Monday Muses

My favorite picture book is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. This book is about a caterpillar who eats its way trough a wide variety of foodstuffs before blossoming and emerging as a butterfly. This is one of my favorite picture books because it wold remind me of my child hood. This book has amazing illustrations that a child would enjoy. The author Eric Carle did an amazing job writing and illustrating this book for young child's. This book is an amazing book and it is a really fun and entertaining read.

I absolutely love this book so much.This book would remind me of my childhood. My mom would always read me this book during bed time. As a child i would always imitate the caterpillar by going to the kitchen crawl on the floor and try to eat all the food that i could find, and my mom would have to pick me up and and feed me. Every time i would see or read this book all these memories would flow through m mind. This book was an amazing mother to son bonding time. Even now i would look at my book shelf and see the book and remember all the fun memories i had with it as a child.

Critical thinking question

Critical Thinking Question- At what points do you notice yourself resisting the book,characters, or author? What does your resistance say about the book, and what does it say about you?

 I have just finished reading the book " Cranked" by Ellen Hopkins. This book contains use of drugs and has a lot sexual themes. Crank takes place the summer before and during the protagonist Kristina's junior year of high school. Kristina is convinced to try crank (Methamphetamine) which starts the conflict in the story.

As i was reading the book i noticed my self resisting parts that had use of drugs, espicially this "Been smokin pot since i was 13 could'nt stop if i tried". This part of text in the book is where i was resisting myself. I found this part to be really disturbing because it made me wonder that kids my age actually do this, which kind of scared me in a way. Even though i found myself resisting this text i was mature enough to understand what was happening. It took a while to process this thought.

The character who sates that is Bree. This was one of my favorite characters, but i found myself to be more resistant when a text came up and Bree was in it. Bree got me thinking the most because she was such a bad role model in the book. She portrayed the most disturbing things. She would always be the one doing all the dark things.

My resistance about the book would not make a difference because this book was really well written with an amazing story line. My resistance of this type of particular text did not make the story any less appealing, it actually made it more appealing to me. Personally i thought that me being resistance to this type of text was a wake up call. I say this because i was shocked at the fact that i was uneasy and on edge with this type of text. I thought that i was mature enough to read this type of literature. I have read similar texts to this and i had no problems with that. Truly I was disappointed in myself and could not believe that this type of text was making me uneasy.

Overall Cranked is an amazing book. I am a little bit disappointed in myself for being hesitant to read texts like this. I would definitely read this book again and i would not be resistant at any type of text that is similar to this.

Argument essay #2

  In our ela class we have been discussing the topic of banned books. In our inquiry groups we read the book “Cranked” by Ellen Hopkins. This book was on the banned books list. Our group read this book to find out and see why people were to get rid of this book in young adult’s libraries. This lead me to my thesis which is, books containing mature and explicit content should not be banned from young adult libraries because of the values it teaches the reader.

   I completely disagree with the banning of books because there are things in the books that teach us valuable lessons which we could have not learned any other way.  One example that proves this point is in the article “The Banned Books We Have Loved”. In the article, it states the valuable lessons that books have taught us. From “Go Ask Alice” we learned that life can go off the rails all too quickly and that drugs should be considered with caution. Another example of this is from the book “Bridge to Terabithia” which taught us the importance of friendships and being open to others. We learned that death can be a sudden and unexpected, and terribly tragic. Judy Blume’s Blubber taught us very early the dangers of bullying, and to stand up for ourselves. In the book that I was reading in my inquiry group there were very clear themes that were too explicit content, there were themes such as sex, drugs, and rape in my book that were really explicit. Some people say that it is good to expose children to themes such as drugs and alcohol because it is a good way to teach them about life. I totally agree with this because explicit themes do teach us valuable lessons which can help us in everyday lives

   Another reason that I disagree with the banning of books is, the books that are aimed at children often deal with dark themes. For example, In "Darkness Too Visible," is claimed that there were a lot of violent themes in the book. In the article it stated that "what goes on in children's head has to do with what he or she reads." I completely disagree with this because I believe that it’s up to the audience to do what they want to, I don’t think that a book will affect their minds to do dark things.

In conclusion “Cranked” should not be banned from young adult libraries because they teach us valuable lessons which we won’t be able to learn anywhere else, and it’s up to the audience to choose what they do. Overall I disagree with banning of “Cranked” in school libraries.

Monday Muses

Here i am being the oldest
I've ever been today and the
Youngest I'll ever be
again.
Looking back now
It's all a blur just
memories.
visions.
The experience's stays
forever.
From our first step's
to our last.
From love we remembered
to the hate that is in us
My first words was a
huge deal now my words mean
nothing.
Having to worry about
nothing to worrying about
everything.
Now i look back and
say my child hood is
not gone.
But in my heart I know it's over
and i am getting one step
closer to adulthood.
Good bye child hood.
Hello....
 Adulthood

Reading Response on theme

 I just finished the book "Flight" by Sherman Alexie. "Zits" the main character travels back and forth through time in a violent search for his true identity. This all occurs after the big shooting that Zits caused in the bank, Zits gets shot in the head but "survives" which leads to the travelling back and forth in time. While reading the book i noticed 2 themes that came up as i progressed through the book. "Adolescence" and "Violence".

Zits progresses through a change in adolescence. Zits was a troubled kid who would constantly be getting into fights, however through the course of events that occur Zits begins to change. By the end of the book Zits is ready to accept who he is. He is no longer Zits but now he is Michael, and now he has a real family.But I'm beginning to think I've been given a chance. I'm beginning to think I might get un-lonely. I'm beginning to think I might have an almost real family...Michael. My real name is Michael. Please call me Michael." Pages 180-181

"I get into arguments and fistfights with everybody. I get so angry that I go blind and deaf and mute." Page 8. Zits starts off as a very angry and violent kid. One reason why i believe that Zits is really violent is because he is constantly moving from one place to another taking his anger out on everyone around him. Zits's has seen first hand violence through "flight". After experiencing the , which he is unable to change anything, he realizes that the violence had dire consequences. And by realizing how violence affects those around him he realizes that the way he's living is wrong and he's got to change something.

To sum it up Zits aka Michael finds out who his real family is, and gets to understand why his father left him. 
After travelling through time, seeing and experiencing all the action and violence that is portrayed throughout the course of the book Zits realises his mistakes and changes himself.

Character Response

I just finished the book "push" by Sapphire in the book the main character is Precious Jones. Precious is an obese and illiterate sixteen-year old who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother Mary. Precious gets raped by her father which leads her to have two children. Although Precious family is abusive and violent Precious herself is a determined girl who is ready to go through anything and she'll just keep on pushing through.

Precious is a really determined character who really wants to make change in her life. In the story Precious is in her math class and her teacher is telling her to turn her book to  page 122 but Precious doesn't move Precious starts arguing with the teacher but in her head she wants to learn but she doesn't want anyone to know that she's illiterate so she stops arguing with her teacher. In her head Precious says "N i really do want to learn. Everyday i tell myself something gonna happen..., I'm gonna break through or somebody gonna break through to me- I'm gonna learn, catch up be normal, change my seat to the front of the class. But again, it has no been that day.

That just shows what a determined kid Precious is and it shows that she really wants to learn and change who she is. She's doing this for her kid and herself.

Summer Reading Response on Teen Angst

Over the summer i read the book Teen angst? Naaah by Ned Vizzini. This book is one of my favorite books of all time. Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny experiences that made up his teenage years.This book helps out us guys so we know what is ahead of us and we can get a heads up through Ned Vizzinis's experiences.

One reason why i really like this book is because of the vibe of the book. The book it feels like it fits in my life. As i said before this book really prepares you through another person's experience. I can really relate to this book because the settings of this book is where i go through every day and i can mentally see the book taking place there.

Another reason i really like this book is because of how Ned Vizzini includes the short stories from his freshman years in Stuyvesant High School to his senior year at Stuyvesant.Each year at his school Ned Vizzini labels them by freshman, junior, etc. All the little stories really tie in together really well.

 Teen Angst? Naaah: A Quasi-Autobiography by Ned Vizzini is a very funny read. These were some reasons i enjoyed the book and I highly recommend this book to anybody looking to read it.