EDRG 3321 M&W Chapter 7

Today in class we learned all about picture books. I wanted to discuss some things that were brought up that I never really thought about before whenever I read picture books. It really made me think whenever we talked about how every single part of the picture book is meaningful. The artwork in these books are so detailed that many people take them for granted and it is a shame that they don't appreciate the complexity and detail. I personally never thought that the different colors used had any meaning or symbolism to them, I just thought that the pages were filled with simple drawings. The fact that these books that are so commonly labeled as "only for children" is so unfortunate. Something that I do love about picture books besides the artwork is the lines of text and how they vary so much depending on the mood that they depict. In my opinion whenever the text is printed in these ways the children become more engaged and focus more on reading the words because they are so eye catching and interesting.

For my author profile this week, I chose two books/authors to talk a little about; both are actually mentioned in chapter 7 of our text and I did further research on them. The first I want to share with you is What Do You Do With a Kangaroo? by Marcer Mayer. This book is about a little girl who has to figure out what to do whenever a bossy kangaroo jumps through her window and starts telling her what to do. The book has a very cute ending, but I don't want to give it away! Mercer Mayer is a great author who has been writing books for children for over forty years and I recomend that as teachers you own some of his books in your classroom library. Another great book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. This book is about a little boy Alexander who is having the absolute worst day. We get to follow him from waking up in the morning with gum in his hair, to all sorts of little things happening to him throughout the day. Children love this book because they can relate to Alexander, after all everybody has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. As adults we too can relate to this story because reading it will remind us of little ones that we know and how they can sometimes blow the littlest things completely out of perspective......and so do we!