Dealing with suffering,loss, and death

We have all dealt with suffering, loss, and death whether it be a family member or a pet we have all been affected. The book turned movie All Dogs Go To Heaven helped me cope with loss as a child. I was always afraid of losing my loved ones for ever. In All Dogs Go To Heaven it states "you know goodbyes aren't forever.". Being a little girl this quote brought reassurance and peace to me when a loved one or animal would pass away. Animals show great love and are always there for you. I was worried when my animals would pass away that they were going to die and I would forget about them but the quote "All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind.". This quote helped me believe that everyone that's good and everyone I care about will go to heaven if they are good and kind. Although this was a movie I watched in my childhood it still comforted me in dealing with the suffering, loss, and death of loved one.

Dwell in a time

Growing up you always read a book and sometime something as simple as opening it back up bring back memories from when you were younger. I often read the series Junie B. Jones by Barbra Park. These books were light heated and funny and when I read them I am brought back to library and book clubs I was a part of in elementary school. These books were funny but brought good life lessons. Something Junie B. Jones taught me was “A little glitter can turn your whole day around.”. Though this is a simple quote it taught me a simple action can turn someones whole day around. Even now when I see the series at houses when I babysit I can't help but laugh at them. They most likely impacted my humor and my sense of humor. Parks writes "my name is Junie B. Jones the B stands for Beatrice  Except i don't like Beatrice  i just like B and that's all.". This is probably one of the more famous quotes and I just think it's a good summary of Junie's attitude throughout the whole series. Just simply opening this series brings me back to my childhood both the good and bad memories and they remind me of my experiences in elementary school. 

Dwell in a place

Stories that help us dwell in a place are wonderful because just by opening the covers you feel a sense of belonging. A story that helps me dwell in a place is the book Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Chall and illustrated by Steve Johnson. This book always brings me up to my cabin with my family in the summer. Many times at my cabin I feel the lake is much bigger and has so many wonders. She states a similar feeling when she says "The lake is my ocean...Up north at the cabin, I am a fearless voyageur..". This is just how I feel many times up at my cabin and it brings back memories at my cabin. Up at my cabin I make memories that last forever; I am constantly trying new things and having new experiences. In the book it says "I am always brave --even in the dark woods..". This is how I feel when trying new things at my cabin ; often I feel braver up north because I am always trying new things. These are just a few of the many reasons that the book Up North at the Cabin makes me dwell at my cabin. 

Educate Desires

There are many stories that have educated my desires a story that really emphasis the importance of being grateful for what you have is "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han. This story follows a girl named Belly as she spends her summer at a family friends house only to figure out the family friend was diagnosed with severe cancer. This book educates my desires by teaching me the importance of life and the impacts we have on others. In the book Belly states "Moments, when lost, can't be found again. They're gone forever.". I believe this is a significant quote because it teaches us to not take advantages of anything life gives us and to hold on things that are important to us. Later in the novel she talks about what makes life worth living. Belly states "It's the imperfections that make things beautiful.". In my opinion this educates my desires by teaching me to appreciate the imperfections in life. I believe this book is a prime example of educating someones desires sometimes it takes the challenges and imperfections in life to teach you to appreciate life when it's going well.

Consequence of actions

As a young child we are taught how to respect others and how to treat others. I believe the saying "treat others how you want to be treated." is a good example of consequence of action. This may be a very short saying but in the short saying it says so much. Growing up on this saying taught me how to make others feel welcome and how to treat others. As a young child and still today I think is this how i would want to be treated or have others treat me? For this reason I believe the saying"treat others how you want to be treated" is very good at teaching consequence of action.

Through the eyes of others

Literature helps us see how others live life and help us appreciate how others live. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel he explains what life was life during WWII and in concentration camps for the Jewish people. In the book Night when he talks about the concentration camps he says  “Which is worse? Killing with hate or killing without hate?”. As a young child as Elie was in concentration camps its a hard reality having to think that people are killing people like you for no reason. Looking back on the war we can see what we did wrong but at the time people were to oblivious/ they didn't want to see what was going on. In the book Wiesel makes a good point when he states “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” . I believe in this quote we are able to understand how Elie felt inside the concentration camps. Obviously it is extremely hard to understand how life was in concentration camps but with books like Night we can understand how Wiesel view life there. Novels such as these help us see through the eyes of people in different situations then our own.  

Build community

It is evident stories help build community; just look at movie theaters, book signings, concerts these are all stories that we love and if you venture to any of these you'll meet people who love them to! Last year I went to The Hunger Games midnight premier with my friends. We knew  no one in our theater but we all had one common we loved the hunger games enough to be out late on a school night to watch the midnight premier. By talking about parts of the book and how interpreted the book and different parts and how we believed it would be portrayed in the movie we were able to connect with others in the theater about our ideas and their ideas. This is just one example but if you evaluate your life you'll be able to come up with many more. Our lives are built around the community we hang out with and believe it or not stories help build community.

Playground for language

A book that seems to be a playground of language for me as a child was There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr.Seuss. This book is filled with end rhythms and alliterations that keep you interested and make the books more enjoyable to read. At the beginning of the book when he is trying to convince you about the animal in his house he states "And that zelf up on the shelf! I have talked to him myself.". Later in the book when he talks about all his friends at his house he says"...Like the Tellar and the Nellar and the Gellar and the Dellar and the Bellar and the Wellar and the Zellar and the Cellar.". These are just two examples of the word play Dr.Seuss uses to keep his audience entertained and one of the many reasons as a child I enjoyed his books.