tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post995855751284257474..comments2023-11-13T16:43:01.201-08:00Comments on Deborah J. Ross: Reading Aloud; Learning About StoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post-87689709013007081682011-03-15T11:58:21.218-07:002011-03-15T11:58:21.218-07:00Hi, Joan! It worked!
For me, there's a huge d...Hi, Joan! It worked!<br /><br />For me, there's a huge difference between including references to God as part of the belief systems of the characters, and having God appear as a character in a moralistic, preaching way. It's one thing, for example, for the grandmother to assert that her prayers have precedence (i.e., have more power/mana/magical oomph) and quite another for some expression of divinity to play favorites. <br /><br />I tend to give kids credit for figuring out that grownups have their own rules, but also that life doesn't necessarily follow them. As a writer, I love inserting subversive messages along the lines of, just because someone says it's so and they're bigger than you are, doesn't mean it really is so.Deborah J. Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03062367794652668585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post-24106001098489828912011-03-15T11:21:27.115-07:002011-03-15T11:21:27.115-07:00Deborah -- This is a different response option tha...Deborah -- This is a different response option than I was presented before, so I think you fixed it. At least I can just check "anonymous" below.<br /><br />I still can't think of the title of the story about the mouse and the elephant, but one of the longer favorites of my childhood was the one about a boy who rescues a black sheep and turns him into a prize winner: I'm pretty sure that was titled "So Dear to My Heart" -- later made into a movie by Disney, but my memory of it goes back to the Golden Book and the pictures in that book of Jeremiah Kincaid and his grandmother and the famous racehorse at the beginning. Most intriguing part of that story to me was how the grandmother told Jeremiah she had made a promise to God, and though her promise conflicted with Jeremiah's hers had to take precedence because she was older -- though better words were used to same effect. Unfortunately, these days, some people will find a reference to God as "offensive" as a violent ending. Maybe we just better stick to talking animals?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com