What to do, what to do...

I'm continuing to wade my way through all of the class materials and realized I should be journaling my research process as I research. Thankfully (or not, depending on how you look at it:) I have not begun any serious research. I am still contemplating what my topic will be. Here are some subjects I am considering....they might sound a little scatter-brained, but let's face it, I'm a little scattered myself these days.

Regional dialects - This was being discussed on a list serv I subscribe to, Child_Lit. Somehow the topic of real English versus American English came up. I found this interesting because I studied in England for three months and am very aware the differences in dialect as well as slang between the two countries. I could do a project on the national differences in how we pronounce various words...roof (roof or ruf), creek (creek or crick), Monday (Monday or Mondee). The more I have thought about this topic the more I have really listened to how people talk. Although I do say Monday (not Mondee), I am guilty of saying dubbya instead of double u (i.e. the call letters of a radio station).

Parenting - This is an obvious choice because I am the new mother of a 3 month old. I've been reading baby books like you wouldn't believe. I have thought about researching something along the lines of early literacy. However, with all that I have been reading, I'm not sure this is a topic I want to pursue even more! Although, I must take this moment to insert a picture that would go perfectly with this subject...

Shel Silverstein - Now this is a new topic that I recently thought of. I read an article about Silverstein in (I think) the Horn Book right before my maternity leave. It discussed his quite colorful career and personality. I was unaware of Silverstein's past and found the article to be very interesting. As much time as I spend with children's literature, it's always fascinating to me to learn the true lives of some authors. I think this topic might be the one with the most accessibility of information. I might be leaning toward this one...I'll take the weekend to think about it.