Presentations Round One...

Today in class we had the first round of group presentations. I thought overall they were amazing. Both group one and group two did something that was completely polar opposites of each other, which was fantastic!!!!

Group One

I really enjoyed this presentation because lets be honest the power point was amazing, Kyle did a great job on it. I loved that they took the historical side of things, I loved it but then again I am a history major. All the different things that interested all of them individually flowed really well in between each other. I think they did a really good job.

Group Two

This presentation was hilarious. The picture graphic novel was so much fun. The pictures turned out really well, I love how they were semi animated. Them acting out on the side their different parts was perfect, they all really got into their performance. They did a good job incorporating the Wizard of Oz and still make me laugh a lot. Way to go girls to tackle such a racy topic.

Overall I think they were awesome and both of the presentations are going to be a tough act to follow...

Dreams...dreams...dreams...

So I have been putting off this blog for awhile because I didn't think that I had any dreams that really pertained to children's literature. So I decided alright I need to stop trying to find a connection and just blog about a dream and maybe the connection will come to me when I see it in type. So there I was, ya know, dreaming...

I was all by myself in my old high school library, but it wasn't the library that I was used to from growing up. There was a fashion show going on but all the people there were yelling out numbers when they got to the end of the runway. I decided to leave that place stat, it was not for me. So I walked outside the library and I was outside of my old flat in London waiting for the boys that I lived with to come home from school so they could let me into the place since I forgot my key. I was really mad because it had rained and washed out the drawings that I had drawn on the side of the building. The boys came home and let me in but it wasn't the flat the I lived in, but it was still mine. Weird. It was on of our friend's birthdays so we were getting ready for his surprise birthday party, but when I was putting up the streamers the fire alarm went off. Then I woke up....

So its not really even a particularly cool dream or anything but it was nice to dream about London again in a round about way. Its always so weird that when you dream about something so familiar it isn't quite the same in your dreams. Things always fade away and melt into other things that are from your life but never quite the same. Its odd.

6 Degrees of Seperation...

The other day in class when Lisa gave her presentation on six degrees of separation from Obama I wondered if I could also do the same. So I tried as well...

my friend from high school nolan morgan is really good family friends with Conrad Burns...who was the Republican senator for Montana who knows Barack Obama.


Ok that was a bit easier than I thought!

Tell the truth but tell it slant...

When one thinks about children’s literature normally the first thing they think about is fairytales, princesses, knights in shining armor, rhyming tales of morals, and other things that teach children to become better humans. Everybody across the world grew up with more or less the same sort of tales; the kidnapped princess being saved by her one and only true love. These types of stories usually took the form in Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel. For years people have been growing up with these stories of make believes and of wonder and nobody seems harmed by them. These are the stories that children are supposed to read, at least that is the social norm; these stories that encourage a happy ending at the conclusion of each tale. Parents constantly want to watch and monitor what their children are putting into their heads. So it would seem that the stories would be age appropriate for children. These are the stories that we want our children reading, right? There is a reason that a lot of stories have been touched by Disney, they seem to be protecting the children from what really happens in these fairytales. In Han Christian Anderson’s version of the Little Mermaid he does not allow her to stay with the Prince. Would children be visibly different if they had always grown up knowing that version instead of Walt Disney’s? What happens when children stop reading the obviously sweet and begin reading stories that have a stronger element of truth to them? Stories like His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman are an excellent example of a new breed of tales that provoke the thought of truth in them. It is important to have truth lining stories for children, if they realize it or not. Children’s literature needs truth just like children need to hear it. They might not completely understand it at the young age they read it at; but as they get older the truth that lined their childhood stories will begin to break loose and stream back into their conscious.
Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials including The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass is quite a grown up book geared for children. The main characters, Lyra and Will, are children themselves and throughout these three books they grow up with the reader. The book appeals to children with the thoughts of adventure, witches, and even armored polar bears. The books swarms around fantasy with entrances into different worlds and at first glance one would think that this is truly a children’s book. Pullman actually pulls you in and it is not till later in the novel one realizes that the story revolves around very truthful ideas and thoughts. Based on original sin, religion, and becoming an adult His Dark Materials does not try and trick anybody at any age about what the novel is telling you. Here is a novel that is still teaching lessons and morals like the fairytales people grew up on but here they are laid out for the simplest things, they understand just fine. Dr. Michael Sexson said during lecture on Monday November 24, 2008 that one should not be condescending to children, they are more aware of their surroundings than we may know. In The Amber Spyglass the ghosts are exiting through a hole cut by the Subtle Knife. Mary Malone is actually spoken to by an older female ghost who tells her “Tell them stories. They need the truth. You must tell them true stories, and everything will be well. Just tell them stories” (Pullman, 864). Why cannot parents and other grownups take this idea to heart; the idea that you must tell children true stories and everything will work itself out and be alright. Children can learn easily from hearing stories and becoming more educated on different subjects. Obviously children would not be interested in reading autobiographies on Abraham Lincoln and learning about his struggles with country and heart, or a complete history of the Holocaust. These sorts of stories just cannot hold the attention or imagination of many children. The truth needs to be wrapped up in something that interests the child like magic and the idea of going to different worlds.
Many children, as smart as they may be, do not fully understand what it is that they are reading when they are young. Is it important for them to fully know every single meaning of their stories that they love and adore? They do know that they love the adventure, fantasy, and the love the surrounds most children’s tales and that is what is important when they first read them, and it is not until later that they understand. It is usually later in life when the entire meaning comes to them and what they read as children makes since to them. They had always known but once they are old enough to truly understand that is when the light turns on. Emily Dickinson wrote a poem titled “To Tell the Truth” that encompasses this idea of understanding something you already learned.

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant --
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind --
The entire poem is very interesting because throughout the whole thing she capitalizes the word truth showing its importance. It is more than just a word but more of an encompassing body of knowledge that everybody should intimately. The last two lines in particular fall in order with the thought process that slowly but surely the knowledge of truth will be part of your life. As a child if one reads stories like Pullman’s trilogy the entirety of the truth is there but usually the child will not be old enough to comprehend it. When that child is old enough and the truth begins to leak into their conscious mind that is when they can really understand what they read all those years ago.
It is not only Pullman’s trilogy that tangos with truth. Other fairytales are able to get across that what is common maybe not always desirable for children. Like mentioned before, Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid is not a happy ending story. When the mermaid ends up without her prince at the end of the tale the notion that not everything can end perfect is directly put across. Here there is no gradual of seeping truth later in life, but instead put in front of one to deal with at that moment. Is that too much for children to handle in one sitting, does it need to gradually fall into place for them later in life? Are they Disney versions a must have when teaching children morals through fairytales? Truth is already a rarity in the world in general why not let children see things as they are from an early age? If they want to see what they are reading than they will accept it. If not then maybe to them that little mermaid will meet up with the Prince later after he dies and eventually there will be a happy ending after all. Children are able to learn about truth through these fairytales about magic, princesses, and other worlds. Let them learn this way through books and stories than through the harsh reality of life. Reverend William Slone Coffin was quoted saying “The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love”. Through these stories and tales children are learning the truth, and there is no too young of age to start.

Looking like your pet

In class the other day we mentioned that a lot of people look like the pets that they own. When we began talking about this I immediately thought of Disney's 101 Dalmatians. I don't know if anybody remembers this in the beginning of the movie there are the scenes showing all the different dogs and their owners around town. All the dogs look exactly like their owners, I always thought that it was funny as a little kid. In the beginning of the movie Pongo is looking for a woman for Roger, and as he is looking out the window he stumbles across all these different as he keeps calling them breeds.





If you start around 4:45 in the clip it will bring you right to the part with Pongo.


While I was looking for other pictures and things like that of people looking like their pets I came across something very interesting. A book called Dancing with Cats. It is a very odd thing I believe. Its a book about people dancing with their cats. Huh. But you can't deny that they look like their dancing partner. So if you were wondering if daemons exist even in our world, I would have to go with a resounding yes.

Golden Compass characters

So when I heard that we were going to read Dark Materials I was really excited. I had seen the movie and liked it. I thought they did a good job casting all the characters, I really enjoyed all of it as a whole. (Well I mean now I have some different feelings about it since I have read the book but that is besides the point). What is bothering me though is now when I am reading the book I can only picture the characters that the theater gave me. I keep trying to shake the images but I just cant. Its really becoming annoying.

For instance Mrs. Coulter is supposed to have dark hair. I mean come on Nicole Kidman something as minor as that should of been easy to give her. Maybe a wig or dye it. But yeah so now I picture Nicole Kidman in my head and not somebody that I got to create on my own. Boo.









I think they did do a good job with Iorek Byrnison though. I dont have a problem picturing him while reading the books!!!!



I LOVED the choice for Mr. Scoresby. But I think that I only love him because he played the part so well. I really wonder what he would of looked like in my mind if I had had the chance to imagine him on my own?????


Lord Asriel, well he is just incredibly good looking in this movie. Thanks Daniel Craig. I don't think I would of envisioned him as handsome as he now is when I read the books. He probably would of had some serious facial problem, like something along the line of perma wind burn and other arctic things like that. Maybe even a scar, I don't even know because once again Hollywood told me what he was gonna look like. Hm.


Lyra. I am sure if my imagination was given the opportunity to imagine Lyra something totally different would have sprung up. She wouldn't of been so mousy looking I don't think. Oh well.

Daemons/humans..whats the difference?

In Pullman's books the idea of daemons are incredibly interesting. Here is this animal that is supposed to reflect you and be part of your being, just an extension of you. It was not until I was reading the Lantern Slides for the Subtle Knife when I began to think more about daemons. One slide the Pullman describes on page 538 is...

A daemon is not an animal, of course; a daemon is a person. A real cat, face to face with a daemon in cat form, would not be puzzled for a moment. She would see a human being.

Before the small statement I more or less took daemons at face value but after knowing that another animal would only see a human got me to thinking. Would the cat see two people standing next to each other? Would the cat have seen only one human but "whole" like from our world and Will's? If the cat did see a person does that person look exactly like the other person, are we talking twins or would the animal see different looking people but similar? Like looking at sisters or some sort of relations?

That small sentence has really thrown me into a tizzy, I want to know how Pullman would describe this person. I think that in the case of the cat with Pan that the cat would of seen two different people, because if there is two people one has to acknowledge that there is a "soul" of sorts to a person, hence the reason that daemons would exist. But what would this person look like? I like to think that through an animals eyes that they see two different looking people that look oddly similar. You can tell that they are one but for some reason separate. I don't know if that makes sense but it does in my mind, hopefully its translating into blog form alright.