In my opinion, reading and writing are the two most important areas in a person’s education. I was fortunate enough to be blessed by a thousand hand-me-down books that were spilling out of the bookshelves. For example, anything Dr. Seuss, Berenstain Bears, Lil Critter, or Shel Silverstein were usually in my hands. Before I knew how to read I would study each picture and make up my own stories that correlated with the illustrations that were painted on the pages. My imagination expanded even more as I got older and continues to do so now. I feel that my love for literature at such a young age led to my transformation into a musician throughout my adolescent life. I have no doubt that reading and writing has had a constructive effect on my musical abilities, lyrically speaking.
I did struggle with literature in my high school years, not because of the difficulty but more due to a lack of caring. My junior year, however, symbolized a turning point for me. It took one teacher’s praise to make me realize that when I put effort into something I could achieve things I once thought were beyond me. Other teachers would help me, but they didn’t really believe in my abilities. Mrs. Yoke believed in my abilities as a young adult reader and writer and continues to inspire me on my pursuit to become a better writer.
Last semester I took Children’s Literature here at IUPUI and got to experience the books I once loved from a different perspective. It was great to read through these pieces from a more analytical approach. We learned about the different themes that were throughout children’s lit and got to take this information and discuss it in great detail. As an adult reader, you pick up on these trends throughout the literature that you might overlook as a younger reader. Looking at these pieces as an educational tool instead of a night time story for entertainment , opens up a deep vault of information for parents, children, teachers, and students.
The two pieces we’ve read so far, The Outsiders and The Chocolate War have been great introductory pieces for this class. I would use both in my own curriculum if I were to be a teacher someday. I think both are edgy but I believe “edgy” captivates adolescent readers instead of sparking banning discussion like with adult readers. Usually the banned books get better publicity and sales anyways, so to me I honestly don’t see the point of banning books.
Recently I gave my niece, Natalie, all of the books we read in the children’s literature class. It me makes happy seeing her get more excited for a poorly wrapped box of books then the new Barbie she got for Christmas. She’s already read Peter Pan and is currently reading Bridge to Terabithia. I plan on waiting until she’s a little older but I’ll do the same with the books I purchase for this class. I would like to use this blog to discuss/review books so that parents and children get a fair assessment of what to expect from the books they’re about to read. This way they can make their own opinion about the book instead of just discounting a book without even researching it. But I would advise that a parent would actually read the book before making any decision about it. Like the old saying, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
