"He's under a haycock. Fast Asleep. Will you wake him? No, not I, For if I do, He's sure to cry." -Mother Goose

Hush-a-Bye-Baby,

On the tree top.

When the wind blows

The cradle will rock

When the bough breaks,

the cradle will fall

Down will come baby

cradle and all

History:

The baby of King James II of England, named James Stuart was an illegitimate heir to the throne because he was not the biological son. With a biological son, King James II would have been able to restore Roman Catholicism in England. As a result of the scandal, King James II was forced to leave the throne. Tricking the citizens and the bishops in 1771 was completely unacceptable. It is said that the nursery rhyme Hush-A-Bye-Baby was written about James Stuart.

Intimidation c1833

Should We Frighten the Child?

• Black and White picture
• Baby is off center
• Breaking bough looks deadly for the baby
• Head pointing downwards-instant death
• In response to James Stuarts birth

The Gentle Touch 1947

Can They Save the Baby?

114 years later

• More colors greens, browns, reds, and whites
• Smooth and soft tone
• Cradle seems more secure
• Child is reaching to birds playfully
• James Stuart, parents, nurse--> outlet for these people and their angry to make the baby fall
• Black bird and tree look eire--> hint that something bad may happen
• Bird could be representing the people of England wanting the baby/crown to fall

Comforting or Ominous

Wait and See

39 years later

• Brighter colors red and orange
• Soft blues for the shadows
• Yellow for sunlight a sense of uplifting spirits
• Cradle is green with a heart--> resting but not falling out of the tree
• Cannot see the baby's face and there is no blanket
• Unpleasant feeling from all of the falling leaves
• Foreshadowing based on the position of the cradle
• Baby may survive the fall--> green leaves on the bottom right
• The message: Be good, don't cry, and all will be well in the morning if mommy gets some sleep

Interdependency

For Good or Ill

4 years later

• 5 babies from 5 different cultures
• interconnectedness of cultures
• Calming and soft beds--> drinking from their bottles
• Billowy and cotton like leaves
• One child cannot be seen- the most active- the threat
• Only one baby is secured with a ribbon--> the eye is drawn to that baby
• If that cradle breaks it will cause the others to go tumbling
• 
  
• Underlying meaning: One societies downfall could be lead to a global train reaction 
• Cultural war and conflict as a result

Will the Cradle Fall?

Unknown Future

86 years ago

• King James Era in England is depicted
• Royal bed not really a cradle
• Heart is etched in the headboard
• Animals waiting for the baby at the bottom (food)

Baby Pig

Animals Need Safety Too

• Baby is a pig
• Background is creepily dark
• Bough is broad with dark shadows
• blue flower looks like a pinwheel and shows movement from the wind
• Pig is a photograph and the rest is painted
• The pig looks secure no sign of getting hurt
• The respect for animal life is shown

Wide Eyed Baby

Blowing in the Wind

• Contrast between darkness and the clear blue sky
• Golden sun in the background
• Cradle is loosely attached
• The baby's eyes are wide open and alert
• The branches show movement and a plausible terrible ending

"Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light." -Vera Nazarian

Picture books are one of the few places where both words and pictures are combined in order to convey a message. Sometimes there are even wordless books where the story will only be told by pictures and not words. There are also a wide span of genres of fiction found in most picture books such as: folklore, fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction, and historical fiction. Picture books can also be nonfiction, biographies, poetry or songs. These books are created for a wide range of audiences, ages, and interests. Usually picture books are about 32 pages or multiples of 8 (8, 16, 24, 32, etc.) with double page spreads. Next time you read a picture book, look for these distinctive features!

Each picture book has its own personality. They present certain cultures and a specific form of art that goes with the culture. A good amount of research must be done in order for these texts to be accurate. In fact, there are six different categories of art an illustrator can use. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is an example of Representational Art. Cecil the Pet Glacier is an example of Surrealistic Art, while Monet Paints a Day is an example of Impressionistic Art. An example of Folk Art and Naive Art is the book, Picture This. There is also Outline Style and Combined Styles.

Credit: Google Images

Credit: Google Images

Credit: Google Images

Credit: Google Images

For young children, there are different types of picture books such as:
Board Books- Goodnight Moon
Participation Books- Where is the Green Sheep?
Concept Books- The Big, Bigger, Biggest Book
Alphabet Books- The Butterfly Alphabet Book
Counting Books- Maisy's Twinkly Crinkly Counting Book
Poetry and Song- Why Otters Don't Wear Socks and Nursery Rhymes
Storybooks- Pinnocchio

Credit: Google Images

What to look for in a good Picture book
-Language is rich
-Interesting words used in interesting ways
-Illustrations are artistically excellent
-Size, shape and overall design of the book are appropriate to the subject or story

Credit: Google Images

What to look for in a good Storybook
-Text and illustrations establish the mood setting, characters, and theme of the story
-Illustrations expand on the story appropriately and do not merely duplicate what is described in the text
-Layout and design are visibly appealing

Storybooks can be used for all ages! You are never to old to use a storybook for your students. Sometimes the older students need it for a different perspective. For example, one of my professors used the story, Smiley Shark in order to present theme to the class. Everyone got the theme right away because the picture book not only had words but pictures to go along with those words to focus on foreshadowing and the overall theme.

Credit: Google Images

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man cannot read." -Mark Twain

On September 9, 2014 our class was graced with the presence of renowned author, Lesa Cline- Ransome. One of our required books during the semester was Light in Darkness written by Lesa and illustrated by her husband.

Lesa and James Ransome
Photo credit: Lesa Cline-Ransome

 Lesa was a wonderfully gracious person with a warm and open personality. She started off her presentation by saying "I enjoy writing biographies because I'm a nosey person, and I like to know what is going on in other peoples lives." This had me hooked because she was brutally honest right from the gecko. Lesa also wrote her stories in order to teach her own children lessons about famous people such as Helen Keller, Pele, and Frederick Douglass. 

Credit: Google Images

Credit: Google Images

Credit: Google Images

Since we were learning about biographies at the time, we asked Lesa in her opinion as an author, what are the best features of a biography. She swiftly responded with the following:
                 - A balanced perspective
                 - Motivation to read the story
                 - Must be relatable to the targeted age group
                 - Contemporary readers must be able to connect to it

Lesa also mentioned that while she is researching the person she is about to write about, she often weighs the failures and successes and decides what is acceptable to explain to children. Sometimes facts are too graphic for a certain audience. Lesa also said something that caught me off guard. She mentioned that she does not prefer happy endings. She explained that seeing the struggle of a character makes the reader want to go out there and achieve more.

Some people that have inspired Lesa to become a writer are: Toni Morrison and Sharon Creech  

Toni Morrison
Credit: Google Images

Sharon Creech
Credit: Google Images

Lesa does not only like to write biographies, she also enjoys writing something without it being critiqued. You can check out her blog called Winterhood. It's more of a parenting blog then one about the writing process, however I still encourage you to read how well she writes.

After Lesa's presentation she sold a few of her books and personally signed each of them! What a wonderful experience to have a private meet and greet and a book signing! I bought the book, Benny Goodman & Teddy Wilson because they were the first mixed race band to play on stage together, what a powerful story. I cannot wait to have it on display in my own classroom library one day!

Credit: Google Images

"School made us 'literate' but did not teach us to read for please." -Ambeth R. Ocampo

Today, Dr. Gangi another professor at Mount Saint Mary college came into our class as a guest speaker to teach about what to look for in problematic books.

Dr. Gangi has an incredible amount of passion for diversity in literary texts. She has even challenged the common core! Of the 88 books in the common core, 69 of those 88 are written by white authors. Dr. Gangi with the help of her graduate students and some undergrads helped her create a list of books with diverse authors. The wonderful thing about Dr. Gangi is that she always stresses the idea that students should always have a text to self and or mirror image book in order to identify with themselves.

Dr. Gangi has even made impacts on the minds of her students. A former student created a program called Project Mirrors and Windows . This is an electrifying project because it allows Kingston, Esopus, and Rosendale to supply their libraries with more multicultural books. Below is a link to a video for more information!

Another person who speaks strongly about multicultural books is Chimanda Ngozi Adichie. The point of her TED talk was to encourage others to go out and find their authentic cultural voice. The moving talk can be found below!

Infrographics even show that the New York Times targets the white population over any other population when suggesting book titles. This is a huge problem not only in education but in the world we live in every day!

"My bursting heart must find vent at my pen." -Abigail Adams

Assignment: Write and be ready to share a story of your nostalgic look back at some of the children's books you read or were read when you were a child (from your home and school memories). It is your reading autobiography, beginning with your earliest memories of books and reading and continuing to the present. What experiences, teachers, or books do you remember? Are the memories happy or unhappy? Post the links to your blogs with the stories.

Cite: Google Images

Once upon a time when I was a child...

Learning how to read was a nerve wrecking, challenging, and colorful journey throughout my life. When I was younger, reading was always profoundly difficult for me. I suffered from transient hearing loss at a young age. After having two myringotomy procedures, I was able to hear the same as everyone else I knew. For those who have not heard of this procedure it's simply to relieve pressure from the eardrum as a result of chronic ear infections. Since I was unable to ear sounds correctly for a few years, my phonemic awareness was quite poor. However, my mother constantly read books to me every morning when I woke up and every night before bed. One book I remember being read to me each night was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I simply adored the illustrations in this book but could not yet read on my own. 

Once the surgeries were over with, learning how to read became a bit easier for me, but I still had a hard time because I was a few grades behind my fellow classmates as far as literary knowledge. The first book I remember reading on my own was Go, Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman. I still remember how excited I was after finishing the book because I was finally reading fluently on my own. Below is an audio version of the book. During this time, my favorite book was Angelina On Stage by Helen Craig because I loved ballet. 

Cite: Google Images

As I grew older I fell in love with Amelia Bedelia, Nancy Drew, and the Boxcar Children series. Judy Bloom and Beverly Cleary were easily my favorite authors. My mother instilled in me the love of reading because she always had her nose in a book, and just like any young girl, I wanted to be just like her. However, as I progressed through 5th-8th grade, reading was very difficult for me again. I began to dislike reading because the language was difficult to comprehend. I would practice every day with teachers, and I would also go to reading tutors for more help. Reading just became exhausting after a while. I did not start to enjoy reading again until after high school because I wasn't forced to read anymore. I wound up reading 6-8 books a summer that I preferred and my imagination began to flourish more than ever. Reading has played an incredible part in my life and I'm happy to share that new found love with the people around me. Reading opens the doors to so many tremendous adventures and molds a person into who they will eventually become. I want to share that world with all of my future students. 

Cite: Google Images