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Sep. 1st, 2009
The nieces are playing in their room.
Sep. 1st, 2009 10:20 am
I just went out to check on our carrots, but I couldn't find them at all :( I did peek at our pumpkin, which is getting nice and orange - last week it had a lot of green. When I told my mother about our pumpkin she laughed and said it was some other type of gourd, we didn't plant pumpkin. When she found it herself she couldn't figure it out, but by this time I had - last year, our pumpkins ended up in the compost, but they didn't turn to dirt by springtime, so when I stirred the compost (more or less) seeds spewed out all over the ground. I tossed most of them back in the compost but one or two must have stayed and sprouted, and now we have a baby pumpkin!
We have a few other melons/gourds as well. Sunflowers make wonderful stakes for them so they don't rest on the ground and, unlike corn, you have a chance to enjoy them before the animals do. (And if we don't get ALL our sunflower seeds, well, it's less of a loss than not having all our cobs of corn!)
I'll get to work on those terrible comments now from those articles I posted yesterday. This is your only warning - some of these comments are absolutely hateful. (Some are good, and I'll try to include a few of those as well.) Don't read if you don't want to.
( Seriously! )
Okay, that's it! It's not as bad as I'd thought, though I didn't read any of the ones who couldn't be bothered with paragraph breaks.
Here's one more link.
We have a few other melons/gourds as well. Sunflowers make wonderful stakes for them so they don't rest on the ground and, unlike corn, you have a chance to enjoy them before the animals do. (And if we don't get ALL our sunflower seeds, well, it's less of a loss than not having all our cobs of corn!)
I'll get to work on those terrible comments now from those articles I posted yesterday. This is your only warning - some of these comments are absolutely hateful. (Some are good, and I'll try to include a few of those as well.) Don't read if you don't want to.
( Seriously! )
Okay, that's it! It's not as bad as I'd thought, though I didn't read any of the ones who couldn't be bothered with paragraph breaks.
Here's one more link.
Some people seem to be using the site for some form of class. Let's look at some of their reviews....
o..of Goodnight Moon...
Lists different items in the little bunny's room. When it's nighttime, goes through and says "Goodnight" to each item. Genre: Fantasy because although all items and situation could be real, the fact a bunny has a room and is personified is definitely fantasy. Media: pen, paint.
...of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?...
This is an example of modern fantasy because in the story various animals are asked what they see and they each respond. This makes them seem human which is impossible and therefore fantasy. The different animals are fun for the children to look at and talk about.
...of If You Take a Mouse to School...
A good example of fantasy because this mouse takes on human characteristics, such as wearing overalls and eating cookies. He also engages in human activities such as building a house out of blocks, writing a book, spelling words on the board, doing math, playing soccer, and riding a skateboard. While it would be possible to bring a mouse to school, in actuality a mouse would not be able to complete these tasks, making it fantasy. This silly story does, however, hold bits of truth. It explains the sorts of distractions that can result from bringing certain things to school and it shows a stream of events that can result from one little idea.
Media: ink and wash
...of Amelia Bedelia...
Genre: Fantasy
Critique: This is a example of fantacy because the events that take place are not realitic, such as Amelia cutting up nice towels and not getting fired.
...of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus...
This is an obvious modern fantasy story because we see that the main character is a pigeon who has human characteristics. This pigeon speaks English and talks directly to the reader and desires to drive a bus, both of which are impossible. I think that having the main character as a pigeon who wants to drive is a great one to get kids’ attention. They would find it funny and get into the story. Even though the pigeon is basically the only character, the author does a great job of making the story and plot interesting. Since the pigeon talks directly to the reader, they can’t help but get involved. I think students would love to respond to it.
...of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...
This is a good example of fantasy because Dr. Seuss creates a magical world, where fun and wild things are happening. It is too far from reality for it to be believable for the reader, but it engages him/her in pretending to take part in the fun aspects of this fantasy world. For example, camels with seven humps carry children on each one.
...of Owl Moon...
This is a good example of realistic fiction because the setting is very vivid and is woven into the story. For instance, the woods are very clearly described as the father and son venture out late at night. Also, the plot works together well. For example, an owl does not appear magically right when they enter the woods. Rather, they have to be patient and go further into the woods to encounter an owl.
Setting: This was an appropriate setting because the father and son go into the forest on a wintry night to look for owls.
Media: watercolor, pencils
...of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse...
This book is a great book and a fantasy book also. The main character is Lilly and she's a little mouse that attends school. It's fantasy because the characters are mice and they talk although it's not actually possible.
also
This is a good example of fantasy because it has a very good meaningful theme behind the little mouse.
...of Olivia...
Age appropriatness: primary
This book is a good example of fantasty because it is a story about a pig named Olivia who is full of energy and who tires out her mom doing all sort of fun activities.
The media in this book is charcoal and gouche on paper.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point. I don't know what definition of "fantasy" these people are working from (some of them, I *really* don't know, like Mr. "Amelia Bedelia is fantasy!"), but I don't consider any of these, with the possible exception of One Fish, Two Fish, to be fantasy! That a book that has no fantastical elements at all happens to feature anthropomorphic animals for characters doesn't make it fantasy, it just makes it furry-riffic! (Which is a bit disturbing now that I think of it that way, but you get what I mean.)
It's like these people only know "fantasy" and "not at all fantasy" and are unable to find a middle ground of "realistic except for this one thing". (Although I suppose this shows that such broad categorizations of genre are meaningless when applied to picture books....)
Oh, Owl Moon isn't fantasy either. I just included that because the explanation of *why* it's "realistic fiction" was so full of WTF.
o..of Goodnight Moon...
Lists different items in the little bunny's room. When it's nighttime, goes through and says "Goodnight" to each item. Genre: Fantasy because although all items and situation could be real, the fact a bunny has a room and is personified is definitely fantasy. Media: pen, paint.
...of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?...
This is an example of modern fantasy because in the story various animals are asked what they see and they each respond. This makes them seem human which is impossible and therefore fantasy. The different animals are fun for the children to look at and talk about.
...of If You Take a Mouse to School...
A good example of fantasy because this mouse takes on human characteristics, such as wearing overalls and eating cookies. He also engages in human activities such as building a house out of blocks, writing a book, spelling words on the board, doing math, playing soccer, and riding a skateboard. While it would be possible to bring a mouse to school, in actuality a mouse would not be able to complete these tasks, making it fantasy. This silly story does, however, hold bits of truth. It explains the sorts of distractions that can result from bringing certain things to school and it shows a stream of events that can result from one little idea.
Media: ink and wash
...of Amelia Bedelia...
Genre: Fantasy
Critique: This is a example of fantacy because the events that take place are not realitic, such as Amelia cutting up nice towels and not getting fired.
...of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus...
This is an obvious modern fantasy story because we see that the main character is a pigeon who has human characteristics. This pigeon speaks English and talks directly to the reader and desires to drive a bus, both of which are impossible. I think that having the main character as a pigeon who wants to drive is a great one to get kids’ attention. They would find it funny and get into the story. Even though the pigeon is basically the only character, the author does a great job of making the story and plot interesting. Since the pigeon talks directly to the reader, they can’t help but get involved. I think students would love to respond to it.
...of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...
This is a good example of fantasy because Dr. Seuss creates a magical world, where fun and wild things are happening. It is too far from reality for it to be believable for the reader, but it engages him/her in pretending to take part in the fun aspects of this fantasy world. For example, camels with seven humps carry children on each one.
...of Owl Moon...
This is a good example of realistic fiction because the setting is very vivid and is woven into the story. For instance, the woods are very clearly described as the father and son venture out late at night. Also, the plot works together well. For example, an owl does not appear magically right when they enter the woods. Rather, they have to be patient and go further into the woods to encounter an owl.
Setting: This was an appropriate setting because the father and son go into the forest on a wintry night to look for owls.
Media: watercolor, pencils
...of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse...
This book is a great book and a fantasy book also. The main character is Lilly and she's a little mouse that attends school. It's fantasy because the characters are mice and they talk although it's not actually possible.
also
This is a good example of fantasy because it has a very good meaningful theme behind the little mouse.
...of Olivia...
Age appropriatness: primary
This book is a good example of fantasty because it is a story about a pig named Olivia who is full of energy and who tires out her mom doing all sort of fun activities.
The media in this book is charcoal and gouche on paper.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point. I don't know what definition of "fantasy" these people are working from (some of them, I *really* don't know, like Mr. "Amelia Bedelia is fantasy!"), but I don't consider any of these, with the possible exception of One Fish, Two Fish, to be fantasy! That a book that has no fantastical elements at all happens to feature anthropomorphic animals for characters doesn't make it fantasy, it just makes it furry-riffic! (Which is a bit disturbing now that I think of it that way, but you get what I mean.)
It's like these people only know "fantasy" and "not at all fantasy" and are unable to find a middle ground of "realistic except for this one thing". (Although I suppose this shows that such broad categorizations of genre are meaningless when applied to picture books....)
Oh, Owl Moon isn't fantasy either. I just included that because the explanation of *why* it's "realistic fiction" was so full of WTF.