Conclude

I really enjoyed learning new insights about what's more to just learning and reading the morals of children's books. What I mean is that before joining this class I've always thought the kind of messages that children books gave were on the surface of the issues. However now I know that there are many in depth meaning for each of these books. It is interesting to find out how heavy the meaning is and how it portrays everyday issues that everyone faces. This definitely provided a unique way of perceiving problems in a rated G form.

Differences in Relation to the Counter Narrative Text

I read the Korean Cinderella story by Shirley Climo. The protagonist of the story, Pear Blossom is a beautiful girl who lost her mother. Her stepmother and stepsister hate her because of her beauty and make her do impossible chores. Luckily, Pear Blossom has the help of Togkabis, magical creatures, to help her accomplish each task. In the end Pear Blossom marries the prince. However, my counter narrative tale will not focus on the step sister who is the 'nice one
 of the story. Whereas the stepmother and the father's daughter to be the 'mean ones' in the story. Furthermore I will not be having neither "Togkabis" nor magic related things in the story rather having the father be that hero for the stepdaughter. 

Community Observations :)

Stepping into a local library and bookstore I was surprised for a few things. I felt as though depending on the location, the rearrangement and the placement of the books are different and the number of copies for certain books were different as well. I chose to only observe he 'basement' of the Barnes & Nobel bookstore in the Teen/young reader and children section because it is a huge bookstore with 2~3 other levels of books. May of the fictional books were portraying either a white or black of both genders. However when i came to the horror and the 'crime' genre books section many of the book portrayed more of the other races. 

So when you entered, the teen fiction books were placed in the center of the room where as the horror and crime fictional books were located on the left wall. When walking in further more of the picture books were on the right and the young readers' novels and newbury award novels were in the far right, in a tight corner space by the restrooms.

In the Young Readers' Section I have noticed that the most diverse range of books are the Newbery Award Winners Novels and in the New Young Release section, although, in their Local Favorites section there weren't many diverse books; only around one or two books were categorized as 'diverse' . Through my observation it seems to be like this because some novels are historically important for readers to be familiarized of what happened in the past. Last week I briefly visited the Barnes & Noble in Rockville last weekend and I noticed that in their Local Favorites section there were books based on different cultures and race. Many areas in Montgomery County are Multiculturally diverse but I believe that areas like Bethesda and Friendship heights it's difficult to look for that highlight issues such as racism or sexism in the Local Favorites Section. In the Children's Section it is a little racially diverse than that young reader's section. The Children's section seems to be sending out a message that everyone is different and each person has their story to tell. There were books that most races can relate to. On the other hand, children's books appear to emphasize on 'sexism'. There were books like What to doodle? GIRL STUFF!, The Girls' Doodle Book and The Boys' Doodle Book..

In the library, I felt that what people called "diversity" were African American folklore or changing some of the original characters into multiracial characters in some of retold stories of fairy tales. I have only noticed that the majority of the multicultural books were only located in the adult section where it had both fictional and non-fictional books, most of which were autobiographies or biographies that would entail or help in a student's paper. I did not realize that there were so few books or it was hard to find books for an asian-american child can relate to. But then again, not many asian-americans live in the same area as where the library is located. 

In these website presents a multiple of other websites that specifically help students who are in need to improving in a certain area of their reading and writing abilities. Also if you search for all-time favorite children's books you would find that many of the website displays for the famous american folk tales, fairy tales and book series.  I've notices that these well-known and most popular books are based off of white and black people. I know I may sound very sensitive of the ethnicity differences but as a child I was always exposed to these kinds of books and always wondered if there were books with asian people in it. So, when I got older I was either bemused or surprised that there were some chapter books that related with the asian culture like A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. I didn't know that Korean-American authors existed because I had this 'stereotypical' idea implanted that most Asians' occupation were either related to math, science, history (become a lawyer) or the media but never literature. 

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/arts/artlit.html

http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=19

http://www.grimmfairytales.com/en/main

http://www.pbs.org/parents/?gclid=CL7sm4mTmaUCFRZy5QodEhpfHw

But of course, if you go into a tv show program's website bookshelf it would definitely have a different set of books. It's as though it is the most updated version of the new, old and popular books all in one website.

Banned Books Discussion and Reflection

Researching banned books was an interesting task. Initially I thought that the banning of books was done majority in the pass and uncommon in the present but too my surprise people still continue to ban many great books. There were so many books that I read in high school as well as in middle school that were and still are labeled banned in schools. I was surprised that the Harry Potter series, Twilight series and the Unfortunate events series are banned in schools. I find it unbelievable and ridiculous because they are extremely fictional (there is no way of doing these things in real life) and very mild in terms of comparing other books and T.V. shows in their genres. In class, one of my classmates mentioned that many of the banned books are made into movies. "Since movies are presented to the public why then is the point of banning these books in the first place? ... [then later mentioned] Hollywood and many other film companies are misleading the purpose of banning books."

 Furthermore, majority of the banned books we shared in class were related to sociopolitical issues like revealing sexual orientation, bad messages like running away, naivety, breaking out of jail (in Harry Potter  and the Prisoner of Azkaban), animals are equal to humans, etc., including the 'disagreeable' norm of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender presented into society, and sexism like Witches by Roald Dahl. There were a couple of us who brought in the same/similar books: Heather Has Two Mommies, and In the Night Kitchen. Recently the most banned book listed everywhere is called and Tango Makes Three. There are some people in this country who don't even read the book and just assume that it's inappropriate in classrooms and/or libraries. There was this incident in texas where the superintendent (?) or some education authority thought that the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? was a dangerous book just because he thought that the author Bill Martin was the same communist-believer Bill Martin. 

I understand why some of these books were banned, however I believe that these are the perfect books to discuss in class. These because show the best examples of the worldly issues that we face in our day-to-day lives. I feel that the only chance that these children can openly express these issues and what they believe in, are in a classroom discussion because this way everyone is in the same level and has yet to hear another point of view of the issue.

Research in a Local Bookstore- Barnes & Noble Bethesda

Liberty Porter, first Daughter NEW GIRL IN TOWN by Julia Devillers

Along the River (A Chinese Cinderella novel) by Adeline Yen Mah

Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mixup by Melissa Thomson

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell

Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

In the Young Readers' Section I have noticed that the most diverse range of books are the Newbery Award Winners Novels and in the New Young Release section, although, in their Local Favorites section there weren't many diverse books; only around one or two books were categorized as 'diverse' . Through my observation it seems to be like this because some novels are historically important for readers to be familiarized of what happened in the past. Last week I briefly visited the Barnes & Noble in Rockville last weekend and I noticed that in their Local Favorites section there were books based on different cultures and race. Many areas in Montgomery County are Multiculturally diverse but I believe that areas like Bethesda and Friendship heights it's difficult to look for that highlight issues such as racism or sexism in the Local Favorites Section. In the Children's Section it is a little racially diverse than that young reader's section. The Children's section seems to be sending out a message that everyone is different and each person has their story to tell. There were books that most races can relate to. On the other hand, children's books appear to emphasize on 'sexism'. There were books like What to doodle? GIRL STUFF!, The Girls' Doodle Book and The Boys' Doodle Book.

Also, I want to add something I noticed while sitting on the benches while doing this assignment. There was a boy, approximately 3 ~ 4 years old, playing with toys and not playing fairly with the other boys, so the mother tells him that the'll have to leave if he continues to be impolite. Finally, on the last straw she says "Okay, not that's enough, ets go over there and I'll read you books." Then he gets up and runs over and grabs Tangled (Rumpelstiltskin) and Princess Barbie. his mother immediately says "Sweetie, the Thomas [the train] books aren't here, it's over there." He then knocks over all the books on that shelf and the mother responses in a agitated tone, "Okay, now honey lets pick up these books and go over the Thomas books, okay?" Then they left. It was interesting to see this. I have no idea how to form my question though, it was as if the parent was guiding her son to be more like a 'boy' than being 'girly' ~ So in class should we be gender bias and indirectly drive the students in the direction that society accepts?

Post ideas regarding Critical Analysis Podcast assignment

I narrowed down my focus to racism. This is the issue that has been constantly brought up. So listening to podcasts of different books and opinions about it would certainly be intriguing. Even as adults, we could learn from another's point of view on the issue or how he or she perceives the book.

I was thinking about the children's book Red or Blue, I Like You! a Sesame Street storybook featuring Elmo. It primarily talks about race and their differences and similarities. Elmo meets a new friend named Angela, who is a blue-monster. Elmo goes over to Angela's house located in an all blue-monster community. There are many things they are surprised about Elmo. One of those things, they thought it's interesting that Elmo likes the same kind of food as them. When Angela goes over Elmo's house a similar situation arises but in Elmo's family not everyone is red, there are members of the family who come in several colors. Elmo's aunt offers Angela to make spaghetti for dinner, but to his aunt's surprise, Angela says that she likes chicken and salad like everyone else in the house. Angela also meets Elmo's friends who are green monsters, blue monsters and big yellow birds. That day she played with all of them, enjoyed it so much and eager to return to Sesame Street.

Using this book, I would bring up questions about what I would discuss with the class after reading the book. I feel like this is such a great book to discuss with children around the ages between 4 to 7 year olds. I would talk about why this book should be exposed to children at such a young age and how talking about racism will affect them.

Quotable Quotes

"Hush, baby," [...] could not remember where she was, remembered that he mother had not called her baby for a long time.

I felt that this is significant because it implies an identity that she once had and miss. At the same time reminisces of the good, heart-felt, memories of the past. Everyone has these moments some point in their life. Some children feel special because you're either their (parents) favorite and only child or out of your siblings your parents can point out something uniquely different from your other siblings. Also you are the only important person in their (parents) lives at that moment. As a child you would feel this special bond.

"The thing that he loved most about American, he once confided to the boy, was the glazed jelly donut. Can't be beat."


I chose this quote in the book, even though it's insignificant within what the book is about as a whole. However I wanted to mention that this quote is a quotable quote. I definitely heard this saying so many times. Well, it wasn't exactly said like this but I have heard many people say something like "nothing can beat a glazed jelly donut". When hearing this repeatedly I would always

"The boy. The girl. Their mother."


I've notice that throughout the book that the protagonists names weren't mentioned. It's like they didn't have an identity of some sort. It was sort of frustrating.

Positioning and Being Positioned

Hello, my names are:
Jee-eun, Jee-eun nuna, Jee, JK/Crajee, G-g-g-geeee-unit

Jee-eun Kim or in Korean 김지은- either spelling it's pronounced the same way. This is my full given name. Many people mistakingly think that "eun" is my middle name because there is a dash but "eun" isn't my middle name it's part of my first name. I love my name because it brings uniqueness for my personality. When people first see my name, they misjudge me as a F.O.B. <fresh off the boat, but to put it into modern terms some people say "fresh off the plane"> (some, not all, Asian-American-born or those who weren't born in the states but grew up an a very age, takes this to offense). Though in reality, I'm a American-Korean who doesn't have an english name and who can't speak and understand Korean very well. People tend to find that very strange and usually asks me why I don't have an english name. Well, why is that I have to have one? I like my name, why should I change it? My name defines my ancestral culture, defines my identity as a South Korean and defines my unique background. My grandfather gave me this name. The first part of my name "Jee" means 'significance' - hope and the second part "eun" means hill. So when you put them together, my name means "to have and provide a vision and hope to other people and stand firm in your life." In addition, my last name means "gold" in other words "precious". Pretty unique, right?

Jee-eun nuna- This name is used by my younger brothers and any boys who are younger than me. "Nuna" (can be spelled in many ways) means older sister in the form for boys to use to older sisters. There are different names between younger brother to older brother, younger sister to older sister, younger sister to older brother, etc. It's like a sign of respect for those who are older than you.

Jee- This is the name was first used by my volleyball teammates all throughout high school because it was easier to say while playing on the court because people often butcher my real name. Then later, towards end the end of high school going to new classes, a lot of the teachers really liked to learn how to pronounce my name but I got tired of it and ended up just introducing myself as Jee. So, to this day I still introduce myself as Jee so my peers and professor can easily remember my name and I don't have to hassle with the pronunciation. Though surprisingly coming to college I've never met so many people who can pronounce my name perfectly first time around!

JK/Crajee- These names are used from time to time when my closest friends are just playing around. When we were kids they found it amusing that my initials were "J.K." because in the texting/instant messaging world it also means "just kidding." The name "Crajee" pretty much sums up my personality, my closest friends say that I tend to be random and crazy (in a good way) and that I'm fun to be with. Interestingly, when you say the word "crazy" with a Korean accent it comes out to "Crajee" haha!

G-g-g-geeee unit- This was my nickname from 8th grade thru end of 2nd quarter of 10th grade. It was difficult for many people to say the second part of my name so some of my guy friends came up with this nickname. It was annoying at first but then got used to it.

Hello, my names are not:

Jzhe-un, Kim, Tee-une, Ji-eun

Jzhe-un- I had many people mispronounce my name before but just close enough to how it sounds like but I've never had anyone pronounce it as, as if it is a french name... yes, at some point in my life someone did pronounce my name as if it's a french name.

Kim- My first name is NOT KIM! It just irritates me.

"Tee"-un- I just don't understand how some people think that my name is spelled like this. I really don't understand. The first part of my name clearly sounds like the letter "G". Where did the "T" come from???

Ji-eun- I like my three "e"s in a row. My name is pronounced as "jeee" as in Jeep not "Ji"as in Jill -- Sounds too short. This is the most irritable spelling of all.

Always Judge a book by its cover.... uh really?

Books never intrigued me as a child until the eleventh grade. As I look back it's sad... really because I didn't realize how much I missed out on the adventures, mysteries and science fiction; I wasn't much interested in Romance. I wasn't all too fascinated about Harry Potter, like most children were, because the whole magical world was too 'fantasy-like' and wasn't too fond of that. I've always judged the book by its cover. Though once opening to the first page and glance at the first sentence, I end up disinterested and throw the book to the side of my bed. Other times I succeeded and came to love two series -- Magic Tree House Series and A Series of Unfortunate Events-- I really adored the child-like cover for Magic Tree House Series and inside there were small illustrations and exciting fun-facts. Also, the book A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, its cover attracted me because its intricate illustration as well as the book pages and first sentence.

Out of the two series my favorite was A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket because it kept your head spinning and captured your attention. It's mainly about an unlucky group of children, the Bauledaire siblings, whose parents were killed in a fire in the family mansion. Ever since their passing, the children faces a series of unfortunate events, literally there are no other explanation. In the first book, The Bad Beginning was a huge downfall in the children's lives. Before the fire they lived a life of pure happiness and after the fire they live of life of misery especially under a villian, Count Olaf who plans to embezzle their money through marrying the eldest of three children but then it falls through as the second child announces the marriage laws. Since then, the Bauledaire siblings were sent off to different relatives' houses and each move Count Olaf appears in a disguise and all of a sudden their relative mysteriously dies or disappears. Through out the series none of the adults really believe the children's stories and didn't understand how much of a danger there are in. I really love this series because of the huge mix of mystery and adventure which makes it much more exciting to read. After reading this series, it encouraged me to read more mystery-adventure books like John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, etc.

Even after a couple great discoveries of great book novel series I learned that it is best to never judge a book by its cover. That way you would be able to explore and broaden a better taste/perspective in what your read.