Adventures and Heros

When I was in 5th grade my teacher read my class the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed the book then, and I am enjoying it even more reading it the second time around. Bilbo is my favorite character out of any book I have ever read. He is funny, in a non-obvious way, and he is just a genuinely nice person (hobbit). His innocence to the world around him plays well into his characterization of being frightened of the outside world at the beginning of the book. Bilbo grows through experience and understanding, just as normal people do. He is afraid of the unknown, but as soon as he gives things a chance he becomes unafraid. He is also heroic in subtle way. He does not do anything amazingly out of the ordinary; it is the little things he does that make him hero-like. He takes the challenge of going on the adventure with the dwarves as their burglar, even though he is terribly frightened. On the journey, thus far, he outwits Gollum, steals swords from the trolls and becomes an expert at burglary. Slowly, as time passes, Bilbo is forming more into a hero. At first he is a shy, timid little hobbit who stays in his hobbit hole, and now he is a brave, risk taking, hero like hobbit who enjoys the adventure he is on.

Blogs and Poets

Lately I have been running out of thing to write for my blogs. I wonder if famous poets and authors go through this same thing. I believe this is called writers block. For me it isn’t so bad that I have run out of things because this is only a daily grade for me, but for authors and poets it is a huge thing. If they don’t write then they don’t get paid. If they don’t get paid they will not have money to pay their bills. If they don’t pay their bills they will have nowhere to live, nothing to drive and no food to eat. I cannot image writing being my permanent job. Having to depend on my own creativity to earn money and make a living off of is not a definite thing. I want a job that I know will bring home the money, even when I am having an off day. Maybe that’s why some poems make no sense. Maybe poets get so desperate for money that they just write down a bunch on nonsense and then sell it like it’s a masterpiece. I mean it is easy to just make up a bunch of stuff and pass it off as something with deeper meaning. I guess poets are pretty smart people. They write poetry that may have no meaning to them, but it cause people for years and years to debate over the true meaning of it. So the poets get the last laugh because really the poems had no meaning at all. They were just a way to make money

Hooray Hooray

Hooray Hooray
Today is test day

I read all the chapters and studied my notes
I skimmed all the books and learned all my quotes

The last test was hard because I was not prepared
This time I studied, so now I’m not scared

Hooray Hooray
Today is test day

I went to bed early so I would be well rested
But only after I reviewed the material in which I would be tested

I woke up on time, and ate a good meal
I had cereal and a banana, minus the peel

Hooray Hooray
Today is test day

I arrived to class, as prepared as can be
Wondering what kind of questions I would see

I sat in my chair, eager to start
I could hear the fluttering of my anxious heart

Hooray Hooray
Today is test day

The professor passed out the test to every student
I began right away, breezing right through it

Three weeks later I got my test back
I aced it, no problem because I gave no slack

Hooray Hooray
I made an A

Poetry

So far my favorite type of poetry is nonsense poetry. It is fun and easy to read, and it doesn’t make a serious deep point, it is written for pure pleasure. If you want to try to look at the deeper side of nonsense poetry it is possible, but nobody can judge if you are right or wrong because sometimes the author of the poem might not even know the intended point. I also like narrative poetry. They are beautiful stories told in the form of poetry. “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes is one of my personal favorite. I was first introduced to the poem my senior year of high school when we listened to it on tape and then wrote a paper about it, and then again in my Children’s Literature class when we read it and listened to it on tape. The poem sounds so beautiful when listened to on tape, and has several deep hidden meanings, some of which I still have not uncovered. I have a new found respect for poetry. I used to think poetry was just a bunch of thrown together words that rhymed. After reading about poetry in my Literature for Children text, I realized many elements are used in writing good poetry.

What Do You Say When a Monkey Acts This Way?

This book was such a good book! It is a story about a monkey who learns good manners from his momma monkey. On Monday the little boy monkey learns to wash his hands before eating a meal. On Tuesday the little monkey learns to say sorry if he hurts someone. On Wednesday the monkey learns to say please if he wants something. On Thursday the little boy monkey learns to say thank you when given a present. On Friday the little monkey learns to take turns and share with others. On Saturday the monkey learns to clean up his toys after playing with them. Finally, on Sunday the little boy monkey puts all of his good manners to use when he visits his grandparents. He says please and thank you at all the right times, and he shares with his little monkey sister. This book is a great book for a few reasons. First, it is a good way to teach young children manners in a fun way without preaching to them. Second, it teaches several good life lessons. I would recommend this book to any mother or teacher who was having trouble teaching children good manners.

The Princess and the Goblin

When I am a teacher I am not going to analyze every book I read to pieces. I enjoyed the book The Princess and the Goblin, but I did not like some of the ways we analyzed the book and the characters. I never even thought of the religious aspect of the book until Dr. Robinson brought it to my attention in class. I wish we did not always have to look at the symbolic meaning of books, and that we could just take them for face value. The grandmother could have just been a good person who liked her space, so she helped Irene in private, but did not want to be bothered by people so she stayed upstairs in her room. Why does her being in a high part of the house have to symbol heaven? Why does the fact that Grandmother Irene is a leader make her a God like figure? Maybe she is just a strong person. I think analyzing books is a good way to broaden your view of books, and to make you think outside the box. I also think that sometimes people get way out of hand when analyzing literature, and it causes reading to become a job or a debate rather than for pleasure.

Horton Hears a Who

Horton Hears a Who was one of my favorite books as a child. I used to read it, or have it read to me, at least once a week. I liked it mostly because elephants are my favorite animal. I recently found out that my favorite childhood book id being made into a movie, and I got really excited!

Below is a link to watch a movie trailer of the movie:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/hortonhearsawho/large_t1.html

Below is a link to hear a reading of the original story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc6NLgcRjrk