Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

This book gave me a lot of mixed emotions. For about the first 3 chapters I hated it and did not know how I could possibly read the whole thing. After that though it became much more interesting and I really found myself getting into the book and rooting for Nuna and her family to get through the war and have freedom.

I don't know why the first few chapters bothered me so much. It may be because it was more of a before hand view and not so much about what was actually going on. I also thought that the book was going to be a lot different from the beginning so I was expecting more to be going on right from the beginning. Once they started to talk about the war and what the soldiers were actually doing to the Koreans and how the lived their lives in fear everyday of doing something wrong or getting sent away, the book became much easier to read and I actually could not put it down.

It amazed me how brave this little girl and her brother were. I could not imagine having to keep my home life a secret and not being able to tell anyone anything in fear of what may happen. I also thought that she was very brave when she went to school. The part about her sitting on the floor in the back of the room and having to go to the bathroom but being afraid to ask just devistated me. And then her having to see all of the little puddles underneath the little girls desks and then them being called on to go up to the board but them being really embarrased to, I just couldn't even imagine a thing like this happening.

There were so many parts to this book that just made me really think about how good I do have it. Having little kids go to "school" to make weapons to kill a group of people that they don't even dislike and brainwashing them into believing something totally different from what they had. I also thought about the sock girls and them being taken away. I knew the whole time what was going on but I really wish they would have talked about that more because I do think that it is a big deal. And the fact that now the Japanese are saying that it was all voluntary was crap.

I was so happy for Nuna and Inchun in the end. They had worked so hard and made it so far that they really did deserve to for once feel free. Them being so young but so brave really made you think that the things that we think are bad in life really aren't always as bad as we take them to be. You just have to look around at what other people are going through because you might just see that you have it pretty good.

Children's Lit. Reflection

At first when beginning this class I thought that it was going to be A LOT of work. I was afraid that I wouldn't have time to read as much as I was expected to. I found that this was not true at all though! I have actually really enjoyed all of the readings and it has given me a great opportunity to get into the library and pick up some great children's books (which I haven't done in a really long time).

When I first found out that we had to blog about all of our books I was really confused. I had heard of blogging before but didn't know that you could do it about stuff like this. I still am a little iffy about it at times just because I know that my writing is out in the open for everyone who wants to to look at it and that sort of scares me. But on the other hand I do enjoy it. I feel like it gives me more freedom in what I say than what it would if I was writing it on paper. I also feel like it much more laid back and it doesn't take long at all to just log on and type up your thoughts. It is something that I can see myself doing in my own classroom in the future.

Overall, I think that the class is going really well. I am getting a lot of great information from it and learning even more that I do love to read. I like the group activities and getting all of the different insights and I also loved the poem activity that we did. I have never felt that comfortable about reading poems but I think that what we did in class changed that. I think it is something that I could use in a class to help the students get out of their shells with it. I just think that the class is going really good and I hope that this continues.

The Misfits 1&2 by James Howe

At first when I began reading The Misfits I did not know how much I would like the story. But as soon as I began to read it I couldn't help but to think where I had heard the story before. Had I read the book before? I didn't think so. Was there some kind of movie made about it? I still don't know. I am still stumped as to why this book rings such a bell in my head.

After reading the story though, I really ended up enjoying the book. I thought that James Howe is a brilliant author and knows exactly how to bring people back into junior high. I did think that some of the characters were a little too much but some kids, especially in junior high, are like that.

I didn't like the fact that this book was hated so much by some people just because of the fact that there is homosexuality in it. Even though they are kids doesn't mean that they don't need to learn it sometime. If you shelter a kid their whole life then when they get out into the real world they aren't going to know what to do. I thought it brought the topic out in a good way without putting too much obvious emphasis on it. I really liked the characters and could see myself being friends with most of them (I did find Addie to be very annoying though.)

Like I said, I thought that the book was really good and I would definately have it in my classroom in the future. It is a book that shows a lot of different aspects of a life and just sucks you right back into junior high school...which I guess isn't always amazing!

Hair in Funny Places by Babette Cole

So as I read more and more controversial books I realized that Babette Cole really likes to read them. Some of them I have thought to be inappropriate and others not. This one I was on the fence at some points.

When hearing about this book in class I thought that it was cute and funny and a great way to talk about puberty and changing bodies. As I looked at it myself I felt a little different about it. The whole time I felt like it was showing child porn and I felt just gross for even looking at the pictures. I know that they were real photographs, I just felt like it was really weird at times.

Like I said earlier, I still feel like it is a really good topic for kids to know about and that everyone goes through it. I just felt like some of the pictures went a little over what they should have. Especially, this is supposed to be for 1st grade and older. I don't know if I would ever want my first grader to look at this. I don't know how I would change the book at all and maybe if I had to make a book like that, I would have to do it in the same way. But when reading it I just felt really weird about the pictures and I don't think that many parents would want this book to be in their child's school library.

I Never Knew Your Name by Sherry Garland

This is another one of those stories that I was sort of confused about. It is a controversial book too but I was not totally sure why. It is about a little boy who watches his neighbor while he is waiting for his dad to come and pick him up (which he never does). When knowing that you are reading a controversial book I feel like you are always looking for that part of it so in this one I kept trying to guess what it was. At first I didn't know if it was because the dad never came or even that they were maybe trying to show that the little boy was having homosexual thoughts about his neighbor...I did not know. As the story continued I think that I figured it out though.

As the story continued the boy would see his neighbor shooting hoops and having a crush on his older sister but then getting rejected. One night the boy really wanted to go fishing and saw his neighbor and was going to go ask him if he wanted to also but he never did. Later that night they heard a lot of ambulances next door and later found out that the neighbor boy had died. It does not say how he dies in the book but I am guessing, since it is controversial, that it was suicide? In this sense I can see why parents wouldn't want their children to read it but I think that since it doesn't come out and say anything that the book is fine.

It is recommended for grades four and above and I think that I would have it in my classroom if I taught upper elementary.

Mommy Laid an Egg by Babette Cole

One of the main things that I can say about this book is weird! At first I felt like this book was very cute but very unrealistic. The parents thought it was time that their children knew where babies came from. But instead of telling them how it actually happens, they make up things like, a dinosaur brings them or mommy laid an egg and many others like that.

Now where it gets weird is when the kids decide that their parents are not telling the truth so they decide to show their parents how it happens. From this point on I could definately see why the book was considered controversial and I myself will NEVER EVER let my kids see it. I think that they show the whole "where babies come from" in a horrible light.

There is a page where the text says, "Here are some ways....mommies and daddies fit together." Then it continues to show different ways that parents have sex. (So pretty much sex positions). So my question is...is why do little kids have to know sex positions? Is that really necessary? And this book was considered to be for all ages!! I couldn't believe it!

I think that this is an excellent idea for what a book can be about. I just think that it is totally the wrong way of going about it. I think that kids can learn about sex without having to see graphic pictures of a mom on top of a dad. So, I would never have this book in my room and when I have kids they will NOT be reading it!

The Un-Wedding by Babette Cole

This book was amazing!! I loved how the two little kids made up this clever little plan because they realized that their parents were not happy anymore. Now this one I can see why some people may feel that it is controversial but I don't feel like it is at all. I think that since divorce is becoming such a normal thing now a days that this book is a great one to explain to kids that sometimes parents don't love each other anymore but that it isn't the children's fault and they can still be happy.

The story starts out with Mr. and Mrs. Ogglebut and they could not stand each other. They never could agree on anything. There two children, Paula and Demetrius, noticed this and at first thought it was all there fault. They put up a sign at school about kids that had parents who were having troubles. They realized that there were many others and that it was not the kids fault at all. So they decided that they would have an un-wedding with an un-ceremony, an un-cake, and then at the end for a present they knocked down the house and built two instead that were right next to each other. The two children now had two homes and got two of everything and ended up being very happy.

I know that this book kind of sugar coats the whole divorce idea, but I feel like it's a good book for Kindergarten to Sixth grade. It also has great colorful pictures and some of them even have other things going on. I would love to have this book in any of my classrooms!

Happy to Be Nappy by Bell Hooks and Chris Raschka

When I began reading this book, I think that I was looking for something MORE being that it is considered a controversial book. The whole time I was reading it I was trying to figure out why it was so controversial.

The only thing that the book talked about was different things that you could do with "nappy" hair and how it is beautiful. I didn't know if it was looked at as controversial because it talked about African American hair alone and some people may not think that that is necessary...I don't know, I am COMPLETELY STUMPED!!

I thought a funny thing was that the other day while I was with my 2nd grade reading buddy, who is African American, told me that my hair looked nappy because it was crunched and had a lot of hair spray in it. I did not take offense to it or anything and I do not think that she meant it as a good or a bad thing. I just think it's interesting

Back to the book though. I did not really enjoy it. I thought that it was really hard to read the writing because it was all in cursive. If I had trouble reading the cursive, I do not know how little kids would be able to read it. I also thought that the pictures were kind of bland and did not completely go with what the text was saying even though it was supposed to. So overall, I am confused with why it is a controversial book but I do not think I would have it in my classroom because I do not find it all that interesting and it's hard to read.