Reflections
This class has been great so far. It has been great exposure to lots of different kids books. But what I think I will take away the most from this class is how to analyze childrens books and look at them in different lights. What I mean is that so many children's books are cute, with good pictures and have story lines. But before blogging about al these books I had a hard time distinguishing what I liked and disliked about childrens books. I didn't really know how to pick out a book that I would consider "good." Now I have some tools to use when I am browsing the shelves. When I first started this class I immediatly went right to the good old books that I remember my mom reading to me. When you mentioned that you wanted us to look at new books I thought that would be a lot of work but I found that I really enjoyed a lot of the new books that I picked out. I also like the books that deal with contemporary issues.
One of my favorite parts of the class was reading the controversial books. Some I didn't see what the big deal was and some were totally shocking. I actually liked several of them. The good thing about reading controversial books is that I now have an idea about what some parents might have problems with in my own classroom. I didn't think Tango Makes Three wasa big deal but I can see how parents could get offended. And now I realize how I can use these books to talk about certian topics that might be hard to discuss or start to discuss. They can be an ice breaker and resouce.
Another thing I liked is reading the Giver. I remember having read it in school but I didn't remember what it was about. Now I can really understand it. I can see using this is my classroom and having alot of discussions about it and connecting it to a variety of subjects. It is an easy read for our age but it is a very deep book.
I look foward to the rest of the class and exploring the A/I/P project so I can identify someone that I like in particular. I also am excited to see everyone elses.