What was the most meaningful and useful for you...

"When I enrolled in this course, I expected to gain a better
understanding of the various genres and to broaden my knowledge of
authors and titles in children's literature.  What I didn't expect
was to be so inspired! "
~ Jennifer Mallare Turner, Instructional Assistant, Cave Spring Elementary School, Roanoke, Virginia.

"Overall, this course has been a wonderful introduction to my
graduate school experience.  I have enjoyed the format and the
clarity of the course, as well as the communication and information.
I am looking forward to taking more courses through the University of Wisconsin-Stout! "
~ Leah Le Clair, 2nd Grade Teacher, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

"It is very difficult to find a college course that has complete relevance to one's classroom, but I found one here. This course will definitely have a lasting impact on me and the way I teach in the future."
~ Elaine Jakusz, Stevens Point , Wisconsin

"During this class I have learned that I need to move out of my 'comfort zone' of fiction and expand my horizons to include other genres. I feel that this will greatly change the way I use books in my classroom."
~ Amy Bielenberg, Elementary Teacher, Venezuela

"Teaching Children's Literature in the Classroom is an energizing and wonderfully guided journey through both contemporary and classic children's literature.  Sharron McElmeel's expertise in the field abounds, and the activities are certainly applicable to classroom practice.  Dialogue with colleagues is engaging and relevant to current teaching topics surrounding children and what they are reading.  Don't miss this class!"
~ Sadie Sveum, Elementary Teacher, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

"I have always loved teaching all areas of language and have been interested in getting a reading specialist or add-on certificate for quite some time.   However, living and working abroad made it impossible to take courses throughout the school year and by only taking courses in the summer it would take forever. The opportunity to earn this credit online is just what I have been waiting for."
~ Heather Knight, First Grade Teacher, Bucharest, Romania

"This course has been very valuable in that it has made me look at books critically and thoughtfully. Reviewing the different genres, reading books I had been unfamiliar with and discussing topics with classmates has broadened my knowledge of children's literature. This children's literature class has renewed my enthusiasm for books and reading!"
~ Kathleen Lezotte-Zuck, Grade 1 teacher, Ladysmith, Wisconsin

" I never really took the time to understand the foundations of children's literature before and found it fascinating to learn how it has evolved from the sole purpose of teaching children to read and for moral lessons to the many genres and styles of writing available to children today. "

"..my personal library is much richer, although my bank account is not! Sharing my learning with my own family feels like one of those commercials where they tell you how much each part costs and then at the end tell you that the experience is priceless. That was exactly what happened when I took my children to the Eric Carle museum and also shared all of the new books that I read for my module coursework!"
~ Melissa Fagan, Elementary Classroom Teacher, Paris, Maine

"This is the second children's literature course that I have taken. The first as an undergrad was a traditional class in which a prescribed list of books was read and discussed, resulting in a rather narrow view into the world of children's literature.  In contrast, this class has allowed me to read a huge range of titles, as well as learn about other titles that my fellow classmates have read and shared.  I think that this is a huge advantage and has allowed me to introduce my students to several new titles that I may have otherwise overlooked or never even found."
~ Sarah Lipke, Library Media Specialist, Birchwood, Wisconsin

"An excellent course to take if you are looking for professional development opportunities. The course material covers all aspects of children's literature, and the website is very well designed and easy to use. And it was the first time that I took a course without having to worry about sign language interpreters!"
~Jan VanGorden, Librarian Pennsylvania School for the Deaf Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"As I said at the beginning of the course, what could be more fun than studying children's literature? Nothing! Thank you for guiding me into a treasure of children's literature to use in my classroom."
~ Kitty Gustafson, Grade 2 teacher, New Delhi, India

"My media center has already been impacted by the information I gained in this class. Learning how to evaluate books with a critical eye helped me enormously to weed the poetry and biography sections during the past few months. In addition, I now have an awesome buying plan filled with great titles that were suggested during online discussions, in the textbook, and by the professor.

"I feel very fortunate to have been able to take Children's Literature at the same time I was preparing for my Comprehensive Examination for my Educational Specialist degree in reading because I could make connections to all the theory I had learned about teaching reading and specific trade book titles. ... I really appreciate being given assignments that I can take back to my school and use."
~ Kate Musick, T. C. Walker Elementary, Gloucester, Virginia

"My final thought is that this class has been a wonderfully fun experience that allowed me to learn from others how children's literature can be enjoyed by so many ages. For me, this topic never gets old. Thank goodness children's authors and illustrators never stop creating -- I can't wait to see the amazing books they come up with next!"
~ Pam Scott, Library Media Specialist, Potomac, Maryland

"The most fun activity was reading, reading, reading the children's books. I also enjoyed my defense of Olivia by Ian Falconer as a significant children's book... The most interesting activity was the final project. My final project is something I will definitely use on my Information Center website and has been the springboard for me to start working on other Pathfinders."
~ Teresa Torres, Guam

"The most valuable part of this class was setting aside time to just read, read, read. The most valuable concept for me was to really clue into the child and their interest when looking for books. I thought I did this but I conscientiously thought about it daily during this class. Right now I'm not teaching a room full of students, but for the student I tutor and my own children this was absolutely amazing. This will be harder with a classroom. Dividing the students into groups of similar interests would help. The book that a child loves becomes fun again to read, not learning for the child who struggles."
~ Kelly K Bowe, Wisconsin

"Not only do I have a wish list for new books but also I have discovered books in my collection. I have a more critical eye about multicultural books and activities along with a better grasp on whether a book is historical fiction or a misrepresentation of a historical event.

My basic theory about literature is that it should be fun. I found this class encouraged me to use that enjoyment of literature and share it with others. As a group this class was able to share its knowledge and experiences and help each other grow in our appreciation of children's literature."
~ Naomi Gelfand, Media Specialist, Rockville, Maryland

" I have to say it was just what I needed to really get into the new literature. I have always used our library, but more for factual books on various homeroom themes that I support. But, with this enlarged repertoire of new authors and illustrators I have now "met," I will certainly use the library for much more than just the factual material.

... For me, then, the best part of the class was when we had to prepare an illustrator unit and an author unit.Why? Because I can implement both of them into my program immediately. Illustrators I perused and enjoyed were: Craig Brown, Loreen Leedy, Debra Frasier, Gerald McDermott and Robert Sabuda. I really enjoyed his pop-up books and know that his works will certainly influence future illustrations in books my students will author.

From the beginning of this class, I was introduced to so many new authors and new books. ...

However, the area which really grabbed me was the section in the text on realistic fiction. ... The themes covered are really amazing to me: divorce, homelessness, adoption, runaways, all commentaries on our society today and, I suppose, the truth that children do need to be aware of.

In Module 3, I found the optional reading on 23 significant children's literature books fascinating. I have looked at the sites for each and realized that I haven't read all 23! I am setting that as one first goal to do after this class is completed. I will also introduce as many as I can that are appropriate to the various reading abilities of the students I work with in my ESOL program.

I could take this course again and continue to learn more!"
~ Karen Rossetto, ESOL teacher in Tokyo, Japan

"Since taking this course my class has really been hopping. When we were studying folk tales our school was in a throws of a fairly intense and wonderful India Week--the theme of which was literature. We read a lot of and were exposed to wonderful Indian folk tales through dance, drama, re-tellings, author visits, puppets, etc. I had pulled quite a few folk tales from different cultures and lands and thought that extending the idea of sharing our culture was a good idea.

I asked two parents if they would be interested in coming in to read a folk tale from their country. Both parents, a Japanese parent and a Finnish parent were incredibly enthusiastic. They had post reading activities, food, and the children picked up on the excitement. I had pulled Tasty Baby Belly Buttons by Judy Sierra for my Japanese parent but she decided to retell the story from an original Japanese book. The mom painted (!) illustrations and read from a translation but she showed the Japanese illustrations from the Japanese book. The first thing my students noticed is that Japanese books are read from back to front and left to right and bottom to top!

My Finnish parent read The Princess Mouse by Aaron Shepard. We played the music from Shepard's web site every time she got to the music sections and we've promised to perform a reader's theater on the story for a repeat visit.

Since these two parents presented other parents have been calling me to ask if they can come in because they have wonderful memories of folk tales and they've heard they can come into our class to share. have six more parents lined up. Wow!

The other explosion happening in the room is poetry. I love poetry, teach it all year, it's part of our life. But since the poetry unit started in our literature class I've been more focused on it and sharing more with my students. Lo and behold my students are writing poetry at home and wanting their turn to read aloud during show and tell. Isn't this wonderful?"
~ Evelyn Paulson, Grade 1 teacher, New Delhi, India