My favorite story in Kissing The Witch was the story of beauty and the beast. I liked this story because it was different compared to every other version of the story I’ve read before. I enjoyed how there was no magical aspects in this version, and how the beast turned out to be a woman. I think it iOS empowering to women for the story to have ended this way because it shows how women can have relationships other than romantic ones in life, and still be happy individuals. the story that best captures of the situation of women today is Donkeyskin because it showed how women are  ‘supposed’ to follow rules set before them, (as expected of women) however  Donkeyskin breaks against that, by leaving her kingdom, and proving that the prince should love her even if she wears a Donkeyskin on her back.

The author titled this book kissing the witch because kissing a witch is a challenge to take on. In this book it is a challenge to the reader to see old stories in a different light and to see from a different characters point of view.  It is not something that people usually do, and it’s not a way people usually read about a story. I think it must have also been a challenge to the author to write from this perspective as well, thus she kissed the witch as she accepted to write this book in this format and from this perspective.

The beginning of the Brothers Grimm Snow White is very similar to the story I know from childhood. the mother died, the stepmother asks for the child’s organs, asks the mirrors who is fairer, etc. However there were some things incorporated in this tale that were definitely NOT the same.  for example, the witch going multiple times to try to kill Snow was different. in Disney’s version, there was but one poisoned apple to kill her, but in this version, there were also silk laces and a comb to kill her. How Snow awoke was also not what  I remembered from previous tales. The apple she had eaten got dislodged from her throat and this is was awoke her, as opposed to her being awoke with true loves first kiss. The story ended in a dark way, with the Evil stepmother dancing in red hot iron shoes until she fell over dead, which is not a pleasant way to die, and a little graphic. This is what most surprised me in the story, because she is being tortured to death. from my memory of Disney she falls to her death off a cliff, but by accident and not in any way intentional. The fact that was okay with her step mother getting tortured is not at all like the sweet Snow of Disney.

The theme of this story is that being vain has a downfall. It is exactly what drove the Queen to her death, because she would give anything to be the “fairest of them all.” I believe this is the underlying message because  Snow never actively tries to be the fairest, so because the Evil Queen is actively trying to destroy snow so that she can be the most beautiful shows that one should not be vain.

Two dreams to be told,

as stories unfold,

for brides to be are dreading.

Scared are thee,

as you shall see,

of these young brides for their wedding.

A bird to warn one,

a bird to save the another,

an egg to hold

a basket of gold,

rings on fingers,

the fear does linger.

Behold!

What story has been untold?

Can you guess from these clues?

Which story do you choose?

 

 

To be a reader is to be someone who reads. If that is reading a magazine, blogs, newspapers, novels, childrens’ books. It is all reading.
The first image that comes to my mind when someone tells me that they are a reader, is that of a person with their nose deep into a book sitting by themselves. However in more recent years, i would say reading can be a very social activity.

Many people send each other links to articles and websites, and ask friends if they have read “so and so’s” post on Facebook.  This is one way that reading has changed to be able to have a social role in communities.

Outside of school I read mainly emails, social media posts, short articles, “DIYs,” and some occasional novels. Don’t get me wrong I love lazy summer days where I can read in the sun, but lately, I can’t seem the leisure time to do so.  Growing up I always was a big reader. I was slow, but I pushed myself to read more and more books. I still love too, and I’m working on time to do so. Reading ‘for fun’ during the school year is the most difficult time to do so for me. This is because I am a slow reader, so text books take me longer to comprehend, and I feel that I run out of hours in the day to read what I want to be reading. My out of school reading does not really connect to what I’ve typically done in school. I like DIY projects articles and picture books, and most of my school readings are not related to these at all. I believe many teachers believe textbooks are a way of life. Its how you learn. with very few alternatives. When there is that awesome teacher that will have their students use other medias and other ways to read to get content, I feel myself get excited about reading and for that class, even on day one.

One of the claims that Williams made in his article is that older generations will always complain about younger generations not being able to read as well as generations previous.  We may not be reading and writing in the same way as before, but we will still be reading and writing  something. The take away for me is that as a teacher, I will have to keep in mind to stay up to date with technology and pull from many places to get pieces for my students to read. Students will read, its a matter of what they are reading is what older generations are not sure about.