I worked at school three days in a row this week. It was the loveliest school with kind, hardworking, talented teachers! The kiddos were enthusiastic and well behaved! I was with fourth graders most of the time, in a classroom with two teachers. They were great! The male teacher read out loud from Bud, Not Buddy. I was delighted to be in on a read aloud :o)..and think I need to get the book to see how it ends.
So many children's books are so sad. Children in such dire situations. I mean, I will never forget how tragic Island of the Blue Dolphins was and how about my favorite, Where the Red Fern Grows.
Around here we will never forget
THE MILLERS!
I bet most of you have not heard of The Millers.
They are storybooks written by the Amish.
They are heavy on 'the moral to the story'.
A child drowns in one story....to teach, 'don't cry wolf.'
and a little boy falls in the poo pit and dies.
Patrick and Matthew started calling the series,
Death and the Millers!!
Last year I was in a classroom where a Holocaust book was being read.
The children listening were in 7th grade and had special needs. I was actually uncomfortable with the subject matter and I don't know why I was feeling so sensitive about it for this age group.
I was thinking, this is too horrid to read to tender children. The first time I felt this was was when Katie read the dystopian story The Giver. She told me about the book she was reading and I was shocked. She was not reading it with a group and I felt it was way too creepy to read without some kind of discussion. So I read it so we could talk about it.
I don't know if books for children have changed.
We read classics; Little Women has a very sad storyline, but there is joy and hope there too.
Tom Sawyer sees some grown up things but I mostly remember adventure and humor.
(But I was terrified when he was in the cave (the movie version.)
What do you think?
Have I just become more sensitive as I get older?
Can the kiddos handle the serious topics in third grade and fourth grade?
I felt so badly for poor Bud....Not Buddy. (I thought of poor Jane Eyre. hummmm)
Is it important for children to read about over comers?
I'd love to hear your opinions.
Encourage one another,
Donna
Grimm's Fairy Tales are rather disturbing as well. I don't think this is anything new, except your perspective has changed. ;^)
ReplyDeleteI thought of the original Cinderella! The sisters cut off their heels to feet their feet in the glass slippers. That was gross! haha
DeleteDear One, Eons ago when I was taking library science classes in college, one of my texts was Zena Sutherland's Children and Books. In it she listed the needs children have for reading books. I googled all sorts of words and finally found one article (http://theliterarylink.com/understanding.html) that listed the needs. I still have my text, but am not where I can consult it. The needs are: the need for physical well-being; the need to love and be loved; the need to belong; the need to achieve competence; the need to know; and the need for beauty and order. Zena Sutherland listed in her book Children and Books the books that met each need and how they did it. Does this help you at all? love and prayers, jep
ReplyDeleteHI Jep,
DeleteThat sounds like a very interesting book. Thank you I will go look at the article too. I followed the recommendations of educators (mostly homeschoolers) and they used classics...and as they called it twaddle free books. I trusted their wisdom. So since Katie has been in regular school I have run into 'new' books. hahaha . (Written in this century) . bwahahaha.....but really...most of the books Emma read were written before 1960. So I will check out your book rec. and visit the web link! Thanks :o)
We began reading A Hive of Busy Bees (similar to the Miller's), and there was one story that basically blamed a child for his mother's death (because he didn't check on his mom who was ill...he went out to play instead..ugh!). We really liked the Miller's when my older boys were little, but when I look at them now, I feel that I have changed my opinion about them. Times change, and I have changed, I guess.
ReplyDeleteyup. me too.
ReplyDelete