How do our preconceived notions affect our outlooks on things? How can children's books combat that issue?
This week I read the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and the book The Girl and the Wolf by Katherena Vermette. Before I read these books, I took a few minutes to write down some of my ideas about what makes a good children’s book, in my opinion. Below you can see some of the ideas I can up with.
Qualities of a good children’s book
To me, I think that a good children’s book should be engaging and thought provoking. I think that good children’s books include or talk about important matters/values. Finally, I think that children need to be able to relate to the book in some way in order to allow them to really connect with the book.
After having read the Wild Robot and The Girl and the Wolf, I think that they both fall into my idea of what makes a good children’s book.
The Wild Robot
I thought that the Wild Robot was a really good book and I can see a class of upper elementary students really sinking their teeth into this book. This book is packed with action and adventure that had me turning page after page, wanting to get more of the story. The story is about a robot named Roz who accidentally washed up on an island that was full of animals. All the animals were scared of her and called her a monster because they had never seen anything like her before. She did her best to avoid that animals and live on her own until one day she accidentally killed a family of geese after slipping off a rock. There was still one egg that survived the accident and Roz decided to take care of it. The goose eventually hatched and Roz named him Brightbill and it was at that time when the animals started warming up to Roz and she was creating a family of her own. After befriending the animals, other robots came to the island to bring Roz back to her owners because she did not belong on the island. After an epic battle the robots sent to take Roz back were destroyed and Roz was in pretty bad shape. The story ends with Roz venturing out to find her owners in order to get repaired and get them to stop sending bots after her.
The thing that I really loved from this book was how the author incorporated the reader. When Peter Brown spoke directly to the reader, it made me feel like I was part of the story and that I was going on a journey with Roz. That is not something used in all literature, but it made me love this book even more because I felt very important to the story without being in the story at all. Looking back at the qualities of a good children’s book that I wrote about, I feel like this book fits into those ideas perfectly. This was a really engaging and thought-provoking book. There were many times where I paused and said to myself, “I wonder what Roz is going to do with that information or where is she going to go from there.”
It also has a really great theme in the book of being different. At first, the animals did not like Roz because she was different and they considered her to be a “monster,” but after the animals got to know her, they saw how helpful and caring she was and overtime realized that she was not this monster they originally thought she was. Children can really relate to this book in many ways, but most importantly I think students who may feel like they are different can relate to Roz and how she may be feeling at different parts in the book. Also, this is helpful for students in general so that if they see someone in their class or in their community who is looked at as different, they may be more likely to go befriend that person, just because someone may be different doesn’t mean they should be treated differently or be looked at as a “monster” and I think that is an important message in this book.
I think that this book goes along well with a quote from an article called “Story as World Making” by Kathy G. Short, “children read literature to experience life; they live inside the world of the story to engage in inquiry that transforms their thinking about their lives and the world.” The Wild Robot is a book that allows children to live inside a different world and truly feel like they are apart of it. When I was reading it, I felt like I was right there with Roz seeing what she was seeing and feeling what she was feeling. Not only was I able to live inside this book, it also me think about how I approach people and view my relationships. Roz was designed to help people and get better at helping them over time, but the animals on the island were so unsure of her that they immediately dismissed her and labeled her as a monster. However, once the animals got to know her and realized that she could help them out and that she wasn’t as bad as they originally thought, they accepted her and befriended her. From this I think that the story could transform the way everyone thinks about people who may be different or seen as outsiders. This is a very powerful story that could allow students to foster better relationships with one another.
This book also made me think about immigrant children who are living in America, I feel like Roz kind of represents some of what they may be feeling in this book. At first, Roz was in a new place that she didn’t understand well, and she was just trying to figure out her surroundings and where she belongs. Then, she was trying to be nice and kind to the other animals, but they didn’t understand what she was saying so they just ignored her and feared her. I feel like this is what some immigrant children may be feeling when they come to the United States for the first time. I image that they feel sad and lonely as they try and figure out where they belong just like Roz did. They also may speak a different language than everyone else and it takes a lot of time to learn a new language and get familiar with the cultures of other people. I feel like this could be a really powerful book for students who are new to the U.S. or even students who lived in the U.S. for a while but are from a different country, I feel like they could resonate with Roz and connect with her on a different level potentially.
"When Roz first stomped across the island, the animal squawks and growls and chirps had sounded like nothing more than meaningless noises. But she no longer heard animal noises. Now she heard animal words" (pg. 48).
In the Wild Robot, I think that the characters in the book who have the most agency would be Brightbill and Roz. I think that Brightbill has agency because throughout the story, he is a character full of action. In one part of the book, Roz talks about the dead robots and Brightbill wants to go see them, but Roz does not think that is a good idea just yet. Brightbill wanted to see them so bad that he decided to take action and go on his own to see them. He also shows agency when with the flock of geese as they migrated south. That agency had been developed throughout the book, Roz had worked with Brightbill on his flying and they watched other birds and took notes on how they flew to make Brightbill better, that allowed for him to take charge of the group and safely get them to where they needed to go and back again. Roz also has agency and her agency started from the very start of the book. At first, she just wanted to find a place to stay that was off the shoreline, that is what got her moving in the first place. Then, things just kept happening that required her to adapt and change what she was doing. During her time of figuring out where she belonged on the island, she gathered ideas from other animals and used them in order for her to feel comfortable on the island. It started out as wanting to stay safe and unannoyed, but then her agency turned into wanting to protect her Brightbill.
As a teacher reading this book, ideas for ways to include it in the classroom kept coming into my brain and it was really interesting to think about all the different ways this one book could be used in my classroom. The first things that started coming to mind when reading this book was all the scientific aspects about it. You can talk about how Roz adapted over time and relate that to how animals adapt over time. One part of the book talks about the ocean waters rising, asking students why they think the ocean may be rising could lead to some good discussions and students could even prewrite about the idea before explaining their thinking. Just with that you can include science and English/Language arts in a lesson. You could also create a timeline of events that happen throughout the text. Depending on what type of class you have and what resources are available you could potentially talk about coding and integrate Spheros or other types of robot devices into a lesson about this book.
The Girl and the Wolf
The Girl and the Wolf was another book I read this week and that book is truly captivating. It has a unique storyline and the pictures beautiful and in perfect sync with the story. The book is about a little girl who is out camping with her family. While the little girls mother is picking berries, the little girl ran too far away and could not find her way back. Along came a wolf and my first reaction was that the wolf was mischievous and up to no good because I know how wolves are traditionally portrayed in books. However, I was way off. The wolf helped the little girls and provided her guidance so that she could use her senses to find her way back on her own. The wolf was patience and wise, something that I have never seen a wolf portrayed as before in a book and it was a refreshing twist to what I was used to. I also think that this book meets my idea of a good children’s book. To me it was very engaging because it was not at all what I was expecting to read, I was kind of pleasantly shocked by that. It is also thought provoking because I have a lot of questions about the little girl and the wolf that are left unanswered from the text. I think that overall this book has a great message about not jumping to conclusion about certain things. Additionally, it shows that when in trouble or stressed out, calming down, taking a deep breath and gathering your thoughts can help you to reach a solution. I feel like it is telling the reader that sometimes you need to slow down and think to help you to solve a problem and I think that is an important message to send to kids. Finally, I think that this is a great children’s book because children can connect to it in many ways. Many kids may know the feeling of wondering off from parents and getting really nervous when you cannot find them. I know when I was little, I did that and could experience the same emotions that the girl in the book must have been feeling. Even if they don’t know the feeling of not being able to find their parents, they probably have some experience with being scared and can relate to the little girl in some way.
"The girl looked around. Everything was quieter and darker. The girl felt very cold and very scared."
In the book, the girl appears very carefree and in her own world at the start. It is not until she meets the wolf that she develops this sense of agency. The wolf is assisting in her acquisition of agency through talking to her and helping her to develop an initiative to sense where she is and find her way back. The wolf tells her to breath and has her look and see what is around in order take the next step. This allows the little girl to gather her thoughts and ideas in order to find something to eat and then later on to find trees that look familiar. The girl then takes the initiative to go after these ideas until she finally finds her mom again.
One awesome thing that I didn’t notice in the book when I read it for the first time but noticed after looking through the book a couple times after my first read were the butterflies. I noticed that there was not any on the cover, but on the end pages, there are butterflies and on many pages in the book there are butterflies as well. To me, it seems like these butterflies represent this element of freedom or untroubled tranquility. The butterflies were present as she was running, but they disappeared from the book as soon as she got scared and felt alone only to reappear again as she was making her way back to her family. I think that is a really neat element to use throughout the book and for me it showed me an underlying sense of freedom in the book.
Unfortunately, I could not find what media was used in order to create the pictures for this book. I did not see it listen on the title page in the book and when looking around online, I could not find it either. I may have not been looking in the right places, but I could not find what exactly was used to create these pictures. To me, it looks kind of like it may be collaged together somehow through different mediums used to create all the little pictures; however, I am not entirely sure. Even though I am not sure how the pictures were made, I am really drawn to them. I am not exactly sure what it is about them, but they are very pleasing to look at and they have a real softness to them. I also like how the little girls dress is the brightest or most colorful item in the book. On each page, because she it is so bright compared to everything else, your eye is instantly drawn towards her and she is the most important thing in the images. The images do a great job showing what the text is saying, but they don’t have a lot going on in the images. The images give you enough to help you picture what is going on and the scenery helps you to understand more of what the girl is going through. For example, you can read about the little girl being scared and away from her mom, but it is also represented through the dark skies and trees in the images.
I also liked how the layout of the images change. Some of the pages are double page spreads and others are single spreads. I think that helps to keep it interest and unpredictable because you never know what you are going to get when you turn the page. I think it is important to note that on the single page spreads, the words are on a solid white page. I really like this because it helps me to focus on the words being used, and then it allows me to delve deeper into the pictures without being too overwhelming. I feel like there are a lot of children’s books that I have looked at where they are brightly colored and have a lot going on and sometimes it is just hard to look at all the things on the page. I think for this particular book have the simplicity is nice because it allows you to focus on the story and really appreciate the message that is coming across.
Another thing that was really interesting about this book was the fact that it was created because the author thought that wolves were unfairly portrayed in stories. This book was a book that was created from stories the author heard, it was not derived from one, but more as a result of other ones. I think that really puts and emphasis on the power that stories carry. Katherena Vermette was unhappy with the way that wolves were portrayed in stories, so she decided to do something about it and create her own story. I think this goes back to the article called “Story as World Making” by Kathy G. Short when she says, “Stories are thus much more than a book or narrative-they are the way our minds make sense of our lives and world.” I think that idea plays into this book and my personal thinking while reading. As I stated previously, I really thought that the wolf was going to up to no good in this book and was just waiting for something bad to happen. However, nothing bad did happen and I was pleasantly surprised. From the stories I have heard about wolves and them being portrayed negatively left me judging the wolf in this book. I think that stories are powerful and shape a lot of our thinking which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
"You know the ones where the wolf is always the bad guy and gets run off (or worse) in the end. I don't know about you, but I found that unfair, and I thought of the other stories I had been told where the wolf wasn't just evil or hungry."
So, what do these books have in common?
For starters, they are both stories about things seen as monsters who are actually very kind and caring. In the Wild Robot, Roz was seen as a monster because she was different, and the animals were afraid of that. In the Girl and the Wolf, the monster was a little different. I originally saw the wolf as a monster because of my preconceived bias towards wolves in children’s books. However, it turned out that the wolf was really kind and caring towards the little girl and only wanted to be helpful, much like Roz. Another thing that these books have in common is that they have characters that are different than the reader might expect upon first examination. Once again, I expected the wolf to be bad in someway in the Girl and the Wolf and in the Wild Robot, I didn’t expect that a robot could act and interact with wild animals. In both of these books the characters defy traditional thinking, at least my traditional thinking. Finally, both of the authors of this book decided to make up these stories based on their inquiries. Peter Brown said that he was always fascinated by robots and that is how he explored the idea and of what would happen if a robot was put into the wild. Katherena Vermette was fascinated by stories and through her time listening to stories and hearing about these tales that included wolves in them as “bad” she decided to explore the idea of a wolf that broke the stereotype of wolves in stories.
Sources:
Brown, P. (2016). The Wild Robot. New York: Little, Brown Company.
Short, K. (Sep. 2012). Story as World Making. Language Arts, Volume 90 (Issue 1), 9-17.
Vermette, K. (2019) The Girl and The Wolf. Penticton, British Columbia: Theytus Books Ltd.
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