Thematic Paper.the major theme that I selected is "LOVE"

Children’s Literature Book Thematic Analysis

The book title is called When I Am with You. The book is about how a grandson is reflecting on the time

that he will spend with his grandfather when he gets old. The grandson places emphasis on this

throughout the story. He figures that he is going to enjoy the quality time that they spend together

when he gets old. Some examples that the grandson mentions is as follows: they will swat flies together,

go fishing, play cards, cook bacon for breakfast, sit and talk about everything in their rocking chairs,

drink water from jugs and wave at the cars, roast corn under a big fire, and take a trip to the ocean

together. The book focused on the importance and love that grandparents have on life and the life

lessons learned. The year of publication for this book was 1997. The book illustrates an African American

man and a child however the text could mirror a grandfather and grandson from many different

cultures. The book had great illustrations that correlated with the text that was written in the book. For

example, the grandson mentioned going fishing with his grandfather. Fishing would be an activity that a

lot of old men like to do. The book depicted the aging experience in a positive manner. Each page in the

book had an illustration of what the grandfather and grandson were doing together. This displayed the

happiness and love that they had for one another. The quality time that they shared with one another

seemed to be filled with love. This speaks volume to me that a young boy is even thinking of the quality

that he will spend with his grandfather when he gets old. He is not thinking of the present, but is

thinking of who he wants to spend his quality time with as he ages. One strength that the book possess,

was showing how the grandson saw that his future would entail doing activities with his grandfather.

The book also illustrates how an adult can have so much influence over a child. The grandson is so

consumed with the activities that he will be doing with his grandfather when he gets old. Another

strength was incorporating quality time between the grandson and the grandfather. On the other hand,

some may think that the activities were boring or were not filled with excitement. That was the only

weakness that I found in the story and this may or may not appeal to everyone. I did not find too many

weaknesses in how it addresses aging and older adults in this book. Love was the major them that I saw

within this book. Happiness was another theme that I saw within the book. The grandson displayed the

love that he had for his grandfather within the story. It was so amazing how he was so overwhelmed

with the things that they would be doing when he got old. The theme of love was momentous in this

story. The grandson spoors into the aging world of his grandfather, and discovers a fascination in the

activities that they will share together. Love has definitely been a reoccurring theme throughout this

course especially in a couple of the films that we have viewed.