Finally... Work I'm Used To.

I had to write a paper for my English class. Well, a kind-of paper. An author study, limited to 400 words. I have never had to limit myself to 400 words before. In the US, they want more, to make you work. 400 words, they think, is easy to BS your way through. Here, concisity is key. Short and sweet. Let me tell you, to an Amy that likes to talk, 400 words is TOUGH, especially when they give you so much to cram into those paltry 400 words.

I shouldn't complain - this is the first assignment they have given me that feels comfortable at all. The only one that has been anything like what I am used to having to do. And, to be honest, I'm proud of it, so I'm going to share it with you. I'll even throw in the bibliography, because the articles and websites are interesting. And if you have small ones, CHECK OUT THE ROBERT MUNSCH OFFICIAL WEBSITE. I didn't want to leave. He is fun, there is so much to do...and he reads his stories and puts them online in a downloadable format. You could spend hours clicking and listening to awesome stories.

Every single one of you go HERE and pick at least one story to listen to. Take no more than 7 minutes and be a kid again. You can pick your favourite and comment on this blog; tell me which one it is. I'll tell you mine first, so you can't pick the same one. It is "Purple Green and Yellow" with the super-indelible-never-come-off-til-you're-dead-or-maybe-even-later colouring markers.

And now, without further ado, here is my paper:

Robert Munsch

A Critical Look

Robert Munsch is an American-born Canadian who Earned a BA in History at Fordham University, an MA in Anthropology at Boston University, and an Ma in Child Studies at Tufts University. He writes award-winning children’s books and poetry based on oral storytelling and readers’ letters, and really wants to be asked the question, “How has being a manic-depressive, obsessive-compulsive, recovered-alcoholic nut case changed your writing?" (WIZNURA, 2007; Munsch, unknown date)

Robert Munsch can easily be considered a high quality children’s author. He appeals to young readers. Children in his stories are portrayed as being smart, capable, and powerful heroes. His stories are relevant, adventurous, funny, touching, and often have twist endings. The illustrations are colourful and enticing; though the stories don’t need illustrations to be effective or appealing. They beg to be read and re-read: alone, together, or in a group.

His language varies from nonsensical to advanced; facilitating working with words in context, development of complexity and structure in the English language, pre-reading skills, and support for ESL learners through bilingual books translated into home languages. His simplistic stories follow a frame, fostering re-telling skills: and all his stories feature diverse characters and settings; enhancing inclusion and multi-culturalism in the classroom. They are child-centred, to the point of being written with the continuing input of children during oral storytelling sessions, and leading to ideal read-aloud books which can easily be used to bridge the gap between literacy in the classroom and in the home (Senechal, et al., 1998.) His story structures often bend conventions and can be used to foster understanding of genre and methods of writing outside the genre (Dean, 2000.) His books are humorous, interesting, and empower children by their pro-child, pro-equality stance.
Munsch’s books can be used at any primary stage, from Foundation to Key Stage 3. Some of his books are situationally relevant (i.e. ‘Andrew’s Loose Tooth’) or geared specifically towards older readers (i.e. ‘I’m So Embarrassed’). His official website can be used to encourage ICT skills and contains many stories/poems written in response to reader letters as well as stories written, furthered, or illustrated by children worldwide; incentivising bookmaking, letter writing, creative argument, persuasion, and other real-life skills. Books such as ‘the Paper Bag Princess’, heralded as the “feminist fairy tale” (Wiznura, 2007) can be used in upper primary classrooms to teach socio-studies.

Based on the above, it is easy to see Robert Munsch’s place in the diverse, quality book-rich primary classroom.

Bibliography

Annick Press. (2006). Available at: http://www.annickpress.com/authors/munsch.asp?author=257
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Dean, D. (2000). ‘Muddying Boundaries: Mixing Genres with Five Paragraphs’,
The English Journal, Vol. 90, No. 1, Teaching Writing in the Twenty-First Century
(Sept.), pp. 53-56.

Kasper, J. (1998). ‘Circling with Robert Munsch’. Available at: http://www.stf.sk.ca/teaching_res/library/teach_mat_centre/tmc/P11233/P11233.htm
tmc/P11233/P11233.htm (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (unknown date). Video interview by Annick Press,
O’Keefe, S., producer. Available at:
http://www.annickpress.com/videos/munsch.mov
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (1999). Interview by Scholastic Students. Available at:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1325_type=Contributor_typeId=3299
Contributor_typeId=3299 (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (unknown date). Interview by Khan, I. and Hörner, J.
Available at:
http://www.canadiancontent.ca/issues/0499munsch.html
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Robert Munsch Official Web Site. (unknown date). Available at:
http://robertmunsch.com/ (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Scholastic. (unknown date). Available at:
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3299
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Senechal, M., et al. (1998). ‘Differential Effects of Home Literacy Experiences
on the Development of Oral and Written Language’,
Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb. - Mar.), pp. 96-116.

Wiznura, R. (2007). ‘Robert Munsch’. Available at:
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010686
TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010686 (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).