Week 4, Reflection 2; Rapunzel

Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (1960). Rapunzel: a story by the Brothers Grimm ; with pictures by Felix Hoffman. Harcourt, Brace & World.

The traditional story of a girl named Rapunzel has been told for many years.  This version was written by the Grimm brothers; authors of many traditional children’s stories.  This story follows the classic traditional ending as the princess escapes and the witch is carried away.  Many traditional stories have a happy ending.  The setting for this story is also vague and irrelevant like all traditional stories.  I really enjoyed the pictures in this book.  The illustrator does an amazing job of using lines.  Lines are used freely in the pictures to help mold the characters, landscape, and create shading.  It is a very different than what traditional pictures are drawn but is very fitting.

Week 4, Reflection 1; In the Beginning

Hamilton, V., & Moser, B. (1988). In the beginning. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

This book contains many stories of how the world was created according to various cultures.  I really enjoyed reading through this because of how the different groups of people can be compared.  The book even tells what culture the story is from which is a nice touch.  This book contains a good mix showing a diverse world.  This book contains over 25 creation stories from over 25 cultures.  This show of diversity is something that all students should be exposed to and understand.  Not only that, this book also can be show how similar multiple cultures are as many of the stories have commonalities.  These stories also show the values of the people.  This can be seen by how people and animals were created.  For example, the Egyptians placed grave importance and worship upon Ra, the sun god.  Because of how important they felt he was, it is only appropriate that he would be the creator.  The Egyptians also worshiped him for light, growth, and warmth.  Many of these stories also contain personification.  Personification is the giving of human qualities to animals.  This can be seen in having many of the animals in the stories like the raven, rat, and dogs talk.  This book is a great multicultural piece of literature because it helps students to be able to see and relate with other cultures.

Week 3, Reflection 1: The Hunger Games

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

The Hunger Games has become one of the most popular books in recent years and has also been made into a movie.  The author does an amazing job with the details and allows the reader to paint a picture of the world the writer wants to share.  The plot of the books over the entire series is amazing and follows a complex pattern of ups and downs.  The story also includes flashbacks.  These flashbacks are used to explain past events such as what happened to her father.  In the books, the author also creates three different conflicts. The first is man versus nature.  Katniss, the protagonist, is pitted against the arena and its many dangers.  The second is man versus man.  Katniss is in conflict with all of the other tributes in the arena and has to fight to survive.  The third is man versus himself.  Katniss struggles throughout the series to find out what is “real” and what is false.  She also struggles with who she wants to have a relationship with and with trying to help everyone.  All of this is impressive; however, the most impressive is how dynamic the characters are.  Whereas some books do not change the characters as the story progresses with the events (static), characters should be changed by the life altering events that occur (dynamic).  Without spoilers, these books have plenty of these life altering events and the characters justly changed.  Katniss at the end of the books is virtually unrecognizable from the beginning of the books.  She has been changed so much by all of the “conflicts” that her character has evolved.  Not only that, many of the other characters experience similar, drastic changes.  The author does a wonderful job creating her characters and changing them with the story. 

*Image shows tributes from the movie.  This image was chosen because of the great character development the author performs.

Week 2, Reflection 3; The Funny Ride

Hillert, M. (1982). The funny ride. Cleveland: Follett Publishing.

Margarat Hillert has written a number of children’s books.  I chose three books that she wrote this week for comparison and contrast.  This was the newest of the three selected.  This book utilizes 67 words and it appears that the author increased the word total in each of books as she went along.  The style is very simple like the others with short sentences and a repetition of words.  She does a wonderful job of always helping the reader to flow seamlessly through the stories.  I would recommend this story to many students; particularly those with an imagination.  As a child I loved the idea of being able to fly and because the boy flies and experiences all the things from the sky it would have greatly appealed to me.  The plot and conflict are always short and smooth in the authors works even though the characters, the settings, and the themes are not the same .

Week 2, Reflection 2; A House for Little Red

Hillert, M. (1970). A house for little red. Cleveland: Follett Publishing.

Margarat Hillert has written a number of children’s books.  I chose three books that she wrote this week for comparison and contrast.  This book was the second on the three written by the chosen author.  This book is written very similarly to the other two with only 49 words.  Even though it uses a few more words, it is written as simple as the first.  It follows a very structured format with a smooth flow.  Sentences are limited to only a few words and the conflict is very simple.  I would recommend a book like this to someone who enjoys animals or has a pet.  A book like this may interest them and help them to enjoy reading while also practicing their skills and abilities.

Week 2, Reflection 1; The Funny Baby

Hillert, M. (1963). The funny baby. Cleveland: Follett Publishing.

Margarat Hillert has written a number of children’s books.  I chose three books that she wrote this week for comparison and contrast.  This was the earliest of the three written by Margaret Hillert.  This one specifically is the story of the Ugly Duckling.  Because she used to be a 1^st grade teacher, she does a wonderful job of keeping her writing simple.  This book uses only 40 simple words.  She uses repetition of words to allow for the sentences to flow between one another.  This makes the reading very simple and most sentences being only a few words in length.  She does a wonderful job of using her words to flow with the pictures and writing in a way that a child can read on their own with little assistance from an adult.  In my opinion this is one of the easier children’s books to read and enjoy.  It could be particularly recommended for someone who may be a resistant reader as it is simple and also may have some negative feelings toward their reading whether it is by confidence or skill.  

Week 1 Reflection 2; The Rainbow Ribbon

Hooks, W.H. & Boegehold, B. (1991). The Rainbow ribbon. New York: Viking.

The Rainbow Ribbon is a children’s book about a family of bunnies and a ribbon.  I chose this book because I seen someone commenting on the impressiveness of the book.  This book deals with one of the bunnies stealing her sister’s ribbon and then being punished to the attic to be alone. Many children have experience this when they feel that they have been cheated as they often threaten that they want to run away.  The story reaches a climax when she actually does run away.  However, she is eventually faced with a decision of material objects and her family.  At this point, she realizes the importance of family and returns home with her new friend.  Younger children can often get into fights about material objects and can often threaten to run away.  This book identifies with these children and can help them to understand the significant of sharing and the importance of family.

Week 1 Reflection 1; Smoky Night

Bunting, E. (1994). Smoky night. San Diego: Harcourt.

Smoky Night is a children’s story painted in beautiful acrylics.  I chose this book because it was selected as a Caldecott Award Recipient.  This book is a children’s picture book.  David Diaz, the illustrator, does an amazing job of drawing stunning pictures to detail the story and to accent points.  Eve Bunting describes the events of the book in a very masterful way.  It is written in the language a child can understand but in a very detailed way that is hard to describe.  With the combination of the beautiful drawings and masterful use of words, this book is a very easy and enjoyable read.  It also presents a very interesting element as a form of conflict.  Some unknown events of rioting occur and their home ends up being set on fire.  The boy loses his cat but it is later found with his neighbor’s cat.  They apparently never get along but they are found by a fireman cuddled together holding paws.  They then share a bowl of milk.  This element allows for the reader to emphasis any number of points that they wish the listener or it allows the reader to interpret the story as they want.  No matter what interpretation is drawn, a positive message comes from this book.

Introduction

Hi!  My name is Jerrid Neeley and I am 22 years old.  I am the son of Jerry and Carla Neeley from Annville, KY.  Even though I grew up in Annville, I attended the Clay County school system.  I used to be an avid reader as from 3^rd grade to 8^th grade I earned at least 300 AR points every year.  Once I attended high school I had less time for reading as I focused more on my studies and tennis.  As a senior, I was fortunate enough to go to state level competition and graduate valedictorian of my class.  I then attended college at the University of the Cumberlands’ as a first generation college student.  In 2012 I graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in Chemistry and Biology and was the captain of the University’s Tennis Team.  I married my wife in April 2012 and we live in Williamsburg, KY.  She is a student in UC’s Physician’s Assistant program and I am in the Masters of Arts and Teaching program while also serving as a graduate assistant for UC’s tennis team.  This fall I will be attending the University of Pikeville’s Medical School where I hope to become a doctor and help serve the Appalachian Area where I grew up.  The two most important things in my life are God and my family.