Mary Mapes Dodge and Alice Carsey - Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, 1962
* Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh - Harriet the Spy, 1996
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 2001
* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (tentative)
* Heidi, Johanna Spyri - Heidi, 1937, 1968, 1993
* Holes, Louis Sachar - Holes, 2003
* Hoot, Carl Hiaasen - Hoot, 2006
* How My Private, Personal Journal Became A Bestseller, Julia DeVillers - Read it and Weep, 2006
* How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Dr. Seuss - How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, 2000
* How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell - How to Eat Fried Worms, 2006
* The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Dodie Smith - One Hundred and One Dalmatians, 1961; 101 Dalmatians, 1996; 102 Dalmatians, 2000
* I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle, 2003
* I Want a Dog, Dayal Kaur Khalsa - I Want a Dog, 2003
* The Incredible Journey, Sheila Burnford - Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, 1993
* The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks - The Indian in the Cupboard, 1995
* The Iron Man, Ted Hughes - The Iron Giant, 1999
* Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes - Johnny Tremain, 1944
* Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg - Jumanji, 1995
* The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book, 1942, 1967, 1994 ; The Jungle Book 2, 2003 ; Maugli, 1967
* Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis - Justin Morgan Had a Horse, 1972
* The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1979, 1988, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 2005
* A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett - A Little Princess, 1917, 1939, 1975, 1986, 1995
* Little Women, Louisa May Alcott - Little Women, 1933, 1949, 1978, 1994
* The Littles, John Peterson - Here Come the Littles, 1985
* Madeline series, Ludwig Bemelmans - Madeline, 1998 ; Madeline: Lost in Paris, 1999
* The Marvelous Land of Oz, L. Frank Baum - Journey Back to Oz, 1971
* Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers - Mary Poppins, 1964
* Matilda, Roald Dahl - Matilda, 1996
* Midnight and Jeremiah, Sterling North - So Dear to My Heart, 1948
* Miss Spider series, David Kirk - Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids, 2003
* Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry - Misty, 1961
* The Neverending Story (Die Unendliche Geschichte), Michael Ende - The NeverEnding Story, 1984 ; The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, 1990 ; The NeverEnding Story III, 1994
* Old Yeller, Frederick Benjamin Gipson - Old Yeller, 1957
* Ozma of Oz and 'The Marvelous Land of Oz, L. Frank Baum - Return to Oz, 1985
* The Patchwork Girl of Oz, L. Frank Baum - The Patchwork Girl of Oz, 1914
* Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren - Peppi Dlinnyychulok, 1982 ; The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, 1988
* The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg - The Polar Express, 2004
* Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter - The Adventures of Pollyanna, 1982 ; Hayat sevince güzel, 1971 ; Polly, 1989 ; Pollyanna, 1920, 1960, 1973 ; 2003
* Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, 2008
* The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot - The Princess Diaries, 2001
* Punk Farm, Jarrett J. Krosoczka - Punk Farm, (future)
* Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin - Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, 1917, 1932, 1938
* The Rescuers, Margery Sharp - The Rescuers, 1977 ; The Rescuers Down Under, 1990
* A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L'Engle - A Ring of Endless Light, 2002
* Searching for David's Heart, Cherie Bennett - Searching for David's Heart, 2004
* The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden, 1949, 1993
* A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, 2004
* The Sheep Pig, Dick King-Smith - Babe, 1995 ; Babe: Pig in the City, 1998
* Shrek!, William Steig - Shrek, 2001
* The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2005
* Spiderwick series, Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black - The Spiderwick Chronicles (future)
* Starik Khottabych, Lazar Lagin - Starik Khottabych, 1956
* Storm Boy, Colin Thiele - Storm Boy, 1976
* Stuart Little, E. B. White - Stuart Little, 1999 ; Stuart Little 2, 2002 ; Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild, 2006
* The Stupids series, Harry G. Allard and James Marshall - The Stupids, 1996
* "Toomai of the Elephants", Rudyard Kipling - Elephant Boy, 1937
* Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island, 1920, 1934, 1950, 1972, 1990 ; Muppet Treasure Island, 1996 ; Treasure Planet, 2002
* Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting, 1981, 2002
* T*Witches, H. B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld - Twitches, 2005
* Undercover Cat, Gordon and Mildred Gordon - That Darn Cat!, 1965 ; That Darn Cat, 1997
* The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle and Doctor Dolittle's Circus, Hugh Lofting - Doctor Dolittle, 1967
* The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, Charles Kingsley - The Water Babies, 1978
* We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Hudson Talbott - We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, 1993
* The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin - Get a Clue, 1997
* Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls - Where the Red Fern Grows, 1974, 2003
* The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows, 1983
* Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, 1983 ; Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, 1968 ; Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, 1966 ; Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!, 1974
* A Wish for Wings That Work, Berkeley Breathed - A Wish for Wings That Work, 1991
* The Witches, Roald Dahl - The Witches, 1990
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1910 ; His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, 1914 ; Wizard of Oz, 1925 ; The Wizard of Oz, 1939 ; Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde, 1971 ; The Wiz, 1978 ; The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, 2005
* A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time, 2003
* The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - The Yearling (film), 1946
* Zathura, Chris Van Allsburg - Zathura, 2005
* Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Marilyn Sadler - Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, 1999

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Prince Caspian


In light of all the advertising for the new Chronicles of Narnia Movie, Prince Caspian, I looked up what some of the differences were between the popular book and the new movie. These are some differences according to Ben Barnes, the star of Prince Caspian:

"In the book Caspian is evidently a lot younger than me, and blonde. It says he’s got blonde, curly hair. But it also says his race is descended from Pacific islanders and pirates so why you’d have a blond kid from that I’m not quite sure, so they went down that route and decided to make him kind of European and swarthy and piratey, so that is necessarily different. I think also because there was a good period of a few years between making the first and second, the kids have obviously grown up. William Moseley is now 21, and the thing the book says about Caspian’s age is that he’s about the same age as Peter and because of the tension we’ve built into the story between those two characters it’s important they were about the same age. I’m 26, but on screen me and Will look of similar ages.

So that’s obviously different and the characters are that bit older and I think that obviously the main difference in the stories is that in the second one the magic has been drained from the land of Narnia. There’s a human who’s driven by his lust for power and ambition who’s usurped the thrown and become a dictator and he’s a human villain which is more scary than a magic one in that you’re turning people to stone, you’re killing them. And he’s trying to repress the Narnia race which was flourishing to an extent in the first one, there are fewer cute beavery type creatures, Mister Tumnuses and things. You do have Reepicheep but even he’s quite viscious. That’s the main difference between the films, and obviously there are other little necessary changes – the action really does fuel the drama in this second film, more so film than book but the film is a different type of story: the first was a Christmas fairytale, this one is a summer blockbuster. There are no changes that jar with me as a childhood fan of the books so hopefully they won’t jar with too many other people."

There is also a picture of him!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Secret Garden

I LOVE the movie version of Secret Garden! Many times we read books and then watch the movie and it is hard to like the movie, because we imagined the characters a certain way as we read the book. An exception to this would be The movie the Secret Garden. It adds even more to the book! I love the characters and everything is beautiful from scenery to costumes. Here is a montogue of scenes to a song that I think fits PERFECTLY!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Stinky Cheese Man Quiz

Here is a quiz I found on QuizTrivia

1. Who is the first character you meet in the book?

a. The Little Red Hen
b. Stinky Cheese Man
c. Jack the Narrator
d. Chicken Licken


2. Where does Jack the Narrator live?

a. Fairy Tale Forest
b. Unlikely Creek
c. Fairly Stupid Valley
d. Enchanted Mountain


3. In the first story, what REALLY hit Chicken Licken on the head?

a. a piece of The Frog Prince's Story
b. a piece of the Introduction
c. a piece of the Table of Contents
d. a piece of the Title Page


4. The second story is entitled "The Princess and the _______
_______".

a. pea soup
b. bread thief
c. glass shoes
d. bowling ball


5. What did the really ugly ducking grow up to be?

a. we don't know because he was forgotten because the Tortoise and the Hair (yes, it's spelled right) invaded and took over his story
b. a really ugly swan
c. a really ugly duck
d. he didn't grow up, he was eaten by the Giant who ran loose from Jack's story


6. What did Goldilocks smell?

a. oatmeal porridge
b. peanut porridge
c. chocolate porridge
d. tomato porridge


7. Which character(s) attempted to make their own story? It goes like this: "THE END~of the evil stepmother~said 'I'll huff and snuff and~ give you three wishes.'~The beast changed into~seven dwarves~happily ever after~for a spell had been cast by a Wicked Witch~once upon a time."

a. The Little Red Hen
b. The Giant
c. The Tortoise and the Hair (correct spelling)
d. Chicken Licken, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Foxy Loxy


8. Who is "the girl who really blew it"?

a. A witch named Gretel
b. Snow Rapunzel
c. Cinderumpelstiltskin
d. The Empress who had no clothes


9. Who wakes up the Giant near the end of the book and then gets swallowed by him?

a. The wolf from "Little Red Running Shorts"
b. Jack the Narrator
c. The Little Red Hen
d. The Stinky Cheese man


10. Which character is on the back of the book and what are they doing?

a. Jack the Narrator sleeping and dreaming about how his book will make millions
b. The Stinky Cheese Man crying because nobody in the book would chase him on account of his smell
c. The Giant picking his teeth and rubbing his belly after just eating a hearty snack
d. The Little Red Hen complaining about how nobody will buy this book



ANSWERS:

1. a
2. a
3. c
4. d
5. c
6. b
7. b
8. c
9. c
10. d

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Dick and Jane


In class the other day Dr. Robinson read a little bit from Dick and Jane. She began to describe how much picture books have changed since the "Dick and Jane" days. Later on the same day in one of my other classes my professor referenced the Dick and Jane books again. I wanted to know more about these books so I "googled" them and here is what I found:

"Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular basal readers written by Dr. William S. Gray and published by Scott Foresman, that were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States. The main characters, Dick and Jane, were a little boy and girl. Supporting characters included Baby (or Sally), Mother, Father, Spot the dog, Puff the cat, Jack the clown and Tim the teddy bear. They first appeared in the Elson-Gray Readers used in the 1930s. The books relied on sight reading (or "whole word reading") and repetition, using phrases like, "Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny Jane," and they ignored phonics. For this reason, they came to be used less and less as studies supported phonics as a more effective method of gaining literacy.[citation needed]

The simple but distinctive illustrations for the books were done by artists Eleanor Campbell and Keith Ward.

Black characters and characters from other races and cultures were not introduced until 1965, when Dick and Jane books were already declining in popularity. In 1955 Rudolf Flesch criticized the Dick and Jane series in his book, Why Johnny Can't Read, and the push for multiculturalism, and stronger presentation of other races and cultures was partially a reaction to the cultural homogeneity of the series.

First editions of the books are now worth as much as two hundred dollars. The books were reissued in 2003 by Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) and over 2.5 million copies were sold, but this time the publishers had warned against using them to teach reading to children. Related merchandise, such as shirts and magnets, also gained wide popularity, particularly among people who had never been exposed to the original series but were familiar with catch phrases like "See Spot run!"

The title of one of the books, Fun with Dick and Jane, inspired a 1977 film of the same title, and its 2005 remake." (Wikipedia)

Apparently these books are now worth anywhere from 100-600 dollars! I have also attached a picture of them!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

100 Best Childrens Books of the 20th Century

This is a list compiled by an outside source of the 100 Best Childrens Books of the 20th Century. It is arranged by Author. Book!

Enjoy! Just for fun I counted how many I had read and it was only 10!

Adams. Watership Down
Ardizzone. Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain
Averill. The Cat Club
Babbitt. Tuck Everlasting
Banner. Ant and Bee and Kind Dog
Bemelmans. Madeline
Bishop. Five Chinese Brothers
Boston. Children of Green Knowe
Brown. The Runaway Bunny
Brown. Goodnight Moon
Burton. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Burton. The Little House
Cannon. Stellaluna
Carle. Very Hungry Caterpillar
Clark. The Poppy-Seed Cakes
Cooper. The Dark is Rising
Dahl. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Daugherty. Andy and the Lion
D'Aulaire. Ola and Blakken
De Brunhoff. L'Histoire de Babar
Dickinson. A Bone From A Dry Sea
Du Bois. Lion
Du Bois. The Twenty-One Balloons
Eager. Half-Magic
Enright. Thimble Summer
Estes. The Moffats
Ets. Mister Penny
Farjeon. Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field
Fenton. Penny Candy
Field. Hitty
Fitzhugh. Harriet the Spy
Flack. The Story About Ping
Freeman. Corduroy
Gag. Millions of Cats
Garner. The Stone Book Quartet
Hale. Orlando Buys A Farm
Hamilton. The Magical Adv. of Pretty Pearl
Heide. The Shrinking of Treehorn
Henry. King of the Wind
Heyward. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
Hoban. Bedtime for Frances
Holling. Paddle-to-the-Sea
Jansson. Finn Family Moomintroll
Johnson. Harold and the Purple Crayon
Keats. The Snowy Day
Konigsburg. Throwing Shadows
Langton. The Diamond in the Window
Lawson. Ben and Me
Leaf. Wee Gillis
Leaf. The Story of Ferdinand
L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time
Lenski. [The Small Transportation series]
Lindgren. Pippi Longstocking
Lionni. Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lionni. Frederick
Lovelace. Betsy-Tacy
MacDonald. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mahy. Memory
Mayne. Earthfasts
McCloskey. Blueberries for Sal
McCloskey. Burt Dow, Deep Water Man
Milne. Winnie the Pooh
Milne. When We Were Very Young
Mosel. Tikki Tikki Tembo
Munari. The Circus in the Mist
Newberry. Herbert the Lion
Newberry. April's Kittens
Norton. The Borrowers
Oakley. The Church Mouse
Paterson. Bridge to Terabithia
Paton Walsh. Unleaving
Pearce. Tom's Midnight Garden
Pullman. Northern Lights/Golden Compass
Ransome. Swallows and Amazons
Sandburg. The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle
Sendak. The Nutshell Library
Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are
Seuss. Green Eggs and Ham
Seuss. Horton Hatches the Egg
Sleator. The Angry Moon
Slobodkina. Caps for Sale
Speare. Witch of Blackbird Pond
Steig. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Stong. Honk the Moose
Streatfeild. Ballet Shoes
Sutcliff. Knight's Fee
Taylor. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry!
Thurber. Many Moons
Tison. Barbapapa
Tolkien. The Hobbit
Travers. Mary Poppins
Ungerer. Crictor
Vipont. The Elephant and the Bad Baby
Ward. The Biggest Bear
Wells. Max's Breakfast
White, E.B. Charlotte's Web
White, T.H. The Sword in the Stone
Wilder. The Long Winter
Zindel. The Pigman
Zion. Harry the Dirty Dog

Friday, April 18, 2008

Depth

After writing my last blog I began to reflect on how almost all the books we have studied in Children's Literature are deep. Charlie Anderson, one of my outside readings , on the surface, looks just like a cute book about a cat named Charlie. But, as you continue to read you realize that the book eases into the issue of divorce. We see Charlie handling living at two different houses.

Each of the books we have read this year also has a deeper meaning. All the way from The Princess Goblin to Where the Wild Things Are. Coming into this class I definitely did not expect that, but I now understand why. Children at a young age are soaking up everything they are learning. Children learn at a very fast rate when they are young. Therefore, it makes sense that they would write books for them with deep meaning.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Charlie Anderson

First, I have to say I HATE cats. So, I don't actually know what intrigued me to pick up this book, because it has a cat on the front of it! However, it was such an adorable story. It is about this little cat named Charlie. He lives a the house of these two little girls. However, every night he ventures over to another house where he is named Anderson. One night the girls can't find Charlie so they go looking for him through the woods. They approach the house where Charlie is, but the people there say that he is Anderson. Both of the owners find out what is going on, and they laugh. The families decide to call him Charlie Anderson and they allow him to go back and forth between the houses!

I love this book because it addresses the issue of divorce in a soft kind of way. Just like the little girls, Charlie Anderson lives at two houses. The book talks about how at each house he is loved, but it is different at each house.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

google search

One of my favorite things to do when I have spare time is to "google" things! So I decided to complile a list of the first few books that popped up when I just decided to google "children's literature". The results may suprise you!:

1. The Cat in the Hat
2. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
3. Barba Azul
4. The Duck in the Gun
5. Large Letters for Little Ones
6. and Tango Makes Three
7. Hearts of Stone (which isn't even a children's book)
8. Mandy Sue Day
9. Great Boy Stories
10. I am on Duty Today

These results honestly made me laugh! I saw the first two, and thought "Well that's typical." Then, I only recognized one of the other books. I expected the most popular books to pop up, but I was suprised to find I was wrong!

Friday, April 11, 2008

The Giver

"Someone has
walked into a fast-food place with an automatic weapon and randomly killed a
number of people. My daughter stops talking and waits while I listen to the
rest.
Then I relax. I say to her, in a relieved voice, “It’s all right. It was in
Oklahoma.” ( O perhaps it was Alabama. Or Indiana.)
She stares at me in amazement that I have said such a hideous thing.
How comfortable I made myself feel for a moment, by reducing my own
realm of caring to my own familiar neighborhood. How safe I deluded myself
into feeling. {...} When Jonas meets The Giver for the first time, and tries to comprehend
what lies before him, he says, in confusion “I thought there was only us. I
thought there was only now.”
In beginning to write The giver I created – as I always do, in every book
– a world that existed only in my imagination – the world of “only us, only now.”
I tried to make Jonas’s world seem familiar, comfortable, and safe, and I tried
to seduce the reader. I seduced myself along the way,. It did feel good, that
world. I got rid of all the things I fear and dislike; all the violence, prejudice,
poverty, and injustice, and I even threw in good manners as a way of life
because I liked the idea of it.
One child has pointed out, in a letter, that the people in Jonas’s world
didn’t even have to do dishes.
It was very, very tempting to leave it at that.
But I’ve never been a writer of fairy tales. And if I’ve learned anything
through that river of memories, it is that we can’t live in a walled world, in an
“only us, only now” world where we are all the same and feel safe. We would
have to sacrifice too much. The richness of color and diversity would disappear
feelings for other humans would no longer be necessary. Choices would be
obsolete."

This is an exceprt from Lois Lowry's acceptance speech when The Giver won the Newberry Award. After hearing Dr. Robinson talk about it I knew I just had to go read it.

I remember reading The Giver as a fourth grader. I HATED it; it scared me to death! Honestly, I don't even know if I finished it because it began to give me nightmares. Now having reread it, I find that interesting. Why was I so scared of such a seemingly "perfect" world? Nothing was scary about it. Now I realize why though...it was different. It was uncomfortable and nothing like my little tough, fourth grade life.

That is exactly what Lowry is talking about here. She almost made this world normal. I am so glad she didnt. It wouldnt be the same kind of story at all.

Not only was the book 10 times more amazing this time around, but I finally got it!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Chrysanthemum



I LOVED this book. It is my favorite picture I read this year. It is a story about a little girl. Her name is Chrysanthemum (like the flower), and she HATES it. Everyone teases her at school, and she really wants to change her name. However, her parents love it, they think it is the most beautiful name ever. She, however, does not think this is true. That is becuase the people at school syas mean think like "Let's pluck Chrysanthemum" or "Can we smell you Chrysanthemum?". One girl also annouces that Chrsyanthemum's name is 13 letters long, and the girl points out that that is half the alphabet. Chrysanthemum wilts,SHE HATES HER NAME!! That is until her music teacher announces that she has an interesting name, too, Delphinium. Delphinium also says she is going to name her future daughter the most beautiful name she hads ever heard, Chrysanthemum. Then Chrysanthemum FALLS IN LOVE with her name.

This is such a heartwarming story, and anoyone can relate with the main character! It is adorable!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Teaching Reading

I know this is not a teaching class, but I learned something very cool I wanted to share that I learned in one of my classes. We are learning the Workshop approach to teaching reading. This is a sample schedule of readers workshops:


8:00-8:15 Readers' Workshop: Short read aloud with a mini lesson

8:15-8:25 Independent Reading/ Teacher Confers with students one on one

8:25-9:05 Independent Reading with Independent Work/ Teacher meets with three different guided reading groups.

One group goes from 8:25-8:40
Second from 8:40-8:55
Third from 8:55-9:10

9:10-9:15 Share Out with the whole class


The cool part comes at the very beginning. It is called "INTERACTIVE READ-ALOUD". What happens is the teacher opens the class with a book. As she reads she makes "connections" and encourages the students to as well. When students make these connections it helps them to remember the book better.

For example: If the page says "Sally walked her dog as she ate a popsicle. Rusty, the dog, kept trying to lick her popsicle." Then I could make the connection when I used to eat popsicles with my siblings on hot, summer days. My dog would always try to eat mine and I would get really mad at him.

See, this would help me with comprehending the book more, because I could remember this specific part of the book, but also the book as a whole.

This thought just popped in my mind because we will start reading picture books soon, and I now read them totally different after hearing this method!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears

One of the picture books I read was Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears. I LOVED this book when i was little and so I reread it and created this crossword puzzle!! Have fun with it!

http://www.variety-games.com/CW/Puzzles/1389129950-puzzle.htm

http://www.variety-games.com/CW/Puzzles/1389129950-solution.htm

Friday, April 04, 2008

High School

I was so excited to hear we were reading The Hobbit in this class! I had the most amazing teacher in high school, for English IV, but it also doubled as a dual credit class for college. My professors name was Dr. Holt. He was so smart and LOVED literature. One of the required books for the semester was The Hobbit, and I can not tell you fully in words, how much of a Tolkien fanctic Dr. Holt was. He knew everything about Tolkien's work. Studying the Hobbit under Dr. Holt was like having the book come alive, and many days I thought "Dr. Holt's real name must be J.R.R. Tolkien" because it was as if the author was teaching our class. The most awesome part about it was that at the end of the year, Dr. Holt let us pick any book we wanted to read. Unanimously, our class, decided on The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Rings, because we knew it would be so interesting. There is nothing liek reading a book and knowing all the underlying things the author threw in, and Dr. Holt seemed to know all of those little secrets. I will never forget this amazing experience and class.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Newbery Award


I have already researched the Caldecott Award in a previos post and so now I think it's time for another award given for Children's Literature! "The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association (ALA) to the author of the outstanding American book for children. The award has been given since 1922. Together with the Caldecott Medal, it is considered the most prestigious award for children's literature in the United States. It is named for John Newbery, an 18th century publisher of juvenile books.

The Newbery Medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan in 1921 and depicts on the reverse, an author giving his work (a book) to a male and female child to read." (Wikipedia)

Here is a list of the
Year Author Book
2008 Laura Amy Schlitz Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
2007 Susan Patron The Higher Power of Lucky
2006 Lynne Rae Perkins Criss Cross
2005 Cynthia Kadohata Kira-Kira
2004 Kate DiCamillo The Tale of Despereaux
2003 Avi Crispin: The Cross of Lead
2002 Linda Sue Park A Single Shard
2001 Richard Peck A Year Down Yonder
2000 Christopher Paul Curtis Bud, Not Buddy
1999 Louis Sachar Holes
1998 Karen Hesse Out of the Dust
1997 E. L. Konigsburg The View from Saturday
1996 Karen Cushman The Midwife's Apprentice
1995 Sharon Creech Walk Two Moons
1994 Lois Lowry The Giver
1993 Cynthia Rylant Missing May
1992 Phyllis Naylor Shiloh
1991 Jerry Spinelli Maniac Magee
1990 Lois Lowry Number the Stars
1989 Paul Fleischman Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
1988 Russell Freedman Lincoln: A Photobiography
1987 Sid Fleischman The Whipping Boy
1986 Patricia MacLachlan Sarah, Plain and Tall
1985 Robin McKinley The Hero and the Crown
1984 Beverly Cleary Dear Mr. Henshaw
1983 Cynthia Voigt Dicey's Song
1982 Nancy Willard A Visit to William Blake's Inn
1981 Katherine Paterson Jacob Have I Loved
1980 Joan Blos A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal
1979 Ellen Raskin The Westing Game
1978 Katherine Paterson Bridge to Terabithia
1977 Mildred Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
1976 Susan Cooper The Grey King
1975 Virginia Hamilton M. C. Higgins, the Great
1974 Paula Fox The Slave Dancer
1973 Jean George Julie of the Wolves
1972 Robert C. O'Brien Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
1971 Betsy Byars Summer of the Swans
1970 William H. Armstrong Sounder
1969 Lloyd Alexander The High King
1968 E. L. Konigsburg From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1967 Irene Hunt Up a Road Slowly
1966 Elizabeth Borton de Treviño I, Juan de Pareja
1965 Maia Wojciechowska Shadow of a Bull
1964 Emily Neville It's Like This, Cat
1963 Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time
1962 Elizabeth Speare The Bronze Bow
1961 Scott O'Dell Island of the Blue Dolphins
1960 Joseph Krumgold Onion John
1959 Elizabeth Speare The Witch of Blackbird Pond
1958 Harold Keith Rifles for Watie
1957 Virginia Sorenson Miracles on Maple Hill
1956 Jean Lee Latham Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
1955 Meindert DeJong The Wheel on the School
1954 Joseph Krumgold ...And Now Miguel
1953 Ann Nolan Clark Secret of the Andes
1952 Eleanor Estes Ginger Pye
1951 Elizabeth Yates Amos Fortune, Free Man
1950 Marguerite de Angeli The Door in the Wall
1949 Marguerite Henry King of the Wind
1948 William Pène du Bois The Twenty-One Balloons
1947 Carolyn Bailey Miss Hickory
1946 Lois Lenski Strawberry Girl
1945 Robert Lawson Rabbit Hill
1944 Esther Forbes Johnny Tremain
1943 Elizabeth Gray Vining Adam of the Road
1942 Walter D. Edmonds The Matchlock Gun
1941 Armstrong Sperry Call It Courage
1940 James Daugherty Daniel Boone
1939 Elizabeth Enright Thimble Summer
1938 Kate Seredy The White Stag
1937 Ruth Sawyer Roller Skates
1936 Carol Ryrie Brink Caddie Woodlawn
1935 Monica Shannon Dobry
1934 Cornelia Meigs Invincible Louisa
1933 Elizabeth Foreman Lewis Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
1932 Laura Adams Armer Waterless Mountain
1931 Elizabeth Coatsworth The Cat Who Went to Heaven
1930 Rachel Field Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
1929 Eric P. Kelly The Trumpeter of Krakow
1928 Dhan Gopal Mukerji Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon
1927 Will James Smoky the Cow Horse
1926 Arthur Bowie Chrisman Shen of the Sea
1925 Charles Finger Tales from Silver Lands
1924 Charles Hawes The Dark Frigate
1923 Hugh Lofting The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
1922 Hendrik Willem van Loon The Story of Mankind


As you can see many of the stories we read have won this award! It is very pretigious and these books become very well known!

There is a picture of the award!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Nancy Drew

I remember at the beginning if the semester Dr. Robinson told us how she LOVED Nancy Drew. I am sad to say I was a child of the popular days of Babysitter's Club and Goose Bumps. I feel as though I missed out on classics like Nancy Drew because I was trying too hard to be cool and fit in.

So this week at the library I picked up Nancy Drew, The Mystery at Lilac Inn.

"Nancy and Helen Corning (soon-to-be Mrs. Jim Archer) go to stay at historic Lilac Inn. The historic building and grounds are now being modernized into a local resort spot, by their friend, owner Emily Crandall. Strange happenings and hauntings occur, which threaten to spoil the opening. Nancy suddenly discovers a link to a wicked double, who is stealing items at River Heights stores, and who has misappropriated Nancy's charge cards. Emily's diamonds are stolen and replaced with fakes during a dramatic evening dinner party at the Inn, and it is up to Nancy to tie together her mysterious evil twin, the haunting, and an evil ex-felon her father prosecuted for forgery. Explosions and underwater attacks further delay progress in the case, as well as the suspicious actions of a new social director. Adding to the problem, a mysterious "shark" seen in the nearby Muskoka river. Nancy's solution captures not only the criminals, but unmasks her evil twin and an international espionage operation in her own backyard!" (WIkipedia)

I love who Nancy is. She is smart, witty, and so fun! She is one of those characters you fall in love with the minute you open the book.

A fun fact I learned was that the book was originally released in 1931, and the plot was totally different!