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Awards:
I know there are different organizations that give awards to books in a number of different categories, diversity being a major theme.

Literary Elements:
The only thing I can think of when I hear “literary elements” is genre and maybe themes that recur in literature.

Why do we share literature with children?:

There are endless reasons why we need to share literature with children. As educators and parents we are inundated with statistics about the importance of reading to your children at a early age. Reading in itself is reason enough, but literature and the enormous wealth of knowledge, imaginary experiences, places and times children can explore through books.

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Awards:
I was surprised to see that the state of Texas offers so many different book awards. I also learned the International Literacy Association awards are chosen by children and teachers, which I think is excellent. I used the ALA and TLA websites to find the list of award winning and honor books in order to find some book titles I need to read for Children’s Literature.

Literary Elements:
In working to create my “working definitions” of literary elements and devices, I was unfamiliar with only one of the devices. I learned deus ex machina is when a completely random character or situation is introduced in order to solve a problem in the story.

Why do we share literature with children?
I never thought about literature being a tool for learning empathy, as a parent you want your children to be empathetic, and using literature and learning others experience is an excellent way to do that. I also learned about all the different aspects of being a lifelong reader, for example reading for vicarious experiences and reading for philosophical speculation.

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Awards:
I believe I still have a lot to learn when it comes to awards. Being a librarian, I know I will need to be more familiar with the awards, the criteria, and the past winners.

Literary Elements:
I need to conduct further research on deus ex machina and maybe find examples of how deus ex machina is used in pieces of literature I have read; and learn to be able to recognize it in new pieces of literature.

Why do we share literature with children?:
I need to learn how to make use of all that knowledge as a librarian, and find ways to help my students and future students find that love for reading, and become lifelong readers, because of all the benefits. I teach in a district that is very low income, and tends to have low parent participation, thus leaving our students at a disadvantage when it comes to pre-Kindergarten education. I need to learn and find ways to help students who missed out on being read to at home, and being exposed to reading in their pre-Kindergarten years, and somehow learn to help them find a way to recuperate that time lost.

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Awards:
I will currently use this information to help my students and my own children find books to read, and encourage them to read award winning books.

Literary Elements:
I will use this assignment as a refresher and reminder of these literary elements and devices. I will try to use them when writing my blog summaries. I will also try and incorporate more of these in my everyday vocabulary when speaking to students, colleagues and classmates about literature.

Why do we share literature with children?:
I never realized some children need to be guided and taught how to choose books, for example becoming serial readers, choosing books by the same author or genre of a story they enjoyed.
I also believe it is important to help our teachers understand the importance of reading, beyond the reasons teachers usually understand. For example, we know that reading helps the imagination, but that leads to innovation, I hope to share that information with teachers as STEM seems to be the focus for educations future.

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Lesesne, T., & Perry, K. (2016, February 23). Why Do We Share Literature with Kids? [Video blog post]. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkoQcLadsw

Lesesne, T., & Perry, K. Why Do We Share Literature with Kids? [SlideShare]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/professornana

ALA Youth Media Awards. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards

Literary Devices. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://tuesdayswithmorrie4thperiodmsallen.weebly.com/literary-devices.html

Sendak, M. (n.d.). Where the Wild Things Are [Digital Image]. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61t+t7ptmgL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Curato, M. (n.d.). Little Elliot Big City [Digital Image]. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://static.wixstatic.com/media/801e09_63fc3853a61943a7b69a624806be3722.png_srz_302_394_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_png_srz

Falatko, J. (n.d.). Snappsy the Alligator [Digital Image]. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51bAFIm87HL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg