Eric Loges

@tlynne098 I've read that book as well! Both stories represent how a loss of innocence comes as a result of war, violence and destruction. Specifically, how these experiences shape youth and their outlook on the world. #285WLU10

A Long Way Gone reminds me a lot of a novel I read in high school called Iqbal. The protagonists of both stories experience violence and trauma at such a young age, having to do the unthinkable to survive. #285WLU10 #285WLU

'A Long Way Home' shows the experiences of war from the perspective of children to establish how they do not have the capacity to grasp the nature, brutalness and true meaning of war until they see it for themsleves. War represents a forced loss of innocence. #285WLU10

Greenville, South Carolina, 1963 (30-1) shows the innocence of children who struggle to understand the significance of the lessons their mother is trying to teach them as black people entering the south. #285WLU9

@kayrasahin8 The poems are short and sweet which is great for youth. For example, the poem How to Listen #1 on page 20 is just three lines. simple and effective words in a book about difficult subject matter like race is great to help tweens understand these issues. #285WLU9

Poetry is used in this story being written in short passages, which help keep the attention of the young reader. Her combination of discussing issues affiliated with race & stories would educate the reader while have them enjoy the content of the stories. #285WLU9

I found it odd that Scarlet did not remember Bod and the graveyard immediatley. Obviously it's been many years for her since she's been there but I found her to be such an interesting part early in the book that I couldn't help but feel frustrated that she forgot #285WLU8

@EmilySavoie3 hahaha I hadn't thought of the similarities until now! They're similar in the sense that Bod is a parentless boy who has a network dead people who look after him as Mowgil has animals taking care of him. They're also both very adventurous and curious young boys. #285WLU8

I love Bod's curiosity about all the different people and parts of the graveyard. On page 99 Bod is told to keep away from the corner of the graveyard. But this explantation is not sufficient enough. He needs more answers and explores in order to find them. #285WLU7

@emmadav78039083 Their friendship was very intriguing. It showed how much Bod was missing out on by living in the graveyard. I found it very sad to read that Bod did not know his age and never celebrated a birthday. #285WLU7

I love that Bod’s friendship with Scarlett helps both of them develop their social skills and initiates their curiosity about the world. Friendship with kids ones own age is important in teaching kids to work with others and sharpen their individual skills #285WLU7

@aminach285 Additionally, Widdicombe portrays Swift as superior to artists like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus because she has not transitioned into adult content or had any public scandals. Maybe Swift's private life is not the same as what is portrayed in the media. #285WLU6 2/2

i thought the widdicombe article was a bit hypocritical. her excessive use of exclamation marks while quoting teenage girls comes across as her purposefully trying to portray them as immature, and the fact that she puts down countless female stars who have gone thru #285WLU6

@aminach285 No kidding! This article felt like it was written by Swift's PR team. Widdicombe writes, "Swift is tolerant of all her fans' interests..." as if this is a fact not just an assumption. #285WLU6 1/2

I was shocked to learn from the Susan Linn interview that 40% of 3 month old babies are regular TV watchers! I thought this was a crazy statistic and leaves me wondering why? Are parents trying to get a break or do they actually believe it is educational? #285WLU6

@FaccJoseph I had similar thoughts while reading the book. Unlike most fairytales, Ella promotes a sense of female agency and empowerment that young female readers can look up to and learn from. A great story about finding yourself as an individual, not just as a princess. #285WLU5

I applaud Ella's independence and resilience as a young lady. She makes the choice not to have Char to save her, she is forced to handle the stress of her obedience curse and she has lost her mother in the novel. Ella is a great role model for young female readers. #285WLU5

@emmadav78039083 Well said! I feel like like the majority of tween literature is designed to relate with the experiences, feelings and troubles of kids at this age. The use of magic and exotic locations make these books captivating to read but the themes are applicable to real life. #285WLU5

I feel like Ella attempting to fight the curse was a metaphor for tweens slowly rebelling against their parents to become an independent person. Ella proves why she is deserving of independence too through her intellect and selfless. #285WLU4

Ella's energy levels after not eating and having to pamper Olive and Hattie the entire journey. The poor girl can't catch a break. She is tired, aching and hungry. Hattie works her so hard because she has to obey and Olive just goes along with ordering her around. #285WLU4

@aminach285 Agreed! the ogres are scarier in the book because of the language used to describe them. In particular, on page 43 they're described as having "pointy teeth and dried blood under his fingernails." The imagery created by the words make them scary. #285WLU4

#285WLU4 i grew up with the movie version of ella enchanted and it was interesting to see the differences made in the adaptation , for example the ogres in the book were actually quite scary, but in the movie they were trivialized and were more comical

@nonameforyou I agree. Not much good came out of this story. But, the Baudelaire children made it very fun to read because of how intelligent they are. Their maturity and intellect far exceeds their years. #285WLU3 #285WLU

“In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.” This book amazes me because Snicket is able to tell the dark tale of the Baudelaire children in an entertaining and humorous way. #285WLU3

I was shocked by how emotionless Mr. Poe is as a character. He was not bothered to tell the children that their parents had passed and could not care less about the children's complaints about Olaf. He is only concerned with the family fortune, not the children. #285WLU3 #285WLU

@BrooklynEn285 #285WLU2 #285WLU

@BrooklynEn285 Harriet's parents never seem to be the ones that have to look after her. It's always the job of someone else to take care of her. Whether that be her teacher, therapist or the cook. Without Ole Golly around Harriet is free to roam.

While reading Harriet the Spy, I tried to reflect on what would be different about the novel if it was written in recent years. One part that stuck out to me was how much freedom Harriet had to roam wherever she wanted while spying on strangers. #285WLU2 (1/2)