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.

Notable Moment - City of Ember

Then the door behind her burst open, and a huge guard with a bushy black beard was suddenly running toward her. "Halt!" he shouted, though she wasn't going anywhere. He grabbed her by the arm. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just curious," said Lina, in her most innocent voice. "I wanted to see the city from the roof." She read the guard's name badge. It said, "Redge Stabmark, Chief Guard."
"Curiosity leads to trouble," said Redge Stabmark. He peered down a the crowd. "You have caused a commotion."
pg. 37

This scene is important to the story for a couple of reasons. First is that it foreshadows a lot! It foreshadows that there is going to be some curiosity from Lina that will get her into trouble. It is very obvious to the reader that Lina is the kind of girl who will push her limits in order to satisfy her curiosity. This will later help her discover the way out of Ember but it will also lead to her getting into trouble with the government.

The reader also first glimpses the corruption of the government. Redge Stabmark makes it clear that the government does not like people looking into things that question their leadership. When Lina tries to tell the mayor about her secret note, she is surprised that the mayor will not listen to her. Lina's naive faith in the government gets her into trouble. It was frustrating to me that Lina thought the mayor and the guards were on her side when it was clear from this scene early on in the book that they were not to be trusted. This is illustrated again later when Doon and Lina discover the secret store room in the pipe works. But they still try and have faith in the government. And then Lina and Doon try and tell the mayor about the way out of Ember, Lina is chased around the city and almost arrested.

This scene set the attitude of the government for the rest of the book for me. It was at this moment that I knew that the government was going to be no help and that Lina and Doon would have to do everything on their own.

Anticipating The City of Ember

This is the second book of the course that I have not read. I know that it is the first book in a series and was made into a movie a few years ago. By brother and sister both read the book, and my sister may have actually read more of the series. I did see the movie on a plane one time. I remember being skeptical of the movie but actually enjoying it a little. However, knowing the state of Hollywood and their reputation for correctly interpreting books into movie, I'm assuming that the book is not like the movie. But consequently I know the story line and know that it follows a girl in a dying dystopian world. I am curious to see how this novel relates to the other dystopian stories we have read.

Response to Among the Hidden

Because we don't have any official post for this book, I decided to do just a response post. When I first started reading this book, the main thing I noticed was that it was not very well written. The story line seemed to drag a little at first and I was confused for the first several chapters. Once the story picked up, however, I was able to follow it better. I liked the discovery of Jen from a plot standpoint, but her immediate pompous attitude and sass annoyed me. And while she was very informative as to the world Luke lived in, I felt like she raised more questions than answers. I must admit her death shocked me a little. And then suddenly, there was her father who was part of the Population Police. Overall, the plot seemed to lag in some places and felt rushed in others.

Now saying on this, while I did enjoy the book, it definitely screamed Children's Book! to me. And, I feel like it is the first one that did. I have to be honest, I'm not really sure how I felt about the book. When I finished it last night, I was still fairly confused about what was the truth about the population crisis. I may have to go back and reread it to see if I missed something or if the book ever fully explains exactly what happened.

In comparison to The Giver, I definitely enjoyed The Giver more. While both had similar issues: death, isolation, governmental control, I feel like The Giver was much more well written and addressed the issues better. While the death of the twin was much more graphic, I think the death of Jen was much more traumatic because she is a peer. However, I would argue that Among the Hidden is much more age appropriate. Reading Among the Hidden when you're 12 is not quite as traumatic as reading The Giver when you're 12. Both books put different perspectives on the dystopian world: both disturbing, shocking and fairly believable. 

Anticipating - Among the Hidden

I have not read this book or even heard of it until this class. However, when going on my book list for this class with my sister at the beginning of the semester, she told me that she had read it and that the author had also written another book I was familiar with: Running Out of Time. I read Running Out of Time in fifth grade as a class. I remember really enjoying the book so I hope that I have a similar reaction to this book.

I decided to look up this book, since it is the first one that I have not read, and discovered that it is the first in a series of seven about the Shadow Children. And I must admit that the name "Shadow Children" alone gets me kinda excited. It makes the story sound very intriguing and I am anxious to start it! For what I have heard from my sister (and in case I have not stated it before, my sister is a fairly reliable and knowledgeable source when it comes to fantasy novels) the story consists of children who are part of a community that is hidden from the rest of the 'real' world. Sounds like another dystopian novel to me...but never fear, I am starting to think of myself as a fan of this genre. Hopefully this book will reinforce this new found enthusiasm.

Analysis - The Giver

One thing that I found interesting about this dystopian world that Lowry created was the division of class. Generally in other dystopian novels such as 1984 and Brave New World there is a definite distinction between classes, but it is a division of people. Here it is more a division of age. Depending on how old a child is, they get to do certain things in the community. For example, a child does not get a bike until they are nine. In our culture, most children can ride a bike by six or seven. And for adults, when their children grow up, they go to live with the Childless Adults and then to the House of Old. Granted, there are more prestigious jobs than others, but the community very much functions as a whole. And the only real division seems to be among the children.

Perhaps the reason for doing this is because of the intended audience. We talked in class about this before, how the author has to be careful about their audience: do they make it accessible for children only or adults as well? I think, in this case, the reason that the distinction is more between the children is because the book is intended for a child audience who would better relate to the definite distinctions among age groups. Something that I remember from my childhood, is that there was more of a definite line between grades in elementary school than high school. In this way, I think Lowry helps the story become more relatable to her audience.

I know that Jonas' age was a major thing I noticed the first time I read the novel. Because I was Jonas' age at the time, I was really able to put myself in his shoes. I remember thinking that there was no way I would have been brave enough to go through The Receiver training.

Age is a major player in the story. It helps create the dystopian world and makes the story relatable to the audience. I admire the way Lowry uses a child's view of growing up to create an impact in her story.

Notable Moment - The Giver

After reading this book a few times, I have several moments that I find note-worthy in The Giver. I think my favorite is when Jonas starts to see the color red. Jonas first notices colors in chapter 3 when he is playing catch with an apple with his friend Asher. Jonas notices a "change" in the apple that he cannot describe. He notices it again while standing on the stage during the Ceremony of Twelve and for a third time in his friend, Fiona's, hair. The Giver explains the change to Jonas as seeing the color red.

One question that I've always had about not seeing color is, how does everyone else see? Do they see in shades of gray or do they see the colors and they just do not mean anything? It is very hard for me to comprehend not being able to see color or having to explain that to someone.

I find it really interesting that the government in this dystopian world felt the need to take color out of the world. Colors seem very harmless but, as the Giver explains, the can lead to other potential difficulties. Who would have thought that the colors blue, red and yellow could cause such problems?

Anticipating The Giver

I have read The Giver a few times. My grandmother, who was a kindergarden teacher for 25 years, first introduced me to the book when I was about 10 or 11. I read it again for school in sixth grade. And then I think I read it for a third time in early high school.

When I finished it for the first time, I was at my grandmother's house and I remember being very disturbed by a lot of what was discussed in the book. After my grandmother was a teacher, she became a consultant and would do conferences on different ways to teach. She wanted me to read The Giver so that she could know my opinion as a student of that age group. And being the available grandchild, I was chosen to be her guinea pig. She helped talk me through a lot of the harder issues and explained a lot to me. Despite the fact that I was a little freaked out, I really enjoyed the book. When I read it again in sixth grade, we had to write a paper on it. I remember feeling a little special because I had already read the book and was a little ahead of all my classmates. The third time I read it was for pleasure again. My sister and brother also had to read it in sixth grade.

I think Lois Lowry does a good job of writing for the preteen audience. I also read another of Lois Lowry's books in sixth grade that was very similar to The Giver called Gathering Blue.

I really like this book. I love the way it address some controversial issues for young kids: big ones such as dealing with authority and minor ones such as first loves. I am curious to see what discussions will come out of this book.

Analysis - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

As I said in my anticipating post, I had read this book before but it had been a really long time and I did not remember too much. Although I was proud of myself for remembering "an intense scene in the kitchen"! Overall I really liked this story. One thing that I noticed this time that I do not remember effecting me when I was younger was the story of what happened at NIMH. Reading it now, it seemed to me that the lab experiments seemed like a very mature topic for a children's novel. Not that it was hard to understand but the subject matter seemed like a more advanced one. Something that I wondered while reading this book was is it possible to teach rats to be able to read at the level that the rats of NIMH learned? The story seemed to be making a subtle hit at the problems with knowledge and how it can be abused. It really put a negative light on science and experimenting.

In compared to the other mice/rats book we read, I definitely enjoyed this one more. It was much easier to read. I looked up both books on the AR website and discovered while they are about the same book level, Redwall is twice as many points as Mrs. Frisby. This makes sense because Redwall is much longer and dense than Mrs. Frisby. I think that this story flowed much better and was easier to follow.

I feel like I have asked more questions than answers in this post...
So to sum up in a way: Mrs. Frisby > Redwall; Technology gets a negative light; I seem to remember a lot more from my childhood reading than I realized :)

Notable Moment - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

One moment that I found important in this story was when Mrs. Frisby seeks the advice of the owl who lives at the edge of the forest. Mrs. Frisby's son Timothy is very sick with pneumonia and she needs to figure out a way to keep him alive but also protect her family from the farmer's plow in the garden. It is the owl who tells Mrs. Frisby to go and ask the rats who live in the rosebush for help. This chapter also has some major foreshadowing because the owl only tells Mrs. Frisby about the rats after he learns her name. This starts the reader questioning what Mrs. Frisby's potential role is in the story. Maybe she has a bigger part than both her and the reader initially anticipated.

I did not make this connection until I started writing this post, but in Redwall, Matthais also seeks the help of a wise owl. Is this a coincidence or is does this say something about mice in children's literature?

Anticipating Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM is one of those books that I have heard about all my life and how fantastic it is. I have a vague memory of reading this book when I was a child. But I do not really remember a lot of it. The only part that I really remember is there was a scene in a kitchen that has some serious tension. But I may be getting that confused with another book. I read a lot of books like this one when I was younger.
I know that the book is another with animal protagonists like Redwall. I am curious to see how the two books differ. If I remember correctly, these animals have interactions with humans unlike the creatures of Redwall. I think this fantasy will be more like Harry Potter in the way that the "real world" and the "fantasy world" have no boundaries and interact seamlessly. It is one of those fantasies that the reader can imagine happening in their own backyard. I think I like these types of fantasies more.

Notable Moment - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

How does one choose one notable moment for this book? There is the World Cup, the Yule Ball, the three tasks, the other schools, S.P.E.W., the pensive and priori incantatem. But I think my favorite moment is when Harry goes to the prefect bathroom to try and solve the mystery of the golden egg. Harry has been slacking on figuring out the clue to what the second task is going to be. As a thank you for helping him with the first task, Cedric Diggory tells Harry to take a bath with his egg and use the prefect's bathroom. As skeptical as Harry is to listen to Cedric, he decides to try it anyways. The description of the bathroom is amazing. The tub is the size of a swimming pool and has all of these magical taps with different kinds of bubble bath. Now as fantastic and magical as that sounds, I think my favorite part is Moaning Myrtle.

The first time Moaning Myrtle is introduced to the series is in the second book. Myrtle was killed by the basilisk from the chamber fifty years earlier. Moaning Myrtle is a whiny, pathetic, young ghost who haunts the second floor girls restroom. She befriended Harry, Ron and Hermione when they spent a lot of time in her bathroom brewing Polyjuice Potion where they would not be disturbed. Myrtle is a very funny character. I love that she finds joy in bossing Harry around while he is trying to figure out the clue to the egg. While this is a very funny moment, it is also very crucial plot-wise as well. Harry discovers that he is going to have to figure out how to hold his breath for an hour underwater. Myrtle appears again during the second task. She finds Harry while he is searching for the merpeople village. 

Anticipating Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I have a lot of experience with Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. The first time I read Harry Potter was in fourth grade. My mom order Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's  Stone from one of the Scholastic Book catalogues. I really did not want to read it because I thought it seemed like a "boy's book", but my mom started reading it out loud to me. Eventually I started reading it by myself. And my love for the story has snowballed every since. It was fun for me cause Harry was just a few years older than I was. My parents started reading them and then my sister and then my brother. My whole family loved them and devoured them. We were so obsessed that by the time the fifth installment came out, we had to buy two. At midnight of course. We also ended up with two copies of the seventh one.

I remember the day my dad came home from the store with the first Harry Potter movie (on VHS!) and we sat down as a family and watched it. We had already seen it in the movie theater and were so excited to see it again. Eventually, when we bought a DVD player we got a copy on DVD as well. We own all the movies and always make a big deal about going to see them in the theaters as a family.

I have probably read each book at least three times, some of them I may have read more. My mother is amazing at reading out loud, she does all the voices and has a way of really capturing her audience. And so this summer, at 20 years old, when I got really sick, I had her read the seventh book out loud to me because I was too sick to read myself. I actually ended up reading the fourth book again this summer and so it is very fresh in my mind. I am excited to discuss the book in class and see what aspects of the fantasy Rowling uses.

Analysis - The Magician's Nephew

One of the main things that The Chronicles of Narnia is know for is it's Christian themes. The Magician's Nephew tells the story of the creation of Narnia and it has parallels to the story of the Creation and the Garden of Eden in the Bible. Chapter 9, The Founding of Narnia, tells how a great Lion singing a song is walking through an empty wasteland and the world is coming alive from him as he walks. Grass, trees, rivers and animals all come to life from his song.

Similarly in the Bible, Genesis tells of how God commanded for light, water, vegetation, and living creatures. In Narnia, these all appeared in the same order as they did Genesis. Digory, Polly and the Cabby all had reactions that would be expected for such an awe-inspiring experience. But Uncle Andrew and the Witch were frightened of the Lion. The Witch, and all her evil, was so scared that she ran away. And Uncle Andrew, while he was scared and uncomfortable, was more concerned about getting the rings from Digory and going home.

After Narnia has been created, Aslan, the Lion, calls a council to discuss the evil that has already entered this new land. Because it was Digory who brought the Witch into Narnia, even by accident, Aslan sends him on a mission to get an apple from a special garden on a hill and bring it back. This garden is very similar to Genesis' tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. On the gate to the garden is written,
Come in by the gold gates or not at all,
Take of my fruit for others or forbear,
For those who steal of those who climb my wall
Shall find their heart's desire and find despair.

Similar to the warning on the gate, in the Bible, God warns Adam and Eve "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die"(Genesis 2:17). Just like the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, the Witch comes to tempt Digory with the prospect of being able to heal his mother. Later, Aslan tells Digory that while the fruit would have indeed saved his mother, it would not have been the same happiness she would have now that Digory had obeyed Aslan and brought the apple back.

There are other moments of Christian parallel in the story. At the beginning, when Digory and Polly visit Charn, Digory wants to hit the little bell because the carving on the side told him that he would be driven mad by the curiosity. He ends up getting in a fight with Polly and waking the Witch who brought all the trouble to London and Narnia. This is a classic example of temptation that is presented throughout the entire Bible.

In the end, though, the Digory listened to Aslan and was able to save his mother and be able to go back to his life in the country that he had missed so much.