kid's stuff

My son is two and a half. He loves books. Hopefully, this love will continue throughout the rest of his life.

Currently, his favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It is so neat to be able to read this story to him. I’m sure everyone remembers this book from their childhood.

Another picture book really caught my eye- Tuesday by David Wiesner (1991). It was also a Caldecott winner. When browsing the web for a cover shot of the book I ran across many parent reviews. I was shocked by the amount of parents that rated it as a 1 star. They said it was only good for giving their kids nightmares! Honestly, aren’t we supposed to encourage the development of a child’s imagination? My son loved it, “flying frogs, that’s funny.” At 2 he knows the difference between real and fake (even though he was a little scared at some Wal-Mart Halloween displays). He knows that frogs don’t fly and he was able to see the humor in the illustrations.

More on imagination builders- Chris Van Allsburg has been getting a lot of attention lately. First there was Jumanji, next the Polar Express, and now Zathura. However, Hollywood is missing out on my personal favorite- The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Ok maybe the picture “Just Desert” could inspire a nightmare or two, but this is some really cutting edge stuff.

Does anyone else have childhood favorites out there?

M. Donlevy

revisiting the classics

Some books will forever be classics. They are stories that will be passed down from generation to generation.
Have some of our classics lost their edge? Are they still relevant?
For example, let’s look at Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
Book burnings? Do our kids really care about books anymore?
Now if it were about iPod burnings...then there might be some interest.
M. Donlevy

parents and education

So maybe we need to step in as parents to fill the "Cultural Literacy"void in our kids ... How far does that need to go? Does that mean we filter everything that comes in and out of their minds? Maybe when they are little ones. But what about our teenagers? When do we let them go and explore on their own? How long do we shelter them? Hear about the controvery surrounding Cracking India and Deland High School? Did this parent go too far? Check out the story below...
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6286442.html

more on Time's list

Going through Time’s list again…I realize that I’m not as well read as I thought I was…Who are some of these people? ...How good is this list? … Jim posted some good food for thought, check it out.

Maybe we need to meditate on the concept of “Cultural Literacy”… or does Hirsch even know what he is talking about…
M. Donlevy

time's list

Thanks Jim for that link to Time’s 100 greatest books.
Browsing the list brought back some memories- some good, some bad.

It was nice to see some of the books that we teach to the kids made the cut. Since that is the topic that this journal should focus on, let’s start…

Can kids these days handle Vonnegut? I didn’t discover him until college, but man that is one serious writer that can’t be missed.

Passing it on....

Most of these streams of consciousness are inspired by lunch time conversations I have with my colleagues during the day. Note- they are subject to change without notice, often because of unforeseen events.

The conversation was movies. Movies that really hit us as a kid… this journal is on books. Same idea… Books that really hit me as a kid… well maybe not as a kid kid, but before now, in my younger days…

I was like whoa, you know a real Keanu Reeves whoa. Hey, I grew up on the beach… a real dude… and when I said whoa, it was whoa…

Yeah science fiction was everything, Clarke, Asimov, and then Stranger in a Strange Land… and I was like whoa… if you grok then you probably know what I’m talking about…your thoughts?

M Donlevy