About Heather Irbinskas

Heather Irbinskas is the author of several award-winning children’s books including “The Lost Kachina”, “Pauly, The Adventurous Pallid Bat”, “Morgan the Dog” and the highly popular “How JackRabbit Got His Very Long Ears”. Heather’s multifaceted career includes being the trainer of 1994 “Best of America’s Horse” Charge Alibhai for Grand Prix Dressage. In 2005, Heather and her Dutch mare Razelma won the USDF All-Breeds award for 3rd Level Musical Freestyle. Her long career as a professional horse trainer and instructor moved her to develop highly acclaimed humane training & safety products for dogs and horses with her company SNAP-BACKS. Heather & her husband Jonas own their own training stables in Sonoita, AZ.

Kids are like Sponges

Today in church I noticed how much little kids are like sponges that soak up all the information around them and replicate what they see. I was sitting in the pew behind two families with small children; probably all of the children were under the age of three. Anyway, one of the little boys was imitating our preacher's hand motions and words. It was so cute to see this little boy watch the preacher so intensively and copy his actions.

But today it just clicked in church while watching this little kid how important good children's literature and media for the children in our world today. Watching little kids learn about the world around them pushes me harder and stronger to be the best teacher in the world for them.

Animorphs: The Invasion by K. A. Applegate

Animorphs chronicles the battles of five human teenagers and one alien youth as they fight a guerrilla war against a secret alien infiltration of Earth. The series is told in the first person, with a different narrator in every book. Applegate cycles through the books' six protagonists, telling the story of their secret war through each of the combatants' perspective. By using this method, she explores many of the dark aspects of the human condition. Horror, war, dehumanization, sanity, morality, innocence, leadership, and growing up are core motifs of the series. In the first book, The Invasion, the narrator is Jake, the leader of the Animorphs group. This book provides a solid foundation for the series as it begins to explain the plot and the characters.

In The Invasion, Jake and the other four teenagers come in contact with aliens who tell them that Earth is being invaded by another race of aliens, called the Yeerks. The Andalite alien gives the children powers to be able to absorb DNA from animals. Once they do this, the teenagers have the ability to morph into that animal—hence the name, Animorphs (Animal morphers.) When they are in animal form, they only have two hours until they have to morph back or they are trapped forever in animal form. Right before the book finishes, the readers find out that one the five main characters, Tobias, is forever trapped in the morph of a red-tailed hawk because he was unable to de-morph in time from the fight the night before.

This series provides an interesting and engaging adventure for upper elementary-age kids. The content can be a bit violent for younger children. I read them as a kid one after another once my brother would finish them. These books are the kinds that are difficult to put down. Luckily, there are fifty-three more in the regular series.

Biography of K. A. Applegate

Katherine Alice Applegate is the credited author of the Animorphs, Remnants, and Everworld book series, although many of these books are ghostwritten by other authors. Applegate's most popular books are science fiction, fantasy and adventure novels. She also won the Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997 in Publishers Weekly.

Applegate was born in Michigan in 1956. She currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She has a son named Jake, although she says the Animorph leader isn't named after him. In 2003 she and her husband, Michael Reynolds, her co-author on many projects including Animorphs, adopted their daughter, Julia, in China. Following the end of Animorphs, Applegate took three years off. She is back at work and recently sold a picture book called "The Buffalo Storm," to Clarion, placed a middle reader novel called "The Stars Remain," (renamed "Home of the Brave") and an early chapters series "Time-Out Tales" with HarperCollins.

K. A. Applegate's Animorphs is a series of 54 science fiction books that were Applegate's first series. These 54 books were written from June 1996 to May 2001.

Why I Love Fantasy

Today in class we were talking about why some people love or hate the genre of fantasy. I'm most definitely in the first category. I think fantasy is such an amazing genre, and that the most creative people in the world write fantasy.

I love fantasy because it completely stretches my imagination. It takes language that I use every day and paints a beautiful and different world in a way that I don't think I ever could. Also, fantasy lierature is never the same. They do not always have an unrealistic and "happy ending" that is so populated among the fairy tales. Fantasy stories are not predictable, which keeps me reading and hooked until the very last page. Fantasies usually have morals and hidden meanings, and because the way they are written, the morals stick with me much longer.

Fantasy is such a beautiful genre, and I am eagerly looking forward to studying this unit!

Fantasy-Fiction

I've started to read the Animorhps book, which a form of fictional fantasy. It is a very interesting read, especially since it brings me back to the days of my childhood. I remember days when my brother would always be reading these books, one ahead of me. And when I was done, he would pass the book to me. I remember imagining I was one of the characters in the book, and that my brother and my best friends were characters as well. I loved the Animorphs books because they stretched my imagination to new limits that I hadn't explored before. And now the book is bringing me back to my childhood state. I just love books that bring me back to simpler days.

In-Class Discussion Question

According to the Foxmovies web site about Ever After (http://www.foxmovies.com/everafter/themovie.html ), “This is not your grandmother's Cinderella.” Andy Tennant, director and co-screenwriter says of the film, "I wanted to tell a very different version of 'Cinderella' because I have two daughters." What kind of Cinderella is Danielle? How does she differ from your grandmother’s Cinderella? Why do you think Tennant wanted to create this particular type of Cinderella?

I think that Tennant wanted to create this particular type of Cinderella (Danielle) because she is the kind of woman or heroine that Tennant wants to see portrayed in his daughters. Danielle has strength and self-confidence. Danielle does not does not depend on the "fairy tale ending" for her happiness. She fights for what she believes in and does not let people's judgements influence her. She is a woman with a mind and a heart. Danielle is unconditionally loyal to her family--doing whatever it takes to keep them together and happy.

Most importantly, Danielle has passion. Henry tells her when they are in the library that she has "more passion from one memory than he has in his entire life." Her passion for life and love and knowledge are (what I believe) drive Henry to keep pursuing her.

The End of Ever After (The Movie)

Today in class we finished the end of the movie Ever After. I had never seen it, and I really enjoyed it as the closure to our Cinderella study. I feel like I can relate alot to Danielle in the way she fights and is devoted to things she loves. I'm devoted to my friends and family, and I do not give up easily on any person that shows interest in me as a friend. I have a passion for people, just as Danielle did. Sometimes I find myself wishing to be in another group (social class) as Danielle was able to do to see into another world that I'm not part of. But like Danielle, I do not want that other world to become a prison and cause more stress. If I was able to did what Danielle did, I would want that other (higher-status) world to be one of escape and freedom, not lies and bondage. I feel like every day I wake up I'm fighting the lies and and bondage from the events before. That's why I enjoy reading books like Ella Enchanted and watching characters like Danielle defeat their fate by using strength, wits, and courage.

I really liked the movie, and I like how much it differs from the Disney version of Cinderella. I like being able to really get know and grow with the characters throughout the stories.

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hatches the Egg is part of Dr. Seuss's classic collection. This rhyming book teaches perseverance, keeping promises, and what I call happy endings without the fairy tale. Basically that means a happy ending without prince charming coming to the rescue--a happy ending as a reward to your own hard work and perseverance. Those kind of happy endings are my favorite! Personally, I'm tired of waiting for my Prince Charming to come rescue me.

Anyway, this book is an easy and enjoyable read with vivid yet simple illustrations. The basic story is about a lazy bird named Mayzie and a nice elephant named Horton. Mayzie the lazy bird has laid an egg but is getting tired of doing her motherly duty of sitting on the nest so she asks Horton to do it. After some hesitation from Horton and persuasion from Mayzie, Horton agrees to sit on the nest. And the repeated (perseverance) phrase of the book is "I meant what I said and I said what I meant... An elephant's faithful one hundred per cent!" And in the end of the book when the egg is hatched and Mayzie wants the hatchling back, Horton's perseverance and faithfulness is paid off. When all the work and unpleasant parts were taken care of, Mayzie wants to come back for the pleasant and rewarding parts.

Dr. Seuss does a great job not only creating a story about hard work and perseverance that kids really need to know early on, but his illustrations are also so vivid and imaginative. The pictures also have this simple quality about them because of his use of only four colors and shading. For some reason, this really makes certain aspects of the pictures on each page stand out in its own certain way. The illustrations magicly connect the story with one's imagination.

Chicken Little--The Movie

I went on a trip to Taylor, TX this weekend on a trip of service to the community and church there. While we were there, I had the opportunity to watch Chicken Little with some of the youth and kids of the church. It was a very interesting experience, seeing their reaction to the story.

Some of the kids have heard of the story of Chicken Little, while others were completely clueless to who Chicken Little was and why the sky was falling. However, the movie puts a very interesting and creative twist on the story. Being a movie, it created more character development and relationships betweeen the characters than I remember reading as a child.

Anyway, the main relationship conflict was Chicken Little trying to get approval and acceptance and love from his dad, after failing him time and time again with the whole "sky is falling" incident. At the end, the father and son resolve their issue and the dad finally encourages his son and backs him up in his decisions instead of tearing him down.

The teacher-side of me decided to use this as a lesson for the kids I was watching the movie with. We talked about being nice to others and using kind words to build each other up, like the dad did for his son at the end of the movie. We discussed the importance of friends who believe in us and how they make us feel good and happy and secure.

And at the closing of the movie, they show the story that was in the movie as a movie in the town of Oakey Oats. They changed some of the story's plot and made Chicken Little's character bigger and more buff than he is in actual life. They made all the characters more glamorous, sort of mocking at the things Hollywood does to stories. One kid noticed this and asked why it was so different. I explained to him that sometimes the people who make the movies do not always stick to the truth so we should not always believe what we see on television. We then discussed the difference between the two stories in the movie.

I was amazed at the answers and understanding of the kids that were watching the movie with me. I guess I underestimate the depth of knowledge that students have these days. Even a simple movie on the Disney channel can turn to an opportunity of learning and discussion. Never underestimate all the amazing opportunities and blessings to learn around us.

Biography of Shel Silverstein

Shel Siverstein was a renowned poet, playwright, illustrator, screenwriter, and songwritier, but he is most famous for popular children's books including The Giving Tree, Falling Up, and A Light in the Attic. Silverstein has become one of the most popular and best-loved children's authors of all time.

Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago on September 25, 1930. As a child, Silverstein spent much time drawing and writing, by which he developed the unique style depicted throughout his works. Initially, he had no plans on writing for children, but in the 1960's, Tom Ungerer introduced Silverstein to his editor, Harper Collins' Ursula Nordstrom, which resulted in the publication of the Giving Tree in 1964. Only selling marginal copies initially, decades after its initial publication, the book has sold more than five and a half million copies and holds a permanent stop atop lists of bestsellers (as well as one of my favorites.)

Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein's first collection of poems, was published in 1974 and was hailed as an instant classic. Two more collections followed: A Light in the Attic in 1981, and Falling Up in 1996. Both books dominated bestseller lists for months and as a result, his poetry books are widely used in schools as a child's first introduction to poetry.

Ever After-- The Movie

After watching the beginning of the movie in class today, I realized that there are many similarities between Ever After and the Cinderella fairy tales that we have been studying. But what I noticed is, even with the typical Cinderella, this story seems to be for an older audience than maybe some other Cinderella tales.

First, the death of her father is shown. That was pretty intense for a fairy tale. I wasn't expecting them to show that, and that would be something that I would not want my little children to see.

Also, the language and accents seems rather advanced for school aged children. I guess it all depends on the family. I remember when I was a little kid I had difficulty understanding people with accents. Maybe because of television now and all the different kinds of people there are it is not so difficult anymore.

I'm enjoying watching Ever After in class. This is the first time for me to see it, so I look forward to class on Monday.

Gender Roles

In my English literature class today, we were talking about gender roles in our society. I think that the traditional gender roles are given to us by the traditional roles of fairy tales characters. There is always a princess and a handsome prince that is supposed to come to the rescue, especially in the fairy tales exploited by Disney. Also, the women in the traditional fairy tales are the ones who do the cooking and cleaning.

I think as teachers we have to be aware of these traditional roles, and take it into thought as we teach children’s literature. We have to make sure that our students do not get trapped in these traditional roles, but explore what other gender roles are in the real world—a world where the father can stay at home and the mother brings in income or a world where both parents can work to bring in the source of income.

Cinderella's Around the World

When I first entered this class, I only knew a few written versions of the Cinderella tales. I had no clue that there were so many different versions all around the world. I love reading these fairy tales from different parts of the world. However, I wish we could spend more time studying why the differences are there for different countries and cultures.

This past summer I traveled to South America, spending seven weeks in five countries. It was an amazing experience! And now that I have had that basic knowledge of the cultural differences of Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and of Bolivia, I know why they interpret things differently when reading stories. Based on their backgrounds and perspectives, people read and take from stories different things.

So sometimes what a story means to one child will be totally different than what someone else takes from that story. I just think that is something to take to heart when reading and interpretting the different children stories in class.

Outside Book Number 1

You Are Mine by Max Lucado

This children's book is one for all ages, but the deeper meaning would most likely be understood better by older kids. The book is about wooden people called Wemmicks, who live in Wemmicksville. The main character is a Wemmick named Punchinello. Punchinello is a poor Wemmick who just wants to fit in with all the other Wemmicks.

The latest craze in Wemmicksville is boxes and balls. Every Wemmick who is a "someone" has many boxes and balls--basically the boxes and balls determine status. However, Punchinello could not afford many boxes and balls. So he decided to sell all his possessions for boxes and balls. He was trying to fit in and be happy. Punchinello would do whatever it took to have what other Wemmicks had. In the mist of all this, Punchinello stumbled his way into the presence of his maker, Eli. Eli convinced Punchinello that boxes and balls do not determine wealth or create happiness. At the end of the story, Eli told Punchinello, "You are special, not because of what you have, but because you are mine."

This story has beautiful pictures that really bring the story alive. But the most amazing part of the story is how much it parallels to the Christian faith. Max Lucado writes many Christian books for adults and youth, but he has a series of books like You Are Mine for children. Eli represents God, Punchinello represents you and me, and the balls and boxes symbolize the material things that give us false satisfaction. Max Lucado writes this book to remind the children (and their parents) that they are special, not because of what they have (material-wise), but because they belong to God.