Final Lit Reflection

I really enjoyed Children's Lit. This course was enjoyable and fun to come to on Tuesday nights. It was a class that I looked forward to attending. I really got a lot out of our class and group discussions. I thought they were really interesting making it easy to become engaged in. Jen, I think you chose interesting topics to cover during the semester. I really enjoyed blogging. Blogging allowed me to express my views on the literature in a non formal way. I feel that blogging allowed me to express myself better than a formal paper. I have learned a lot during the course of the semester and will now look at children's literature in a new light. Thanks for a great semester Jen!

So Far From the Bamboo Gove

Unlike Year of Impossible Goodbyes. I really enjoyed reading So Far From The Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins. This was a lot more interesting of a read as this book was engaging making it difficult to put down. I really found a connection with Yoko's family in the novel. I kind of found myself emotionally attached and feeling for Yoko and her family. One of my favorite parts of the novel where I was able to make a personal connection was during Yoko, her mother, and her sister, Ko's flight from the Bamboo Gove. I connected to the part when they came to the iron railroad bridge that they needed to cross. Ko walked ahead of Yoko and her mother. Yoko thought it was mean of her sister to walk ahead of them and said she was beginning to hate Ko. Soon after Yoko said this Ko came back to put Yoko on her back and carry her across the bridge. She walked ahead of Yoko and her mother so she could drop off her pack. Yoko felt bad for saying she hared Ko. This reminds me of my sister and I. There are times that we become argry with each other over nothing, but at the end of the day we would go great lengths for one another becuase we love each other and care a lot about each other.

Year of the Impossible Goodbyes

Year of Impossible Goodbyes is written by Sook Nyui Choi. I unfortunately had a difficult time reading this book and getting through it. I found the first ten or so chapters dry and boring. It wasn't until the very end of the book that it picked up and got interesting for me. I also had a difficult time connecting with the family in this novel which is another reason why I enjoyed So Far From The Bamboo Grove a lot more. Although Year of Impossible Goodbyes was difficult to stick with I am definitly glad I read it. Reading a book like this really allows you to put life into perspective. I can't even imagine growing up and living a life like these children. It made me so sad to think about young children making weapons and living in fear. Although this isn't the life I live, this is reality for some children. After reading this book I am more appreciative of life and realize how lucky and fortunate I am.