Red is a Rose

A bit of poetry. It's about the way we see the world. If we'd only stop to look or listen, we mights see things differently.

Red is a rose
Normally
Or so it goes...
But pink, yellow, orange, white
Are roses too
And beautiful

Blue is water
Most often
When we think of it
But teal and green and purple
Are deeper waters
Lovely to see

The sky is blue
They say
When someone asks
But orange, red, and yellow
Are seen every morning and evening
If you watch

A poem rhymes
Usually
Or so the world thinks...
But words without rhyme
Are poems too
And colorful

The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton

The Little House was one of my favorite books when I was little. I'm not really sure why. It tells the story of a house that is built, lived-in, abandoned, and adopted again. All around the house the landscape goes from beautiful country to dirty, thriving city until she finally is moved to the country again. I think I always loved it because it is about history and the permanence of the house even though the world around her is changing so rapidly. It tells a lesson about technology too, explaining that in the city "Everyone seemed to be very busy and everyone seemed to be in a hurry." Is all this technology really worth it if our lives are just a racing mess? The house is only happy when she is surrounded by nature and is able to watch the slow changing of seasons. The city is dirty and grimy, loud and noisy, and ignores the charm of the little house. I want a little house, and I want it out in the country.

The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss

How many people do you know who have not read The Cat in the Hat at some point in their lives? Not many, I'm sure. It's a classic. I've probably read it at least five times and maybe more like ten. I just finished it now. It's funny though, because when I was little I didn't like it very much. I thought it was too long, a little boring, and didn't rhyme exactly right. I think I was one of those children who liked things to be consistent. I wanted a pattern in the rhyme that was easy to follow. This book certainly rhymes, but Dr. Seuss changes it up a little within each stanza. To me, it is a little irritating because I have a certain thought in my head about what comes next and Dr. Seuss is always surprising me. It is sort of like he mirrors the randomness and nonsense of the events in the story with the way he rhymes the words.

I realize now, after reading it as an adult, that is has some funny parodies. The fish, for instance, parodies adults that are always telling you what to do, or even those kids that are such goody-goodies and never want to do anything that is even a little outside of the rules. It also has a moral: always clean up. Who would have thought that a crazy cat such as the Cat in the Hat would have the decency to pick up after himself? I also enjoy the ending, "What would you do if your mother asked you?" Dr. Seuss never really tells the ending, but leaves it up to the reader. I think this last line is one of the major appeals to the book. It is an original sort of punch line.

Guess How Much I Love You

I just finished reading Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney. The book was actually given to my sister when she was born, but I adopted it because I love it so much. It tells the story of a little rabbit that is trying to tell his father how much he loves him, but his father keeps responding with an amount of love that is far greater than the little rabbit can think of. The best line of the book is, "I love you right up to the moon--and back." My ex-boyfriend and I used to say that to each other. It was kind of a silly little thing, but it meant something. What is so great about this story and its illustrations is that it is cute, funny, and entertaining, but it teaches children about the love of their parents. It's sort of like a subtle lesson, but not really. I don't know if learning about your parents' love is really a lesson, but it is something that we all deserve to feel. This story is such a wonderful way of putting love into a concept that children can understand. It takes the cliche of saying "I love you this much" while spreading your arms out wide, and turns it into something more. You can't really quantify love, but that is the best way that kids can understand it. The hares in the story also add to the child appeal. It's such a lovely little book. And I am proof that it not only touches the hearts of children, but adults as well.

Undertones

The Lord of the Rings came on today. It was kind of ironic since we were just learning about the Hobbit. My friends and I were talking about the movies and commenting on how they were and were not like the book and what they should and should not have done. Then we started getting into the Christian undertones of the story and, finally, whether or not it is appropriate for children. We were talking about that story The Golden Compass and whether or not children should be allowed to read it since it has strong atheist undertones. Many people say that they would not have even realized that it was a story written by an atheist if the media hadn't blown it in everyone's faces. Of course, in my opinion, even if something isn't obvious, it can still have a subconscious effect on a child's mind. But I am definitely not like those people who won't let their children read Harry Potter because it has magic in it. Harry Potter teaches a lot of people about the struggle between good and evil, and it certainly doesn't force witchcraft on children as if it is real and true, and a religion to be practiced. I won't deny that there is a certain age that children should be allowed to read the books, but they shouldn't be banned forever. When you say something like that, you are putting very little faith in your child's faith, will, and moral code. We can't be afraid to expose ourselves to everything that is just a little different than what we believe. If we did, we wouldn't be able to read much at all. It is in looking at those things that our faith becomes stronger and we are able to better ascertain the truths that we already know.

Interpretation

My friends made fun of the title to the children's book I am reading. It is called Foursome the Spider. It's kind of sad that they made fun of it. Just because it had the word "foursome". The idea hadn't even crossed my mind until they said something. Now I am going to think about that every time I read it. Sometimes I wish we could go back to the innocent days of being a child when things like that didn't even enter our mind. Nowadays we have to worry about everything we say because it might get interpreted the wrong way. No wonder Christ says that we must be like little children to enter His kingdom. Kids are genuine and sweet.

The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis

I am about to finish The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis. It is incredible. I read the entire series when I was in fourth and fifth grades and I loved it, but I don’t think I even caught the (incredibly obvious) Christian undertones. This one is about the end times. The image that struck me the most was when Aslan calls the beasts to him and each looks into his face. If they are good, they go to his right and enter through the gates of Paradise. If they are bad, they go to his left and disappear into his shadow never to be seen again. I also enjoyed the end of the world. Father Time awakens and blows his horn, and everything begins to melt away. The stars fall out of the sky to stand behind Aslan; the dragons and giant lizards destroy the forest and the lands; a massive ocean swallows up the earth. If freezes, and the world ends. Powerful. C. S. Lewis is a mastermind. I love his books.