Annotated Bibliography

Alicia Anderson

Armstrong, J. (2003). The writer's page. Narrative and Violence, 191-194. Retrieved April 10,
2016, from https://www.ebscohost.com/.
Summary
This article explains that while childhood should be fun and easy going and help to
preserve a childs innocence, we as adults cannot shield them from the real world. The author
explains that books give children a chance to access multiple points of view. She also explains
that children who have little reading experience have the hardest time making up stories and
finding resolutions to them. Then the author relates this to real life. These students are more
likely to run into obstacles and will not be able to find resolutions for them. In a result they are
more likely to bring a gun to school, and blow it up and force the conclusion.
The authors underlying point is that books matter. The act of reading the words, turning
the pages, listening to the authors voice and opinions, it is a distinctly educated activity. Reading
takes times because it cannot all be absorbed all at once. Why not incorporate important subject
matter into the writing? Students need more books to read and they need to write narratives, not
persuasive essays. They need more books that help their imaginations, which in turn helps them
be able to write narratives.
Quotes
1. A reader must have memory, in order to associate the ending of the book with what
has gone before. (p. 194).
2. Narrative is a string of decisions, reactions, and consequences. (p.194).

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Brown, M., & Davies, I. (1998). The Holocaust and Education for Citizenship: The teaching of
history, religion and human rights in England. Educational Review, 50(1), 75-83.
Retrieved March 20, 2016.
Summary
This article explains the education that children are receiving in England. They get into
subjects such as the holocaust much early in education than we in the United States do. The
author believes that the earlier they get into the better the outcome will be for their education. It
is a controversial subject but I has to be taught. Over in England they have children in as early as
second grade learning about the holocaust.
Here in the US we do not teach it until fifth or sixth grade. Why do they teach it so much
earlier? The author truly thinks it helps the children. Of course there are ways to monitor the
amount of violence the children are taking in and that is what they do. The article explains that
the children are able to understand what happened, and believes we owe it to the victims of the
holocaust to teach them about it. The article makes it clear that teaching violent, truthful events is
okay because you can adapt the lesson based on the age of the children.
Quotes
1. The subject matter is tough to handle but must be taught because it is important. (p.1).
2. There is no need to misjudge the material, but rather use it to help our childrens
education. (p.1).

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Koehnecke, D. (2001). Smoky night and crack: Controversial subjects in current

children's stories. Children's Literature in Education, 32(1), 17-30. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
Summary
This article talks about two specific books in which the context is related to material that
some say may not be suitable for children. Childrens books that deal with such explosive
subjects such as gangs, drugs, abuse, and violence tend to invite controversy. The word explicit is
thrown around when it comes to these. The point is children need to be exposed to this type of
subject matter because it is a part of life. The author says that there is no need to sugar coat it
because in life it does not get sugar coated.
Illustrations can add to that. They are just as important as the story itself. When it comes
to the more harsh subject illustrations can help children better understand. The imaginary and
story work together to help collaborate in the telling of the authors message. The author is also a
teacher and says it is important to her to think of her students as adults in her literature class. She
also highly encourages read alouds.
Quotes
1. One picture is worth more than a thousand words. (p.18).
2. Children may decide there is a memorable message if it is shown rather than stated.
(p.20).

Miller, D. (2009). Everyone is a reader. In The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in

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every child (pp. 19-46). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Summary
The author in this books makes it clear that it is important to know that every child is a
reader. No matter what level they are at, each child is a reader. The article also states that many
students come into our classroom with negative reading experiences and it is up to us to change
that and make their experiences positive. The author points out three types of readers: developing
readers, dormant readers, and underground readers.
It is important to recognize each type of reader and to use those categories to help them
select books to read. The author also states that it is important to know students can progress into
different types of readers. In the article there are also conditions for learning. They are
immersion, demonstration, expectation, responsibility, employment, approximation, response,
and engagement.
Quotes
1. I no longer spend the majority of my planning time crafting those glorious novel
units, instead I focus my efforts on designing an environment that is engaging. (p.37).
2. I have learned that you cant hate a book till youve tried it! (p.21).

Miller, D. (2009). Walking the walk. In The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in
every child (pp. 103-118). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Summary
This chapter talks about trust between students and the teacher. The author explains that
she is able to have this relationship through reading and constantly talking about reading.
Childrens literature is important and children need to read. She also states that if they do not
learn to love reading now, then as adults and parents they will not love it either. The author says
one way to model good reading habits as a parent is to read to your children. Read as often as
you can and talk about what you are reading, engaged in conversation about literature.
Another important point the author makes is that the teacher is leading the way for the
students. Motivation to read and attitudes toward reading are two ways teacher influence their
students. Another way teachers can help readers is to have a reading improvement plan. The
author gives 7 ways in which this can be done. They are commit to a certain amount of reading
per day, choose books to read that are personally interesting to you, read more books for
children, take recommendations from your students, investigate recommendations from industry
sources, create your own readers notebook, and reflect on what you are reading.
Quotes
1. The reality is that you cannot inspire others to do what you are not inspired to do
yourself. (p. 118).
2. When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.
(p. 103).

Short, G. (1997). Learning Through Literature: Historical Fiction, Autobiography, and the
Holocaust. Children's Literature in Education, 28(4), 179-190. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
Summary

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This article had some great information on how to teach certain topics including the
holocaust, but it also gave references to books you can use to teach. It is an older article but still
the information the author provides is good information. The author references serval
biographies and autobiographies that teachers are using in the classroom to help teach about the
holocaust. The author states that it is good for students to hear the real life stories of people who
were victims or survivors of the holocaust. It helps them build their identity of the cultural.
Quotes
1. The value of literature as a vehicle for learning about the Holocausta surprising
omission in view of the prominent coverage it receives in the best known of the
curricula Facing History and Ourselves. (p. 1).
2. Lucy Dawidowicz, who examined a range of Holocaust curricula in 24 states and in
New York City. Reporting her findings in Commentary in 1990 she castigated the
majority of the curricula for their inadequate coverage of the history of anti-Semitism
prior to Hitler (particularly its integral link with Christianity), role-play exercises
likely to produce trauma, and the drawing of inappropriate parallels with other
genocides. (p. 1).

Smith-DArezzo, W. M., & Thompson, S. (2006). Topics of Stress and Abuse in Picture Books
for Children. Children's Literature in Education Child Lit Educ, 37(4), 335-347.
doi:10.1007/s10583-006-9015-3

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Summary
The article explains that our society has seen an explosion of reading material for
children of all colors, sexual orientations, and home lives. But the subject matter though it is real
fails to show a vivid picture. Adults want books for their children to relate to. They want books
that look like their children so they can feel good about themselves. Some books cover issues
like bad home lives, bullying, and war. The author wants readers to be advocates for books about
more diverse people and subjects.
Areas such as child abuse and violence typically get ignored. Educators feels like that is
line they cannot cross. These are two areas children today see the most. So why not write about
these issue? The author explains that sensitizing our children is going to hurt them in the end. In
the real world it does not work like that. Children internalize the messages in books and other
media the encounter.
Quotes
1. Empathy and sympathy are two of the emotions that are developing in young
children.
2. When children read books with believable characters, they can move beyond
empathic feelings toward a feeling of sympathy which leads to sharing, or taking
action on the part of others.

Walter & March.(1993). Juvenile picture books about the Holocaust: Extending the definitions of
childrens literature, 9(3),36-51 Retrieved March 20, 2016.
Summary

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This article gives list of books I will use on my text set. They are all books that
help teach about the holocaust. They were pictures books, some of the books I looked up and the
pictures are pretty graphic so showing them to young kids would be a little questionable. The
author also has a strong opinion that showing these books to children is not to freak them out or
scare them but to help them. The illustrations in the article are unbelievable, graphic but need to
be seen.
Quotes
1. A childs mind has the ability to see and feel more than we think, exposing them to real
life situations such as the holocaust will benefit their education and life. (p.38).
2. A picture is worth a thousand words, so make it a good one. (p.37).

Zack, V. (1991). "It was the worst of times" : Learning about the holocaust through literature.
Language Arts, 68, 42-48. Retrieved April 10, 2016.

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Summary
The author says that children use literature to help them deal with issues for our times and
for the future generations. The suffering described in the book had a profound impact on the
children, and their comments reflected the fact that the content was both compelling and
repelling. The understood it and they were engaged by the context in books such as Number the
Stars, The Devils Arithmetic, and Anne Franks Diary. All are important pieces of literature that
were considered controversial. The author also reflects back on a time when no such books
existed at all. The subjects like the holocaust were just simply ignored or taught vaguely when
you were older. Although now we have more literature about it, it is aimed toward an older
audience. Number the Stars would be considered about a third grade reading level. The author
talks about our societys need for more literature on the subject matter that younger audiences
can read.
Quotes
1. The paradox is how can one write, read, and tell about it? How can one not write,
read, or tell about it. (p. 6).
2. Literature helps children deal with an issue for our times and for future generations.
(p.1).