Now Dr. Seuss????? (Racism & Children's Literature)

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love children's literature. Love, love, love it! But I am increasingly disturbed by some of the images I'm finding lately...

Today my mom was--innocently--reading to my two youngest from And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss. Granted, it's been a very long time since I read it. But I do own the book. And here is what's inside...

It's even worse because the images that follow the "Chinaman" are supposed to be kinda goofy..."A big Magician doing tricks..." and a man with "A ten-foot beard that needs a comb." I briefly looked around the internet and it's looks like more recent versions *might* say "a Chinese man" instead of "A Chinaman"...not that it's that big of an improvement when combined with the illustration and the text.

If anyone has a newer version of this book (copyright 1937, mine is eleventh printing), I'd like to know what the current illustration/text are like.

Laura Ingalls Wilder...Dr. Seuss...who's next????

Strawberry Girl & An Orphan?!?

Sigh.

I'm reading Strawberry Girl aloud to LilDude. It's a Newbery Award book by Lois Lenski. The text reads:

"Azuloy, a fifteen-year-old orphan, was Miss Liddy's helper. She did everything from threading needles to sweeping floors." p. 56

We haven't finished the book yet, but so far I haven't figured out the point of the "orphan" comment. It's the first the character is introduced in the book and nothing about "orphan" applies to anything...except she is working at 15.

So the point is.....??????

Mandarin DVDs for Kids

GG is becoming trilingual. First language, Cantonese. Second language, Mandarin. Third language, English. Access to Cantonese is limited, but we've been trying out a lot of Mandarin CDs/DVDs in an effort to keep that language.

We recently discovered the "Mei Mei Play & Learn Series." In the large series of DVDs, including such titles as "Dance and Learn Chinese", "Mei Mei" (a middle aged woman) uses both English and Mandarin as children sing/dance and speak in both languages. The videos are obviously filmed in China, which is a bonus. We just watched "Let's Go to School with Mei Mei" and were amazed to watch a China school day like the one we experienced in China.

GG loves these DVDs...the singing, dancing, Mandarin...and footage of China.

Book Review: Banner in the Sky

Rudi Matt, a 16-year-old dishwasher, wishes to climb mountains like his father who died trying to conquer the greatest and most terrible mountain in Switzerland, The Citadel. But his mother and his uncle will not let him. Now Rudi along with Captain John Winter, whom he saved from almost certain death, must try to climb past the “fortress” where his father met his end. Then they must climb on and on beyond the shoulder and then to the top of the immense and powerful mountain.

I really liked Banner in the Sky because of the way the author described each character’s feelings. For instance, he showed how Rudi was longing to climb the mountain that his father couldn’t. One of my favorite things about this book was the fact that there was never too little action. I also liked how the author build up to the climax very well but didn’t overdo it. One example is when Rudi gets stuck on the mountain overnight in the freezing cold. He was terrified of the ghost stories he’d heard and the author turned this into a very frightening and suspenseful venture. I would recommend Banner in the Sky to anyone who likes a good adventure.

--by Anakin

1,235lb New Years Present

Nope. I didn't get a 1,235lb New Years present. But someone did. A few years back... ;)

In 1801, citizens of Cheshire, Massachusetts, believing their cheese to be superior, decided to make a giant round of cheddar for President Thomas Jefferson. They delivered it to the Presidential New Year's party in 1802. The tale is captured in A Big Cheese for the White House; The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar, a picture book by Candace Fleming. The last several nights, it's been 'LilDude's book of choice.

If you are a homeschooler (or just want to do some lessons at home), this book is "ripe" with content perfect for lessons: cheesemaking, problem solving, math (from years since this occurred to numbers of cows to weight of the cheese), geography (track the cheese's progress from Mass. to Washington, D.C.), history, to characterization. The character of Phineas Dobbs is especially intriguing to 'LilDude. Phineas repeatedly protests, "It can't be done," and later proudly states to President Jefferson, "Cheshire cheese...[is] the best you can serve at your table."

It's a fun book to read. And no better time than New Year! :)

Katy & the Big Snow Lessons

We have been more-or-less snowed in for the last week, plus. Four of the last five school days were canceled. Time for my public school kindergartener to experience some homeschooling. And what better topic than SNOW?!

We started by reading Katy and the Big Snow. Based on an idea in the Five in a Row curriculum, 'LilDude made a list of different places that you'd find in a town, particularly ones that are necessary for the town to function. (Hospital, police, fire, church, store, etc...) He then made a map, placing all the businesses in his imaginary town. He numbered his original list and used this as a map key.

Then, on a large piece of butcher paper, he drew the town, complete with roads, buildings (made of blocks), vehicles (got out all his cars, emergency vehicles, etc...)


We found quite a few snow lessons on the internet as well, including a place to make a snowman by reading some simple directions. On another fun site you can make virtual snowflakes.

We also read:

The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader (Caldecott book)
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Caldecott book)
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Caldecott book)
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers (we're working on memorizing this one)

It's amazing how many snow-themed books are Caldecott winners. The forecast calls for more snow. Homeschooling, here we come! :)

Bee-bim Bop!

One of our favorite books, Bee-bim Bop!, uses playful rhyme to depict a child and her mother making this Korean dish. It's a cute, cute book with directions for parent and child to make Bee-bim Bop! together. If you need a book idea for the 4-8 crowd, we highly recommend this one! :)

Bee-bim Bop!!!

Mix it! Mix like crazy!
Time for Bee-Bim Bop!

P.S. EVERYONE in our family LOVES this dish. Highly recommended recipe for kids AND husbands. ;) Here's a link with a recipe, but it's better with the story. ;)

Reading Aloud During Advent

Looking for inexpensive Christmas traditions to start this year? Here's one idea...

The availability of children's Christmas books is astounding. As the season approaches, I'll be posting some that you can easily check out from the library. But there is one that you'll probably need to purchase, albeit very inexpensively.

Jotham's Journey is a "storybook for Advent" that was first published in 1997 and was out-of-print until recently. It is a fast-paced, adventurous tale of a 10-year-old boy, Jotham, that becomes separated from his family during the year that Jesus is born. During his search to find them he encounters "thieves, robbers, and kidnappers." (This is NOT a book for the very young!) The author very skillfully stops the story in the middle of intense action each night, leaving kids begging for more.

Each night of Advent, a portion of the story is read along with a very short devotional. Suggestions are included for making an Advent wreath and lighting candles for each night of storytelling.

Unless you can time it perfectly at your local library, it's necessary to own the book because it is read every night throughout the Advent season. The title is newly back-in-print and is an inexpensive Advent purchase.

If you do a little research, you'll find that Jotham is followed by two other related titles--Tabitha's Travels and Bartholomew's Passage--each designed to be read during subsequent Advent seasons. They are currently out-of-print and very expensive. Both books are scheduled for re-release in the Summer/Fall of 2009. If you don't own one, they will soon be available at minimal cost. If you do own one, now's a good time to sell them!

Out of the Mouths of Babes…

Today at lunch, ‘LilDude (5) pipes up and says, “Sometimes it’s better to be alone than to be scared.” I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. I probed a bit and discovered he was referring to a situation in one of our favorite books, The Island of the Skog, in which a character decides he'd rather be alone on an island than be in the company of creatures that he imagines might be scary.

We talked about how things we anticipate as frightening might not turn out to be so scary after all. I mentioned how preschool friends or teachers might have seemed scary at first. He agreed that things aren’t that way now. “Sometimes I sit by GIRLS!” Apparently the ultimate in scary for 5-year-old boys.

I replied, “But I’m a girl.”

His reply? “Actually, you’re an old woman.”

Now that's scary! :)

'LilDude's Big Heart

Just read to 'LilDude (5) before bed. We read Everybody Cooks Rice for the first time. It led to a fascinating discussion.

During the book he asked where Vietnam was. I told him it was close to Korea, where he was born. Then, on a later page, I pointed out that China was attached to North Korea. He made the comment that his birth family could visit China. I explained that people from South Korea aren't really able to travel through North Korea to go to China. When he asked why, I explained in VERY simple terms that the leader in North Korea doesn't allow it.

He started asking questions about how much money people in Korea have. This has come up in several past discussions. I told him that South Koreans don't live a lot differently than how we live (this is in 5yo terms, mind you!), but that things were different in North Korea...that some people there don't have a lot of food. I then told him that there are ways that we can give to children in North Korea. Immediately he brightened and said, "Remember my red bag with the change in it? I can give some of that to them!" He was very excited about the prospect. I also told him we could pray for the leader and the people of North Korea. He grinned ear to ear and reminded me when the book was over that he wanted to pray for the leader from "the other Korea."

'LilDude has a BIG HEART! I'm so proud of my boy!

P.S. When we finished the book he said that he wants to "cook all the recipes from the book" together!