Tuesday, October 26, 2010

MOTHER TO SON by langston Hughes

       I love this poem, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes for several reasons. One is that in the poem there is a lot of words that are not real, and that I'm not used to, for example "kinder harder" and "ise". What I like about this is that by the third time reading the poem, the words sound regular to you, and you can read it super fluently.

       Another think I appreciate about Mother to Son is that there are a lot of sad and unlikable sentences and words in the poem, but in the end it gives a happy and positive message. The message is that you should keep going on in life, and it can be good in the end, even if you font hit the crystal stair.

       Overall, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes is a great poem and teaches a powerfull message. If you have not read it you should, because its probably one of the best poems out there.

      

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Appreciation

       I discovered the book Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Phillbrick, when it was read aloud to me in fifth grade, by my teacher, Ilana. I remember loving this book and wondering when I would ever read it again in the future of my life, or if I even would.  In the fifth grade, I did not have deep thoughts like I do now, but I did appreciate the book, because from getting it read to me, I learned a lot about friendship, and I appreciated that a lot because I was having trouble with my friends at that time. I still appreciate the book now, but in deeper and different ways. One of the ways I appreciate this book now is that the book has wonderful balance, and wonderful writing, by Rodman Phillbrick. 

       The two main characters in Freak the Mighty are Max (M ighty) and Freak (Kevin). I appreciate this friendship because of the balance. Kevin, otherwise known as freak, is tiny, but super smart. Max, otherwise known as the mighty, is really big, but not that smart at all, creating a perfect balance. I connect and relate to Freak because we are both small, and have friends who are bigger and not as smart as us. I can relate to Max because i have two little sisters, so sometimes I feel really big, just like Max (Mighty).  Some back round information on Freak the Mighty is that it was published by Rodman Phillbrick in 1993.

       The characters in this book (Freak, and Max) are super important, because they shape the book, and put a perfect balance to it. Another reason the characters are important in this book is because they teach lessons about friendship. This text is great for any age because if your a kid and read it, you can learn about friendship, and what it is to have friends. If your a grown up, and you read it, it can remind you what it was like to be kid, and what it was like to go to school, or any other things you did as a kid that you havent thought about in a while. If you have not read this book, or you just want to reread it, you should, because its a great book, and will bring back memories. Freak the Mighty is a magical text because it teaches a great lesson, brings back memories, is well written, has great balance, and will make you laugh. Overall its a good read and will make you think like youv never thought before...






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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Research to deepen thoughts

        To make my thoughts, feelings, and questions about the book Freak the Mighty deeper, I did some research on the auther, Rodman Philbrick. While doing my research on him, I found lots of interesting ideas and facts about him, that deepened my thinking on the book greatly.

        One thing that I found out from researching Rodman Philbrick is that he also wrote a book called Max the Mighty, a sequel to Freak the Mighty. This deepened my thinking on the book Freak the Mighty, and on the author, Rodman Philbrick. Now, from knowing this, I think about other good books i have read in the past, and if the authors of those books have written other good books. If so, i would love to read them. The website i got this information from is: WWW.rodmanphilbrick.com/book20.

         On http://biography.jfrank.com, i found some more interesting information on Rodman Philbrick, such as; He is a screen writer and a novelist, he was born in Boston,Mass, and he loved fishing as a kid. This deepens my thinking a lot about Freak the Mighty, because now when I read it, i can sort of picture Rodman Philbrick as a kid, and that helps me understand maybe how and why he would write the books he wrote.

        In conclusion, researching your book, or the author of the book you like a lot, can help you think, feel, and ask deeper things about the book. After I researched Rodman Philbrick, all my thoughts about the book Freak the Mighty got more safisticated, and a lot deeper.





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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Balance

       In the book Freak the Mighty, there is a lot of balance. There are three examples of balance in this book, one, friendship, two, education, and lastly, size. All of these balances create Freak the Mighty, aka, Kevin and Max.
    
      Education is a perfect example of balance in Freak the Mighty. Freak, or Kevin, is very smart and well educated, he know how to read and write, and almost every word in the dictionary memorized. Mighty, or Max,  is the opposite, he hardly knows how to read or write, and has trouble even looking a word up in the dictionary. This created a perfect balance for a perfect friendship.

      Size is another very good example of balance in the book Freak the Mighty. Kevin, or freak, is really small, about a 7 to 8 year olds height, and Max, or mighty, is giant, like 6 to 7 feet, and still growing. This is just another factor of kevin and Maxes friendship, Freak the Mighty.


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