Reading in the Wild is a book educator should look into. I always knew that reading was important but this class and this book definitely changed my mind. Reading is always going to be important in a child’s life, not just their school years, but it will also be important in their adulthood. Reading makes you become more educated of the world we live in. I love how the author emphasizes how much she values reading. She encourages her students to read whenever they can and provides them with an environment where they can flourish. It has become so important to her students that they even make reading goals and they feel accomplished when they complete it. When it comes to choosing books, I think it’s important that teachers should choose books that benefit their students. This can be expanded differently, not only do these books help these children academically but they also can help them emotionally. I think that it’s amazing the doors a good book can open, and how us teachers can make that difference.

The young adult book I am reading is Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I chose this book because I have read it before, but years ago. It’s a book that made me feel so many emotions especially the ending. I wanted to relive those emotions because the book is a bit of a blur. The book has two main characters which are Eleanor and Park. They each give you a glimpse of their world and how they feel when they interact with each other. Park is a boy who likes to keep to himself and stays out of everyone’s way. He lives a pretty comfortable life but wishes his father could accept him for how he is. His father wishes Park were more masculine.  Eleanor is that “weird” girl who everyone bullies because she’s different. She wears ties, big red hair, and doesn’t let things get to her. She has a difficult time at home, she lives with her mother, four little siblings, and her abusive stepfather. Her mother tries to make it seem like everything at home is alright but in reality, her stepfather, Richie became more abusive than ever. Park and Eleanor at first have a hard time interacting with each other because they are so different from each other. Over time from sitting next to each other on the bus, they become infatuated with each other and thus a high school love story begins.

I think is a must-read novel, maybe more in the high school age. It makes you see many perspectives and makes you feel many emotions. We get to see the lives of both these characters and how their environment and people that surround them affect them. I also believe that by the end of this book you become a bit more understanding and loving towards the people that surround your life. Truly an amazing book, with a life-changing cliffhanger. I hope one day I get closure and everyone else who has read this.

My mind has been changed forever! I always thought graphic novels were a waste of time when it came to reading. I never found an interest in them. I grew up reading a lot of thick chapter books and was never attracted to read a graphic novel. Reading this article and also reading The Best We Could Do has opened my eyes to a new world. When I read The Best We Could Do, I was instantly hooked. I read the entire thing while my coworker was driving us to work. I related so much to the story, and it was also an easy read. In the article it states how graphic novels are used for children to ease in into reading, the pictures and the word text call their attention a bit more into reading them. It is also easier for special needs kids to enjoy books, they can see the emotion in the pictures, and I believe that is a beautiful thing. Books should be accessible to everyone!

Another detail I found super impressive is that graphic novels fit curriculum! (Common Core Standards) They can help children understand many topics, not just English topics. Graphic novels turn on creative writing in people, especially children. As for the resources, the one I looked into was http://www.noflyingnotights.com/  It provides reviews on graphic novels, and it also helps you choose what to read next based on your interests. I think it’s a really cool website and kid-friendly. It’s definitely a tool I can use for my future students.

When I read a graphic novel I like to read the words first and then look at the pictures, I think I like it this was because I want a context of the story before I look at the pictures, to me it makes more sense. I asked my brother to read a few pages from  The Best We Could Do and he said he looks at the picture first because he says it draws his attention first. He gets an idea of what’s going on and when he reads the text he gets the story better. Which is interesting, because I am the total opposite.  I guess there is no wrong way of reading a graphic novel.

HERE IT IS!!!!!(: 

The book I chose was Brown Girl Dreaming. I think this is such a great book with a lot of emotional value placed into it. It’s about Jacqueline who’s growing up in segregated America. Her poetry describes the hardship you had to go through as a person of color in the 60’s. She provides with the reality of her family but also shows you the sweet moments she had.  One of the moments that really put an impression on me was when her father and mother would fight and finally, her mother left her dad. I feel that during that time things were harder especially for a single mother. I respect her mother’s bravery. I really enjoy the way this book was written. Poetry style but still having the chance to understand what’s going on. Each poem is focused on one certain thing but it continues the story from the poem that came before. I would use this book in the classroom by asking my students to start a journal but write each entry with a poem that tells a story. Over time the collection of poems will eventually form a story.

 

So much depends

Upon

 

Two circular

Lenses

 

Staring not just

At you

 

But

Me