Marshall’s Comments (group member since May 21, 2014)

Marshall’s comments from the Reading Rams Summer I, 2014 group.

This was a fantastic book. I thought it would be too juvenile, but the writing was very clever and the language was on a higher level then I would have expected. I think that the humor in this book could appeal to a wide range of readers. The verbal and situation irony was quite good. For kids I think it would appeal to their sense of fantasy and mystery. I also think the vocabulary will provide them with a good challenge.

Cynthia wrote: "I have never read Sarah, Plain, and Tall, but have heard so much about it. However, I was expecting something more. The story itself was slightly problematic, but the sentence structure is the ma..."

I felt that this story was simply written and the plot was over simplified because of the perspective that it was written from. But sometimes simple writing can be beautiful. I think that Sarah Plain and Tall is an example of simple writing that evokes very strong and concrete imagery. This kind of writing pulls in readers of all ages.

The imagery is especially important in this book because it is about more than a marriage or about the kids getting a mother. It is about two distinctly different places coming together to form one home.
To me this imagery is the best part of the book.

I do not think Sarah is whining about her new home. First of all she was forced out of her old house so she needed to marry in order to have a place to live. Secondly at this time people are much more tied to the land and nature around them, so for her to move is for her to sacrifice some of her identity. She really impressed me in her ability to find the images she loved from Maine on the farm. The author did a great job of creating these images: the three hens representing the aunts, the hay pile representing the sand dunes, the dog representing the barking seals, and the swaying tall grass in the storm representing the sea.

I think that this story could of been a very sad story about a woman forced to leave her home to try and fill the place of wife and mother that died. However, the author fills the story with beautiful imagery and simple characters who are willing to accept change.

I thought that this was a great story for both kids and adults. First of all, when I was a kid, I remember that braces were the cool thing to get because all the "older" kids had them, and you could change the colors. Well, as it turned out, braces were very painful and annoying. By the time high school rolled around, no one wanted braces because that it what the young kids had. I think Judy Blume highlights the ridiculousness of it all when Andrew lists all the reasons why he "needs" to have freckles. He wouldn't need to wash his face, he could pay better attention in school and so on. Also, Andrew finds out at the end that Nicky wished he could get rid of his freckles as much as Andrew wanted them. The circumstantial pettiness is so true of kids that age. I think that kids reading the book can identify with that, and laugh about it, despite what others have said about the book being outdated.
Lastly, the book is good for adults and teachers to read in order to remember what it is like being that age. I think the teacher handled the situation very gracefully and we have a lot to learn from her. She did not humiliate or embarrass Andrew and pretended like she didn't know his freckles were fake. It is important to remember that our young students can be easily embarrassed or humiliated about things we might think are silly.

Pink and Say is a story that portrays strong values. By his decisions, Pinkus displays integrity, bravery, kindness, and self sacrifice. Modeling values is an important function of children's literature, as stories can be a great way to teach. One could argue that the beliefs we hold on to the most are instilled in us by the stories that move us. One could make a rational case for the importance of strong values in a society, but it is the display of such values in stories that move us to emulate a character or person.

Also I like how this Civil War story was not about white people liberating African Americans from slavery. It was about an African American saving a white person and leading him back to the good and noble path.

This lesson fits in with the previous story we read about how prejudice is often born of ignorance and simply not really knowing the person on the other side. While we do not know if Sheldon was racist, one could imagine that his viewpoint was transformed by the kindness and friendship he found in Pinkus.

I think the title is important to the story. In smoke and during night, things are not clearly seen. We do not see others fully. Contrast that to the honesty and innocence of the boy in story. He does not know prejudice, his mind is not clouded by that sort of hatred. He seems to see things clearly.

This is all wrapped up nicely with the coming together of the the two cats who merely didn't like each other before simply because they didn't know each other.

I think this book affords a great opportunity for teachers to talk about war and prejudice. This brings up big questions such as, why do people hurt and hate one another? Why do people steal and vandalize.
This book would suggest that the answer is ignorance. That people often see others as if in a smoky night.

This book really highlights the value of literature as a form of vicarious learning. Isabella as a child is limited in experience, but through the wonderful world of books she is able to try on different roles and characters and truly experience the world.

On another level the child reading this book would hopefully pick up on some of the excitement that Isabella feels for books vicariously, just by reading the book. I think that by mentioning all of these great books, it could draw students in and pique there interest.