Author Profile

An Author that I came across was Mary Casanova. She is an award winning author and is world renown. She has written several books such as Utterly Otterly Day and Dog Watch. Her books seem fun and interesting and also different and unique. I would like to add her to my collection one day .

Author profile

One of my favorite books as a child was ,Where the wild thing are, written by Maurice Sendak. This book was so neat and mysterious. It is a favorite children's book even today. This book became a staple in everyday classrooms and still is.

Author Profile

A neat author that I came across is Dav Pilkey. He writes a variety of books and various series including Captain Underpants and Big Dog & Little Dog. These books are easy readers on many levels. They are fun and interesting. I have seen many of these books at the different schools I have worked at.

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Another easy reader that inspiring and educational is Ruby Bridges goes to school by Ruby Bridges. It depicts her journey as she walked into school and changed history. This book shares her courage and strength.

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One of my favorite childhood authors was Judy Blume. She wrote various books like are you there God it me Margaret? tales of a fourth grade nothing, and then again maybe I wont, just to name a few. All her books are awesome reads. They vary in age level, but they are mostly elementary level.

Author Profile

A really cute book written Megan McDonald is title Judy Moody goes to College. This book is a fun and cute book about a girls adventure with a tutor of hers thats in college. The tutor teaches and inspires Judy to become a geometry pro! Its an easy reader and is appealing.

Author Profile

When I was younger a huge favorite of mine was the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine. They are horror like mysteries with endless amounts of volumes. This series is still popular today. I have noticed kids in the schools that I go to are still reading them. They always kept me entertained and coming back for more books.

Shared Reading

This article was really remarkable and interesting. The evidence is so clear as to what it takes to make kids into life long readers. The different ways she developed as a reader and progress that Sarah made with the Caterpillar and other books was so amazing. She was like an animator and the audience. It was truly eye opening for me as a new mother to see how imperative it is to not only expose my daughter to literature, but to really actively engage in it with her. She can see ,like Sarah, how literature is interesting and pleasurable. You are exposed to so many ideas and concepts when we read. When our youth and students don't get this exposure they are missing our on such a remarkable thing. There is a certain advantage that only literature can bring to us. After reading this article, I know that I will be more consistent as far reading with my daughter.

Author Profile

The author Judy Schachner writes childrens books. One is called Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones. The picture book entails a journey of Jones into dinosaur land and various other adventures.

A book called Boys are dogs, was written by Leslie Margolis. This book goes thru the journey of a different life than Annabelle knew. It goes from school, friends, boys, etc.

A childrens book called Splat the Cat was written by Rob Scotton. Splats journey thru the first day of school is told.

Chapter 9 Nonfiction

This chapter was full of surprising facts. When I thought of nonfiction I just thought of research typed materials. In actuality there are many types of nonfiction. Not only that, there are many aspects and elements to nonfiction that one may not initially consider. There are formats, styles, language usage, and even organization. One fact that was interesting to me was the use of analogies and metaphors in nonfiction to paint a mental image and resonate it in the mind. Nonfiction is categorized by form. They range from concept books to journals and reference books. Nonfiction is truly everywhere and we don't usually recognize it. Newspapers, cookbooks, etc, are all nonfiction writings we see often. The different ways to apply and organize nonfiction was also interesting to me.

Author Profile

Another interesting author that I have become familiar with over the years is Shel Silverstein. His work is truly one of a kind. His poetry is very unique and definitely unforgettable. My group and I have actually decided to incorporate him into our genre projects. His works have been and will continue to be admired for years to come.

Chapter 8- Samantha Lopez

Its been a while since I have leisurely read. I so wish I had more time for it though. There is nothing like getting lost in a good book. The most recent books I read were the Nora Roberts collection. She has an entire series on a fictional family called the Mcgregors. It consist of the entire family tree, from the grandparents lives down to the grandchildrens lives. It has a lot of romance so it may not appeal to all taste, but I like them. They portray the fantasy romance and ideal life, its a nice fantasy. The most recent I read was about the three granddaughters. One is a doctor, lawyer, and a real estate broker. The book follows their paths to finding true love and happiness. Yes its Corny, but entertaining!

Chapter 7

I was very surprised at the many aspects of picture books that we learned today. The fact that there are 32 pages is strange and news to me! lol I was so impressed by the illustrations in these books. They completely blew me away! The different colors, strategies, and techniques were amazing. Its neat how the art work in these books changes what the reader infers or gathers about the book. Its as though the illustrations tell a story of there own. Next time I read a picture book it will certainly not be the same for me.

Chapter 6

I really like learning about and reading traditional literature. I suppose this a a comfort zone because we all grew up on this type of literature. Its interesting how these texts serve a purpose beyond entertainment. They can explain the unknown, teach values, preserve significant events, and for many cultures, celebrate its heritage. Its so neat how each culture views different ideas and translate that into text. Even our geographic locations will vary the text we read and know. I though it was neat how each area tales there stories differently. Like how Asian cultural text is in cyclical organization. I realized that the story lines are so vague because it enables all readers to relate to the material, and doesn't set a definite time or place. This also leaves more room for imagination. Each readers can make up their own ideas as to when and where the events take place. These traditional stories can even teach morals or admirable behavior. They usually leave the reader feeling optimistic as "happily ever after" and we all can admire that!! lol Whats interesting is how the stories change as they are passed down over time. That happens in everyday life too. People tell a story, then it gets passes along to several people, by the end its completely different!! I really loved that idea about the traditional tale newspaper..hmmm..thats a really good idea..

Maya Angelou

Thank you so much Mrs.Pickett for showing us those clips, they were truly touching. I have been a huge fan of Maya Angelou for many years, and find her so inspiring. When she talks its like shes speaking poetry I just love to hear her talk!! She is an intelligent and motivating women. I particularly like when she talked about being a jack of all trades and a master at none. She said to master everything, or at least attempt to. Basically don't half fast anything we do in life. She makes me want to appreciate everyday we have hear on this earth. How she talked about that she loves living. That there is so much to do hear. What kind of legacy will we leave behind? The quote about nothing being alien to us because we are all humans. I love how she talks about the caged bird. You can just imagine how it would feel to be in the cage too. I loves how she talked about multicultural art, from all ethnicity's in the US, not just a selected few. She appreciates so much out of everything in life, I hope one day I can experience a glimpse of that.

Chapter 4

This chapter was very interesting in the way it explored responses to literature. I know first hand what it is like to be so engrossed in what I'm reading that I get completely lost in the text. Its actually a very fun experience . The reader gets to almost live what they are reading about. This experience can never be duplicated from a movie. For many children literature is the only exposure they have to other places and ideas. This enables the children to dream bigger and aim their goals higher when they know that there is more to life than their surroundings. The CORI concept seems like an outstanding way to enhance children's motivation to read. The children get to express them selves in a positive manner while making choices and getting positive feedback. I can see how the children's exposure and engagement to literature enhance their responses. I believe even adults have more sophistication when they read and discuss advanced literature. I believe the more proficient readers are they better they are at all subjects in general. The way the readers responds to the literature depends on many factors including their culture and environment. Like previously stated in the book the words are static on the page, that is free to be interpreted by the reader depending on their stance. Of course a main point that stood out to me was the role of the teacher. Never underestimate the role we will soon play in these children's lives,we are their to facilitate and nurture their thinking.

Chapter 3

This chapter talked about the reading comprehension and the way we interpret the literature. It talked about the teachers' role in aiding and guiding the comprehension process. It discussed Rosenblatt's theory of comprehension. She proposed many great new ideas. Aesthetic being pleasure reading and efferent as complex or challenging reading. Of course there has to be a medium between the two types. I totally agreed with her idea of reading transactions. Everyone has different backgrounds and experiences that we bring to the table. These effects what we receive from the literature and what it means to us. I thought it was really interesting the way Rosenblatt explained the idea of text as static, that the author can no longer control. The chapter goes on to discuss various way students can convey what the material meant to them. Accessing comprehension is important to ensure that students are actively engaged in their reading. Also to ensure the reader can truly comprehend the material their given. Lexicon is a big word for a person vocabulary. Expanding this is supposed to be the outcome of reading. The chapter finishes with the importance of pre and post reading discussions. It tells us to ensure that the discussion is productive by letting the student play an active role in it. This chapter was informative but covered a lot of different information.

Chapter 2-Culture

This chapter emphasizes the importance of deep culture impact in our schools today. Many institutions only acknowledge the culture of their students at the surface. The paragraph about mismatched culture was so accurate. The idea that students who come from education nurturing homes are more likely to succeed in their education process, is so true. The school setting in general is probably so foreign to many students. The chapter stresses the importance of getting to know your students. It also helps that the students know and trust you as well. These points all deal with literature on some level. Literature in general is the basis for education. With out it the entire education process would be meaningless. Literature opens readers minds, and exposes them to a different world. It can also help readers deal with everyday life, as suggested in the chapter. The book eludes to the movie, Shadowlands, where one student says "we read to know we are not alone". That statement couldn't be more true. So when we as teachers encompass culture along with literature we can truly reach our students. Especially when globalization is growing everyday , our students should be aware of more than just their own communities or cultures.

Author profile...children's literature

I researched some children's literature authors. I am a new fan of Patricia Polacco. Dr. Ferguson read one of her books to us and it was so moving. Many of her books are personal and enlightening. She has one book called Our mothers home (I believe) and its about a household with two moms and no dad. In this day and age their are plenty of kids who relate to that material. One of my all time favorite authors was Judy Blume. She wrote the most awesome and relatable books. I remember I couldn't put her books down. She is definitely an author to expose our students to. Sandra Cisneros touches on both English and Spanish literature. She writes personal and family oriented material. Her books are inspiring and moving as well. These are authors that I would like my own daughter to enjoy. I am looking forward to learning about new and different authors.

Chapter 1 response

I really enjoyed this chapter and the point it conveys to the audience. This chapter was inspiring to me as a future teacher. I hope to one day instill a life long love for reading and literature in my students. I totally agreed with the authors opinion that it is our bigger challenge to teach students to want to read as opposed to just teaching them to read. I will be sure to set my own teaching beliefs and stand by them. Modeling good positive behavior was an issue i never really considered too much. The chapter convinced me of its true significance. I feel that reading(or lack there of) is the basis for the entire education process, and there fore should not be taken lightly. Readings significance should be drilled into every student in America begining at a young age. This chapter almost insinuates that teaching is a learned art form. From modeling to constructive feedback to scaffolding, we are these kids life lines to the rest of their education.