Author Profile 9-28-09

These are just a few books by Carol Otis Hurst, you can find more on this website http://www.carolhurst.com/products/products.html .The genre is children’s fiction. All of the books and summaries are from Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site.

Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst

Some people collect stamps. Other people collect coins. Carol Otis Hurst's father collected rocks. Nobody ever thought his obsession would amount to anything. They said, "You've got rocks in your head"…



Through the Lock by Carol Otis Hurst

 Etta and her brother and sister, wards of the state of Massachusetts in 1840, have been parceled off to separate foster homes. Determined to gather her family back together and create a secure home for herself and her siblings, Etta has run away from the last in a long string of foster homes…

The Wrong One by Carol Otis Hurst

Jesse discovers an old doll hidden up in the barn rafters.

Despite Sookan's cryptic protests that it's the wrong one,

they all hope its sale will bring in some much-needed cash.

But when an eerie blue light appears, odd things begin to happen.









In Plain Sight by Carol Otis Hurst

Gold has been discovered in California.

All over the country people, especially men,

are heading west to make it rich…

These books are by Jon Scieszka:

The Spooky Tire and Truckery Rhymes

You can preview The Spooky Tire on

http://www.amazon.com/Spooky-Tire-Ready-Read-Level/dp/1416941428/ref=pd_sim_b_4

This is Jon Scieszka’s website http://www.jsworldwide.com/

Chapter 4

Reading can be boring if one is not connecting schema with what they are reading. The activity we did in class really opened my eyes as to what NOT to do with my class. I know that I will not give them something to read without getting them to think about making a connection. A person always has to have something to connect to when reading, if not it will be the most boring and most frustrating experience ever.
My son is reading the Harry Potter books, he is always comparing the books to the movies. He will come to me and say,"Mom, this wasn't in the book", and "it didn't happen that way in the movie!" What I like is that he says the movie is wrong because the book has more details and extra information than the movie. I love that he is reading and understanding what he is reading. I would probably use something like that in my class. I would show my class a film, have them read the story, and then compare it by using graphic organizers. By doing this, the students will have some background knowledge while they are reading. It doesn't always have to be a film either,  I would use powerpoints, interactive activities, even field trips are great ideas for students to connect to reading.

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I thought this book seemed interesting The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars. It's about a boy named Tommy who doesn't really want to go live with his aunt and uncle but he does and he ends up becoming very close to a black fox. This was one of the author's first books, she also states that parts of the story come from her own life. There is more insight about this book at http://www.betsybyars.com/midnight.html.

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins, is a book that incorporates math and literature into one kid and teacher friendly book. The book is about a grandma that makes cookies and a bunch of kids keep coming and getting the cookies, then another group of kids comes rings the doorbell, and there are more cookies given out. There are patterns and math computations in this book.There is more about the book and the author at  http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/doorbellrang.html.

I found this cool book for Spanish speakers. It is a bilingual book that is written in both English and in Spanish. It is a great for both English speakers and Spanish speakers to teach the both languages. It is called Antonio's Card, La Tarjeta de Antonio, by Rigoberto González and Illustrated by Cecilia Concepción Alvarez. The book has very colorful pictures and a great story. It can be previewed at http://www.childrensbookpress.org/our-books/latino/antonios-card.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 was interesting, I learned who Louise Rosenblatt was. "The reader, the text, and the poem. Everything just make so much sense. The paragragh in the text "Living Literature" on page 39, states "the reader brings a unique set of experiences...teachers don't control what readers get from the text nor should they try to." I believe it, because when I read, I am imagining  in my own mind a scenery that no one else can picture but me. Therefore, when a child is reading aesthetically, they are picturing their own thoughts and scenery in their mind, the children should be able to imagine and have their own thoughts. I guess the "text" part is like once the author has written it, it is just there, inactive, until, the reader takes hold of it. Every reader will have a different perspective because every reader has a different background. Either way, I thought Rosenblatt's stance was awsome.

The one thing I do like is having the student tell the story from their own perspective (retellings), to make sure they understood the story. Another idea I like is having the students act out the story, it would be fun for them and at the same time the teacher knows that they have grasped the story. 

By the way, I like the word "LEXICON" it sounds so strong, and if you think about it, basically it is because it is all the words your brain knows, that is cool! It sounds like a name from the Transformers movie , "LEXICON"! lol. 

Insight on Chapter 2

Well, I am majoring in Bilingual Ed, so this chapter was very helpful in elaborating about how to deal with such diversity. I really liked the tips in helping English Language learners, one of my favorites was labeling the classroom with English and Spanish words such as "door and puerta" and other objects around the classroom like the windows,desks,walls and etc. Similarily, not only for Spanish speakers, but any other language that a student in the classroom may speak. I believe it is important for students to express their cultural beliefs and traditions. I think it will help a child feel proud and acknowledged by expressing his/her culture. I was looking around for some books for children having to do with bilingualism. I found one called MY SPANISH TOUCH-AND-FEEL BOOK OF COLORS by Rebecca Emberly  Publisher: Little Brown and Company ( September 01, 2009 ) It is important  to have thier views and standards.