One thing students at the University at Albany probably don’t know is available to them is the Miriam Snow Mathes Historical Children's Literature Collection at the University’s Science Library Archives. This wonderful collection of children’s books was established in the 1920’s and has been collecting the first editions of children’s books dating back to the late 1800’s. The collections provide a window into the past, giving scholars a chance to see how people tried to teach children of the past. The genre of children’s book is a strange one. They are a basic stories, but are filled with life lessons and knowledge. Some teach our children to be good people, others try to tap into a child’s imaginations and dream of great things, and some …show more content…
This isn’t the book or writers fault, just effects of the passage of time. The opening to the book, the Epsteins wrote “And the strange thing is, even today no one knows for certain exactly what electricity is.” That line is amazing in so many ways. It shows room for growth, but it also admits flaw. Electricity to them is still the great unknown and that was only 60 years …show more content…
They depict a housewife who couldn’t understand how she blew a circuit when she plugged in too many kitchen appliances. I was almost taken back by how dumb they portrayed the mother. On one hand it was used as a plot device to explain to kids how it works. On the other hand, this was back in a time where many housewives and women in general were viewed. I think in today’s world this wouldn’t be used as an example because how it downplays the intelligence of women. Thinking back to my childhood my favorite books, they not only taught me things, but inspired me to do more, to think bigger. I use to have a book with a hundred interesting facts and records. This was about fifteen years ago, but I can still recall a few things I loved about that book. I remember the page that told me how popcorn kernels popped and why it happened. After that I begged my mom to get popcorn kernels and not the microwave bags so I could see how it popped. There was also a section of the book all about space which fueled my young dreams about being an