Text Set Kimberly
Text Set Kimberly
What is perspective?
How do different perspectives make differences; whose stories are told/ untold?
In this digital era, people are sometimes drowning and overwhelmed for
instant and quick information. There are news, posts, videos, images that arouse
hatred; some groups or politicians use the power of words to tear down and
separate society. Yet, I believe that literacy is powerful and people can also make
the skill of perspective-taking can help learners develop a sense of empathy and
the respect diversity and difference. When learners know how to grasp other’s
perspectives, they are more likely to anticipate other’s behavior and thoughts and
to be more inclusive and flexible when dealing with conflicts to value difference.
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EDUC 535 Literature for Children and Adolescent
Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
other paragraph for rationale, which jointly explains why this book could be a good
1. The True Story of Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
visited his neighbor, the pig’s place that had a house of straw. Unfortunately, the wolf
also had a cold and his sneeze knocked down the pigs’ house. The third pig, who lived
in a brick house, was just downright rude and insulted the wolf’s granny. This made
the wolf so angry that he was banging on the just as the police drove up. The media
then reported this news, depicting the wolf as a bad figure, and spoke ill about him.
This makes readers rethink the definition of truth. Is “truth” what the majority
believes (the wolf is guilty) or should we take the time to assess events from different
points of view?
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The True Story of the Three Little Pigs opens the door for me to view things
from different perspectives, learning that even a single story could be told in a
different way depending on “who” is telling the story and which perspective is the
reader viewing from. I was inspired by it because the book broke certain ideologies
that the wolf was the “bad” guy and revealed the other side of the story. There is also
(especially fairy tales), there are certain “good and bad” characters. This reminds me
contains positive role models: characters who act in acceptable ways and on the
contrary, there are unforgivable evil characters that demand to be punished. However,
in reality, there are various ways to view personalities and hardships in life. There are
good people that do bad things and bad people doing good things; such complexity
reveals how real life could be, which makes this book a good entry of my inquiry
because learners and compare this book to the fairy tale they used to hear. As
educators, rather than sugar-coating what reality is like, it is more important to guide
students to cultivate a sense of agency and guide them to know how different
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all the ironing, and then goes to her own job. Meanwhile, Mr. Piggott and the two
Piggott boys do nothing but wait around for Mrs. Piggott to feed them. One day, Mr.
Piggott and the boys return home to find that Mrs. Piggott has left them. They three
struggle to cook and clean by themselves, and the house turns into a mess. When Mrs.
Piggott finally returns, Mr. Piggott and the Piggott boys agree to help her with the
from an authentic discussion about the distribution of the housework, and such
authenticity could bring students to engage in the discussion. This also challenges
books that related to their typical childhood experience. “Boys like stories about boys
and girls like stories about girls”; however, this book opens up the discussion about
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gender and the certain stereotype of it. It also invites us to think from woman’s
perspectives, and further analyze that why women have more burden on housework or
taking care of the family. In addition, teachers could also bring into the discussion
about the notion of gender and how the social and cultural aspects affect our
present or so. However, there are certain jobs, like soldiers, postmen, pilots and so on
that could not enjoy the holiday with their loved ones. In the poem, there is a strong
comparison between the man and the soldier. The man is with his wife and daughter,
enjoying the company with his family and the cozy house whereas the soldier is
outside in the cold winter, staying far away from his family. The soldier said, “it’s my
duty to stand at the front line that separates you from the darkest of times”. And at the
final line “That we mattered to you as you mattered to us” drew the mutual
understanding and bond between the man and the soldier. There are things that we
take for granted but they are actually from people’s hardship and sacrifice. Even on
the same holiday, if people learn to view their position from different perspectives,
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When reading the poem, the students can read it one by one, word by word,
line by line. As the words are touching and inspiring, teachers can pause for a while
and let the students process the lines and think deeper about how different
luxury for others and learners can further develop a sense of empathy. What we take
for granted in our everyday life could be a sacrifice and hard work from others. As
this text is a poem, the aesthetic wording invites various interpretations and
conversation of analysis. After reading this poem, I also suggest that teachers guide
students to think about which occupation are the “hidden figure”; try to think from
their perspective and write a thank-you note or draw a picture for them. Encourage
students to send out the message at the end for I was particularly inspired by what
Cooper (2008) has mentioned, “an image is a metaphor, and metaphor is the language
of myth and fantasy, poetry and song”. The poem could not only echo my inquiry
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4. Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
for voting rights, and her run for the Mississippi State Senate. Hamer feels wrong that
the Black people are not being treated fairly, and she sees the effects that racism has
on her family and the people around her. She realizes Blacks have the right to vote.
She goes on to become the spirit and the voice of the civil rights movement and helps
change the country for the better future. Multimodality is also a highlight in this book.
Through poetry, the lyrics to traditional gospel, and collages, Hamer's life and
experiences jump off the page in this picture-book biography. The Author conveys
humanness that's often missing from profiles about civil rights activist. Hamer's
I chose this book because it not only brings the reader to revisit the historical
perspective of the civil right movement but also bring in the viewpoints of the
oppressed. I would like to connect this to Marche’s claim about rereading the past. As
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we reread and rewrite the past, it serves the needs of the present. The clarity of history
is a great advantage and it provokes hedging and justification (Marche, 2012). Once
the book brings us into this historical perspective and goes through the same
experience, readers can cultivate a sense of justice and further relate to their real-life
experiences. Even in 2021, there are still numerous people being oppressed, and they
are still fighting for equality and justice. Moreover, literature serves as a platform for
inquiry into our shared histories (Ghiso & Campano, 2012); thus this text also brings
us into a new perspective by learning the story of Hamer and then situating ourselves
as the two unseen narrators are starting to see each other’s' points of view. After that,
the duck/ rabbit is gone, a new ambiguous creature is shown, and the debating starts
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over again. This book is extremely simple in concept but so clever in execution. There
Compared to other texts, this book is a more playful one. The entire book is
more about the debate of two narrations, which takes on the opposing idea. However,
the simplicity of this book can also generate rich discussion as well. I would
particularly strengthen the text and illustration because words of the text and the
sequence of the illustrations contribute equally to the opportunities they provide for
constructing meaning (Sipe, 1998). And in this book, the narrator has different
interpretations because they view from “the different angles” of the illustration.
sweeps him off his feet and deposits an underwater camera. After he recovers, he has
the film developed by adding on his observation and his perspective and is captivated
by what he finds. Ultimately, he tosses the camera back into the sea, where it's carried
away by various creatures until it again washes ashore for a new child to rediscover it
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and then add on his or her angle of observation. The illustrations of this book also
won the 2007 Caldecott Medal. The author is certainly a clever artist and he also calls
each page and each exploration invites a new perspective. If we view this from
different angles, readers can come up with their new story and interpretation.
Honestly, I struggle for a while when selecting this book as my text set because
this wordless picture book could be a challenge when teaching perspective. However,
I later think that readers can also challenge this notion of reading or even redefine
reading and interpreting. As Freire (1987) has brought up, reading always involves
requires readers to take on the perspective, the new lens of interpretation. I believe
this book can open up rich discussion and very different interpretations because it
contains different layers. Moreover, since it is a wordless picture book, the creative
illustration also helps cultivate the reader’s imagination. Readers can as a result touch
on more perspectives. And I also believe that such an idea can challenge Sipe’s idea
(1998) because Sipe argues that an illustration is planned from a certain point of view
so that the viewers feel themselves in a certain position relative to the scene in the
illustration. But in Flotsam, the author purposefully opens bout the perspectives of
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Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
providing an opportunity for the cat to show the unique perspective of the animal
that's viewing it. Finally, the cat came close to the water," and the reader is invited to
imagine what it saw when it peered in. The cat is seen by other animals -- some
predator, some prey, each with a distinct point of view. This artful story provides
This book serves as an excellent introduction to the concept that we all see the
world from our own unique perspective. The rhythmic and repetitive text makes for a
mesmerizing read-aloud, and the art varies wildly with each perspective so as to
introduce scientific concepts such as a bee's pixelated mosaic-like vision and a bat's
echolocation. Teachers and learners can discuss how the illustrator uses color and size
and line to show perspective and further think about how the cat sees the other
creatures. Even young children can be very sophisticated as literary critics of a picture
book (Sipe, 1998) so the words and the illustration jointly work to facilitate meaning-
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making. Teachers shall also be mindful that there is no definite right or wrong answer
from a different point of view, which again echoes McNair’s (2003) reminder about
educators or adults shall not oppress or expect learners to take on their views and
perspectives.
story is mostly about his school life and family, the joy and
struggle, the ups and downs in his life journey. This book
depicts how August gets bullied and is isolated for being different. This book
different. One more intriguing aspect of this book is that it is told from various
perspectives; the first few chapters are told from August’s point of view, then some
chapters by Via (August’s elder sister). Then there are other incidents that transpire
which are told from various characters’ perspectives, giving the readers a glimpse of
each of the character’s struggles. This book can change the way you look at the world
and make you realize that everyone is fighting their own demons.
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Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
The reason that I picked this book is that learners can easily relate to its setting of
it: school life and interpersonal relationship. Moreover, young readers tend to have
feelings of being different and not fully understood, which is very common in their
own world. Reading this novel also invites learners to rewrite their stories with their
own perspectives. Thus, reading is not merely decoding the written language, but
rather anticipating and extending words into the knowledge of the world (Freire,
1987). Another reason that I chose this book is that this novel shifts the narration in
between chapters. Generally, most novels follow the narration of the protagonist but
to the idea of counter story-telling. Solorzano and Yosso (2002) define counter-
storytelling as “a method of telling stories of those people whose experiences are not
often told”. In Wonder, the author depicts the perspective of the family of August.
Like his sister Via often feels that the parents’ attention is all on August, but she felt a
sense of guilt for saying that because she thought her brother deserves more attention.
This novel really opens up different perspectives so that the story becomes more
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the class play, Charlotte's Web, to show her mom that she is a girl by switching roles
with her best friend and playing the part of Charlotte. The author first published the
novel in 2015 and it has had a mixed reaction due to its LGBT+ content. In 2021,
Gino retitled the novel, Melissa. The novel has received positive feedback from
sources such as the New York Times and the National Public Radio for its inclusion
of transgender experiences. Yet, the book has remained controversial to some parents
and teachers, leading it to be listed on the American Library Association's list of the
10 Most Challenged Books of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (topping the list in
2018, 2019, and 2020). Though it is a book that is still controversial, I strongly
discussion of LGBTQ topics because if the education content is silencing this voice
and perspective, I couldn’t think of another space or opportunity that can handle this
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discussion rationally and diversely. Scholars point to the need for the inclusion of
welcoming and supportive space for all learners (Crawley, 2017). In addition, with
social critical consciousness, teachers can begin to “see” the hidden curriculum
(McNair, 2003), but inside such a curriculum lies in learners’ struggle and the social
stereotypes. In this book, the author creates characters and plots for readers of how
gender shapes the ways we “shall behave” and how people are “expected” to interact
with each other. The book invites readers to consider what that might mean for
someone who does not fit into binary gender expectations; the book builds new
freedom of choice.
each finds one sandal from a matching pair. They then decide to share the sandals by
taking turns wearing them. The story describes the girls' lives in the camp, with long
lines for water and the stressful wait for new homes and other resources. Eventually,
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Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
Lina's family receives permission to emigrate to the United States to start a new life.
Feroza then gives the sandals to Lina, saying, "You cannot go barefoot to America."
As she is leaving, Lina gives the shoes back to Feroza, as Lina's mother has saved
money to buy her shoes. Feroza then gives Lina one sandal to keep, and said that "it is
good to remember." The generosity of these two girls also shows the glory of human
nature especially they are both struggling in a very hard time of time.
I chose this book because it also broadens the perspective across borders. In
my teaching context, learners tend to have a rather safe and stable place to live. Yet,
there are still numerous places that are still suffering from wars and dealing with the
displacement in this book, which has often been “othered” geographically. Therefore,
if readers are left to contend with profound issues related to ethics and social justice,
they can rethink what it means to live and participate in a democratic society (Ghiso
& Campano, 2012). Frankly, we can read the news about migrants, refugees, and
wars, but people can still feel very distant if we didn’t actually have such an
experience. Yet, literature embedded with related stories can guide us to take on the
narrator’s perspective; this book doesn’t put emphasis on the darkness of humans and
the brutality of wars. Instead, it depicts the kindness and generosity of the two main
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Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
characters, which again uncover the new lens and perspectives of viewing this type of
story.
father awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores
of a small pond in Minneapolis. Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation,
which indicates the hardship of life they currently experience. The family relies on a
successful catch meant a fed family. When they are fishing, Bao's father told him
about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam and he also wonder what life was
like, what the family and the culture were like in his father’s hometown, Vietnam.
This story includes the background of the family being refugees in America
due to the Vietnam War. The fact, the father is unable to speak about, is a powerful
force in the story because at times refugee status is not explicitly stated. Immigrants’
stories are often untold and henceforth, I regard this book as a good way to form
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Ching-Yi, Chang (Kimberly)
another perspective of the story of immigrants and more specifically, their life
changes and adjustment. I would like to further connect it to multiculturalism for this
within the text (Yenika-Agbaw, 1997). Such domination is like the shadow that
blocks the light of new perspectives in literature and I believe literature and this book
serves as a good entry to uncover such domination and then add on new perspectives
of multicultural analysis.
Conclusion:
When picking the text set, I go through the book list and readings again and
again for fear that I might miss any book that can help answer my inquiry question.
But I guess there is no perfect text set of certain inquiry as literature is so dynamic,
flexible, and even organic. For me, teaching literature is about change; it is a way to
guide learners to consider the alternatives for themselves and the perspectives of
others. That’s why the word “perspective” resonates a lot when I generate my inquiry
question. I sincerely hope that by going through the readings above, learners can
understand the challenges and possibilities that exist as we switch perspectives and try
Thank you, Dr. Whitelaw, for this wonderful wonderful learning journey:)
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Reference:
Cooper, S. (2008). Unriddling the world. Horn Book Magazine, May/June 2008, pp.
271-281.
Freire, P. (1987). The importance of the act of reading. In P. Freire & D. Macedo
(Eds.). Literacy: Reading the word and the world (pp. 5-11). South Hadley, MA:
Ghiso, M.P., Campano. H.G. & Hall, T. (2012). Braided histories and experience in
14-22.
Marche, S. (2012). How to Read a Racist Book to Your Kids. The New York Times.
McNair, J. C. (2003). "But 'The Five Chinese Brothers' is one of my favorite books!"
Group.
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