I never thought I enjoyed modern fantasy, but was surprised to find out after reading the chapter that some of the books I did enjoy were included in this category. As a young child my parents read the original adventures of Winnie the Pooh to me. I shared the updated versions and enjoyed the movies with my children. The bright pictures and creative adventures of Pooh, Alice, and Paddington are fun to read and share. I learned that fantasy is not only science fiction. Once again the text was very helpful as is imparted new knowledge and helped build a basis for my definition and selection of literature.
For the one of my book selections I read Lois Lowry's The Giver. I found that this fantasy book helped me to think about myself and society. I enjoyed this function of reading. I have not read any of the Harry Potter books, but plan to start the first one over break. The many public views and instances of censorship prevented me from reading them. I can see that these books can be a great start for a child's imaginations and opinions. These books provide rich description and would lend themselves well to a literature circle type study in upper elementary or middle school. I am looking forward to finding different ways to share the creativity of the fantasy author with students.
Every chapter in this text allows me to think more clearly about a certain type of literature. After this chapter, I realize how modern fantasy is an excellent way for kids to journey to far off places. I am happy to find out that it is considered the most valuable of children’s literature, because my oldest son loves it. I have always encouraged him to read what he likes, but I thought non-fiction was more important for educational reasons. I was unaware of all the benefits that modern fantasy brings with it. As a child I loved The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, but I would have never considered it to be modern fantasy. I always thought fantasy involved fairies and princesses who live in beautiful castles. To me, a mouse on a motorcycle is fun fiction. I wrote down many titles of books that I love, but didn’t know they were considered fantasy.
I am very familiar with Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear and a few of the other titles in this chapter, but I don’t have much experience with sharing fantasy stories with children. My oldest son prefers to read on his own, I have to force my younger son to read anything and my daughter prefers beginner chapter books, so I haven’t taken the time to share modern fantasy with them. I would really love the opportunity to get students involved in creative dramatization with modern fantasy. As a person with some artistic talent, I would enjoy creating some art projects based on modern fantasy stories.
I don’t really have any questions about this chapter, but I do have one issue. How did science fiction make it in to a Children’s Literature text book? I am not against science fiction, but it was my least favorite section to read about in this chapter.
I learned some very interesting facts in this chapter, as I do with every chapter. In the section about Hans Christian Andersen, I learned a very surprising fact. I had never been informed that “The Ugly Duckling” was said to be based on Andersen’s life. I am going to look into this a little more for my own benefit. I have said that my goal is to teach secondary education, and modern fantasy seems appropriately leveled reading for this age group. The text listed many techniques and plans for introducing this type of literature to students of different grade levels. I did learn a lot from this chapter, but I am not as enthused about it as I am the previous chapters.
Chris C., I was shocked when I read that Winnie the Pooh was considered Modern Fantasy. I guess I have always held a wrong definition when classifying fantasy. I haven't read any fantasy books for this course yet, but I am looking forward to it. I have never really had the time nor desire to sit back with a book like some people do. So I haven't had the experience of reading the stories mentioned in this chapter.
I think that authors who write modern fantasies should be permitted rewards for their remarkable imaginative realms of possibility! This chapter was very enlightening to me, as I’m not one who has read a whole lot of fantasy-type literature. It also gave many examples of great works by several authors. Some of them I was familiar with their books and others I had never heard of before; most of them which I think targeted an older, more mature audience. Then in jumped into categorizing modern fantasy into topics including articulate animals, toys that come alive, preposterous characters and situations, strange and curious worlds, little people, friendly and frightening sprits, time warps and science fiction. WOW….did you all know there were so many topics? I sure didn’t! I recognized more of the books within this section such as; The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Paddington Bear, The Jungle Book, Velveteen Rabbit and of course Winnie-the-Pooh. Another enlightening bit of information given in this chapter was ideas on how to teach with modern fantasy. Because it is hard for children to comprehend, it is very important for them to read several fantasy selections and encourage them to identify and discuss what makes each story modern fantasy. One last topic discussed was the idea of oral discussion. I truly think that discussion is a key factor when it comes to comprehending. Interaction with children is a vital part of the classroom. It encourages reactions, thoughts and responses to a story.
I must admit, modern fantasy and science fiction isn’t one of my favorite genres of literature! I think you’re absolutely right about the modern fantasy to be more geared for secondary students. My goal on the other hand is to teach at the elementary level and a lot of books mentioned are not age appropriate for them. Like you, this was one of my least favorite chapters; enlightening, but not of my best interest.
I too did not know Winnie the Pooh was Modern Fantasy and I also am not a huge fan of science fiction stories. However, each and every chapter enlightens something different and shows something specific about certain genres that I honestly never really thought about. I think it is important for students to be able to identify what they are reading and why they are reading it. I have never ever ever been a Harry Potter fan and have never seen one of the movies. Trees walking and talking have just never been my thing I guess.
Chapter 7 - Modern Fantasy Traditional tales is where many writers get their ideas. The fantasy writer's goal is to keep their reader in suspense. Fantasy books are often tales of quests and conflicts. The fun of these types of books is that both children and adults enjoy reading them. I like that fantasy books give children their own imagination to explore. I
I found the chapter helpful at the end as it gave examples of how to choose a good fantasy book and how to use it in discussions. I also enjoyed reading about the languages of the book and how authors choose to tell their story.
Since I was a little girl, living on a farm I have always loved books that have talking animals. I remember that by reading fantasy books or having them read to me, they allowed me to have the imagination to explore fantasy in everyday life. I use to pretending that my farm animals could talk to me.
Terram, I agree with you when you say that authors of fantasy should be rewarded for their work of imagination. I also with every chapter appreciate the chapters listing ideas of books and authors for future references. These will come in handy for a classroom setting.
Chapter 7 is an excellent chapter as it entails the different types of modern fantasy. Fantasy books have always been my personal favorite since I was a child. I learned in this chapter the different types of modern fantasy books that I had no clue whatsoever that they would be put into this genre. I think that the fantasy books is a way to build children's imagination by allowing them to dream because dreaming is on the best parts of life. I think that by allowing the mind to fantasize many kids are able to live in a life they would like to have and a life they can achieve if they put there minds to it. Oral discussion was to the end of the chapter and I think that discussion within the class is an excellent way to be able to know if they kids understood the story. Oral discussion allows the kids to share there opinions with each other and it sort of starts a debate if they books calls for the different sides of the story. This book is an excellent source for us as students as each chapter gives us more knowlegde of many things that we have no clue about.
I too do not like science fiction books as I see no point to them. I am a fan of fantasy books but I do not understand how science fiction books fall into this chapter. I think that reading fantasy books to children is a great way to build there imagination. I think that if you give yourself the time to read these type of books to kids you will really enjoy them.
For many of the books discussed in this chapter, I have seen or heard of the movies, but I have not read the books. I’ve never read any of the Harry Potter books or Lord of the Rings (though I’ve started and never finished), for example. I had also heard of the movie Inkheart, but again, I’ve never read it. The descriptions of the books made me wonder whether I’m missing anything. I’ve heard from friends, for instance, that the Harry Potter novels are a lot more detailed than the movies. I just can’t get myself interested enough to read them right now, though. I think I have too many other things to do. The descriptions throughout the chapter also made me think that some of these books sound more like they’re written for high school ages, or even adults, rather than children. The messages of the books just seem very advanced for children. I do find it interesting, though, that lately Hollywood seems to have picked up on the market for Fantasy adventures and has put out so many movies based on these books in the last few years. I didn’t think that many in the first part of the chapter were not movies yet, so I wonder if they will be soon.
Discussions of Beatrix Potter stories and Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear made me think of my own children. I’ve read them some of these stories, and we own a Beatrix Potter DVD set that shows an actress who is supposed to be Beatrix at the beginning of each story writing letters to sick children that become her stories. I thought it was interesting that her first story really started that way. I also like that Paddington Bear is so realistically childlike.
Fantasy is one of my own favorite genres of children’s literature, but I’m a little disappointed to notice that much of what was described in the text was accompanied by the suggestion that the books are too difficult for children to read by themselves and need to have an adult read them. Also, the books and lessons suggested for teaching were for a much higher age group than I plan to teach for. I’m sure this chapter was useful for anyone planning to teach a middle school or high school level, but I didn’t think the suggestions were useful to me. In fact, I remember doing projects in my Jr/Sr AP English classes similar to some of the lessons described for books such as Brave New World and 1984, which are not mentioned in the text, but are definitely science fiction.
I thought that the modern fantasy was directed toward an older audience, also. I know it mentioned a few authors for young children, but it was a very few. I hadn't realized that many of the books I have previously read would be considered modern fantasy. I had read stories such as The Giver, and I've read some that weren't mentioned but are along the lines of Lord of the Rings. I thought the teaching strategies also targeted teaching toward an older class, so I was still left in the dark about how to teach fantasy to young children. You mentioned that you liked the suggestion for discussion, and that was actually a technique I used in my high school AP English classes to analyze our required reading. I think we are in agreement that most of this stuff is way too advanced for any students that I plan to teach!
This is my favorite chapter so far. I am a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. This is the genre that really hooked me on reading. I loved that some of my favorite authors and books were listed in this chapter. These books can fuel the imagination and make children think outside the box. I like that the chapter gave a little insight to multiple authors. I am constantly amazed by how many children have read the Harry Potter series. Some of the books listed are for a more mature audience like the Lord of the Rings books. But it seems that children are reading more mature books at a much younger age. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing but it definitely falls into line with more mature shows on tv and the video games they play.
It was interesting to learn that Winnie the Pook was considered fantasy. This chapter showed that everyone perceives books differently. I like fiction and love the Harry Potter series but I know some people who don't like them but do enjoy the movies. It is interesting to know that censorship had kept you from reading them. Having read them they are no different than many other books out there, So You want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane is a book about young children who learn to be wizards but no one has put them on a censorship list. Amazing how a few people can really effect the world around us.
Danica, I think that chapters like this are good because they let us "see" views that we might not be looking for. I am glad that you shared that science fiction and fantasy got you hooked on reading. I will need to remember to look outside my favorites and find books and authors that encourage my students to become life long readers. Thanks!
To my surprise I enjoy many fantasy books. Before reading this text, I thought that fantasy was fairies and trolls, things like that. When I was little I loved Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit, my grandmother had, what seemed like millions of movies and books. Alice in Wonderland was another fantasy movie that I enjoyed a lot growing up. This chapter has let me explore and think deeply about fantasy, and fairy tales. I think Science fiction is my least favorite to read.
Danica, I agree with you when you say that these books can fuel the imagination and make kids think outside the box! I think all children should enjoy their imagination and let it take them wherever!
I need to make more of an effort going outside my "box" on different types of literature. When I was younger, I was the classic...look at the cover and see what pictures before I decide on the book. I know I missed out on some classic modern fantasy books.
As a child I always enjoyed fantasy books and I still do. It was interesting to see several books cited in Chapter 7 I remember reading as a child. Again this chapter provided much knowledge regarding literature and the importance of fantasy for children. It was useful to learn fantasy challenges the intellect, reveals insights, stimulates the imagination, and nurtures the affective domain. I found the section of teaching modern fantasy to be the most helpful for my classroom one day. It was insightful to learn children have a difficult time interrupting fantasy. This section allowed me to learn how to assist children with overcoming this obstacle. Another interesting section I remember from Chapter 7 was learning about the censorship of the popular series Harry Potter. I was not aware the books were censored for criticism. I did not they were often criticized. I would have never guessed they were looked down upon due the witch craft and wizardry. These are two things I believe to be fantasy and I can remember enjoying reading about as a child. After all most fantasy books have some sort of magic illustrated. I have seen the movies and loved all of them. I still would like to read the books as well because I hear they are much, much better. Which is usually true in regards to movies being made from books. The movies can just not capture the significance that books can. I still find it interesting that books are censored when we have some many horrible movies made every day and they are available in theatres and in stores. How can people complain about books that children love. Harry Potter is a book I have seen numerous kids reading. Which all the technology toys children have access to I am grateful for authors like JK Rowling who write in different ways to encourage children to read rather than play a videogame. This section really got me thinking about the importance of literature in education and how it can assist a child with growing academically and personally.
Randi J I agree with you this chapter brought back memories for me as well. I loved Alice and Wonderland as a child. In fact I still have this huge hard back copy of the book my dad got me for Christmas one year. I may have to use it in my classroom one day. Who would have thought? :)
Terram- I love Lord of the Rings! I just wanted to say I agree with you. I learned a lot of books I have read were fantasy and I did not realize they indeed were. I of course know they were fictional but I was not aware they were labeled fantasy. It was new for me to indentify Winnie the Pooh as fantasy. It makes sense however after reading this chapter.
I found it really interesting how much they stressed making fantasy writing believable. I would have never thought of fantasy being at all believable, but after reading the chapter I understand how that is vital to fantasy writing. I also found the analysis by Jane Yolen on page 275 interesting. She talks about persuasive techniques to make a fantasy world seem real to children. One of the most interesting of the three techniques that she talked about was how most of the hero's are, "often lost, unlikely, powerless at first glance, or unrecognized, which makes him or her easy for the child reader to identify with." When you look at many fantasy stories they have this. It is usually one of the characters that you don't expect that is the hero. Even in Harry Potter, where you know he is going to be special somehow because the book is named after him, he is an unlikely hero with his past and present circumstances. I enjoy reading fantasy books and I believe they are a great way to get young kids into reading.
The Giver is a great fantasy book. It really does make you reflect on yourself and society. We did a project last year with our 8th grade students, who were reading The Giver, on what they thought a utopian society would be, and if they would think that the society in The Giver would be a utopia or not. It was a really interesting to see what their thoughts were. It was a great exercise to work their thinking process and their imaginations.
I did not think that fantasy or science fiction is something that I enjoyed. I have found that I was interested in a number of the books that this chapter talked about. I wrote down the names of many of them that I belive my son would be interested in. There were also many books, that my son has already read like Dragonriders, Inkspell, and Inkheart. There is now an Inkdeath as well that is too new for the book to mention. I realized that books that I originally may not have thought I had any interest in that I now do, like Wind in the Willows, The Borrowers, and many others. Thanks to this chapter I have several books that I can choose from for Christmas shopping. I thought some of the ideas that the other gave about how to compare different types of literature were a great idea. There was one aspect that I did disagree about. She was all about reading The Golden Compass and doing many different things with this book. I am not a believer in book banning, but the huge controversery regarding this book makes me think twice about using it in the classroom setting. I think that there are a number of parents, that would be very upset about their children reading this book. I know many christian families that even though they have not read the book are vehemently against it. This would be the main reason behind not using it in class. If a child wants to read it for their own enjoyment or curiosities so be it. My husband actually read the book because he wanted to see for himself if this book was controversial to him. He does not believe it to be. I am planning to read the book for the same reason, but have not gotten a chance to. I think too many people judge a book without reading it first. People need to read a book before judging the content.
Danica, I agree with you that this is probably the best chapter yet. I am not a big fan of this book. I think the author has too much to say. I think she could accomplish more if she did not try to put too much into the chapters. I find my mind wandering often and it takes days to read because I can not force myself to read 35-60 pages of this at once. I think some of the information she gives is good but there is too much. I mean in the chapter about illustration, she told about lines and other crap, that I don't need to know unless I am teaching an art class and it doesn't matter for children's books. Anyway sorry got off on a tangent. I agree with you that children are reading books that are at higher levels. I don't know if that is because children read at a higher level than they used to or if they have more grown up tastes.
I really enjoyed this chapter, as modern fantasy and science fiction are widely enjoyed in my house by my husband and oldest son. This is a genre that I have become more involved with in the past several years. As an adult, my taste in books generally focused on mysteries, however once I was introduced to fantasy, I became quite the fan and have been at many midnight releases of Harry Potter books. Fantasy books are a wonderful way to tap into the imagination of children and adults alike. I had never really thought how modern fantasy is really a descendant of fairy tales, folk tales, mythology, etc., but the text did a great job of linking the two genres of literature. I was also surprised that Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, and Paddington Bear were considered fantasy, but with the expanded knowledge I learned from this chapter, I have been able to think of many other enjoyable childhood tales that would fall in this category. The text gave numerous examples of fantasy and science fiction books that will be quite helpful in and out of the classroom.
I agree wholeheartedly with the text when it says that fantasy books are great to use as read-aloud selections with children. When my oldest son realized that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie was based on a book, he wanted to read the book before watching the movie. As he began reading it out loud to me, I easily discovered that it was well above his reading level, so it became our nightly story before bed. I read this to my children who were seven and five at the time, and I instructed them to close their eyes and listen to the words and let their imaginations create the pictures for them. After every nightly reading, we would discuss how we envisioned Narnia in our minds and compare and contrast our individual Narnias.
Science fiction is also a genre that has quite a large following of fans. I have only really read one science fiction book, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, but it is one that I would recommend to anyone who has struggled finding a book that they want to read in this category. As the text pointed out, science fiction stories have not only concepts of science in them, but many contain social and ethical questions and many books, or movies, leave us contemplating how to answer many questions and/or actions encountered by the characters.
JasonR - I never really considered how fantasy and science fiction could be considered believable either, however the text gave me an alternative meaning for believability! One of the things I enjoy about reading fantasy books is the ability they have in helping us let go of what we consider logical and possible, and allows us to experience life “outside the box”, even if it is only for that short time that we are enjoying the book. Great post!
Chris, I know you will enjoy the Harry Potter books. I have read them all with my children. Beware...You will find yourself losing hours and not know it. You fall into the story!
The text had mentioned that these books would work great as read aloud for the class. I completely agree. A lot of the time when I read aloud to my kids they like to doodle. Usually what they are picturing of what I am reading. Fantasies can take children on an exciting adventure. Places they cannot go unless in their dreams. I am always impressed with the writers of these stories. They must have been exciting as children. I beleive this is a section that inspires children to wrtie. They can just explore new worlds and new things they they never new possible.
I agree with everyone that Winnie the Pooh blew my mind that it was fantasy, which after you stop and think about it it does make sense!! It was very interessting to find out all teh different stories that are fantasy. I am still not much into and it was very hard for me toread this chatper becase it is not very interestingto me.
I am all about the modern fantasy because that is the genre I read the most myself. I think these are great books for appealing to kid’s imaginations and opening their minds to things they may have never even thought of. I love reading Modern fantasy books because of the grand adventures the go on and impossible quest they partake in. Every chapter has the criteria to evaluating certain books and this chapter about modern fantasy was very insightful. Not all the books I have read have been good but I couldn’t quite put it into words why the book wasn’t that great but with the evaluation criteria pointed right at the problem with those books.
I too love the Harry Potter series. My wife loves the movies but she has only read part of the first book. After many months of bugging her I convinced her to at least listen to the audio books with me. I enjoy this time with my wife as we lie in bed and listen to the many adventures Harry and his friends get into.
I agree with you who said that fantasy would be the best to read aloud to children. It gives them something to think about and use their minds to further explore the stories. Also, I agree that I didn't realize that Winnie the Poo was considered fantasy, but if you think about it...duh.
Chapter 7 was very interesting. There are just more and more ways to opening an childs imagination. I know some people are against science fiction and I'm not the first to choose a science fiction book, I respect it's contents. It goes way beyond the imagination some of these authors create worlds and technology that we could never even imagine. We are still discoverying thing everyway in this would and out of space. In my opinion science fiction takes the imagination farther than any other fantacy worlds.
Peder I totally agree with you. Although not a huge fan myself I know every kid I know chooses Harry Potter (modern fantasy) over "the secret garden" anyday. I see more and more kids reading modern fantasy more and more each day.
I enjoyed reading this chapter. Modern fantasy is something that keeps on expanding and is so popular especially today. I loved how this chapter explained about the different types of fantasy, from Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter. I liked reading about the different requirements that authors have to maintain for fantasy books and the different tools they have to use in order to catch the attention of their readers. Making it believable was the biggest requirement. Although every reader knows that our fiction fantasy books will never happen, if the reader can just get us hooked then they have succeeded. A lot of times, I look at the new fantasy books that have come out and I think of how dumb it can be. I will always have one friend who does a good job of persuading me into reading it until I finish the whole book or the series and become a huge fan. Most of the time I willingly do not go and pick up a fantasy book to read, but once I do I am always happy that I did. Sometimes it is a great thing to escape from the real world and jump into a story that isn't!
I agree with your statement about making it believable. When I first read about it the book I thought, "Of course no one can really believe this stuff happens." I just finished reading the Twilight series books and although I know it's never possible to fall in love with a vampire. And who really wants to anyway when he admits he wants to kill you. Not my type of romance at all. But when I was reading the series I was swept away and entered into a believable state of mind.
I never thought I enjoyed modern fantasy, but was surprised to find out after reading the chapter that some of the books I did enjoy were included in this category. As a young child my parents read the original adventures of Winnie the Pooh to me. I shared the updated versions and enjoyed the movies with my children. The bright pictures and creative adventures of Pooh, Alice, and Paddington are fun to read and share. I learned that fantasy is not only science fiction. Once again the text was very helpful as is imparted new knowledge and helped build a basis for my definition and selection of literature.
ReplyDeleteFor the one of my book selections I read Lois Lowry's The Giver. I found that this fantasy book helped me to think about myself and society. I enjoyed this function of reading. I have not read any of the Harry Potter books, but plan to start the first one over break. The many public views and instances of censorship prevented me from reading them. I can see that these books can be a great start for a child's imaginations and opinions. These books provide rich description and would lend themselves well to a literature circle type study in upper elementary or middle school. I am looking forward to finding different ways to share the creativity of the fantasy author with students.
Chapter 7 Blog
ReplyDeleteEvery chapter in this text allows me to think more clearly about a certain type of literature. After this chapter, I realize how modern fantasy is an excellent way for kids to journey to far off places. I am happy to find out that it is considered the most valuable of children’s literature, because my oldest son loves it. I have always encouraged him to read what he likes, but I thought non-fiction was more important for educational reasons. I was unaware of all the benefits that modern fantasy brings with it. As a child I loved The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, but I would have never considered it to be modern fantasy. I always thought fantasy involved fairies and princesses who live in beautiful castles. To me, a mouse on a motorcycle is fun fiction. I wrote down many titles of books that I love, but didn’t know they were considered fantasy.
I am very familiar with Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear and a few of the other titles in this chapter, but I don’t have much experience with sharing fantasy stories with children. My oldest son prefers to read on his own, I have to force my younger son to read anything and my daughter prefers beginner chapter books, so I haven’t taken the time to share modern fantasy with them. I would really love the opportunity to get students involved in creative dramatization with modern fantasy. As a person with some artistic talent, I would enjoy creating some art projects based on modern fantasy stories.
I don’t really have any questions about this chapter, but I do have one issue. How did science fiction make it in to a Children’s Literature text book? I am not against science fiction, but it was my least favorite section to read about in this chapter.
I learned some very interesting facts in this chapter, as I do with every chapter. In the section about Hans Christian Andersen, I learned a very surprising fact. I had never been informed that “The Ugly Duckling” was said to be based on Andersen’s life. I am going to look into this a little more for my own benefit. I have said that my goal is to teach secondary education, and modern fantasy seems appropriately leveled reading for this age group. The text listed many techniques and plans for introducing this type of literature to students of different grade levels. I did learn a lot from this chapter, but I am not as enthused about it as I am the previous chapters.
Chris C.,
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I read that Winnie the Pooh was considered Modern Fantasy. I guess I have always held a wrong definition when classifying fantasy. I haven't read any fantasy books for this course yet, but I am looking forward to it. I have never really had the time nor desire to sit back with a book like some people do. So I haven't had the experience of reading the stories mentioned in this chapter.
I think that authors who write modern fantasies should be permitted rewards for their remarkable imaginative realms of possibility! This chapter was very enlightening to me, as I’m not one who has read a whole lot of fantasy-type literature. It also gave many examples of great works by several authors. Some of them I was familiar with their books and others I had never heard of before; most of them which I think targeted an older, more mature audience.
ReplyDeleteThen in jumped into categorizing modern fantasy into topics including articulate animals, toys that come alive, preposterous characters and situations, strange and curious worlds, little people, friendly and frightening sprits, time warps and science fiction. WOW….did you all know there were so many topics? I sure didn’t! I recognized more of the books within this section such as; The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Paddington Bear, The Jungle Book, Velveteen Rabbit and of course Winnie-the-Pooh.
Another enlightening bit of information given in this chapter was ideas on how to teach with modern fantasy. Because it is hard for children to comprehend, it is very important for them to read several fantasy selections and encourage them to identify and discuss what makes each story modern fantasy.
One last topic discussed was the idea of oral discussion. I truly think that discussion is a key factor when it comes to comprehending. Interaction with children is a vital part of the classroom. It encourages reactions, thoughts and responses to a story.
Shadra,
ReplyDeleteI must admit, modern fantasy and science fiction isn’t one of my favorite genres of literature! I think you’re absolutely right about the modern fantasy to be more geared for secondary students. My goal on the other hand is to teach at the elementary level and a lot of books mentioned are not age appropriate for them. Like you, this was one of my least favorite chapters; enlightening, but not of my best interest.
I too did not know Winnie the Pooh was Modern Fantasy and I also am not a huge fan of science fiction stories. However, each and every chapter enlightens something different and shows something specific about certain genres that I honestly never really thought about. I think it is important for students to be able to identify what they are reading and why they are reading it. I have never ever ever been a Harry Potter fan and have never seen one of the movies. Trees walking and talking have just never been my thing I guess.
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 - Modern Fantasy
ReplyDeleteTraditional tales is where many writers get their ideas. The fantasy writer's goal is to keep their reader in suspense. Fantasy books are often tales of quests and conflicts. The fun of these types of books is that both children and adults enjoy reading them. I like that fantasy books give children their own imagination to explore. I
I found the chapter helpful at the end as it gave examples of how to choose a good fantasy book and how to use it in discussions. I also enjoyed reading about the languages of the book and how authors choose to tell their story.
Since I was a little girl, living on a farm I have always loved books that have talking animals. I remember that by reading fantasy books or having them read to me, they allowed me to have the imagination to explore fantasy in everyday life. I use to pretending that my farm animals could talk to me.
Terram,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that authors of fantasy should be rewarded for their work of imagination. I also with every chapter appreciate the chapters listing ideas of books and authors for future references. These will come in handy for a classroom setting.
Chapter 7 is an excellent chapter as it entails the different types of modern fantasy. Fantasy books have always been my personal favorite since I was a child. I learned in this chapter the different types of modern fantasy books that I had no clue whatsoever that they would be put into this genre. I think that the fantasy books is a way to build children's imagination by allowing them to dream because dreaming is on the best parts of life. I think that by allowing the mind to fantasize many kids are able to live in a life they would like to have and a life they can achieve if they put there minds to it. Oral discussion was to the end of the chapter and I think that discussion within the class is an excellent way to be able to know if they kids understood the story. Oral discussion allows the kids to share there opinions with each other and it sort of starts a debate if they books calls for the different sides of the story. This book is an excellent source for us as students as each chapter gives us more knowlegde of many things that we have no clue about.
ReplyDeleteShadra
ReplyDeleteI too do not like science fiction books as I see no point to them. I am a fan of fantasy books but I do not understand how science fiction books fall into this chapter. I think that reading fantasy books to children is a great way to build there imagination. I think that if you give yourself the time to read these type of books to kids you will really enjoy them.
For many of the books discussed in this chapter, I have seen or heard of the movies, but I have not read the books. I’ve never read any of the Harry Potter books or Lord of the Rings (though I’ve started and never finished), for example. I had also heard of the movie Inkheart, but again, I’ve never read it. The descriptions of the books made me wonder whether I’m missing anything. I’ve heard from friends, for instance, that the Harry Potter novels are a lot more detailed than the movies. I just can’t get myself interested enough to read them right now, though. I think I have too many other things to do. The descriptions throughout the chapter also made me think that some of these books sound more like they’re written for high school ages, or even adults, rather than children. The messages of the books just seem very advanced for children. I do find it interesting, though, that lately Hollywood seems to have picked up on the market for Fantasy adventures and has put out so many movies based on these books in the last few years. I didn’t think that many in the first part of the chapter were not movies yet, so I wonder if they will be soon.
ReplyDeleteDiscussions of Beatrix Potter stories and Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear made me think of my own children. I’ve read them some of these stories, and we own a Beatrix Potter DVD set that shows an actress who is supposed to be Beatrix at the beginning of each story writing letters to sick children that become her stories. I thought it was interesting that her first story really started that way. I also like that Paddington Bear is so realistically childlike.
Fantasy is one of my own favorite genres of children’s literature, but I’m a little disappointed to notice that much of what was described in the text was accompanied by the suggestion that the books are too difficult for children to read by themselves and need to have an adult read them. Also, the books and lessons suggested for teaching were for a much higher age group than I plan to teach for. I’m sure this chapter was useful for anyone planning to teach a middle school or high school level, but I didn’t think the suggestions were useful to me. In fact, I remember doing projects in my Jr/Sr AP English classes similar to some of the lessons described for books such as Brave New World and 1984, which are not mentioned in the text, but are definitely science fiction.
Terram-
ReplyDeleteI thought that the modern fantasy was directed toward an older audience, also. I know it mentioned a few authors for young children, but it was a very few. I hadn't realized that many of the books I have previously read would be considered modern fantasy. I had read stories such as The Giver, and I've read some that weren't mentioned but are along the lines of Lord of the Rings. I thought the teaching strategies also targeted teaching toward an older class, so I was still left in the dark about how to teach fantasy to young children. You mentioned that you liked the suggestion for discussion, and that was actually a technique I used in my high school AP English classes to analyze our required reading. I think we are in agreement that most of this stuff is way too advanced for any students that I plan to teach!
This is my favorite chapter so far. I am a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. This is the genre that really hooked me on reading. I loved that some of my favorite authors and books were listed in this chapter. These books can fuel the imagination and make children think outside the box. I like that the chapter gave a little insight to multiple authors. I am constantly amazed by how many children have read the Harry Potter series. Some of the books listed are for a more mature audience like the Lord of the Rings books. But it seems that children are reading more mature books at a much younger age. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing but it definitely falls into line with more mature shows on tv and the video games they play.
ReplyDeleteChris C
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to learn that Winnie the Pook was considered fantasy. This chapter showed that everyone perceives books differently. I like fiction and love the Harry Potter series but I know some people who don't like them but do enjoy the movies. It is interesting to know that censorship had kept you from reading them. Having read them they are no different than many other books out there, So You want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane is a book about young children who learn to be wizards but no one has put them on a censorship list. Amazing how a few people can really effect the world around us.
Danica,
ReplyDeleteI think that chapters like this are good because they let us "see" views that we might not be looking for. I am glad that you shared that science fiction and fantasy got you hooked on reading. I will need to remember to look outside my favorites and find books and authors that encourage my students to become life long readers. Thanks!
To my surprise I enjoy many fantasy books. Before reading this text, I thought that fantasy was fairies and trolls, things like that. When I was little I loved Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit, my grandmother had, what seemed like millions of movies and books. Alice in Wonderland was another fantasy movie that I enjoyed a lot growing up. This chapter has let me explore and think deeply about fantasy, and fairy tales. I think Science fiction is my least favorite to read.
ReplyDeleteDanica, I agree with you when you say that these books can fuel the imagination and make kids think outside the box! I think all children should enjoy their imagination and let it take them wherever!
ReplyDeleteI need to make more of an effort going outside my "box" on different types of literature. When I was younger, I was the classic...look at the cover and see what pictures before I decide on the book. I know I missed out on some classic modern fantasy books.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I always enjoyed fantasy books and I still do. It was interesting to see several books cited in Chapter 7 I remember reading as a child. Again this chapter provided much knowledge regarding literature and the importance of fantasy for children. It was useful to learn fantasy challenges the intellect, reveals insights, stimulates the imagination, and nurtures the affective domain. I found the section of teaching modern fantasy to be the most helpful for my classroom one day. It was insightful to learn children have a difficult time interrupting fantasy. This section allowed me to learn how to assist children with overcoming this obstacle.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting section I remember from Chapter 7 was learning about the censorship of the popular series Harry Potter. I was not aware the books were censored for criticism. I did not they were often criticized. I would have never guessed they were looked down upon due the witch craft and wizardry. These are two things I believe to be fantasy and I can remember enjoying reading about as a child. After all most fantasy books have some sort of magic illustrated. I have seen the movies and loved all of them. I still would like to read the books as well because I hear they are much, much better. Which is usually true in regards to movies being made from books. The movies can just not capture the significance that books can.
I still find it interesting that books are censored when we have some many horrible movies made every day and they are available in theatres and in stores. How can people complain about books that children love. Harry Potter is a book I have seen numerous kids reading. Which all the technology toys children have access to I am grateful for authors like JK Rowling who write in different ways to encourage children to read rather than play a videogame. This section really got me thinking about the importance of literature in education and how it can assist a child with growing academically and personally.
Randi J
ReplyDeleteI agree with you this chapter brought back memories for me as well. I loved Alice and Wonderland as a child. In fact I still have this huge hard back copy of the book my dad got me for Christmas one year. I may have to use it in my classroom one day. Who would have thought? :)
Terram-
ReplyDeleteI love Lord of the Rings! I just wanted to say I agree with you. I learned a lot of books I have read were fantasy and I did not realize they indeed were. I of course know they were fictional but I was not aware they were labeled fantasy. It was new for me to indentify Winnie the Pooh as fantasy. It makes sense however after reading this chapter.
I found it really interesting how much they stressed making fantasy writing believable. I would have never thought of fantasy being at all believable, but after reading the chapter I understand how that is vital to fantasy writing.
ReplyDeleteI also found the analysis by Jane Yolen on page 275 interesting. She talks about persuasive techniques to make a fantasy world seem real to children. One of the most interesting of the three techniques that she talked about was how most of the hero's are, "often lost, unlikely, powerless at first glance, or unrecognized, which makes him or her easy for the child reader to identify with." When you look at many fantasy stories they have this. It is usually one of the characters that you don't expect that is the hero. Even in Harry Potter, where you know he is going to be special somehow because the book is named after him, he is an unlikely hero with his past and present circumstances.
I enjoy reading fantasy books and I believe they are a great way to get young kids into reading.
Chris C.
ReplyDeleteThe Giver is a great fantasy book. It really does make you reflect on yourself and society. We did a project last year with our 8th grade students, who were reading The Giver, on what they thought a utopian society would be, and if they would think that the society in The Giver would be a utopia or not. It was a really interesting to see what their thoughts were. It was a great exercise to work their thinking process and their imaginations.
I did not think that fantasy or science fiction is something that I enjoyed. I have found that I was interested in a number of the books that this chapter talked about. I wrote down the names of many of them that I belive my son would be interested in. There were also many books, that my son has already read like Dragonriders, Inkspell, and Inkheart. There is now an Inkdeath as well that is too new for the book to mention. I realized that books that I originally may not have thought I had any interest in that I now do, like Wind in the Willows, The Borrowers, and many others. Thanks to this chapter I have several books that I can choose from for Christmas shopping. I thought some of the ideas that the other gave about how to compare different types of literature were a great idea. There was one aspect that I did disagree about. She was all about reading The Golden Compass and doing many different things with this book. I am not a believer in book banning, but the huge controversery regarding this book makes me think twice about using it in the classroom setting. I think that there are a number of parents, that would be very upset about their children reading this book. I know many christian families that even though they have not read the book are vehemently against it. This would be the main reason behind not using it in class. If a child wants to read it for their own enjoyment or curiosities so be it. My husband actually read the book because he wanted to see for himself if this book was controversial to him. He does not believe it to be. I am planning to read the book for the same reason, but have not gotten a chance to. I think too many people judge a book without reading it first. People need to read a book before judging the content.
ReplyDeleteDanica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is probably the best chapter yet. I am not a
big fan of this book. I think the author has too much to say. I think
she could accomplish more if she did not try to put too much into the
chapters. I find my mind wandering often and it takes days to read
because I can not force myself to read 35-60 pages of this at once. I
think some of the information she gives is good but there is too much.
I mean in the chapter about illustration, she told about lines and
other crap, that I don't need to know unless I am teaching an art class
and it doesn't matter for children's books. Anyway sorry got off on a
tangent. I agree with you that children are reading books that are at
higher levels. I don't know if that is because children read at a
higher level than they used to or if they have more grown up tastes.
I really enjoyed this chapter, as modern fantasy and science fiction are widely enjoyed in my house by my husband and oldest son. This is a genre that I have become more involved with in the past several years. As an adult, my taste in books generally focused on mysteries, however once I was introduced to fantasy, I became quite the fan and have been at many midnight releases of Harry Potter books. Fantasy books are a wonderful way to tap into the imagination of children and adults alike. I had never really thought how modern fantasy is really a descendant of fairy tales, folk tales, mythology, etc., but the text did a great job of linking the two genres of literature. I was also surprised that Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, and Paddington Bear were considered fantasy, but with the expanded knowledge I learned from this chapter, I have been able to think of many other enjoyable childhood tales that would fall in this category. The text gave numerous examples of fantasy and science fiction books that will be quite helpful in and out of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with the text when it says that fantasy books are great to use as read-aloud selections with children. When my oldest son realized that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie was based on a book, he wanted to read the book before watching the movie. As he began reading it out loud to me, I easily discovered that it was well above his reading level, so it became our nightly story before bed. I read this to my children who were seven and five at the time, and I instructed them to close their eyes and listen to the words and let their imaginations create the pictures for them. After every nightly reading, we would discuss how we envisioned Narnia in our minds and compare and contrast our individual Narnias.
Science fiction is also a genre that has quite a large following of fans. I have only really read one science fiction book, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, but it is one that I would recommend to anyone who has struggled finding a book that they want to read in this category. As the text pointed out, science fiction stories have not only concepts of science in them, but many contain social and ethical questions and many books, or movies, leave us contemplating how to answer many questions and/or actions encountered by the characters.
JasonR - I never really considered how fantasy and science fiction could be considered believable either, however the text gave me an alternative meaning for believability! One of the things I enjoy about reading fantasy books is the ability they have in helping us let go of what we consider logical and possible, and allows us to experience life “outside the box”, even if it is only for that short time that we are enjoying the book. Great post!
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI know you will enjoy the Harry Potter books. I have read them all with my children. Beware...You will find yourself losing hours and not know it. You fall into the story!
The text had mentioned that these books would work great as read aloud for the class. I completely agree. A lot of the time when I read aloud to my kids they like to doodle. Usually what they are picturing of what I am reading. Fantasies can take children on an exciting adventure. Places they cannot go unless in their dreams. I am always impressed with the writers of these stories. They must have been exciting as children. I beleive this is a section that inspires children to wrtie. They can just explore new worlds and new things they they never new possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that Winnie the Pooh blew my mind that it was fantasy, which after you stop and think about it it does make sense!! It was very interessting to find out all teh different stories that are fantasy. I am still not much into and it was very hard for me toread this chatper becase it is not very interestingto me.
ReplyDeleteI am all about the modern fantasy because that is the genre I read the most myself. I think these are great books for appealing to kid’s imaginations and opening their minds to things they may have never even thought of. I love reading Modern fantasy books because of the grand adventures the go on and impossible quest they partake in. Every chapter has the criteria to evaluating certain books and this chapter about modern fantasy was very insightful. Not all the books I have read have been good but I couldn’t quite put it into words why the book wasn’t that great but with the evaluation criteria pointed right at the problem with those books.
ReplyDeleteI too love the Harry Potter series. My wife loves the movies but she has only read part of the first book. After many months of bugging her I convinced her to at least listen to the audio books with me. I enjoy this time with my wife as we lie in bed and listen to the many adventures Harry and his friends get into.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you who said that fantasy would be the best to read aloud to children. It gives them something to think about and use their minds to further explore the stories. Also, I agree that I didn't realize that Winnie the Poo was considered fantasy, but if you think about it...duh.
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 was very interesting. There are just more and more ways to opening an childs imagination. I know some people are against science fiction and I'm not the first to choose a science fiction book, I respect it's contents. It goes way beyond the imagination some of these authors create worlds and technology that we could never even imagine. We are still discoverying thing everyway in this would and out of space. In my opinion science fiction takes the imagination farther than any other fantacy worlds.
ReplyDeletePeder I totally agree with you. Although not a huge fan myself I know every kid I know chooses Harry Potter (modern fantasy) over "the secret garden" anyday. I see more and more kids reading modern fantasy more and more each day.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this chapter. Modern fantasy is something that keeps on expanding and is so popular especially today. I loved how this chapter explained about the different types of fantasy, from Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter. I liked reading about the different requirements that authors have to maintain for fantasy books and the different tools they have to use in order to catch the attention of their readers. Making it believable was the biggest requirement. Although every reader knows that our fiction fantasy books will never happen, if the reader can just get us hooked then they have succeeded. A lot of times, I look at the new fantasy books that have come out and I think of how dumb it can be. I will always have one friend who does a good job of persuading me into reading it until I finish the whole book or the series and become a huge fan. Most of the time I willingly do not go and pick up a fantasy book to read, but once I do I am always happy that I did. Sometimes it is a great thing to escape from the real world and jump into a story that isn't!
ReplyDeleteJason -
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about making it believable. When I first read about it the book I thought, "Of course no one can really believe this stuff happens." I just finished reading the Twilight series books and although I know it's never possible to fall in love with a vampire. And who really wants to anyway when he admits he wants to kill you. Not my type of romance at all. But when I was reading the series I was swept away and entered into a believable state of mind.
Making it believable is what can sell not only that particular book or series but give that author credibility for numerous writings.
ReplyDelete