Reading Reflection

I believe that this class has helped me a lot as a reader.  If I hadn’t been required to read for this class, I would probably just have been reading a little bit of sports every now and then.  I have already read some great books that I really enjoyed because of this class.  Owl In The Cedar Tree by Natachee Scott Momaday was a very good book, as was The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis.  I’m also liking the book I’m currently reading, Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep.  These books have told wonderful stories full of a wide range of different emotions, including fear, love, compassion, determination, and anger.  When I am reading these books, I am very interested and curious about what will happen next.  I’ve learned a lot so far through reading this semester.  For example, Owl In The Cedar Tree told the story of a Navaho boy named Haske and his family, introducing me to a new culture.  I read about a Navaho medicine man who performed a ceremony to heal Old Grandfather and learned about Navaho homes.

I have been enjoying books written for older elementary students more than those for early elementary.  Stories that are a little more detailed and in-depth seem to interest me more.  You usually don’t get to learn too much about the characters in early elementary books.  I kind of felt like I knew and understood the main characters of the three books previously mentioned: Haske, Neftali, and Otter.  I learned about them and their lives as I read the story of their journeys.  The bad thing is that more in-depth books can take a long time to read.  I have found that I read best in short blocks of time, like 30 minutes or so.  Overall, this class had introduced me to some great books that I have definitely enjoyed.