A Weekend Home

This weekend, I went home and I babysat my little cousins. Before they go to bed every night, they get a book read to them. It was the oldest turn to pick out a book so she picked out a book that she had checked out from the library at her school. This book was called Help For A Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert. The book was about a dragon who was sick and a little boy that helped him feel better. I know this does not have much to do with young adult books, but I thought it was an interesting book to talk about. After reading this book, I thought it was one of the worst books I have ever read (maybe I should bring it in for the worst book ever written!). I didn't like this book for a few reasons. Reason 1. the book was so choppy that it was so hard to read. 2. the pictures in the book were terrible. The lesson that is learned from this book is if a dragon is sick you need to take it to the doctor. That is a good lesson for kids to learn and I think it was portrayed well in this book, but it just didn't flow right. It was a beginners book for little children who are beginning to learn to read should read. This could be why it was so choppy, but it just was not a book that I would recommend reading or letting my child read. Just thought I would let everyone out there know about this book! If you get a chance you guys should read it! 

"Insider or Outsider?"

Hello everyone! Today was a beautiful day full of sunshine and smiles! However, what I loved the most about this day was TE 448. We got in a great discussion today in class about being and "insider or outsider" as far as literature is concerned. I believe that anybody can write a book if they set their mind to it. As far as I stand, I would be in the "insider" category. As much as I believe that anybody can write a book, I really enjoy those books that are written by people, for example, of Native American decent. I think it really portrays who the author is and what experiences he or she might have gone through. We read some books in class that I really enjoyed, but the ones that I enjoyed the most were the ones that were written by Native American people who were talking about their childhood or things that they have experienced. It creates a better image in my mind because I picture that instance actually happening. From today, I could tell the stories that weren't written by Native Americans and I think in literature, that is a little bit of an issue. I think an "insider" can really get into the minds of the readers and make a difference.

The only questions that I want to explore more in class are the authors. I think it is so important to know about the author and their backgrounds before reading a book. I think that can tell a lot of the book and where that author is coming from. Other than that, there aren't any other questions that I would like to explore at this point.

Introduction

Hey!
My name is Jen Flanagan. I am from River Forest, Illinois. It is about 10 minutes from Chicago! I am at Michigan State University and I am majoring in Elementary Education, specializing in Language Arts. I love children and I hope to one day have my own classroom teaching Kindergarten. I am very interested in diverse literature because I feel that it is very important to understand the differences around the world. It is very important to understand why people live the way that they live. I am looking forward to TE 448 and can't wait for a great semester!