Goodnight Moon

This first time I remember reading this book, I was babysitting my neighbor, John, who I had been watching since he was only a few months old. He was mesmerized with the pictures, rhyming and finding all of the items that the story talks about in the room. It was a kind of searching game that we played that really didn't relax him for bed at all, but it was his favorite. This book was written in 1947 and it is interesting to me the use of color pages and strictly black and white as well. That is only seen occasionally even now and it gives it a real sense of television when you read through it. It is as though you see the stage/set of the show in the paintings of the room. Then they pan into the scene to highlight an object of importance, then pan back to see the whole room and for you to search with you eyes the item of importance. The pages are also very informal and comfortable with the position of the text usually inside the picture, floating in space. The room paintings, not being framed on the page, give it a really relaxed feel, like a home would be like, where as the panned in pages of black and white are more formal with the framing, the text outside the frame and the absence of color. The bright use of color is definitely ahead of its time, and confuses me in the way it is used. Why use such vibrant colors in a children book about going to bed. I supposed the only explanation is that as the images dim with the little mouse’s night light, it is easier to see the change throughout the book if the beginning colors are brighter and more vibrant to begin with. Overall, I think that this book is a great addition to any classroom or family library and obviously has some merit and credibility having been a classic for so many years.

When Bluebell Sang by Lisa Campbell Ernst

When Bluebell Sang, is a story that I grew up with along with many other tales by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Her illustrations and clever dialogue between characters made reading so much fun for me. The reason I decided to write about this story today is because it has a similar theme as Ella Enchanted woven into it. This theme many not be the author's most important or intended message, but it stood out to me and can be applied to my life. Previously, I talked about how, in Ella Enchanted, I could see myself in her through her struggle to make her own choices and not always simply obey what she is told. This same theme is present in the story about Bluebell, the cow, who can sing beautifully and is taken advantage of by a mean and bossy agent out to make himself rich. Bluebell, and her farmer Swenson, learn not to trust Big Eddie, the agent, or his motives and to make the decision to go back home by themselves by cleverly tricking the agent in the end.

In my life, as I have mentioned before, I have trouble telling people no and standing up for myself. These ideas may seem completely different than the themes of the books, but the connection I am making lies in the reasons why I never say no or stand up for myself. I have to learn not to always obey or take what someone else says for truth and to make my own decisions. I also can see this connection in how college students change their views slowly throughout school. I have never been one to constantly question things, but I find that now more than ever, the professor must prove or argue why something is so. It seems that I am beginning to move away from obedience and more towards thinking independently for myself, and I believe this is part of growing up.

Ella Enchanted = Amazing

I was one of those people who raised their hand timidly in class because I read the book from cover to cover in a very short amount of time, despite our equally spaced chapter reading assignments. If I could have I would have read and read until it was finished after the first few chapters. Unfortunately my daily life got in the way of my reading and I had to stop and restart several times before I was finished. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine was published in 1997 and is a contemporary version of the Cinderella tale we all know. I found the story intriguing because of Ella character and the situations she gets herself unintentionally into. For me, I related to Ella at a symbolic level. Ella's curse of always obeying represents how I felt growing up until I left home for college several years ago. It was not that I was ever forced to obey physically, like Ella, but I wanted to please my parents and teachers so much that their disapproval of anything I did or said was enough to teach me a lesson. Being a people pleasure is something that I struggle with even now, with the apparent inability to say no and to stand up for myself when I really need to. I accomplish small feats of defiance now occasionally, but I struggle to completely disregard someone else's wishes, even when they are not my own. Ella can not disobey an order because of the curse, but I rarely can to someone close to me without a guilty conscience weighing me down until I given in.

For this reason, I was intrigued by the character of Ella because of her innate defiance against something she can not control. She inspires me to pump up my defiance against what I am always asked and to decide what the best choice is for me, Erin. At the very end of the book, Ella is fighting against the curse one last time, after countless trials of trying and failing to break it. Finally, she breaks the curse and realizes that she can choose to do anything she wants! She repeats such lines as, “Myself unto myself. One. Me.” She must repeat these phases several times in the process of realizing the full meaning of the complete absence of the curse permanently. (228) I hope that I can have a moment such as this, when I realize it is okay to say no and that I can not always make every one happy!

The Acrostic: Erin Marie Hays

Excellent at patiently listening.
Ready to take on the rest of her life.
It will be a moment of pure pride to see her Aggie Ring glistening.
No she will probably not be the perfect wife.

Making people laugh makes her world go around.
Absolutely in love with her dog Lily.
Resolutely will cherish the colors mode and brown.
It pains her to find the weather so chilly.
Expects to live peacefully outside of town.

Has a great love for her traditions.
A smile her friends always can bring to her face.
You may have met her under many different conditions.
Spend time knowing her and a loving hug you will embrace.