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Multiple Thoughts on Point of View
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From: WMMayes at aol.com <WMMayes>
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:33:18 EST
Some of my favorite books for a discussion with 4th thru 6th grades on point of view, some multiple, some just making you think about how you look at things:
ALL WE NEEDED TO SAY by Marilyn Singer THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE by Ann Turner EVERYDAY MYSTERIES by Jerome Wexler I AM THE DOG, I AM THE CAT by Donald Hall MISSISSIPPI MUD by Ann Turner THE MORGANS DREAM by Marilyn Singer MY MAP BOOK by Sara Fanelli SHORTCUT by David Macaulay THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN by Florence Parry Heide SLEEPING UGLY by Jane Yolen THE TELLING OF THE TALES by William J. Brooke THIRTEEN by Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner ZOOM by Istvan Banyai
None of these are novels, but I find them extremely useful books to get a good discussion going about how we are limited in our perceptions by what we are allowed to see (by the artist) and what we are told (by the author). In the case of the Singer and Turner books (who, in addition to Paul Fleischman are writers I feel excel at this kind of writing) a more complete picture is gained when all the voices are heard from. The Banyai, Charlip, and Wexler titles are used to develop a sense of visual point of view, as the children have their expectations challenged by these masterly crafted manipulations of their senses.
It is great fun to get kids to understand that "it all depends on how you look at it," and these titles free up their imaginations, allowing for expanded possibilities in their writing and their acceptance of novels with other than clear cut events and straight forward narrative styles. I find that early on in life we begin to unlearn how to see and that, with a little effort (and with outstanding books like these and others mentioned in this discussion) we can reclaim some of our children to a world where everything is not cut and dried, black and white, and where interpretation and imagination are useful tools in understanding the "facts."
Walter the Giant Storyteller Walter M. Mayes co-author of VALERIE & WALTER'S BEST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: A LIVELY, OPINIONATED GUIDE,published by Avon Books WMMayes at aol.com
"Love, Food, Shelter, Clothing...Books!"
Received on Tue 17 Nov 1998 09:33:18 AM CST
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:33:18 EST
Some of my favorite books for a discussion with 4th thru 6th grades on point of view, some multiple, some just making you think about how you look at things:
ALL WE NEEDED TO SAY by Marilyn Singer THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE by Ann Turner EVERYDAY MYSTERIES by Jerome Wexler I AM THE DOG, I AM THE CAT by Donald Hall MISSISSIPPI MUD by Ann Turner THE MORGANS DREAM by Marilyn Singer MY MAP BOOK by Sara Fanelli SHORTCUT by David Macaulay THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN by Florence Parry Heide SLEEPING UGLY by Jane Yolen THE TELLING OF THE TALES by William J. Brooke THIRTEEN by Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner ZOOM by Istvan Banyai
None of these are novels, but I find them extremely useful books to get a good discussion going about how we are limited in our perceptions by what we are allowed to see (by the artist) and what we are told (by the author). In the case of the Singer and Turner books (who, in addition to Paul Fleischman are writers I feel excel at this kind of writing) a more complete picture is gained when all the voices are heard from. The Banyai, Charlip, and Wexler titles are used to develop a sense of visual point of view, as the children have their expectations challenged by these masterly crafted manipulations of their senses.
It is great fun to get kids to understand that "it all depends on how you look at it," and these titles free up their imaginations, allowing for expanded possibilities in their writing and their acceptance of novels with other than clear cut events and straight forward narrative styles. I find that early on in life we begin to unlearn how to see and that, with a little effort (and with outstanding books like these and others mentioned in this discussion) we can reclaim some of our children to a world where everything is not cut and dried, black and white, and where interpretation and imagination are useful tools in understanding the "facts."
Walter the Giant Storyteller Walter M. Mayes co-author of VALERIE & WALTER'S BEST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: A LIVELY, OPINIONATED GUIDE,published by Avon Books WMMayes at aol.com
"Love, Food, Shelter, Clothing...Books!"
Received on Tue 17 Nov 1998 09:33:18 AM CST
