The Wonderful Poetry of Robert Frost

Robert Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

           I chose to blog this week about a very famous poem from Robert Frost called Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.  Robert Frost was born on March 26. 1874 and died on January 29, 1963. He is most well known for his realistic depictions of rural life. I was lucky to find the picture book version of this poem. As I looked through the book, the pictures were created with amazing detail and expressed the words of Frost's poem perfectly. Although I had to read the poem more than once, it is very interesting to me and should be shared with children.  I was also happy to see that the picture book version allows children the chance to read this very adult like poem. The pictures really help to bring the poem to life and help children to envision what the speaker is doing in the poem. What I found particularly interesting was the pictures on each page were mostly in black and white, however, the speaker was highlighted with color. This helps to show the audience that the speaker is very important to the poem.
         The speaker in the poem is a traveler who uses a horse on one of the darkest nights of the year.  He admires the woods that are building up with snow. After admiring the woods, he remembers that he cannot stay long and has obligations to fulfill. For a moment in the woods he is able to get away from life's agenda.  In the woods he is able to escape from the craziness of life and admire the beauty of nature. I felt cery connected to this poem.  I find that when I rarely get the chance to stop and enjoy the beauty of nature, I can truly just relax and not think about anything else.  Sometimes life can be so busy and it becomes very hard to take advantage of the beauty that is all around us. 

Multicultural Literature

Show Way Written By Jacqueline Woodson in 2005


                                                Multicultural Children's Literature


                     Multicultural literature helps to introduce children to other cultures and enhances respect for other individuals. Children are able to learn about different races, cultures, and historical events. There are four major ethnic groups that have contributed to the world of multicultural literature which are, African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. My focus for this blog is on African American stories, which are mostly based on oral storytelling and many have to do with slavery.
                   The book that I chose for this week's blog is Show Way written by Jacqueline Woodson.  I was first introduced to this author a couple of weeks ago and I hope that many of you will add her to your libraries.  I plan on using her for my author study because her work is important and teaches children valuable lessons. Jacqueline Woodson was born on February 12, 1963 in Columbus, Ohio.  Her family eventually moved to Bushwick Brooklyn, where Jacqueline grew up with her Grandmother.  Her work is filled with African American themes and is generally written for a young audience.  Show Way was awarded a Newberry Honor Award, which is given to prestigious children's books.
                Show Way is a relevant multicultural children's book because it tells a true story about the lives of women during the time of slavery, all the way up to the present.  Jacqueline wrote this story to provide her children with the knowledge of their family history. The story is told through nine generations of women in her family all the way up to her daughter Toshi.  The reader is first introduced to an unnamed girl who is sold away to her family at the age of seven and learns to sew quilts that show her the way to freedom, called show way.  As the story goes on, the daughters in the family learn how to sew the quilts and sell them for a living.  Near the end of the story we learn that some of the daughters learn to read, become teachers, and one in particular becomes a writer who sews quilts, and has a daughter named Toshi. Who is this, might you ask? Well it is the author, Jacqueline Woodson of course.  Each generation of women in her family passed down the knowledge of the quilt, to teach their children about their past and help them live better lives.
              This story was one that I will always want to share with my students.  Jacqueline Woodson does an excellent job of introducing children to the history of slavery and the affect it had on African American women. While reading, I was able to make many connections by thinking about my own family history and the traditions that have been passed down for me to learn and pass down to my future children. This story and its meaning can cross over many different cultures and it is extremely important to share.

Folktales, Fairytales, & Legends

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale
By: John Steptoe
Written in 1993










                    A folktale is a story that grew from the lives of people and is based on culture.  Most folktales are developed from oral story telling of the people from a common culture. Fairytales, legends and myths fall under the same category as folktales. Folktales contain stories that are traditional to its culture and will contain a moral that is taught to its readers.
                    I chose to do my blog about a folktale called, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe. I have never read this book before and after reading I am happy to say that it is now a favorite of mine. The story is about two young African girls named Nyasha and Manyara. They are both very beautiful and their father Mufaro loves them very much. Nyasha was the kind hearted, gentle, and trusting sister. Manyara was selfish and only cared about ruling the land and nothing else. Manyara tells her sister Nyasha that she will one day rule as Queen and Nyasha will be her servant.  Nyasha encounters a garden snake one day that she names Nyoka. She was kind and gentle toward Nyoka.
                   Mufaro soon received word that the King was in search for his Queen. He asked that all the worthy and beautiful young women go to him so that he can chose his wife. Manyara believes that she is better than Nyasha and decides to leave without her sister to find the King. On her journey she encounters strange people and does not treat them very nice. Nyasha is gentle and loving towards those whom she meets. The strange beings that the girls encounter turn out to be the King. The King choses Nyasha to be his Queen because he saw in her a beautiful woman inside and out who cared for him even when she didnt know who he really was. Ironoically, Manyara becomes Nyasha's servant when she becomes Queen.
                   This story has the qualities of a great folktale because of the lesson it teaches to its readers. Beauty is only skin deep and what really matters is what is inside a person and how they treat others. Readers will walk away with livelong knowledge. I also found while reading that this story can be read as the African version of Cinderella. It was a great story and I would reccommend it to anyone!

One of My Favorite Picture Books

             I found this week's blog to be particulary difficult because it was hard for me to choose a picture book. There are so many wonderful children's picture books that I absolutley love. When I go to Barnes and Noble I find myself going straight to the children's section and exploring all the great quality books. I usually leave with 2 or 3 at a time and continue to add to my collection. After searching through my collection, I decided to blog about The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The book is about a caterpillar from birth to when it becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar becomes hungry and each day of the week; mon, tues, wed, etc, he eats a certain number of food items. He eventually becomes so full that he has a stomachache. After eating all that food, he becomes very fat and soon turns into a beautiful butterfly.
              The best part about this book is that as the Caterpillar eats throughout the story, there are actual wholes to show that the caterpillar has eaten. I love this book because of the colorful and tactile illustrations. The book is a good quality picture book because it contains the 3 R's (rhyme, rhythm, and repetition). The pictures all match the text and it also promotes interactive discussion in the classroom.
         I have used this picture book with my first grade class and it was very interactive. Thre children respond well to the story and are able to go along with the rythm and say what is going to happen next. It is a great resource in teaching several types of lessons. It could be used for science (when you are teaching about butterflies), for patterns, and also to teach the days of the week. The rhythm used in the story makes the book memorable and fun for children to read and listen to. The illustrations help the book come alive.
        I love this picture book because there is so much that it can be used for.  I remember reading this story as a child and it brought back a lot of memories. I hope that many of you enjoy reading this book as much as I did! It is definitely going to be used in my classroom library!

Award Winning Children's Book

               For this week's assignment, I was able to find a Caldecott Honor Book entitled, Why the sun and the moon live in the sky by Ephinstone Dayrell and illustrated by Blair Lent. As I looked at the cover, before even reading the book, I thought to myself that the book seemed very interesting. I enjoyed taking a picture walk through the book. Since the book had won for it's illustrations I thought it appropriate to analyze the creative photos. I now knew why the book had been a Caldecott Honor.

             As I read, I immediately became engaged in the story. Everything about it was inviting to me. When I am teaching my class it is important that I choose books that will keep them engaged and ready to learn. The idea that the sun, the moon, and the water were human-like will help students connect to the reading. This story is an African folktale about how the sun and the moon were placed in the sky.

            There are many ways that I would be able to use this book in my classroom. One lesson can be either a text to self connection, text to text connection, or a text to world connection. I would also be able to use this book when teaching about folktales. This book can be read aloud during the mini-lesson and be used as a guide for the students. I was pleased that I chose this book and I am also very interested in building up my library with other award winning books. I am excited to continue reading!