Fantasy Books

Fantasy Books – Theme: Love

Love is a common theme among a lot of books, but there are different types of love. There is young love, vampire love (such as the Twilight series), elderly love, and family love. The three children’s fantasy books that I have chosen are all connected by love, but a love that is similar to a mother’s undying love for her child. We can relate to this kind of love, but the love in these books is expressed by raccoons, rabbits, and even…trees!

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

“Whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek and think, “Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.”

This cute little story is about a small raccoon named Chester who is afraid to go to school, but is comforted and loved by his mother when she kisses his hand and calls it the kissing hand. She calls it this because wherever he will be she will be too because he carries her in the palm of his hand.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney 

                  

“I love you right up to the moon – and back.”

                                       

This children’s book is about Big and Little Nutbrown Hare and how they show how much love they have for each other. The hares are viewed as father and son, but it is never mentioned in the story what their relationship is like. Any child could relate to this book when expressing their love for a family member.

 The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

“and she loved a little boy very, very much – even more than she loved herself.”

 

This is one of my favorites and a classic! The Giving Tree is a wonderful story between a boy and tree that show endless love between each other. In the early stages of life, the boy plays with the tree, but as the boy gets older the boy wants and asks for more that the tree cannot provide but looks for other ways to get it for him. The tree never stops giving and is always happy to give to the boy. This story is similar to a mother’s or father’s bond to his or her child. A parent will never stop giving up to give what the child wants, whether it is food, money, fun playing, care, or…love.  

Reading Interest Survey

                                                           

I teach Pre-K 3 so I do not have any students who know how to read books yet, but what I did for my reading interest survey is that I chose a student, who I will refer to as C.K. for confidentiality, in my class that rarely goes into the library center to read for play planning/learning centers. I chose this student because, to me, he does not seem to like to read because he never likes to go into the library and pick up a good book to read and when I read a book to the whole group, he tends to fig-it and want to play instead of learn and listen. So I did this survey on him to see what his interests are and what kind of books he may like. When I asked him if he likes the books that I read to the whole class in school, he said "Yes." When I asked him if mommy and daddy read to him at home he said "Yes." He like books with cows and he especially likes "Dumbo." His favorite sport to play is soccer and he likes books with dragons, dinosaurs, and trains and he really likes silly books. He likes to play in the park and he likes to go bike-riding. From what I gathered, I chose seven books that might spark his interest in going to read in the library center at school. 

                                               

Baker, K. & Santoro, C. (2012). Old macdonald had a dragon. Las Vegas, NV: Amazon Children's Publishing. 

I chose this book for C.K. because he said that he likes to read about dragons and he likes cows, which are on a farm. So like the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," this book has similar meaning. This book is also on a Pre-K level.

                                          

Willems, M. (2012). Goldilocks and the three dinosaurs. New York: Balzer and Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. 

I chose this book because although it may be a little difficult to read on a preschool level, it includes dinosaurs and it is silly, similar to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 

                   

Wheeler, L. & Gott, B. (2009). Dino-soccer. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.

I chose this book for C.K. because it includes two of his favorites: soccer and dinosaurs. 

                                              

Lenski, L. (2000). The little train. New York: Random House.

I chose this book because C.K. mentioned that he liked trains and The Little Train reminds me of the little engine that could and this could be an inspiration for C.K. as the little boy who could read. 

                                              

Kuklin, S. (2003). All aboard: a true train story. New York: Orchard Books. 

This book is also informational about trains which is good for C.K. and his interest in trains. 

                                              

Doodler, T. (2010). Bear in underwear. Maplewood, NJ: Blue Apple Books.

This book just looks like an all around silly book that I think many preschoolers will enjoy. You would not see a bear wearing underwear in real life so why is this bear wearing one. Children will be curious to find out why he is wearing the underwear. 

                                              

Watt, F. & Well, R. (2008). That's not my train. Usborne Books.

A book C.K. mentions his mom read to him at home is That's Not My Dinosaur, so I thought he may also enjoy the book That's Not My Train because he enjoys trains and it is a touchy-feely book like the one he read at home. 

                                                   

Pilkey, D. (1997). The adventures of captain underpants: an epic novel. New York: Blue Sky Press.

This last book I suggested for C.K. when he gets older and his reading level is high. Captain Underpants is a really silly book and is loved by many. It is much like a comic book and an easy read for beginner readers. 

Chapter 1 Blog: Learning About Story and Literature

In chapter one, there were three things that stuck out to me the most: a word, a phrase, and a sentence. The word that popped up the most as I was reading was the word: 

In the text it says, “Children’s books are literature and literature is not written to teach something, but to illuminate what it means to be human and to make accessible the most fundamental experiences of life – love, hope, loneliness, despair, fear, and belonging. It is the imaginative shaping of experience and thought into the forms and structures of language. Children read literature to experience life, and their experiences inside the world of a story challenge them to think in new ways about their lives and world” (Lynch-Brown, Short, Tomlinson, 2014, page 4). 

I think the word literature reflects the meaning of this chapter for me because the chapter is mostly about what literature means and how children view and understand literature. Literature is everywhere that we go and everything that we see. Like the text says, it not only teaches something, but it shapes our lives. It gives an appreciation for reading. Literature shows us how to love, how to play fair, not to be afraid, that life is too short and about making quick decisions, and many other life lessons. If children were not exposed to literature, they would not enjoy reading and they would not understand their purpose in life. Every day I am always reading a children’s literature book to my preschool students and they apply the story to everyday life and what they would do if they were in the situation. This challenges them to think.   

The phrase that stood out to me the most in the text and reflects the meaning of this chapter is “change lives for the better” (Lynch-Brown, Short, Tomlinson, 2014, page 11). 

I found this phrase to be interesting because literature changes lives for the better. It helps children develop and expand their vocabulary which will someday help them to succeed into getting a job in the real word. It is almost hard to live without literature. We need it in our everyday lives. It makes life easier and better. So “changes lives for the better” reflects the word literature in this chapter because literature is important for life.

The sentence that I found most reflected the meaning of the chapter and also reflected the meaning in my life from my own experiences is “Our assumption is that high school and college students stop reading for personal purposes because reading becomes associated with textbooks and school work – hardly motivating reading!” (Lynch-Brown, Short, Tomlinson, 2014, page 10). I thought this sentence was the most important to me in the chapter because I can relate to it. I realized that I stopped reading a lot of books personally on my own time because I feel I just do not have the time to pick up a book and enjoy a good read because I am too busy reading textbooks for school. Every week is another chapter in the textbook I have to read for school and there is no free time for me to read on my own. I think this applies to others as well because they become unmotivated to read which means there is a risk of reading delays and wanting to read voluntarily is at risk.

 

References

Lynch-Brown, C., Short, K., & Tomlinson, C. (2014). Essentials of children’s literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. 

ALL ABOUT ME!

Hi!

My name is Amanda Lopez. I am 24 years old.

I am a Pre-K 3 teacher at Adventures in Learning Day Care located in Hoboken, NJ. I have been teaching there for about a year now, but have been working with children ages infant to twelve years old for about 10 years. I recently graduated in May 2015 from New Jersey City University with my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education, and I am returning back to NJCU for my Master's and certification in Reading Specialist. I hope to graduate with my reading specialist certification and teach in a public school to help children who are low or behind in reading and assist and supervise teachers who are specialized in reading also.

I am engaged to my fiance, whom I have been dating for eight years now. We plan to get married in May 2017. We recently just moved into our first apartment in Union City, NJ. Below is a picture of him and I. Some of my interests and hobbies are shopping, baking, going to the movies, and reading. One thing I have always been interested in and wanted to learn, and I promise myself I will learn one day, is American Sign Language.

From this course, I hope to learn and understand more about children's literature and the hidden meaning behind some children's books.

I look forward to learning a lot of interesting facts from this course and take what I learn and bring it to the classroom where I work.