Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is a children's book written by english author Lewis Carroll. The book presented in this entry is illustrated by Rene Cloke. It is the story of a little girl named Alice who, out of boredom, decides to follow a rabbit down a hole. She then enters a fantasy world, full of talking animals and objects with magical attributes. Throughout her odyssey in Wonderland, the peculiar characters that Alice meets tell her stories or give her valuable advice. After Alice has gone through numerous encounters and adventures, towards the end of the book she is summoned to a trial, in order to confess against the Knave of Hearts, one of the characters in the book. Alice refuses and proceeds to leave, so the rest of the cards rise up to attack her. At this critical moment, Alice wakes up and it appears that all her adventures were only a dream.

 

 



 

 

 

Alice in Wonderland is a fantasy picture book. It narrates events that could not take place in real life, and includes imaginary characters such as talking animals and insects. The setting, Wonderland, is also fictitious.It  is a book filled with unusual imagery, which would definitely make the imagination of any young reader run wild. But even though Wonderland seems like an outrageous place, within the context of the specific story, it becomes entirely believable. Alice's character is equally interesting and we witness how she grows through her encounters and experiences. The book also has an educative, instructive value, as it indirectly tries to pass on knowledge, for instance, through Alice's meditations on her changing dimensions.

Rene Cloke's illustrations are very vibrant and colourful and have a surrealistic feel which is in complete accordance with the bizarre storyline.

 

                                                           

 

 

After having them read this book I would have a discussion with my students concerning the elements of fantasy literature. Then I would ask them if they have vivid dreams or daydreams like Alice and ask them to describe one of these. Another activity would be to ask the students to draw a picture of their favorite character in the story.

 

I would ask my students the following questions:

• Would you have followed the rabbit down the hole? Why or why not?
• Which character in the book appealed to you the most and why?
• In what ways did Alice change through her trip in Wonderland?

 

 Alice in Wonderland is a wonderful, imaginative book which can

also provide food for thought through its metaphorical images, its complex dialogues and sophisticated wordplay.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. He was noted for his talent for wordplay as well as for his logic and fantasy.

 

Other works include:

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871)

The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) (1874-1876)

 

 

 

 Rene Cloke (1905-1995) was born in Plymouth, UK on October 4, 1905. A good deal of her career consisted in  illustrating postcards and greeting cards. Her very playful Alice is drawn in classic '40s children's book style.("Curiouser and Curiouser. The Evolution of Wonderland").

 

 

References:

 

Rene Cloke. Curiouser and Curiouser. The Evolution of Wonderland. Retrieved from http://www.carleton.edu /departme nts/ENGL/Alice/Artistcloke.html

Carroll, Lewis(2004). Alice in Wonderland. Gramercy.(First published in 1865).

 

 

Galda, C. &. (2011). Literature and the Child Seventh Edition . Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

                                                     

All the Small Poems and Fourteen More

All the Small Poems and Fourteen More is a book of poems for intermediate readers, written by Valerie Worth and illustrated by Natalie Babbit. The book is comprised of short poems which describe objects, animals, insects and spaces in an imaginative and lyrical way. It is very interesting how Worth manages to make even the commonest thing sound interesting. Any student would relate to this book because it describes the world that surrounds us. Reading it would help students see the world with a more attentive eye, teach them to observe details and enable them to find beauty in ordinary things.

 



          

I definitely feel that this is a book which is more appropriate for intermediate students. Although Worth employs some beautiful images, and her style is very simple, it is a deadpan, not playful  style, which I do not think very young children could appreciate. I feel that her poetry sits somewhere between children's and adults' poetry, therefore it would be more suitable for intermediate readers. The illustrations, too, are not colorful . They are black and white and look like charcoal paintings.

 



 

Clearly this book must be classified in the poetry/verse genre. The poems are written in free verse. Before reading this book with my students, we would discuss some of the different poetry types and structures and I would ask them about their favorite poetry type. I would also provide them with some information about the most common and simple poetic devices, such as the metaphor. I would  ask the students to read aloud some of the poems. Then I would pose the following questions:

1)Which of these poems did you prefer and why?

2)Do you enjoy free verse poetry or do you prefer  rhymes?

3)Do you prefer prose or poetry? Why?

 

 

 

As a motivational activity I would ask my students to write a poem about an object, animal or plant that fascinates them. Another motivational activity would be to have each student do a presentation on their favorite type of poetry. Finally, I could ask the students to draw one of the objects or animals which are depicted in the poems, but using colors, not in black and white.

 

Valerie Worth's book would be an ideal book for teaching poetry, not only due to the quality of the poems, but because through itsbeautiful,simple descriptions it might encourage students to experiment with poetry themselves. Valerie Worth is an acclaimed poet, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1991 she was honored with the Poetry Award for Excellence in Poetry for Childen by the National Council of Teachers of English. Other works include:

 

Crone's Book of Words (1998)

 

Peacock and Other Poems ( 2002)

 

Pug and Other Animal Poems (2013)

 

References:

 

Worth, Valerie (1996). All the Small Poems and Fourteen More. Square Fish.

 

Galda, C. &. (2011). Literature and the Child Seventh Edition . Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                

The Colors of Us-A Book by Karen Katz

   The Colors of Us is a book written and illustrated by Karen Katz and first published in 1999. The protagonist of the book, little Lena, wants to paint a picture of herself. Her mother tries to teach her that there are many different shades of the same color, but Lena stubbornly insists that "brown is brown". As Lena walks through town with her mother, she realizes that different people do indeed have different tones of skin. She starts relating the colors of people to the colors of objects and foods. She realizes that diversity is a beautiful thing , which makes the world more interesting and colorful. In the end of the book, the girl tries to recall all the colors she has seen and paint them. She calls them "The colors of us". By helping children to acknowledge the difference in skin color as something normal and positive, and realize that society is comprised of people of different racial backgrounds, the book encourages them to develop attitudes of tolerance and respect towards diversity.

      

                                                                    

                                                              

                                                                  

 

I would classify this book as multicultural realistic fiction.

 

Although the characters and the events that take place in the book

 

are fictional, they are plausible and could certainly take place in

 

the real world. It is multi-cultural literature, because it focuses on

 

people of color and on the theme of racial diversity. The 

 

illustrations of the book are very colorful and vibrant, and the

 

variety of coloring that Katz uses, perfectly complements the

 

central theme of the book. Katz does a good job at depicting the

 

subtle differences between color shades.

 

     

This book could trigger interesting conversations in the classroom on the subject of racial tolerance, as well as a discussion about different cultures. I could show the students slides of people from different racial backgrounds and pose the following   questions:

a)What color is their skin? What object or food does it remind you

 

of?

 

b)Where do people with lighter skin come from? Where do people

 

with darker skin come from?

 

c)What do you know about these continents and countries?

 

d)Does a person's skin say something about their character?

 

       

   As a motivational activity I could ask the students to write a

 

short paragraph describing their family and friends' skin colors, in

 

terms of objects and foods, like Lena does in the story.This would

 

aim at showing that each person looks different, even people

 

belonging to the same race, and that there is absolutely nothing

 

wrong with such a state of things.

         

 

    Another motivational activity I could incorporate, would be to

 

encourage children to bring their coloring palettes, to mix up

 

colors and observe the difference in hues. I would then ask them

 

to paint some familiar faces with these colors.

 

     

 

                                                                     

 

       

These activities, like the book's message, are aligned with Saint

 

Leo's Core Value of Respect. Saint Leo values all individuals’

 

unique  talents and respects their dignity. The community’s

 

strength depends on the unity and diversity of its people, on the

 

free exchange of ideas, and on learning, living, and working

 

harmoniously. Likewise, Katz's book teaches young readers

 

how to acknowledge and embrace diversity, following the

 

example of young Lena, who realizes that all the different-

 

looking people belong to a common community comprised

 

of "the colours of us".

                                                       

 

 

"The Colours of Us" is an excellent book, because it touches upon a

 

very serious matter in a very engaging, playful way. Therefore, it

 

can get its message across without alienating young readers.

 

Karen Katz is an illustrator and designer , who has published a

 

number of picture books for young children. The Colors of Us was

 

actually written as a tribute to her young daughter. Other works

 

by the same author include:

• Over the Moon (1997)

• Counting Kisses (2001)

• My First Kwanzaa (2003)

    

References

Katz, Karen(2002). The Colours of Us. Square Fish.

Galda, C. &. (2011). Literature and the Child Seventh Edition .

 

Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing .