“Writing Superheroes” while reading you’ll need costumes & Pizza Hut.

Imagination is one thing children have an abundance of, as we get older our imagination fades as we slip into reality. Just like all children, the kids in “Writing Superheroes have big imaginations. The children of “Writing Superheroes” imaginations take us to scenes of X-men, Power Rangers and mythical legends of Hercules.  This text deals with children who write, and act out their own stories in what is called Author’s Theater. We follow the children from 2nd to 3rd grade, we see them grow within their writing practices, as well as their thought processes. This book shows how children’s literacy can give adults a better understanding of how children perceive gender roles, class  roles, race, media, and the interact with one another. This book allows us insight to how media/literature plays a role in the live’s of children, how it affects their writing, and play. Within the text gender roles were placed throughout. We see how when many of the boys wrote stories only the boys filled the roles of superheroes and bad guys, and the girls filled roles of cute girl, or motherly roles. The girls soon objected to the lack of roles they were receiving, and one star of the book Tina, ends up blending gender roles. The book shows how media can affect how children see each other in roles. If the X-men depicted a boy in a certain role, most of the children would also depict a boy as that role in the their writing or play.  Tina, who is the star of the book often objects the children’s view on gender, as well as race roles. In my chapter Tina writes a story of a woman superhero who saves children. She does not excluded boys from her story, and doesn’t write a typical girl story about a family. Tina shows the reader how children think outside the box. With Tina things don’t have to be set into class, gender, or race roles.  The purpose of this text is to show the importance of guidance through literacy to children. This book is an awesome way for teachers to gain a better understanding of their students. This book also depicts how media, and society affects them within all aspects of education. If you are a future educator I suggest reading this book for insight, ideas, and new concepts of children.  Within our pod we discussed how the children acted with one another, about the issues of gender and race that were drawn on throughout the book. We also discussed how we would all like to go to Pizza Hut, how awesome Tina is, how costumes are amazing, and that this book is a good read.