Number Four, Bobby Orr

This book was written by Mike Leonetti. This story is about a boy, Joey, who breaks his leg while playing hockey. Well recovering from his injury, Joey writes a letter to his hero Bobby Orr, the hockey player. Bobby Orr responds to the boy's letter and sends him tickets to the Stanley cup final. Bobby Orr proceeds to score a goal (there is a famous photograph of this goal being scored, Bobby Orr was "flying through the air" when he shot the puck). Here is a link for the picture. Bobby Orr scoring the goal.
This story can be used with a variety of different age groups, and I have found that the age group of 8-12 year olds respond well to the story.
I have used this story with a number of different classes and situations. If I was going to teach a class about writing letters, I would read this story to them and talk about the qualities of a good letter. I would then have the students write a letter to personal hero of theirs.
I have also used this story with a small group (6 students) of males who were having trouble with reading comprehension. The story appealed to them because it was about hockey, there favorite sport. I was albe to find the famous picture in a book about hockey.
I know that there are other "hockey books" that appeal to young readers as well. "My Leaf Sweater" is one by Mike Leonetti.
Hopefully there will be one about the Vancouver Canucks soon. I know of many young readers who would enjoy reading about the 'nucks.

Only a Pigeon

This is the book I choose to use as my multi-cultural book. It is written by Jane and Christopher Kurtz. This is a story about a young Ethiopian boy who raises pigeons in modern Ethiopia. In the story, the young boy , whose name is Ondu-ahlem goes to school, does chores, and plays with his friends. He is eventually challenged by another boy to see whose favorite pigeon will return to him faster. In the end Ondu-ahlem wins the challenge.
I really enjoyed this story. It is a simple story, but it is written by the Kurtz’s both of whom were of Ethiopian descent. It made the story much more believable. The raising of pigeons is a popular pastime in Ethiopia.
I learned something important in this story. I am use to seeing pictures of starving Ethiopian people. This is still happening in various parts of the African continent, there are also people who are not starving. I do not want it to sound like I believe the problems that Ethiopia had in 1985 have now been solved, they have not. I did learn that there is another part of Ethiopia where people are living their lives as they have done in the past. It should be noted that Ondu-ahlem is living a good life, he is not living a rich life style. It appears from the illustrations in the book that his family is not starving but is also not rich.
I would use this book for grades 3-7. I would use this book if I am discussing current events, or if the class is discussing different lifestyles or the continent of Africa. In terms of current events, the “Live 8” concerts organized by Bono (U2 lead singer) and Bob Geldoff were focused on the canceling of the debts of the developing world. This event took place last summer and so it is still on the minds of many people. This is an important topic that should be discussed with students so they understand that there are some huge problems existing in the world.

Reading Munsch Aloud

Hello all,
I read Robert Munsch's "Pigs" aloud yesterday. I always enjoy reading Mr. Munsch's stories because they can be very funny and if you use your imagination they do teach life lessons. For example in "Pigs", the main character Megan learns that it is always important to listen to your elders. The other part of Munsch's stories that I enjoy is the repetition of wording or phrases. Many of his stories have repetitve wording, which makes listening to the story enjoyable. I also like the fact there is a great deal of humour in his stories-something I believe is very important to some of the stories that we read to children. Some of the stories we read to children should be fun to read. I believe that the stories should be fun to read, just like I enjoy a good piece of literature, but I also enjoy reading Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Both have their place on my bookshelf.
There was one complaint about my story choice- a very valid complaint I might add. Mr. Munsch can use offensive wording such as calling pigs "dumbest animal". I admit I look at Mr. Munsch's stories as somewhat light and fun, but in the future I will be more careful about my choice in his massive story collection. I know there is plenty of choices if I want to read a Robert Munsch story.

Too bad

After class on Monday I realized that we will not have time to discuss the reading "The River" by Gary Paulsen. Of the three books that we read for this class it is my favourite. I enjoyed the pure adventure of the story and was so impressed by the story that I would like to read "The Hatchet" its predessor.
I have always enjoyed camping and this story took camping to an extreme level. I have never been in a situation like this, but as a person who has spent time in the woods camping, hiking and enjoying the quiet, this would be my bad dream.
I can also see growth in Brian, going through this adventure not once but twice. Paulsen does an amazing job writing his second story, and what was intersting to note is that "The River" can be read without having to read the first story. Paulsen lets his readers know what happened in the first book without having to read it first. Not many authors can do this.
Hopefully, in the not so distance future I can read "The Hatchet". Anyone have any comments who has read both stories. Which story was better?

Selecting and Evaluating Children’s Literature- article review

After class on Thursday, and reading the article from the course ware package I am more interested in the evaluation of children’s literature. I would not say this is excitement that I am feeling, simply because I feel that the evaluation process is very difficult. There are so many different concerns when one evaluates children’s literature that one quick read through will not do. What makes good children’s literature? How good is my own personal library?
The answer to the first question requires reading the book, and looking at characteristics that each individual book has. I am now more prepared to take the criteria that we were given and examine the book from the variety of point of views. The ability to answer the questions and examine stories from a variety of point of views is important. The idea from the article that I found most interesting is the idea surrounding the First Nations people. In the article, we should be concerned with whether the First Nations people are included, but we should also be concerned with how they have been included. The First Nations people cannot be seen as savages or “child-like”. The idea of how First Nations people are represented in a story is something we should all be prepared to examine. Are they correctly represented from a cultural point of view? The article uses the example of a person of Navajo descent depicted as a First Nations person living on the plains of Canada or the United States.
I have gone through some of my own children’s books and was amazed to see that much of the books are for white anglo-saxons. I also realize that some of my books are “pulp fiction”, and could not be classified as good children’s literature.
The most difficult concept to deal with in the evaluation of children’s literature is where to begin. There is so much material out there, that it can be seen as overwhelming. I don’t have an answer for this. I am over whelmed by the numbers of books published already (many books we consider classics we should question- for example “The Indian in the Cupboard”), and new publications. I guess all we can do is be prepared to examine the books we use in our upcoming practicum and be prepared to change our minds over time. As beginning teachers we must be prepared to add and delete material as new and better material becomes available. This includes children’s books.

A cool link

Hello,
I have known about this link for awhile, and well I have explored it a few times. The link is www.janbrett.com . It is an amazing site from the children's author. It has activities, art work and is a great resource. I hope everyone takes a few minutes and explores it.

My favorite...

I am trying to decide what my favorite childhood book is/was. Do I go for one of the Hardy Boy books because I remember my father reading them to me aloud? I know it was one of the early books but I don't remember the title. I think it is more of the memory of being in my pajamas as a seven or eight year old and having my father reading aloud to me.
My other choice would be Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I remember having it read aloud to me by Mrs. Comeau my grade 3 teacher, and later reading it myself. I was always amused by Mike Teevee and his preoccupation with TV, Augustus Gloop and his preoccupation with food, Veruca Salt and her preoccupation with herself, and Violet Beauregarde with her gum chewing. My favorite character had to be Grampa Joe and his zest for life after being bedridden for so long.
I think what appealed to me about Charlie and his adventures was the fact that there was humor involved. You may have noticed that I have a bit of a sense of humor, and humor to me is very important. Each of the minor characters met an unfortunate end by their own preoccupation and these endings were always amusing- at least to me.
If you are wondering... I have only seen bits of the Gene Wilder movie version, I have not seen the Johnny Depp version. I am not sure I want to. Movies can destroy a good book or can make a good book better.

I usually would add an image of one of these books. I have tried, and instead I hope to show you a picture of my dog- Athena. It was her birthday yesterday. Happy birthday Athena! She's at the top of my entry. I really miss her.

the kids are alrightt

This is my first blog entry and more of an experiment to make sure everything works. The URL is named after a song written by Pete Townshend of the who- the old British rock band. I am slowly learning to play this on the guitar. Thanks for reading, I hope you all will learn something about me during our journey together.