Author Archives: cw140435

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Tom Sawyer’s Cunning Ways

First, I would like to say that this book was somewhat hard to read because of the language, but that’s besides the point. After reading some of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it felt like an enjoyable book. There were funny moments Tom had playing hooky, always trying to get out of trouble with his aunt, and hanging out with the neighborhood kids. Then I realized that even though Tom likes to play hooky, he’s actually pretty smart! Street smart, that is. There was a point in the story where he got other kids to do his work for him. They even gave him objects to do it for him. And it was all because he changed his way of thinking. At first he felt like painting the fence was the worst job ever. But then when Ben came over, he figured that making it seem like a very important job would make others want to do it. To Tom, it was still work. But to everyone else, he made it seem like it was a special job only he could do. In the end, he tricked all of them into doing his hard work for him, and  he received rewards in return. It’s something I would not have expected him to think of. It also happened again when he traded objects for tickets before Sunday School and handed them in for the prize Bible. Of course that plan backfired on him, which was kind of like karma for his past trickery.

From those events, the book reveals morals about not tricking people. Otherwise, there might be consequences (such as the embarrassment Tom experienced). I would recommend this book to children. It seems enjoyable to read so far!

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The Seeds of the Anti-Slavery Alphabet

While reading this alphabet, I definitely knew that children were the intended audience for this. The author used the alphabet as a method of connecting to the intended audience. Since language is one of the first things they learn, it makes sense to use it. The author uses poetry for each letter’s description, as well. I believe this is a good idea because it has such a lyrical feel to it. Personally, I had a bit of difficulty getting the rhythm of the poem down, but that’s besides the point. Another peculiar thing I found is that the author didn’t really sugarcoat the situation of the slaves. He used poetry and the alphabet to draw in the children, while also educating them about the ideas of anti-slavery.

When I went back towards the beginning, I noticed that I missed something. “In the morning, sow thy seed.” I think that’s when it finally clicked for me. This poetic alphabet wasn’t just about educating children about the unfair treatment of the slaves. It was also a way for the anti-slavery movement to gain power. Children are impressionable at their young age. If they can be convinced to accept a certain idea, they will grow up believing in it. Those people leading the anti-slavery movement discovered this and used Children’s Literature as a way of “sowing the seeds.” So when the children grew into adults, they would be more than likely to support the fair treatment of slaves.

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A new way to read Children’s Literature

In this passage, I came across an experiment that Perry Nodelman had administered. He read a poem to his class and asked for their opinion. To his surprise, they said they would not share the poem with children. He asked if they enjoyed the poem and they replied with a yes. So why would they not share this enjoyable poem? According to the passage, “In thinking about the poem as a text for children, they had ignored their own responses and, instead, guessed how some hypothetical children might respond. Many adults base their judgments of children’s literature upon such guesses” (Page 1, Seeing Beyond an Adult Perspective). That made me wonder why Children’s Literature is created mostly by adults. Sure–they could definitely use their childhood experiences to imagine what a child would want to read. But, that child (who is the adult now) was born in the past. What do children want to see now? Wouldn’t it be better to actually ask children what they want to see? There are more young authors creating Children’s Literature now. I haven’t read any of their works yet, but would it be any better than the children’s books we grew up with? It’s something I’m curious about.