Module 2- Goodnight Moon and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Goodnight Moon

Summary
Goodnight Moon by: Margaret Wise Brown begins with the setting of a nighttime bedroom scene painted with some beautiful rhyming phrases that seems to calm the reader and almost force the voice to hush and whisper. The story is very simple- a description of a setting and then a repeated word- goodnight- as items in the room are “put to bed”. 

Bibliography

Brown, M. (1947). Goodnight moon. HarperCollins Publishers: New York.

My Thoughts

Goodnight Moon was a book that I know my mom read me as a child until, I’m sure she was blue in the face. I think that this book will be a MUST to read to my future children. I loved reading it and felt so calm and relaxed afterwards. Reading the cadence Brown’s words are written in was so soothing to me, I can imagine how young children who are already tired would react- instant sleepy time. The gradual shift of the illustrations towards darkness was a nice touch and interesting to watch. The room shifted from light to darkness and the illustrations of individual items in the room shifted from color to black and white. Very creative of the illustrator, whom I found no information on, to include in the book. Overall a great and enjoyable read for children and adults.  

Reviews

Goodnight Moon covers a lot of territory and will make the perfect gift for a new baby or a child who is just entering the world of books. Most adult readers will sigh and smile as they turn the pages and renew old friendships. The magical first words of Goodnight Moon, published in 1947, still sound fresh and spare and alive: "In the great green room/There was a telephone/And a red balloon/And a picture of/The cow jumping over the moon."
Beckwith, L. (2002). Gift ideas for the budding bibliophile. Retrieved from http://bookpage.com/review/harpercollins-treasury-of-picture-book-classics%3A-a-child%27s-first-collection/gift-ideas-for-th.

In The Library

In my library, I would use Goodnight, Moon as a lead off to a kinder-second grade author study. Margaret Wise Brown has written so many wonderful children’s books but not many people are aware of this because the book Goodnight, Moon is so widely read and vastly more popular than any of the other wonderful tales she’s written. I would use the book to introduce the author as it is the book most students will instantly recognize and be familiar with and then use it as a guide to finding more books by Brown.

                   

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Summary

In her debut effort, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Rowling crafts a tale of magical mayhem truly worthy of the often over-used phrase, a contemporary classic.
Harry, like many orphans of literature, must fend for himself among dim-witted relatives who neither understand nor appreciate him. The Dursleys are indeed dudleys when it comes to their treatment of Harry, but all of that changes with the arrival of his 11th birthday and his only gift of the day the knowledge that he is not merely a Muggle (i.e., human), but also a wizard. This translates into instant freedom for Harry in the form of a scholarship to The Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he learns far more than just charms, spells, and potions. Harry perceives that things are often more than they appear to be, that friends will often show themselves when least expected, and that smarts and courage are, indeed, components of a young boy's destiny.

Bibliography

Rowling, J.K. (1999). Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone. Scholastic Publishers: New York.

My Thoughts

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is my number one favorite book of all time. I remember being 11 years old when the first book came out and then 12 when the second came out- the same exact age as Harry in the novels and just in time to grow up right along with him. And what fun it was to grow up with an imagination and dreams full of wizards and wands, broomsticks and spells. I loved the premise of this book so much as a child and even still as an adult that I took a trip last March to England and Scotland to see it! I will never forget standing at the REAL platform 9 ¾ and walking through the REAL Hogwarts in Oxford, England. (Or rather where they REALLY filmed Hogwarts.) JK Rowling’s book meant so much to me as a child with its inspiring tale of love and friendship rising about all evil and was such a fantastic escape for me and still is today. I cannot say enough positive things about Harry’s tale.

Review

Rowling clearly possesses both an ear and an eye for the unexpected, working her own brand of magic with turns of phrase and flashes of humor that are subtle and sly. In terms of its prose, this book reads like spreading soft butter. Harry is as dear a boy as anyone could hope for, and the characters who support, confound, and downright threaten his life at Hogwarts are lively, engaging, and utterly believable. It is not a feat of intricate plot twists and turns that Rowling uses to such great effect here, but rather the wildly creative and imaginative trappings she weaves in along the way. Brooms bear model names like the Nimbus Two Thousand; magic hats spew out the truth of a person's character as though gathered from the brain around which they sat; and giants bear strength enough to break down walls as well as hearts soft enough to harken after baby dragons.
Published to praise and awards, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is as inventive and engaging a title as one could hope to find. Designated for ages 8 to 12, but written for anyone who loves a good tale well told, this is a book to engage the mind and grab the heart .
Yagel, D. (1998). Review. Retrieved from http://bookpage.com/review/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerer%27s-stone/review.

In The Library

Every year I always read Harry Potter to my students to share my love of the series and love of fantasy with them. When I start my library position I know it will be the same- my go-to book of choice for upper grade level read aloud. I actually own a set of Hogwarts robes that I wear each year for the storybook character parade on Halloween and I imagine I will find a way to incorporate costumes, drama, or staging with Harry Potter inspired themes to highlight a fantasy or holiday themed unit.

                   

Module 1- Love You Forever

Module 1 Love You Forever

A.      Love You Forever takes you through time following a young boy and his mom through the stages of childhood into adult hood and then to the end of a life. The boy changes as his life ages but the mom’s love stays true up until the end of the book where there is a very poignant switching of roles. This book will make you cry and sigh, and then call and spend some time with loved ones you haven’t appreciated in awhile. Read it with a box of Kleenex! 

B.      Munsch, R. (1986). Love you forever. Ontario: Firefly Books.

C.      Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is a much loved classic… by adults. I honestly do not know one child who enjoys that book and I know hundreds of children of all ages. I myself can’t stand the emotional rollercoaster I embark upon every time I glance at the cover. Forget opening it- Love You Forever launches my heart into my throat merely upon gazing upon the cover! The book has the one overriding quality that most children’s books have and most children need- repetition! The language and phrases of the book repeats a lot. The boy was “growing and growing” on every other page and of course the most well loved portion of the book that repeats “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.” This book is not a favorite of mine and is not something I’m likely to read to any students or children of my own. I’d be lying though if I said it didn’t make me immediately call my mom to tell her I love her.

D.      Anonymous. (1999, December 14). Moving story about loving your child (Review of the book Love you forever). Amazon.com Customer Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/ review/R1NTRRFGUVAHET/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0920668364&nodeID=283155&store=books.

This is a fantastic picture book that is a metaphor for the overwhelming love one feels for their child (no matter what age). For all of those readers who can only read in co-dependent, Oedipal, or Freudian themes into this book, you have missed the entire point and have hearts of stone! The fact is that the author Robert Munsch wrote this book as a tribute to his TWO still-born children and that makes this story even more moving especially if you've lost a child or had a miscarriage. The story is an expression of imagining his kids and what they would have been like and how much he would have loved them their whole lives. I found this to be a very emotional and touching story (and I am not a sentimental woman at all). My 3-year-old, rough and tumble, only-loves-the-outside-and-trucks kind of boy really likes this story and has been requesting it for bedtime almost every night. He especially enjoys the verse that is the theme of the book, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as you're living, my baby you'll be." My son wants to hear us say that to him. And again to all those who wrote and thought that this book was "sick"; face it, you might not have liked how this book was portrayed, but you'll love your kids forever, no matter how old they'll get, and in spite of what they will do throughout the phases of their lives that might frustrate you. In fact, my husband likes this story so much that he plans to get it for his mother for Mother's Day. This is a must-have children's book!

E.       I can honestly say that I would NEVER read this book aloud in my library at the risk of completely breaking down in front of students and teachers. It’s too much of a risk for embarrassment! I would however use it as a showcase book to go with a mother’s day unit. I have this idea to promote books during mother’s day week in May for students to take home and enjoy with their mothers and/or grandmothers as part of a community outreach to promote the holiday. Book marks could be included inside the feature literature suggesting activities the students could do with their mothers to celebrate them.