1) 

         In the Sutton Pie Safe childhood is dipicted in a way that isn't shown in the actions of the characters, but more of the dialogue of the character.  I think that the main theme of this story was said in one of the quotes that the father said to the little boy.  In the story the father says first to the Mrs. Hanson that "you ought not try to buy what hasn't been put up for sale."  Or in other words how I took it was you shouldn't want what isn't yours.  When he says a line to the boy he says, "You think about that (as in the snake belt) the next time you want something."  To me this means that you should think about who is going to be affected (the snake in this case) by your decisions/wants. 

        In Every Little Hurricane I think the childhood is dipicted in a very blunt way.  In this case Victor has an awful expierence as a child, and I don't know if you could really call him a child.  He sees things that arn't at all what people would want a child to see.  Also  the fact that his culture is slowly "sickening" with the alcohol and drugs that the native americans are known  to have a sterotype to abuse these things.  Victor didn't have a childhood and I believe that's what this story is getting at.

        Probably the most creepy story I have ever read and about a situation that could happen to anyone is Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.  This story I feel, is more about adolesence than childhood, but some would argue that adolescence is just another part of childhood, so whatever...  I feel that this story trys to dipict the message of being careful.  Sometimes as children (or teenagers) we can feel invincible and nothing is going to happen to us.  So I think this story reiterates the fact that we have to still at least think about the bad and not ignore it.  Also if there is a creepy guy in your drive way telling you not to call the cops or else... don't believe him call the damn cops and don't think a screen door is going to protect you either.

      Bottle Caps was a short story that honestly I thought was just kind of weird.  I really didn't get much from the story just that younger siblings can be a pain sometimes.  However I'm the youngest child in my family so I guess I can relate more to the weird little brother with the insect graveyard :o

     I really enjoy J.D. Salinger's writing style.  With Love and Squalor I think that childhood was dipicted from the chacracter of Esme.  She was a brilliant teenager with an ego.  Her parents are both dead, and she pretty much looks after her younger brother becasue he doesn't listen to anyone else.  She has what I would call a little crush on Sergeant X.  Just knowing that J.D. Salinger's writing has been known to be kind of "squalor" so maybe they did have an inappropriate relationship, becasue why would she give her father's (whom she obviously adored because she talked about him non-stop) watch to a complete stranger.  Plus why would she then invite a complete stranger to her wedding.  And throughout the story I really didn't see any squalid lines, so maybe we have to think outside the box for the squalor.  I think this story relates to growing up in away that when you grow up you also start new relationships.  Not always "right" in this case if they did have an affair, but relationships that become more serious as you grow up.

2)
      The movie that comes to my mind when I think of childhood is the Sandlot.  It's a movie with a group of young boys that are all friends that get together to play baseball a lot.   In this movie being a kid just means doing what you enjoy to do, and for the boys they all love to play baseball.  Only one of the boys makes it to the majors, but in the end all of them grow up.  At the end of the movie it tells you where all of them are and are currently doing in their lives.  They do lots of goofey things in the movie like the little brother does in Bottle Caps.  And one of them even goes through a major crush (that he ends up marrying) kind of like Esme goes through possibly...  All in all the movie is great because it reminds me of my childhood.  Not really having to worry about much and just doing what you love to do.