Wrap Up

While this course is not what I expected, looking back, it was better than I originally thought. I got to read some books that I have never read before and discuss old favorites in new ways. I also learned some new literary terms that I had not known before such as grotesque and the intrusive narrator.

I think that if I was to do extra research for this class, I would want to do it on the use of children's authors making references to other works in their stories. For example, J.K. Rowling makes tons of references to mythology and other allegories in Harry Potter. Many of her characters, places and other names have underlying significance that enhance the meaning of the story. C.S. Lewis also makes references to Biblical stories in all of his Narnia books. I think it is very interesting when authors make use of pervious works to enhance their own and add credibility.

Overall, I think this was a good course. It was informative and gave me a break from the serious books that I had to read for my other classes. Although I must admit that I still missed the picture books and fairy tales.

Rhetorical Reflection, Notable Moment and Analysis of Coraline

I was very unsure about reading this book. When the movie came out, I thought it looked really scary and bizarre. I was never about the Tim Burton style movies and that is what this reminded me of. Nothing about Coraline appealed to me. The day that it was first discussed in class, I had not even begun to read it yet because I was so turned off. But listening to the discussion that day sparked my interest. So I went home that night and began to read the book. I was really surprised how much I really enjoyed it.

One aspect of the book that I really liked was the Cat. I loved the snarky attitude of the Cat and how he helped Coraline but only in a very Cat-like manner. He was slightly standoffish, but accessible even though it was on his own terms. The Cat provided the story with a good, but questionable ally for Coraline. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Coraline was asking the Cat it's name and he replied that Cat's do not need names to know who they are. That interaction just made me smile and like the Cat even more.

Overall, I liked the book, despite the fact that it was extremely creepy and would have definitely scared me when I was younger. It had all the elements of the dark humor and grotesque that were discussed in class. It was as if every child's nightmares were some how incorporated into the story, but in a way that made them somewhat enjoyable. Although I would not want my young child to read this book before bedtime.

Rhetorical Reflection, Notable Moment and Analysis of The Bad Beginning

I love love love this book. The first time I read this was in sixth grade. My best friend was reading them at the same as me. She would get the book and read it in a few days and then pass it on to me. Even though the last book came out when we were about 15, we still continued to read them religiously. My brother and sister read them as well. I thought they were hysterical and the story was fascinating. I did see the movie, but I do not really like Jim Carey that much and therefore the movie is not one of my favorites. I was excited to reread the first one, because I have not read it in so long although I though that I remember all that happened.

It turned out that I did remember much of the book and enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. One of my favorite parts of the story, that continues throughout the series, is how Sunny's baby babble is interpreted into long, complicated thoughts. I think it is not only really hysterical but adds a certain fantastical element to the story. The idea that only Violet and Klaus can understand her makes Sunny a type of magical creature for other her brother and sister to enjoy.

The dark humor that is in the book I think makes it more accessible to a larger audience. A young child can enjoy this book just as much as their parent or teacher. And the absurdity of the dark humor makes the story much less awful than it really is. Lemony Snickett finds a way to take different aspects of children's literature and twist them in new and exciting ways to create an unique style of writing that is rarely seen in children's literature today. And I think he is very successful.

Analysis - James and the Giant Peach

As I said in my anticipating post, I was not excited to read this book. I had seen the movie and it had just turned me off completely. And I must say that I did not really enjoy the story. I don't really like bugs and the thought of being trapped on a giant, sticky peach with them is not very appealing. I will say, however, that there was one aspect of the story that I really enjoyed. The rhymes.

We have seen rhymes before in other stories that we have read such as The Hobbit, Redwall and a little in Harry Potter. But I found myself wanting to read these out loud because of their nursery rhyme quality. My favorite was on pages 93 and 94 where the Centipede is reciting one about Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. This part especially: 

So she said, 'I must make myself flat.
I must make myself sleek as a cat.
I shall do without dinner
To make myself thinner.'
But along came the peach!
Oh, the beautiful peach!
And made her far thinner than that!

These poems reminded me of the Shel Silverstein poems, which I was a big fan of growing up. Those poems were always about really sad or rude things but it was done in such a sing-song innocent way that they were enjoyable and funny. The epitome of dark humor.

While I did not enjoy the story, these poems made the book fun and added a little twist.

Notable Moment - James and the Giant Peach

In Chapter 21, James first shows he roll as the leader of the group. The peach is being attacked by sharks and all of the insects are worried that they are going to sink into the ocean to be eaten by the sharks. They all look to James for help. Although he is only a 7 year old boy, James is able to come up with a quite brilliant plan to save the peach. It involves using the Earthworm as bait to capture the seagulls so that they will pull the peach up to safety.

Clearly, the insects think of James as their leader. James easily takes on that role and proves to be successful at it. This moment is the first time that James has to put his leadership skills to work and he proves to be very successful. All of the children in the books that we have read so far seem to possess a maturity that is beyond their years and James is no exception. I for one think that his plan is very ingenious and I do not know if I would have thought of something like that. But then again, that is the magic of the fantasy.

Anticipating James and the Giant Peach

This is the first book on our list that I am not excited about reading. I read the book when I was in elementary school and I have seen the movie. I did not like either. I always thought the movie was a little creepy, probably because of the bugs. While it is similar to The Phoenix and the Carpet as far as magical things happening ordinary children, this is the most unrealistic book to me. The idea of riding around in a giant, sticky fruit with a bunch of life size talking bugs is very unappealing to me.

I have a read a few other of Roald Dahl books including The BFG, The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and George's Marvelous Medicine. I liked all of those books. There is just something about this book that does not appeal to me. Maybe reading it again, I'll change my mind.

Analysis - City of Ember

Of all the dystopian books we have read, I think this was my least favorite. I am very partial to The Giver, it has always been one of my favorites. While unknown to me before this course, Among the Hidden was very interesting to me and I really enjoyed it. And while I am not a fan of animal books, I even liked Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM more than The City of Ember. Now, my attitude towards this book may be because I saw the movie before I read the book so I knew what was going to happen, but nevertheless I had a really hard time getting through it. My attitude could also reflect my long held hatred and fear of caves. For as long as I can remember I have hated caves and been frightened of getting stuck in one. So maybe that is effecting my attitude towards the book.

One aspect of the book that was different from the other dystopian novels we read, was how the city functions. In The Giver, children also receive their jobs at age 12, but the jobs are carefully selected by the Elders. But in Ember, it is the luck of the draw and if you do not like your job, then too bad or hope someone will switch with you. Even in today's world, people get a say in what jobs they do, but not in Ember. One would think that things could be more organized, but their system seems to work and no one really complains.

There is also the fear of running out of everything. It seems like the city was not very well planned. While they were only supposed to be underground for two hundred years, and the directions got lost along the way, the initial planning of the city does not seem to be very well thought out. It some ways this makes it more similar to Among the Hidden and Luke's family, where the people are living without luxury. It seems to me that the Builders could have thought through things a little more.