Week of September 14th: Multicultural Literature Class and Chapter 2 Literary Elements

   This week in class we focused on multicultural literature. We read several books, some of which would be good multicultural books for your classroom, and some of which would not. I really enjoyed this class. It was interesting and fun to experience children's books that shared and expressed a different culture than mine. In today's case, that culture was a Hispanic culture.
   The first children's book we read was called "Just a Minute," and was about an Abuelita who was trying her best to put off going with Senor Calavera, and eventually succeeded by getting him to leave. I think that this book has the potential to be a useful tool in classrooms, because it helps children count, and also exposes them to a different culture and language.

   The second book we read was titled "Nino Wrestles The World," and it was about a little boy who battles ferocious monsters by using non-violent tactics like tickling. This was a really cute book, although as someone who does not speak any Spanish, I would find it very difficult to pronounce and know the meaning of the words that were in it. Once again, it is a good way to expose students to a different language and culture. 

   The third book, entitled "Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House," was one that we did not read in it's entirety. Although it is humorous and entertaining, the language that was used (such as "Skippito") was not an authentic view of the Spanish language or culture. For this reason, I probably would not use this children's book in my classroom. It was very stereotypical and not culturally sensitive. 

  We started a fourth book, called "Chato and the Party Animals," but we did not read very much of it. For each book, we wrote down why or why not we would use it in our future classrooms. I liked this activity because it showed me some of the criteria necessary to evaluate a children's book for classroom use. 

   The textbook chapter that we were assigned to read for this class period was Chapter 2: Literary Elements in Works for Children. It involved things like setting, themes, characters, plots, point of view, and style. I learned that setting is "part of the reader's invitation into an imaginary experience," and that it is portrayed differently in different genres. With themes, I discovered that there are explicit or implicitly. Sometimes, you have to do a good deal of critical thinking to discover the theme, and sometimes it is blatantly obvious. With characters, I learned about the ways that children book writers make their characters come alive in their books. The reader should feel like they actually know a character if the children's book is written well. The plot is also very crucial to a children's book. It allows the readers to follow the story. It begins with a "exposition," then going to "rising action," followed by the "climax," then the "falling climax," and finally the "denouement." I have never heard of these terms before so it was very interesting to read about them. Point of view is also very important, as it determines if the book is in first, second, or third person. Finally, style is "how" things are said in a children's book.