Characters
The character of Max in the story “Where the Wild
Things Are” by Maurice Sendak has a behavior that is age appropriate to the
intended reading audience. Max starts off in the story being mischievous which
leads him to trouble, throwing a tantrum and being sent to his room with no
dinner. His imagination starts to wander and he goes in an adventure where he
becomes King of the Wild Things due to his bravery and being “the wildest thing
of them all”. Just like any child away from home he starts to miss his mother
and gives up his throne to go home. His strong sense of self and well as his
wild imagination make him a remarkable character in the story.
Plot
In the book “This is Not My Hat” by Jon Klassen, the
narrator of the story is the small fish. The small fish just stole a hat and he
is convinced that he will not get caught. Throughout the story he remains
convinced they will not find him. The pictures, on the other hand, demonstrate otherwise
as the reader sees the others characters emotions and actions. The reader is
engaged because they keep wondering if perhaps the small fish will indeed not
get caught somehow. The pictures in the story play an enormous part in the plot
of the story.
Setting
The story “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith has the common
setting of a house. The most important thing about the setting of this
particular story is not only the location of where the story takes place but
the time period. The monkey’s (main character) friend the jackass keeps asking
what the monkey is using because he’s absolutely dumbfounded as to what it is.
The rabbit keeps asking the monkey questions using technology jargon. The use
of rabbit’s technology terms makes it quite evident that it is a story that is
taking place right now as we speak.
Theme
“The Paperbag Princess” by Robert Munsch has many
themes. Such themes are about being witty and outsmarting your way out of a
troubling situation, and finding yourself valuable and surrounding yourself by
those who think the same while getting rid of those who don’t. Elizabeth
outsmarted the dragon to save Ronald. After she did, Robert looked down on
Elizabeth because she was dirty from the dragon’s flames. Elizabeth’s pride and
self-worth allowed her to leave Ronald due to his lack of appreciation for what
she did for him. It was a great closure to the story and made Elizabeth look smart
and powerful and not like a damsel in distress which is how princesses are
often portrayed.
Illustrations
In “The Three Pigs” by David Wiesner we can see
various types of illustrations throughout the book. It starts with simple and
light-colored pictures. As the story continues we see the pigs jump out of the
story and attain a more three dimensional form and different ranges of color.
The pigs enter a nursery rhyme and their illustrations change again into a very
simplified animation with the use of pastel colors. The pigs jump into another
story that transforms them into black and white characters. All the switches in
illustration types allow the reader to really see how the pigs come alive as
they are jumping into different stories. You can also see falling text and
crumpled pages as the pigs dismantle their story. These types of illustrations
allow the reader to really believe that what is happening in the story is like
a reality.
Cultural Markers
The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tommie DePaola is one
that most definitely depicts cultural markers.
DePaola is widely known for depicting various cultures in his works. The
Legend of the Bluebonnet is based on an old Texas tale and Native Americans.
Although its accuracy cannot be verified within the book due to it being based
on a tale, the story does a very good job about demonstrating Native American
life in a non-stereotypical way through its use of appropriate skin tones and
attire as well as terms such as Native American names.
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