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JoieD
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#401
Old 02-25-2008, 03:12 PM

Children's stories are much more complicated than people think; it can really be quite amazing. I read a book the other day called Hiroshima no Pika, and the illustrations were some of the most emotional art I've ever seen. I was actually slightly traumatized, and I'd known ahead of time what I was supposed to be reading! The Carnegie Award is wonderful, and so is the Newberry. There's no reason why an adult shouldn't read children's literature, just like there's no reason why a child (with enough reading skills) shouldn't read adult-level books. It's an art form.

My course is a library science course. Our text is Huck's Children's literature, which deals with several aspect of children's books, like how children choose books, trends for various ages, how to look critically at the books, etc. The last chapter was on picture books and how the illustrations not only enhance, but are an intrinsic part of a good book. How young children can comprehend things in a better way with the aid of the pictures, and learn to look for more than just the literal meanings of words, was another one. And we discussed the introduction of difficult or controversial topics such as war, death, and homelessness. We have to read 50 books: 5 Carnegies, 5 Newberries, 5 nonfiction, 5 wordless picture book, and more, and each book must have a positive review from a major journal. We have to read journal articles and discuss what we've read. Which all sounds like a lot, but it's not really that time consuming, and it's fun.

I want to write for children and young adults, too!

And yes, I do love to make a short story long.

Chaitealatte
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#402
Old 02-25-2008, 04:05 PM

It does sound like a lot of fun! : D I'm jealous - I wish I were on your course. I'm hoping to study English literature and language at University, but without leaving the UK, I don't think I can get on a course which includes many children's books. ~__~

Children and young adults, yes. :3 I'll have to remember the make a short story long thing. It describes it so well. <3

Which Carnegie books are you going to read? : D

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#403
Old 02-25-2008, 04:08 PM

I'm still busy deciding which ones.

Chaitealatte
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#404
Old 02-25-2008, 04:15 PM

I'll keep an eye out on your list. ;3

I'm vouching for Meg Rosoff's What I Was. I had such an interesting, runaway time reading it. And after Just in Case, I had to go and buy a hardback. xD

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#405
Old 02-25-2008, 05:55 PM



  • I took a course in children's literature a couple of years back, it was really fun. And very interesting, I learned a lot. People that think children's literature is simple and easy to write really ought to take off their blindfolds and really look at the books classified as children's literature. They can often be incredibly deep and coming up with a story children are interested in reading is a huge challenge. Children can often be the biggest critics.

    I just updated my list and added some of the poems I read last night. I've been really lazy reading recently, I'm always doing something else, I honestly doubt I'll be able to make 50 books by the end of the year if I continue like this. So I decided to add the poems toward my page count and I supposed I'll just put them all together as one book, because they are from the same book. It's huge. Anyway, then I added a fanfiction I'm reading. I don't normally like fanfiction, but this one's pretty good, my friend pointed it out to me. Since it's on the internet it's hard to say any page count but I guessed how much it would be in print. I might be totally wrong, but hey.
    Anyway. I should probably go read something. :3



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#406
Old 02-25-2008, 11:48 PM

Dx I miss all the old childrens books, like, The Famous Five and stuff. But now when I read them I don't like them as much and they seem really corney. Breaks my heart. Although. I wanna read Stig of the Dump again. Loved that book. . . OH. And maybe Tarka the otter. . . Can't remember if I ever finished that. . .

Of course, there's still the classics I love, like anything by Roald Dahl. <3

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#407
Old 02-26-2008, 12:15 AM



  • I tried reading an Enid Blyton book not long ago and.. I think those are best in the memory. x__x



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#408
Old 02-26-2008, 12:24 AM

I know, they really are. Dx
I tried to read it and was like. "Wtf no. I used to love this book." So I put it down and like, refused to read them again. xD Just remember how good they were to me then.

I wanna look through all my old books again now, but they're in my Dad's bedroom cupboard and he's sleeping. ;-;

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#409
Old 02-26-2008, 12:33 AM



  • Haha yeah, same here. I never owned too many books, the library was my main source of reading materials and I read all the books at my library I thought looked even vaguely interesting. I think after I finished all those, I lost some of my interest in reading because I didn't have anything to read.



Alaunt
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#410
Old 02-26-2008, 12:45 AM

Hello. Because I'm such a book nerd, I decided to try finding every book that I've ever read and to record it. I'm recording the title and author (duh) , number of pages, the number in a series, and whether or not it is a trilogy or not. I accurately nicknamed it my 'evil booklist'. >.< So far I have 510+ books recorded and 104,802 pages read. But that is only of what I've been able to find so far. I still have a ways to go.

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#411
Old 02-26-2008, 12:48 AM



  • That is.. very brave of you, Alaunt. I don't think I'll ever do that, I'm not sure it would be possible since I've probably forgotten about a lot of the books I've read and it'd be such a waste of time for me. xD But best of luck to you with it!



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#412
Old 02-26-2008, 01:09 AM

Thanks. Thankfully, there are only two places that I've ever rented books from. My school library and my local library. My high school library has the same books as my elementry library did.

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#413
Old 02-26-2008, 02:50 AM

If you want to officially catalogue your library, check out Library Thing. All you have to do is create an account and you can build up every single book you own/have ever read. Just enter in the ISBN and you can find the exact edition.

Alaunt
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#414
Old 02-26-2008, 03:53 AM

Cool. Thanks, Knerd. But, unfortunately, I don't know the ISBN numbers of the books, plus there are a few where I've forgottent the title, or the author. But, luckely, I know where they are in both my libraries.

Chaitealatte
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#415
Old 02-26-2008, 07:29 AM

That's brave of you - I don't think I'd have the patience. xD;

I loved Stig of the Dump too! But my favourites were probably The Worst Witch, Gobalino the Witch's Cat ( which my Mum had to track down for me at a charity sale x3; ), anything by Dick King Smith but especially the Sophie series and The Crow Starver, and... I think I only ever read The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. ^ ^;

The Snow Kitten made me weep, but probably my two favourite children's novels I actually had read to me by my teacher when she read aloud to the class - The Finders, and Mary's Lighthouse. They were both really odd, and captured my imagination because of it. I'm a bit worried now though - I know I owned both of them, but I can't find them on my bookshelf, which I suspect must mean they're still in a moving box somewhere in the house. >__>

Beatrix Potter, anyone? xD

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#416
Old 02-26-2008, 08:29 AM

  • Okay, how about this: do articles count? I mean, long-ish ones-- 17 pages or so? I mean, if Catfancy can be included...

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#417
Old 02-27-2008, 04:14 AM

Oh, people are mentioning children's books I haven't read! That's exciting me a lot, because I don't want anything I've already read on my bibliography for class. It's another personal challenge, because it would be so easy to re-read my old favorites.

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#418
Old 02-27-2008, 06:10 AM

Ok, was going to read Collapse but instead I started reading A Long Hard Road out of Hell by Marilyn Manson. It's his autobiography, it's been a long time since i read the book and decide to read it again.

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#419
Old 02-27-2008, 06:51 PM

I'm more than half-way through my latest book - Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle.

I just love his writing style. And the fact that this novel came out so recently really helps. Rather than reading through old cultural references, this one is right on the money. It's a different sort of feeling to be able to live in the same time frame as the characters you're encountering.

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#420
Old 02-27-2008, 07:18 PM

ljos - I've never been much of a library person, I always have a thing about books being my own and stuff. xD I used to be a member of the library down near me, but it's small and doesn't have that much of a selection really. But, in a month or so, my Mum's moving closer to the big library in town, (Like, right next door) So I might join there. :3 It saves me wasting money on books I might not like. ><

Alaunt - Wows. That's awesome, good luck. <3




So, i've lost half my children's books, think I gave them away, but I still have Stig of the Dump. <3 And I found all the Puppy Patrol books I have. xD How sad am I? I also have a load of my cousin's Roald Dahl stuff, and all my Mum's old Brer Rabbit books. xD Oh and a book of Roald Dahl stories that are meant for older readers more than children, and A Children's Treasury of Milligan. . . Which is just crazy. . .

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#421
Old 02-27-2008, 10:37 PM

@Placebo - Thanks.

Knerd
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#422
Old 02-29-2008, 09:07 PM

I finally finished another book.

It wasn't as good as I anticipated, but sequels rarely are. There was just so much emotion in the first book that I expected the same sort of feeling to come out of this one. But the characters had changed, and there really wasn't a consistent plot, and I just couldn't connect with the internal struggle.

I just enjoy reading Roddy Doyle's writing. He has the ability to take on any voice he wants to.

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#423
Old 03-01-2008, 06:05 PM

D: I haven't been reading much at all and it disappoints me... Maybe I'll be able to have some time over spring break to read.

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#424
Old 03-02-2008, 12:49 AM

I'm so amazingly happy right now.
I took a trip to the local Salvation Army with a few friends, and came back with a stack of books.

Maus II by Art Spiegelman (I've read it before, but now I have my own copy.
Youth by Joseph Conrad
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

And an old German prayer book from 1885.


I can't wait to get started on these.

Chaitealatte
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#425
Old 03-02-2008, 08:16 AM

Isn't The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat about prosopragnosia? : ) I have Awakenings, but I haven't read it yet, and my Psychology teacher says it's a funny one to pick by Sacks - but I had a very convincing neighbour who went through re-enactments to explain it to me, so how could I not intend to read it sometime?

I think I have Youth in my Heart of Darkness text, and another one, but I haven't touched it since the exam because I wanted to grab Conrad by the shoulders and shake him. I like the way he writes - it was mostly his critics that did my head in. xD;

:3 Finished Before I Die, still working on my Gothic texts, and sneaking in The London Eye Mystery. I'd rather read Bog Child... I didn't know until recently that Siobhan Dowd died last August, and her books are being published posthumously... They're great for young adults - it's such a terrible shame that's she's not around any more.

 


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