Thursday, September 10, 2009

Natalie DiSalvo!


I have a list of tons of my favorite books when I was younger. The early years of elementary school, as I recall, had tons of good books that we either read as a class or the teacher read aloud to us. The two that really stood out to me were “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault and “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch. If I had to choose between the two books I guess I would pick “Love You Forever”. Both of the books are great and could easily be incorporated into a classroom, however, they would work best for Kindergarten or first grade (younger children). “Love You Forever” is about a boy whose mother would rock him back and forth and sing to him each night the same song (I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be). As the son got older, the mother would mention how she was frustrated with him but when it was time for bed the mother would still pick him up, rock him back and forth, and sing her song to him. The story continues through the son’s childhood to adulthood until the mother gets sick. Then, the book had a sudden turn; The son comes to his mother’s house, picks her up, rocks her back and forth, and sings the song his mother sang to him. The ending of the book has the son then come back to his house, pick up his newly born daughter, rock her back and forth, and sing the same song that his mother sang to him. This story gets me all teary-eyed when I read it because I think that it is extremely touching. I think that if a teacher could not find a way to integrate this book into a lesson, then the book should at least be accessible in the classroom for students to read during silent reading time. The book reminds children that no matter what, their parents love them no matter what. A teacher could incorporate this into a classroom when it is close to Mother’s Day. The student’s could make their mother’s a card and the book could be inspiration to them. The teacher must tell students from the beginning that the mother can stand for any person-such as guardians, siblings, fathers, etc. just in case some of the students do not have mothers present in their lives.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=love+you+forever

No comments:

Post a Comment