Baby Lit Books Post #1

I love classics. When I was in middle school and high school that is all I read. I was "that" kid and am actually still proud of that. So when a friend told me about a book series for babies based off of classics I had to check them out. I got the five I am going to talk about from my baby shower. If you have read the classic reading the board book to your child is highly entertaining. The series is called BabyLit Books.

First up is Frankenstein An Anatomy Primer. This one goes through the parts of the body. Which is fantastic. Pride and Prejudice is a Counting Primer. This board books uses elements from the book to teach counting. It uses locations, characters, and plot points. Little Women A Playtime Primer teaches different activities such as drawing, writing, and playing the piano all activites the sisters do in the novel. Each activity also has a quote from the novel. Which is a really nice touch. Dracula A Counting Primer is adorable. This one is layed out very much like the Pride and Prejudice one. It uses characters, plot points, and locations to teaching coutning skills. The last one I will talk about is Alice in Wonderland A Colors Primer. It selects elements of the story and highlights different colors. It is well done and very cute. All these books have great colors and interesting for both baby and parent.

It is a great way to expose children to classic novels. I feel there is a play for classic works and while we are currently working to expand that definition. Historical novels have an important place on understanding our past.

The Importance of Reading

I have always loved reading. I can't remember a time that I did not love books. As a child I loved The Babysitter's Club and Illistrated Classics. I remember reading books that impacted who I was and how I viewed the world. In elementary school we read such great books as The Giver, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, Number of Stars, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Bridge to Terabithia, and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. As a Language Arts teacher today I know how important reading is. There are debates and arguments on what is right and how we should be having kids read. I do not feel that there is one right way. I still read class novels. But the novels you select need to be important and have a reason. For example one of the books we teach every year is The Outsiders. I have seen how well 12 and 13 year olds connect to this novel. It speaks to them and that gets them more interested in reading. You will not reach every child with one book. Even though in my expereince The Outsiders comes really close. But just seeing their peers excited and to feel the energy reaches the kids the book might miss. Do we need more diverse books in our school. Aboslutely. I am always looking for books to put in my school library or stories to teach that have more diverse characters. When I first started teaching I read Donalyn Miller's Book The Book Whisperer and it was life changing. My goal in life is to get books into the hands of kids. As my classroom library shows I am very dedicated. I have books lining each wall, on tables, on the white board. Kids see new stacks not yet processed and they want to see what i have bought for them. I have more kids read beacuse I have given them access to books. Access is one of the things kids don't always have. At this time of year in a lot of schools kids don't have access to their media centers because of testing. So they are cut off from books in a way some teachers may not consider. It's why having books for my students is so important. Now part of that is I am a book buyer. I buy books from Book Outlet, libraries, and usded book stories to save money. I want to give the love I had as a child to other children. I want them to have the access and diversity in thier books. I want them to see themselves in what they read.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I give this book 4.5 stars. How you approach this book is very important; I would not approach it as a sequel to TKAM. That is not how this book was written. I went into this book with the understanding that it was the source material for TKAM. So while it is fine to take it as a sequel you have to keep in mind that she wrote this one first. It almost felt like a parallel universe. With that being said I loved it. I love her writing style and how she presents her characters. I think that Go Set a Watchman is a realistic view of the world Scout lived in and TKAM is that of someone looking back on their childhood and reflecting on their father. Most children do not perceive the realities of their childhoods, because they are learning so much at one time and are sheltered from that world to a point. The Atticus in this book is the same man from the other, but he comes off as more of a person as opposed to the unobtainable expectation. This book deals with issues we are still dealing with today and helps us realize it is a good thing to reevaluate our surroundings and our own beliefs. I also think it is very important to take into account when she wrote this book. You need to realize where Harper Lee is coming from and the experiences she is writing from. I highly recommend reading this book. I also warn the reader to take into account when it was written and that it is the novel the inspired TKAM.

Original post: I am torn between. 4 and a 5 star rating. I have a lot of thoughts about this book. So a more in depth review will be coming once I have processed my thoughts.

View all my reviews

Classics Challenge: March

Classics Challenge: March

Classic read: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier  

WHEN I Discovered This Classic: This has been on my list to read for awhile. I have wanted to see the movie based on this book for a while as well.

WHAT Makes It A Classic: This book was published in 1938 and is still very popular. It is a widely read book that is loved by many.

WHY I Chose to Read It : My book club is doing the classics challenge and this was the ick for March.  

WILL It Stay A Classic: I would say yes because of the character types and how popular it still is today.

WHO I’d Recommend It To: I would recommend this book to people who love mysteries and suspense. I would also recommend this book to people who are just starting out with classics and need a place to start. 

Classics Challenge: February

Classics Challenge: February 

Classic read: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 

WHEN I Discovered This Classic: I had read this classic back in high school and really wanted to revisit it. 

WHAT Makes It A Classic: It is a story that stands the test of time and is considered a main stream classic. 

WHY I Chose to Read It : I wanted a shorter book to be honest with you and this had been on my TBR for a while to re-read.  

WILL It Stay A Classic: Yes. This story has some wonderful universal themes and it is a very accessible text. 

WHO I’d Recommend It To: I would recommend this book to people who like to think about who we are and why we make certain decisions. I would also recommend this book to people who are just starting out with classics and need a place to start. 

Reading list

So I have been compiling what books I have to read for my reading challenges. I am hoping to read a lot of books that I have just had sitting on my shelf. Below I have taken a picture of the books I plan to read for the 25 genre challenge on Goodreads. I have put a post it note on each book to remind me of the category I chose it for since some of my books fall into more then one category. I did select two for so e genres since I was not sure which to choose. I may just read both. I am missing four selections and will upload a new picture once those have been selected. 

Right now I have to swinish up the books I was already reading. So first I need to finish Ghost Story by Jim Butcher and The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. The. I can get started on the reading challenge in the picture!