How To Read Literature

Thinking back to the summer when I first signed up for this class, I thought I would just be spending a semester reading my favorite childhood books to learn about the process of constructing a children’s book. I never would have thought that I would learn so much about how to analyze literature and choose books that would develop the cultural understanding of a child. Also, I didn’t realize how much I would have learned about my own experiences reading books. Everything I learned from this class I hope that I can apply to my everyday life.
One key thing that I learned was the idea that books are mirrors or windows. As a kid and even now I always excepted the idea that there are not many African American authors and so I will not find many
This theme will not be blatantly presented which is why the text has to be analyzed. Analyzing text allows one to identify what stereotypes are in the work or what are the central themes the author wishes to get across. This idea is supported by a quote from an article we read the first week about examining books. The quote says, “children’s literature presents children with society’s overt and covert values and often explains and justifies what is generally considered appropriate patterns of behaviors and beliefs” (Boutte 147). This means that children’s books usually feature ideas that are relative todays culture and may even be a way that children become socialized. Building upon this idea, books are typically one means for children to learn about life. Books feature important themes and situations that help children learn how to function in everyday life and society. This is one key reason why books are supposed to be mirrors for children. Specifically, the reading called Children’s Voices taught me that books are a medium that children use to learn about life. In fact, teachers may choose books for the purpose of teaching their students about pertinent situations. Many teachers are not able to effectively teach children about social situations like homosexual couples and cultural diversity; therefore, they resort to books as their channel. This idea was evidenced by the author’s own class when she said “I recognized the act of reading aloud to be powerful in engaging students and fostering whole- group discussions.” (Children Voices) She felt that reading was one way that she could engage students and get them to begin thinking about the deeper ideas in a