Autobiography Account of Experiences with Children’s Literature

Mary Amoson

June 9, 2008

Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is to explore literature and resources for literature to discuss trends in creating and producing resources for teaching through children’s literature. I prepared for the assignment by reading the questioned asked and answering them to the best of my ability. Many times I had to search for an author or name of a book, or refer to my crates which luckily are home with me! Amazon.com was a nice resource for me to look by book names and authors quickly! Additionally, another purpose of this assignment is for the peers in a class to get to know each other and their children’s literature influence in a brief manor.

Early Experiences with Children’s Literature

I had some great experiences with children’s literature when I was a young child. I remember my teachers reading classic books like The Very Hungry Little Caterpillar and The Polar Express. I remember The Very Hungry Little Caterpillar had holes in the book, which was cool because many books did not. The Polar Express had great pictures and I recall that Santa wasn’t exactly shown too, which kept the mystery alive!

When I was in elementary school, I struggled in reading. I didn’t enjoy reading books myself, because I couldn’t. I loved it when others would read to me, although as you get older, this happens less and less. I remember that I was in the lowest reading group and that my best friend was in the highest. I didn’t like it. I became a better reader by reading the same books over and over again, gaining what I now know as fluency. Once I was able to read books, I starting reading everything and actually became quite a good reader.

I came from a big family; therefore I don’t recall my parents ever reading to me. Although education was valued, the support and help to be educated wasn’t always part of the equation. I think this is true for many families out there. We had lots of books in my house while I was growing up, but again, with a big family, that would be expected. We had lots of Dr. Seuss books and a children’s bible with lots of pictures. To be honest, my siblings and I would play with the books more than we would read them, making them into Lego roads and ramps, but they were around. The books were so popular to us because they were hardback and pretty durable.

Influential People and Choices of Children’s Literature

There are two people whom I view to be the most literate people in my life because they are both authors who created materials that I wanted to read and who kept me reading for a long time. I consider R.L. Stine who wrote many pre-teen books as well as Ann M. Martin to be the most literate. Their imagination allows me and many, many, many other children to because literate. I think the idea of the literate person has changed for me as I became more literate. I now enjoy other authors who inspire me and allow me to dream through their words. I also enjoy other children’s authors who help me to teach Kindergarten better through their work. Although their writing isn’t necessarily more mature, what I can use it for and take from it are.

Overall, I feel that a literate person allows me and others to become more literate because of them. Their characteristics depend on their readers and what interests them. Characterizes that I value are creativity, connection to my world, aspects that make me think, and stories that make me want to be a better person. I love when I find a book that I can’t put down! If I find these characteristics in an author, I will usually continue to read their work. I feel this is what can make writers so special; their various appeals. Although my view of the most literate person can change as I change, I feel that a reader always has a special bond with an author they enjoy because they live out the story the author created in their minds just as the author did while they created the story. I don’t feel that this connection changes over time though. When I was a child, both R.L. Stine and Ann M. Martin did a great job of connecting to my world and my interests. They also allowed me to think and gave me the desire to be a better person because of their work.

Because of the inspirations of both R.L. Stine and Ann M. Martin, I have learned that different age groups need books that spark their interest and are on a reading level that those children can enjoy. I have also learned that variety is so important because everyone likes different things, but reading anything is better than reading nothing. I have also learned to choose reading materials based on what I enjoy.

Lesson Learned from Reading Children’s Literature

I have learned a lot of lesson by reading children’s literature. I am sure that many lessons were learned as I was a child, although I can not recall very many of them. Because I work as a Kindergarten teacher and read many children’s book daily, I find myself re-learning, so to speak, through the books. One lesson that I have learned specifically is from the No, David! series by David Shannon, which include the titles No! David and David Goes to School. The little David does things that are wrong, at home and at school and various other places, but at the end the adult correcting him in the story still loves him.

I find this lesson true for how I feel about those difficult children in the classroom who continue to walk the line of improper behavior, but at the end of the day, I still really do love them in all their glory! These books help me to remember to keep the perspective open, because it is all going to be okay!!!! My husband, whose name is also David, did act and still does act like the little David in the story, so it hits home too!

I don’t think that I am smart enough nor do I have enough worldly experiences to say if my point of view of the world has social consequences or potential impacts. I feel that exposing yourself to various amounts of cultures and traditions that can be found in children’s literature is a step in the right direction, but I have learned from teaching that you can never predict all the consequences or impacts that may occur, so I won’t pretend here either.

Criteria for Selecting Good Children’s Literature

A consumer of good children’s literate probably means a person who not only buys children’s literature, but who also has knowledge of age appropriate materials that interest children through literature. A good consumer doesn’t limit his/her collection to only books, but perhaps stuffed animals which are characters from the book, videos that may bring the story to life, and other materials which help capture the meaning of the literature work itself. I feel the best consumers look to the needs of the children to help select the literature material, as different groups may need or want various types of literature in their lives. No good consumer of literature sticks only to one genre, but owns many types of genre including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, picture books, chapter books, etc.

I became more literate about children’s literature by reading to children and getting their feedback. I have also become more literate by planning lesson around quality literature. One resource that has helped me teach better using literature is The Mailbox Magazine. This magazine features one book in each bi-monthly publication with great ways to expand stories. For example, in their April/May 2005 edition, they featured the book, Growing Vegetable Soup. I use their ideas and also build my own after reading theirs.

I select good literature by listening to co-workers opinions and experiences. Additionally, I visiting the children’s section of the bookstore myself or online. When I have a unit to teach coming up that I don’t feel is complete or engaging enough, I will look for resources to supplement and support the GPS standards and goals of my teaching. Sometimes I am successful in finding a book that connects the dots, and sometimes I am not. If needed, I will read the book to myself, sometimes to my dogs, or even my neighbor’s children to practice, especially with a Dr. Seuss book, and see how interesting the book is to others. Another important aspect of selecting good literature is to understand the needs of the audience and what you read to them may change year to year based on the classroom dynamics.

Many times locating quality literature is a lot of fun for me. Because I don’t have children of my own, I love finding books that my students are interested in, and then I get two copies; one for my class and one for my future children! When the GPS rolled out, I did find some of the standards more difficult to supplement with children’s books, which was a bit frustrating. I learned to search online through Amazon or Barnes and Noble for these areas. I also learned to use my public library for resources, although it is harder to plan around materials that you can’t guarantee you will have access to!

Children’s Literature Owned and Desired

I own a large amount of children’s literature for the Kindergarten age groups. Some of my collection has a bit lower reading level than and some higher than the Kindergarten group. Most of my books are nonfiction and based on the curriculum the state mandates I teach and others are based on my interpretation of the curriculum I feel is important to teach.

My collection of books is found in two places, the copies that I keep at home, which are important to me and I only bring to school when needed, and the ones I keep at school. I have far more books at school and they are sorted my subject; Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. All my math and language books are kept in a filing cabinet in sequential order that builds on each other based on what skill they showcase, like odd and even numbers or shapes. My science and social studies books are in crates by topic and are organized by how I teach them through my grade level’s curriculum map. For examples, apples and trees are in the fall, nocturnal animals are around Halloween, and lifecycles and insects are in the spring. Most of my children’s books are read once a year, although that doesn’t always happen. Other that may be based on important milestones in my students lives, like having a younger brother or sister, or no hitting, may be read as needed.

I don’t feel I need any new books now, but I am always on the lookout for those that are quality and fill a need in my classroom. There are certain authors that I collect because I want to, like David Shannon, Eric Carle, etc. I don’t have a book wish list, although I want a collection of scholastic video collection that brings to life over 100 classic stories. I hope to get it show children how to read a story and then develop the pictures in their brains to bring it to life like a video.

One book I believe everyone could benefit from is called, The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin and pictures of David Shannon. I read this awesome book every Thanksgiving to my Kindergarten class, while my students study the history of America, specifically Native Americans. Many students are not able to look past appearances, but this story helps my class to do just that! Not only are the words and meaning of the story beautiful, but so are the pictures. My class loves this story every year!

Expectations and Reflections

I am hoping to gain knowledge about various types of resources available for children as well as creative ways to use them in the classroom. I am also hoping to gain knowledge to find other resources on my own so I am bring them back to my school and share them with others. Overall, I am hoping that this class will help me to be able to be a better teacher to my peers as well as my students.

Conclusion

After reading my autobiography on children’s literature, I hope you have gotten to know me as a person, a teacher, and a continuous learner as I hope to get to know all of you! I am looking forward to reading about you all and especially what piece of literature you think would benefit others!

Resources

Carle, Eric (1981). The very hungry caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel.

Goren, Ada (2005 ). April/May. The Mailbox, [19(2)], 22-24.

Martin, Rafe (1992). The rough-face girl. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Shannon, David (1999). David goes to school. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Shannon, David (1998). No! David. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Van Allsburg, Chris (1985). The polar express. New York, NY: Houghton Mufflin.

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