I also resonated by the statement, in Court’s (2018) article, that rereading favourite childhood texts as an adult can be mixed with feelings of disappointment. Despite having carried many of my favourite childhood texts with me throughout my life and having reread them many times during my childhood and into my teens, I am hesitant to reread them now as an adult. I often fear that they simply cannot live up to the esteem I held for them in my childhood and all lessons I learned, comfort I received or value I gained from them will their worth and thus their place in my memories and heart. 

2) Like many, the Harry Potter series was (and occasionally still is) my obsession. However, my favourite book, the book that meant the most to me growing up, was Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. As a child I saw myself in Anne; the unwanted child who was odd and stubborn with a boundless imagination and high emotionality, much like myself. I found comfort in her journey building lasting friendships, pursuing her dreams, winning over those around her and evolving as a person without losing her sense of self or the essence of her identity. Her ability to be loved and appreciated for who she was and through that love grow into the admirable young woman she became at the end of the novel gave me hope that things could get better as long as I believed in myself and always did my best. It’s a book I revisited many times throughout my childhood, adolescent and teen years, each time finding new ways to relate and find solace with Anne, as she grew with me. 

The children’s literature shows us how we transform our lives into books, tales, symbols, and letters (Lerer, 2014). Children’s literature uses a more gentle way to tell them that the world is not simple, it could be cute, dangerous, peace, or gratified. But the protagonists in the tale are always constantly challenging themselves to find “truth” and show their bravery and wisdom. So that, we should not interfere too much with children’s literature, children should enjoy reading the different topic and reflect to think about the meaning of tales.

2) I grow up with Chinese traditional tales. These stories and fables have been handed down from hundreds or thousands of years ago. Many of them are picked from historical or classics literature. I remember many till now. I do not have a favorite one, but I like all of them. 

The deepest fable in my memory is Mr. Fool moves the mountain. It tells the story of Mr. Fool leading his descendants to move mountains in order to open the road from his village (in the mountain) to the town. The main ideal of this fable should be perseverance and fighting spirit. But the funny is the Immortal/God helps them to move the mountain by using his power at the end. Which means that hard-working on sth impossible could be nothing and useless. Of course, this is what I understood now. My understanding at that time was: Mr. Fool's efforts eventually moved the immortal (someone is powerful) to help.

Also, the part about the authorial intention and the reader’s response (Lerer, 2014) was intriguing to me. We read children’s books with an adult mind; however, a child’s imagination is vast and untouched compared to ours. It’s interesting to me to try to understand what a child understands of the story compared to what I get from it. I remember reading a book to a child once about animals and the adventures they went on and it seemed so boring to me, but he asked me to read it twice. Now I wonder what he got from the book that I might have missed.

2) My favourite book as a child was “Love you forever” by Robert Munsch, the French version. I still have my copy that I had as a child! I remember the first time someone read this book to me. My grandmother had bought it for us. This book meant so much to me because every time my grandmother would read it to me, she would become very emotional. My grandmother had invented a tune for the little nursery rhyme in the book and I still remember it to this day. My mother picked up the tune and sang it to us a lot as kids. Rereading it as an adult, I still love it as much, as I find the message of love is very powerful, but I see it differently as an adult than I did as a child.

 

One thing that resonated with me was Court’s (2018) idea on how revisiting a book in adulthood provides comfort and sometimes the takeaway of a book can differ from childhood to adulthood. For example, the book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is a book I had read many times as a child. It was always a story I enjoyed reading. It made me think about my future and how someday I will become a mom who grows this loving attachment to her children. After becoming a mom and receiving this book as a gift, I read it for the first time since I was a child and it brought tears to my eyes. I was comforted by the story in many different ways, in ways that I didn’t feel a child but also in ways that reminded me of how I felt reading this story as a child. It comforted me to know that my dream of one day becoming a mom has now become a reality. The storyline itself also comforted me because I now know what it feels like to be a mom who loves her children unconditionally and vows to take care of them of the rest of her life.  I was able for the first time to connect with the main character, something I couldn’t do or fully understand as a child. 

2) As a young child, I can’t think of any book in particular that I can say was my favorite. I wasn’t read to at home and we didn’t have many children’s books in the home either. However, scholastic was a big part of my childhood literacy experience and only began once I started elementary school. I couldn’t wait to order one or two new books each time I received the flyer at school. It is because of this I got into the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. I absolutely loved each book, and how it took you on a new adventure each time. I looked forward to buying the next book in the series and wondered where the story would take place next. I still have the series at my parents house and sometimes look through and reminisce on how much time I spent reading them and trying to remember each story. 

 

2) My mother tongue is Arabic, growing up our library at home was filled with mostly Arabic story books, one of my favorite stories is called: Clouds don’t Rain toys. This story was about a cloud that was asked to rain toys by children of a village instead of water. That’s when the earth and trees cried for water because they’ll die without it. The children realized that what they have asked for is impossible and started begging the cloud to rain again or else they won’t be able to play outside in the shade of the trees and on the green grass. These books came in series to explain the ecosystem we live in, in an easy and affective way, for children to enjoy it as well as learning in the same time. 

2)  A few of the books touched on in the first readings were familiar titles. I do remember myself thoroughly enjoying Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Junie B. Jones, and the Series of Unfortunate Events. The books allowed me to look into worlds unlike to my own. It was fun seeing myself in these worlds. There was a moment in Grade 5, that while reading a chair flew over my head and I was so engrossed in my reading that I did not notice. While most were getting detention for fighting or not completing homework. I was getting detention for reading during class!

I was instantly drawn to the reading by Court (2018) as it resonated with me, especially when she explained how books that we read as a child often stick with us throughout our lives. Every time that I go home to visit my family, I am met with all of my childhood books that are still tucked away on my shelf in my old bedroom. As Court (2018) stated in the reading “well-loved books stay the same even as everything else changes and that constancy can be comforting” (p. 4). Therefore, every time I see the books that I read as a child, I am flooded with many happy memories. These memories are the reason why I love sharing this passion of mine with my students. I want my students to love reading, just as much as I did as a child. I also really liked the quote in the reading by Lerer (2014) that explained how even the most ordinary text can become magical when read aloud at home or school and even the simplest children’s books can create a meaningful learning experience. This is one of many reasons as to why I try to incorporate children's books into the classroom as much as I can! :)

One of the ideas from Court (2018) that resonated with me was reading books from your childhood that brought back memories of experiences and how you interpret it then, and how you interpret it now when you read it. This reading made me think about some of the books that I read in the past and what they mean to me now if I was going to read them. Another idea that resonated with me after reading the two articles was the common theme between both of the different meanings and interpretations of the books depending on the reader themself. Each reader is able to make different interpretations and connections to the text based on their own experiences. 

2) Reflect your personal experiences reading children's literature. What was your favourite book? (If you didn't have one, why do you think that is so?) Why do you think this book meant so much to you? (Your favourite book as a child might not be in English, so introduce it briefly if this is the case). 

One of my favourite books as a child was Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. This book was read to me on my first day of kindergarten, I can remember my teacher reading the book like it was yesterday. Chrysanthemum is about a little mouse who doesn't like her name and finds out that her name is actually special and it's what makes her unique. The memory I have of this book is when my teacher was finished she had written our names on her shoes and we had to come find our names. This book had a lot of meaning because through elementary school I disliked my name, I wanted a nickname and there were more than one students with my name. Now when I am planning for my own teaching I like to use this book for lessons to teach students that they are unique. 

I was intrigued by the therapeutic properties of rereading a favorite childhood book which could lead us to reevaluate ourselves and reconnect us with who we were or wanted to be.  This idea that when we reread a book can help us see how far we've come or simply transport us to memories that are comforting, happy and pleasurable.  

Lerer (Winter 2014-15) states that many 20-century books teach the idea of list making.  I had never really thought about children's books in such a way but many indeed do involve lists. I will need to think and learn more to decided if I like this about children's books or how it can be useful for teaching and learning.

2) Reflect your personal experiences reading children's literature. What was your favourite book? (If you didn't have one, why do you think that is so?) Why do you think this book meant so much to you? (Your favourite book as a child might not be in English, so introduce it briefly if this is the case). 

My very first books were read to me in Polish. One book I recall is a book of classic Polish poems.  I enjoyed this book because it has fun rhymes and featured many animals.  My first favorite English storybook was "I love you forever" by Robert Munch.  I think this book gave me that sense of security that I will be loved even with tensions at home.  My favorite novel was "Anne of Green Gables" By: Lucy Maud Montgomery.  I loved the scenery, the Canadian setting and reading about the love of family and friendships that blossomed for Anne.  I supposed Love was something I really pursued in my literature since childhood because it wasn't always displayed in my own life. I believe I was seeking better examples of love. 

I also agree with Court that reading books from your childhood is comforting. I remember as a teenager I read a book called Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. I had such a strong attachment to that book and it resonated so much with me and my life at that time. When years later the movie came out, there was such a comforting familiarity about it that brought back old childhood memories. 

When I was a child I was constantly reading. My mom would always buy me and my siblings books from the scholastic catalogue at school. Holding a book in my hands for the first time and smelling that new book smell was always a euphoric feeling for me as a child. My favourite book as a child had to be Maquillage à Gogo (Makeup Mess in English) by Robert Munsch. I loved that book because it was so funny, I would read it over and over again.