Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
There was a little boy who was obsessed with the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. He tests his oatmeal and declares it “just right.” He finishes his oatmeal and brags on how he ate it “all up”! He knocks over chairs and says “broken to smithereens!” and he growls as a bear at
My mother teaches English as a Second Language to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at a public middle school. Although for the most part these kids are intelligent and have been successful in school in the past, most are learning English for the first time after moving to the USA from every continent. She has
My son is only 26 months old, but he’s beginning to learn at the speed of light (from my perspective). After twenty minutes of a Sesame Street “two” episode, for example, he knows he has two hands, two eyes, two feet, and that there are two apples, two spoons, and two bowls on the table.
The other day, I found a random box of “childhood treasures” in a closet. The most interesting thing I found in it was a folder with a number of book-related items, some old, some recent.
Before I begin, I should clarify a few things. I hate being scared, and I hate horror. And I don’t dislike: I mean hate. And I don’t really like Halloween because I don’t even like candy (I’ll take it if you give it to me … but I’m not going to go seeking it) or
Last month I read Carl Sandburg’s poetry so I’d have something “local” to submit to the Bookworms Carnival: Local Authors. I realized as I read his poetry that I know very little about my own home town. I spent some time learning about Chicago history this month, and it’s been fun. I’m also working on
A number of people got some Really Old Classics read by the end of February. I’m sending a lucky winner a book of your choice. But first, here’s who participated in the first half of the Really Old Classics Challenge. I’ve formed it like a mini-blog carnival so you might get an idea for your
As I mentioned, I moved this month, so I feel I missed a good deal of great book reviews. I’ve done some quick reviews of Google Reader and I’ve tried to visit a number of blogs; as I did so, I didn’t always comment, but I did read your reviews. As compensation for not commenting,
I have so many “reading goals” for the New Year that this week I started to feel a bit burned out, like I was reading just to cross it off the list. I should be reading for my own personal development and enjoyment. I also want to join in Reading Journal this week (is there
To my surprise, I greatly enjoyed reading The Book that Changed My Life, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannesson. The Book that Changed My Life is a collection of essays by writers, and since I don’t often read modern fiction, I didn’t expect to recognize many of the authors highlighted, much less did
In the fourth quarter of 2008, Dewey began the Martel-Harper Challenge. This challenge is to read two books during the quarter from the list that Yann Martel sends Stephen Harper, a list that is always growing. I am quite excited about this list of books because of the variety (old classics and new classics). In
Reading The Iliad (trans. by Robert Fagles) isn’t like reading a modern-day novel: I think it did take a level of concentration I’m not accustomed to. But that just proved to me that the “difficult pleasure” of reading is highly worth experiencing. The Robert Fagles translation was poetic and rhythmic. Once I became accustomed to
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