Sammy Keyes

Hi!

I am Maryam, a former NCSU graduate back at NCSU to get my Master's in Elementary Education! I am really excited to take Dr. Griffenhagen's class this semester.

I grew up not enjoying reading by myself as much as I enjoyed reading to others. I would pretend read to my stuffed animals. I didn't really get into books (enjoy reading) until middle school. In 6th grade, I discovered the Sammy Keyes series, and I could not put those books down! All throughout my middle school years, I read Sammy Keyes books and then found another author: Joan Lowery Nixon. I found out I loved mystery novels! After finishing reading all Joan Lowery Nixon's books, I found another author, Lois Lowry, who wrote mysteries. I continued my mystery books' reading until high school when I stopped reading for fun. I didn't enjoy reading the required novels for my high school English classes, but in college, I, once again, fell in love with reading children's books for class! I absolutely LOVE reading children's picture books or young adult novels now! Excited to learn about more wonderful children's books this semester!

Say Hello, Vanessa

Hello all! I am Candice Knott, a NCSU  graduate student working on my Master's of Elementary Education and Math Specialist program. When I was younger my mother subscribed us to the Weekly Reader Book Club. It was like Christmas was waiting for me in the mailbox once a month! One book that came spoke directly to me as a child in a military family that moved a lot. Say Hello, Vanessa, written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Lillian Hoban was a story about a young small mouse that was scared to make new friends. She was encouraged by her mother to make friends and say "hello" to the others. I remember feeling like this little mouse was feeling the same way I did every time I walked into a new classroom or in big crowds. I was a small voiced little girl, that was often mistaken as not social and not friendly. I keep that book in my classroom today and use it to show my students that even us "grown ups" remember children's stories that helped us love reading and work through some difficult times. Whenever I have a student added to my class, I spend a bit of time with them and read this with them. So very often, as we finish the story, the child will say that they knew how she felt and loved how in the end Vanessa shined!

Mr. Popper's Penguin

My name is Katie Long; I am in the Math Specialist masters program. I also completed my undergraduate coursework at NC State.

I have always struggled as a reader especially when I was younger.  I learned to read when I was in second grade by going to a tutor in the mornings.  I choose the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins because this book was the first book that I actually enjoyed and felt confident in my reading. It made me laugh and got me excited to read ahead to see what happen next in the story. In this story Mr. Popper is a painter in Oklahoma. He gets two penguins and they have 10 baby penguins in Mr. Poppers house.  It is funny to imagine all the places they tried to put the penguins I still today have a copy of Mr. Popper’s Penguin in my Kindergarten class just to remind myself to enjoy reading.

Nursery Rhymes

Hi. I am Dawn Holland and I am in the Master's of Education- Math Specialist program at NCSU.

As a young child, I remember my grandmother sitting with me on the floor and reading to me from an old book of nursery rhymes and finger plays. She would read them to me and with me and we would do the finger plays that matched the words. I loved this time with her.

Unfortunately, reading was not a priority, nor was it encouraged by my parents growing up. I don't remember being read to often.  I remember having a set of the Little Women books and a Charlotte's Web book. I think I read them, but I can't say that for certain.

When I became a parent, it was important to me to read to my boys each day.  Our early favorites were Good Night Moon and  Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We eventually grew into longer books such  as Koala Lou and The Kissing Hand and then chapter books.

 My favorite was Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.  Little Nut Brown Hare is trying to show his mom just how much he loves her by doing things such as extending his arms or describing a distance like to the moon. But Big Nut Brown Hare always has bigger arms and will say to the moon AND back in response to Little Nut Brown Hare. It's a sweet story that illustrates the depth of love a mother has for her child and just how immeasurable that love can be.  I hope my boys will remember this book when they have their own children.

The School Story

My name is Katie Strickland and I am in the Math Specialist masters program. I completed my undergraduate coursework at NC State and am a proud member of the pack.

One of my favorite authors when I was growing up was Andrew Clements. His stories always captured my attention because they were about students who were my age. I own several of his book that he has published and even have multiple copies of some. I still go out and buy his latest books and read them before I put them on my classroom bookshelf so that I can talk to students about them. Whenever my students ask what book I should read, I always point them in the direction of Andrew Clements.

The book that I enjoyed the most that Clements wrote was Frindle.  The main character Nick reminded me of myself because he was curious things like what makes a word a word. Nick creates the new word (Frindle) to use instead of the word pen. I loved how he took something that his teacher had taught him and he used that to create his own word. His word went on to be a word that all of the people in his school used instead of the word pen. This book was enjoyable because it made me realize that even I could do something like create a new word.

Stellaluna

Hi! My name is Courtney Wagoner and I am a senior at NC State. I am taking this class to complete my English minor, and I am very excited because I have always had a passion for children's literature!

Growing up, a memorable book for me was Stellaluna. I remember I would always ask my mom to read it to me. I have a close relationship with my mom, so when I was little, we bonded over reading books together. I definitely have my mom to thank for beginning my love of reading.

I loved Stellaluna because I always loved when Stellaluna was reunited with her mother, and I also loved that along the way, she met new friends. Even though she went through the traumatic event of being separated from her mother, she made the bird family her new family. It is still a meaningful book to me because it reminds me that good can come from seemingly dark situations, and it is also a reminder that regardless of differences, we can all respect one another, learn from one another, and care for one another- and that we are more like each other than we may realize at first!

I began to read at a young age, and I have always really enjoyed reading. In elementary school, I enjoyed books so much that I stole a book from the reading station in Kindergarten, and I read it every night. I used to read books to my pets and to my stuffed animals, as well as to anyone who would listen. In middle school, I joined Battle of the Books and was exposed to many different books and read all of the time. I never went anywhere without a book. In high school, I started a book club so that I could share my passion for reading with others and discuss them. Now, I'm finishing up my English minor because I have enjoyed English classes at NC State so much!

This year, I celebrated my birthday by going to my favorite book store in the world (below)! It's a huge, well-organized book store that my family visits every time we are vacationing in Florida. A room full of books is my happy place. :)

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs

Hi I'm Jill Grifenhagen. I'm teaching "Teaching Children's Literature" this semester, and reading children's books with some fantastic students from the College of Education at NC State. Welcome to our blog!

One of my favorite books as a child was Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola. In fact, dePaola is one of my favorite children's authors of all time.  I devoured his books during my elementary school years, and later I shared them with my elementary students. Now I enjoy reading dePoala's books with my own kids!

This particular book holds a special place in my heart. As a six-year-old, I loved it for several reasons. The illustrations are simple but inviting and capture the attention of young children. As a new-ish reader, I cherished books I could read on my own. But most of all, the story of love and loss, as told in the voice of another child, captured my heart strings. This book helped me understand aging and death in a gentle, age-appropriate way.

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs came back into my life this past year. After my own mother became sick and died, I struggled to talk with my four-year-old about his grandmother. Then I remembered this book, and I quickly realized we didn't have a copy! I went to the library right away and picked it up, and read it with my son. The book was a great starting point for a difficult conversation, and he wanted to read it again and again over the next few weeks.

Thanks, Tomie dePaola. Great children's literature is timeless, and I still love to read children's books as an adult.  What children's book mattered to you as a child?