So Far from the Bamboo Grove

So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins is an excellent World War II novel. Sometimes learning about history from a text book can be a bit boring; however, I truly enjoyed learning about history through this novel because we were emotionally involved in a families story. I was captivated by Yoko because though she was stuck in the middle of a war, praying for her life everyday, we still saw the youthful innocence in her. We saw how Yoko would fight with her sister Ko, and would worry about the girls at her new school in Japan. One of the main reasons I enjoyed this book so much as well was because how important it framed family. For example, the mom did not want Hideyo to go fight in the war because she rather the family stay together, and Hideyo eventually agreed. He purposely failed his intelligence test to stay with his family. Also, Ko did such a wonderful job supporting and taking care of Yoko. The sister's relationship reminds me of the relationship I have with my sister Beth. We are so similar to these sisters because it seems like they had a strong relationship even before the war. I feel my sister and I have a great relationship, and it only gets stronger in times of need. I have obviously never experienced living through a war like the Kawashima sisters have, but I feel like we tend to become even closer when we have experienced difficult times in our lives. The first time we found out about our grandpa passing away, we were at college and could not come home till the next day. My sister Beth picked me up that night and took me to dinner. We reminisced about all the times we had with our grandpa. Though it was a very sad time in our life, I felt like me and my sister bonded and were brought closer together. As I have gotten older I have realized how important family is, and I am so glad that this book portrays that same message.

I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink so Much

I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink so Much by Judith Vigna is an interesting, controversial childrens picture book. The topic is a very serious issue about a girl who has a father who is an alcoholic. The book's intentions are obviously to make kids aware of the disease of being an alcoholic, and make other children feel like they are not the only ones who have a parent who is an alcoholic. This book is beneficial because at the end of the book it talks about how serious alcoholism is, and it gives some resources for people to turn to in order to get a loved one help. The one quam I had with this book was that it showed the mother as somewhat weak. I have never experienced having a father who was an alcoholic, but I understand that it is a difficult issue to deal with. However, it seemed like this book was giving the message that if you have an alcoholic parent, then there is nothing you can do. The book never mentioned getting the dad serious help, or having an intervention. The mom would let the dad treat the little girl bad becasue she was scared she probably would get hit or the little girl would get hit. Kids should know that if the issue is this serious, there are places to help parents get better. Kids need to know that there is hope, and know that their parents can change. I do not know if I would use this exact book to talk about alcoholism to young childen, but other books with the topic of alcoholism should be used to talk about this tough issue with children.

If Nathan Were Here

If Nathan Were Here by Mary Bahr is a controversial picture book on the topic of a young boy's death. Though there was a name of the boy used in the book, the book seems like many children would be able to relate to this book becasue there is no specific casue of the death mentioned in the book. The book just talks about the good times the children had with Nathan before he died, and the good times they would remember him by. This seems like it would be an excellent resource for a parent even to buy to read to their child, if they have expereinced a death of a good friend. they can read it with them, or let them read it theirselves and discuss with them how they feel. I have not expereinced losing a good friend at a young age, but I can imagine it would be difficult for the child to talk about it with their parents and their teachers. This book may help the child open up and talk to their parents or teacher becasue they will see that this same situation has happened to other kids.

The Most Important Thing

The Most Important Thing by Rhonda Roth is a picture book about the controversial topic of divorce. This topic is a challenging topic to discuss with kids, but it is something that should always be discussed openly with them. I like the way Rhonda Roth portrayed divorce as a sad thing, but the family would make sure not to make it a bad thing. Rhonda also made the book focused on how the little girl would always be loved, and that was the most important thing. I have come to realize after taking many elementary education classes that kids always have misconceptions of things. They have their own views built off of what they see from television, movies, books, friends, etc. Many kids will automatically assume that divorce is going to be a horrible thing where they are not loved, they do not see one of their parents again, or one of their parents will automatically become replaced. This book does an excellent job not showing the stereotypical divorce, but showing what really happens.

Kaddish for Grandpa in Jesus' Name Amen

Kaddish for Grandpa in Jesus' Name Amen is a picture book by James Howe that tells a story about how a little girl deals with the death of her grandpa. The little girl's grandpa is Christian; however, the little girl is Jewish because her mom is Jewish along with her dad who converted into Judaism. The family decides to have a Christian funeral for the grandpa, but they also had a smaller Jewish ceremony back at their house called the Kaddish. It seems in the book the girl likes remembering her grandpa in both religious ways, but actually prefers to remember him by looking at his glasses case. The glasses case reminds her of positive times she had reading books with him. I think this is an excellent book to show that it is nice to connect to a religion in times of grief, but that religion is not the only way to deal with a death. This story reminds me of how my family dealt with the death of my grandpa last year. My family is Jewish, but we do not keep up with every Jewish tradition or aspect of the religion. When my grandpa died I think we were all a little confused on what Jewish traditions to follow when there is a death. We wanted Judaism to be apart of the funeral process because my grandpa was pretty religious as well as my immediate family, but at times my family does not fully identify with the religion. We ended up having a Jewish funeral, but the days following we remembered my grandpa by spending time with family, and not doing any religious ceremonies. I believe this was the best way for my family to grieve.

And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is not only an excellent source to use in the elementary school classroom to discuss students with same sex parents, but it is also a true story from the Central Park Zoo. Two penguins name Roy and Silo were a couple, and did not try to find a female mate. They were attached to each other, and spent all of their time together. They were even given a special gift of a penguin egg from the zoo keeper for them to hatch and take care of. I know this book is considered controversial and may be band in some areas, but I believe it is a book that definitely should be exposed to students starting at a young age. Students will be able to see that having same sex parents is part of nature. This book will help children understand that not only humans, but animals as well can have same sex parents. There is a little girl at the daycare/preschool I work at that has two moms. All of the other students have seen both of her moms, but as they get older they might start to wonder why the little girl does not classify into the group of kids with a mom and a dad. I am hoping to read this book and books similar to this book to the students so they can begin to comprehend that having same sex parents is very common, and they will see it in many aspects of life. Also, I think this book will help the other students respect the little girl's lifestyle. And Tango Makes Three is a great book to use to expose students so something new, and it also is a great book teachers could build a field trip off of since Tango and his family are still living at the Central Park Zoo.

Reflection of the class

Reading and Responding to Children's Literature is very different than any other class I have taken at the university of Iowa; however it is one of my favorites. I obviously enjoy reading since I am getting one of my endorsements in it; therefore, I have come to love this class since it is based on reading. I am so excited that I get a chance to be expose to so many great children's books. I actually feel this class is preparing me for my profession in the future. I am learning so many great genres and authors I was never exposed to before. I am aware of so many different types of books that I would never consider reading before, like graphic novels and wordless books. Reading many of the books I have read as a child brings back wonderful memories of when I was learning to read as well. Furthermore, I have really enjoyed responding to the books we have been reading through our blogs. I believe this is a great idea because it is staying current with the present ways of communicating. The internet is a technology that is also being highly incorporated in the elementary classroom, so I believe it is important we all begin to feel comfortable using it. Moreover, Blogging our responses is more informal than writing a document on microsoft word, which I believe is a benefit. I feel more comfortable opening up and sharing my personal stories that relate to the literature we are reading. If I was writing in a microsoft document I fear I may be less likely to share my feelings. I would feel I need to stay very formal, and not say what I truly mean. I overall have enjoyed reading the children's books throughout this class, and I really enjoy blogging my opinions about them.