Method

Before beginning the books I have compiled a list of what I want to specifically consider when reading. My reviews will cover the following categories (and maybe more).

Summary: A brief summary of the book.

Text Features: Are there illustrations? Is there white space? Is the book long or short? Are there chapters? And so forth.

Timelessness: Is the language outdated? If so, is it understandable? Are characters, themes, and settings relatable despite time passed? Etc.

Adaptations: What songs, poems, movies, other books, etc.  present in popular culture are adapted from this novel?

Personal Reflection: Any other notes of consideration.

The Books....

Selection Process

My selection process relied on several measures. Primarily, I consulted Literature and the Child  (Galda, Sipe, Liang & Cullinan, 2013) which mentions several children’s classics as it examines the evolution of children’s literature. Next, utilizing a local bookstore, I was able to find a section of children’s classics much more extensive. While all seemed like fantastic choices, I had to narrow my scope. I used the online website, Goodreads.com, to condense my selection. I considered ratings, popularity, the appearance of these children’s classics on “must read lists” to decided on which books to analyze. Finally, I narrowed down to  books that were highlighted on the Common Core State Standards at the elementary level, and books that were frequently known and referenced in our current culture.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

 Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The Hobbit by J. R. Tolkien

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

My quest....

I am on a quest... It might involve wizards or maybe even magical creatures; I might find myself flying over the sleeping city of London one day, and falling down a curious rabbit hole the next...

I am on a quest to rediscover the children's classics. 

As long as I can remember I have been a book enthusiast and an avid reader. As I have grown older, my reading tastes extend a wide range of genres, but without a doubt  my favorite genre is classics. Most surfaces of room are decorated with (ahem... completely covered by) all of my books.

In my undergraduate career as an English and Adolescent Education major I attended classes on classic literature and created many exciting lessons on these great canonical novels. I am just itching to get into a classroom of my own and begin sharing my love for novels by Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Salinger. 

After graduation I considered what I was interested in for my graduate studies and recognized that I was also interested in the Childhood Education and Literacy Education fields. For the past year I have been attending a Master's program in Literacy Education. During this time I have realized that my previous love for classic literature is very important, but that I must widen the range of literature I consider if I am going to teach in childhood grades. 

This semester I have the opportunity to create a project out of any inquiry I have within the realm of children's literature. And so, I have decided to rediscover children's classic novels.

For the next few weeks I will be looking at about a dozen widely received children's classics. I will read, annotate, and consider the possibilities that lie within these novels. My goal is to examine the timelessness of these novels through their adaptation in popular culture and confirm the importance of keeping children's classic novels in the classroom.

Starting with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I will begin by taking the plunge Down the Rabbit-Hole. I hope you enjoy this journey with me and maybe even consider picking up a few of these novels as well.