Wouldn't you just hate to have a frustrated English teacher for a parent at age 9?

My daughter has been having a bit of trouble with comprehension tests at school lately (probably because she is not terribly keen on reading) so this morning I got out my old Norton's Anthology to try and give her some practice at comprehension.  I read her this poem, one of my favourites by William Blake. 

A Poison Tree

 

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears,
And I sunned it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine -

And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning, glad, I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

 

On the first read through, we wrote down all the words she didn't know, ie, wrath, foe, deceitful, wiles, beheld and veild.  We then looked them up in the dictionary and talked about their meanings during a second read through of the poem.  We talked about her and her friends and how sometimes you feel better if you tell someone they have hurt your feelings rather than bottling it up and growing a 'poison tree' inside you. 

We then moved on to talking about metaphors and particularly the apple and tree metaphors.  She had been a bit disengaged up until this point but then got really excited thinking about apples in other stories like the story of Adam and Eve, Snow White etc. 

 

 

We then had a look at Anthony Browne's book The Shape Game (the kids love this book anyway) which includes a reproduction of a painting about a woman being cast out of her family because she had given into temptation.  There is half an apple lying on the floor of the room in the painting and my daughter was quite excited to see this and interested in the other symbolism in the painting (which Anthony Browne explains in the book).

 

We also read Pamela Allen's Black Dog (the kids also love have Pamela Allen's books read to them) which continues on with the friendship theme and has a lot of symbolism in it, eg, a bluebird, trees, bread and of course, Black Dog himself.

 

 

She has now gone off to Kung Fu clutching a copy of Grimms Fairy Tales all excited about reading the gory versions of popular fairytales.  Plenty of symbolism there!

  

 

On reflection, I think the Blake poem was probably a bit ambitious, especially as a starting point.  I will look for something a bit more accessible next time.  Any suggestions most welcome.   

or, in my 5yo son's case, having read to him (as he can't yet read himself):

I felt a bit sorry for him on the weekend as he was trailing around with his book in hand desparate to find out what happened next but needed to wait for people (either me, his dad or his big sister) to have the time to read him some more chapters.  Between the three of us we managed to get up to bit where the peach is growing before their eyes on the tree.  It is actually quite entertaining reading for us too.  I love the fact that Roald Dahl is so un-PC by today's standards, eg, the terrible deaths met by James's parents (killed by a rhino escaped from the London Zoo), the horrible things his aunts say to him etc etc.  Someone will read another chapter or 2 for tonight's bedtime story. 

My daughter, who is 9yo, is reading her first Judy Blume book:

 

I had been trying to get her interested in Judy Blume for a while but it was only when they started reading this book in class that she really got a taste for it.  I have actually caught her reading secretly under the covers after she has gone to bed which is a great sign as she has never been a hugely enthusiastic reader.  Hopefully she will be interested in reading more Judy Blume books after this one as we have quite a lot of them at home.  

without reading this book.

 

I am only partway into it but can't get over how good (and compelling) it is.  My brother was saying that Capote pretty much "invented a genre" with this book.  It is hard to believe it was written as long ago as 1965. 

Feels like my life is so scatty and scattered at the moment that I have trouble thinking of any solid and coherent to post about in here.  So this will just be a little newsy update kind of like the ones people send around with their Christmas cards.

Work going well although have missed a bit of time due to the kids being sick (SEPARATE illnesses on SEPARATE days - how thoughtless!) over the past week. 

Have been nominated to attend an International Women's Day breakfast in a few week's time (one of the other women in my office a bit snippy that she wasn't asked to go).

Still reading my way through the YA shelves of the local library.  Currently part way through a good book that is set in my local area of Sydney.  It is called "Lost Property" by James Moloney.

Going out for coffee with one of my mum friends on the weekend.  She lives just as harried a life as I do so we decided we both need to do this and hopefully more regularly.  Also determined to get to yoga this Saturday.  have really been feelign the effects of missing it this week (although it was nice to have a sleep in). 

Also hoping to go on a movie "date" with my husband on Saturday night.  I am really feeling movie withdrawal as haven't been to the cinema for ages.  Was going to go and see "Juno" a month or so back but it never happened.  Will have to check what is on and see if I can arrange a babysitter.

Thinking of going away for a few days over Easter.  Planning a trip away always cheers me up provided it is not to somewhere where I need to clean (eg, husband's aunty's holiday house) or camp.

Still changing my mind frequently about what to do for the kids birthdays.  Pretty fixed on Hannah Montana in 3d for V (eek!) and maybe an after school or Easter party for J.  Thinking of inviting the whole class now as there are only 16 of them and it is a bit clear out of the 16 who are J's particular friends.  even his teacher said the groups still pretty amorphous at this stage. 

School hols coming up in April and have decided to take kids to visit Mum in Melb for a few days around Anzac Day.  J also looking forward to catching up with his two pals (my friend's two sons) down there.

 

(Following is something else I read the other day (while home with sick V).  Quite good but the plot suspiciously like the movie Mean Girls and others of its type.  Nice girl triumphed in the end (of course)!)

 

 

 

 

 

Decided to use this blog mainly to keep a record of my reading as I often forget what I have and haven't read.  Started reading a lot of 'young adult' fiction a few years ago when I was doing my English teaching course and was overwhelmed at what a rich, untapped (by me) source of great books this part of the library was.  Have continued to read my way through this section of the library since then.  Find this genre particularly good when I am in the mood for something not too taxing but not insulting and simplistic either. 

 

Latest YA reads include:

 

which I didn't enjoy as much as other (more 'boyish') Gary Crew books such as:

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Australian novel which I really did enjoy was 'Joel and Cat set the Record Straight' by Nick Hornby and Rebecca Sparrow.  The focus of this novel is a tandem story writing exercise which the two title characters are forced (very much against their will) to cooperate on.  Would be interested to find out more about how the two novel writers worked together on this project and how much the process resembles the tandem story exercise within the larger story.

Have also read a few UK YA novels recently including:

 

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paralysed was great.  It explored the relationships between a group of friends when one becomes severely injured in a sporting accident.

 

The Passion Flower Massacre was also interesting - about a troubled girl who takes a job fruitpicking in the English country side only to find herself mixed up in a cult.  Also uses a 'story within a story' device but this done a bit clunkily.  Read on the cover that this writer mostly does more science fiction/fantasy type books (this one partly futuristic as the bracketing story set 25 years into the future) so maybe this is something new for her.

The fruitpicking theme has lead nicely onto a very different (and non-YA) book, Two Caravans, by the author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (which I have not read).  Finding Two Caravans a nice change of pace.  Only a short way in but enjoying the interactions between the characters who are mostly fruit pickers from Eastern Europe earning some quick money on a 'sweat shop' type farm in rural England.