Literary Elements

                Having knowledge about different literary elements is essential for a reader to have. Readers with this knowledge are able to understand the depths and complexities of different stories. Without these elements, it is impossible for a story to exist.

            Characters are the first piece of the complicated pieces of literature. They are what bring the story to life, as well as what makes the story progress and move. They can be static and dynamic, and learn lessons as the story moves along. Without characters, it would be very difficult for a story to have a moral or lesson to be learned by the readers.

            Characters can also give the story a point of view, which is another crucial literary element. A story can be told from the perspective of one of its characters, a first person narrative. With this perspective, the audience only knows as much as the character in the story and is subjected to the story’s events with a character’s prejudices, morals, and beliefs attached to them. A story can also come from a third person view, with an all knowing narrator that can let the audience in on the character’s innermost thoughts and feelings, as well as tell the audience about events the characters in the story do not yet know about. Know the point of view that the story is being told from is crucial for the reader- it tells them a lot about how the story is being presented and will prompt them to make decisions on what to believe.

            Time, when used in storytelling, is a powerful tool. It can speed up a character’s development, and it can draw out important actions taking place for effect. Time also affects the characters, and can give back story and depth to them, as is shown commonly in flashbacks. Time can also instill feelings in the reader, such as suspense. For example, when an author draws out the most climatic scene within the story; it makes that section of the text a real page turner.

            Knowing the place in which a story takes place means a lot more than just the geographical location, it can also mean the period a story takes place in as well as make a story believable. The place in which the characters of a story interact can tell the reader a lot about the characters that they might not be finding out through just their interaction. Simply put, the place in which a character interacts with within a story can give the readers ideas as to what their motives, morals, and values are without even knowing about the characters.

            Plot is a very obvious literary element that readers need to know in order to make sense of a story. It is the sequence of events that the story’s characters experience, causing then to go through dynamic changes. Without a plot there is no story. A book would just contain a bunch of characters in various places doing nothing.

            Mood, as I am going to describe it, is the result of all of the literary elements put together. The mood of a story is the feeling that it imposes on the reader. A story’s plot, characters, setting, etc, all contributes to the mood of a story. Those elements stimulate the imagination and put an image in the reader’s head. For a reader to understand the mood of a story means that the reader understands the way the language interacts with the setting and characters and creates a feeling for the reader to feel and tie in with the events taking place.

Symbols are incredibly important for readers to understand while reading stories. Symbols can help to develop the story’s tension and resolution, as well as put the reader in touch with a meaning that is not directly stated within the text. Things like color are commonly used as symbols, and can tell a reader a lot about a character. For example, a character wearing white may be interpreted as being a pure character, but a character wearing red may be interpreted as a lustful character with bad intentions. If a reader can tap into these different kinds of hidden meanings, they will be able to take away much more from the story and learn more about its characters and their motives.

            Last but not least, theme is the culmination of all these different literary elements. It pulls from the plot, characters, setting, symbols, etc. The theme of a story is the main topic of story and what the author has to say about it. If a reader does not know how to use all the literary elements put together, they will not be able to fully understand the true meaning and theme of the story; which, when you really think about it, is the entire point of reading a book.

Picture Book Blog #2

Bubble Bath Pirates- Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Type: Picture book- watercolor

Rating: 3 Stars, intended for young children ages 4-7

                This book is about two young boys and their mother pretending to be pirates during bath time. The mother is trying to get her rowdy pirates to take a bath, while using pirate like language. For example, to “ready the cannons” and “fire” is the terminology they use for unplugging the drain and hearing the water rush down.

                I checked out this book because I remember seeing it around my school’s library when I was younger. I think the way the author uses pirate lingo within the story is a very clever use of words. Also, the watercolor cartoon drawings are very bright and colorful and add a certain amount of fun to reading the story.

                Although I enjoyed this book for the entertainment value it has, I do not think that there is really an area of curriculum in the classroom that this book would fit into, except silent sustained reading or the writing workshop.  This book could be a good tool to use within a writing workshop to show students that writing can come from any subject area or experience that an author wants to pull from, even something as simple as taking a bath. So, even though I enjoyed the book, I gave it a 3 star rating because of its lack of curriculum connection in the classroom

Pssst!- Adam Rex

Type: Picture book

Rating: 4 Stars

Intended for elementary students ages 6-10

                This picture book is about a little girl’s adventure to the zoo. All of the animals keep saying, “Pssst! Come here!”, and when she does they tell her things that they want her to go get for them. For example, the pigs want some trash cans; the penguins want paint, etc. And you do not find out why until the end of the book

                I personally thought this book was really clever. It gives a very unique voice to all of the individual different animals and personifies them all in different ways.  Also, the end of the story is a complete surprise to the reader, because nothing happening within the bulk of the story seems to have any real plot to it, but when you get to the very last page of the book, everything that has happened in the story comes together and gives the reader a moment of clarity.

                I think a book like this would work really well in the classroom as either a reading aloud book, or as an example of personification and twist endings. The antics of the animals throughout the book would keep a student’s attention, and asking the class questions about why they think the animals want these specific objects would make for good class discussion while the book is being read as well as bring forward good predictions about what is going to happen at the end of the book.

                I have not used this book in a lesson, but I would have no worries about doing so. It is a good example of various literary elements such as personification and suspense. I think this book could spark a very good discussion in a classroom, as well as keep the class’ interest. It also provides ample opportunity to get the students excited about reading books- the variety of different animals can open up the way for using multiple voices that can add to the story and make it even more enjoyable for the student, according to Mem Fox.

Hattie Hippo- Christine Loomis, Illustrations by Robert Necbeckar

Type: Picture Book with watercolor paintings

Rating: 5 stars

Intended for children ages 5-10

This is a comical story about a young hippo named Hattie. She likes doing many different things, but is rather clumsy. She misses getting caught by her dance partner, she eats all of the food for her guests at a tea party, and she makes all the water fly of the pool when she does a cannonball.

As a child, I always loved Hattie the Hippo books, mainly because of the character of Hattie. She is an imperfect character who becomes lovable because of her flaws- just like everyone, and she is also good at something, just like everyone. Hattie always showed me that it was okay to not be perfect all the time at everything. I also really enjoy the watercolor pictures of this book- they really add to the character of Hattie, and make you laugh as they show her mistakes in doing different activities.

I think this book would be really good to use in the classroom as a kind of ‘what’s the moral of the story’ lesson. Hattie is great for teaching a moral lesson, because even though she is imperfect, the kids will still love the character. I think this would work really well in a read-aloud format- the students would be occupied by the funny and colorful watercolors in the picture book, as well as Hattie the Hippo’s antics- ballet class, swimming, etc. I wouldn’t have any problems using this book in a classroom setting; there are no controversial elements to it, and reading this book aloud to a class is going to be enjoyable for both boys and girls.

Engelbert Sneem & His Dream Vacuum Machine- Daniel Postgate

Type: Watercolor Poem/Picture Book

Rating: 5 Stars

Intended for children ages 5-10

                Engelbert Sneem is a watercolor picture book that has a rhyme scheme to it. It is about an evil man named Engelbert Sneem who steals children’s dreams with his vacuum, and puts them away in jars for only himself to enjoy and no one else. One night, he accidentally steals a nightmare with his vacuum, and when he looks at what he has caught he finds out that it was a nightmare about him. He is so broken down by this that he gives everyone’s dreams back to them and instead steals nightmares from children so they’ll never have to be scared again.

                I loved this book! The rhyme scheme, the illustrations, and the main character mad this book so much fun to read. The rhyme scheme kept the flow and pace of the book going, and the illustrations were very interesting to see, because they have an eerie quality about them, but they are still not threatening. It’s almost as though you can see throughout the illustrations that Engelbert is a bad guy in the beginning, but still sense that he has some redeeming qualities about him that will come to play later in the book.

                While I have not used this book in a classroom setting yet, I definitely hope to in the future. I think it is a really fun book that would get students excited about using poetry as much as Dr. Seuss books would. It also masterfully uses made up words to add comedy to the story while you read it. I think a book like this would really get a class excited about reading and writing, and also provide a challenge for them in sounding out and deciphering all of the made up words within the text.

One Scary Night- Antoine Guillappe

Type: Wordless picture book in only black and white

Rating: 4 Stars

Intended for children ages 5-12

                This book is a wordless picture book that is illustrated only in black and white. It follows a young boy through the woods on his way home one night. While the focus is on the boy, in every page you can see a wolf like creature following him and hiding behind trees, bushes, etc. In every frame, he gets close and closer to the little boy, until the very end of the book when the wolf jumps on top of the boy. You think the boy has been attacked, until you turn the page and see that the boy is smiling and playing with the wolf.

                I thought this book was really clever through its use of only pictures. Even though there were no words in this book, the pictures were enough to instill a sense of urgency and fear upon me, as well as keep me guessing about what was going to happen.  Even though the illustrations were very basic, they still added a lot to the story.

                I, personally, think that this picture book could be used in a big variety of grades. Since many young children start out writing and conveying meaning through pictures, a book like this would be very good for them to use. Then, as you move up through the grades, you can focus on the different elements that the story has, such as plot, suspense, characters, climax, declination, etc. Even though it is a picture book, it can be used in virtually every elementary grade, which I think is a really good aspect of t his book.

                I have not used this book with students, but I would really like to. I actually think I am going to use t his book in the upcoming weeks with my reading buddy for my Block A class. She really does not like reading, and because of that is reluctant to do activities with any of the books I bring in. I’m really curious as to how she’ll respond to a wordless book.

Allen Say

Allen Say

            Allen Say is a Japanese immigrant who was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1937. His mother was a Japanese- American woman from Oakland, California, and his father was a Japanese native.  Say’s parents separated when he was eight years old, and he went to live with his father while his sister went to live with his mother. At age twelve, Say moved again and went to Tokyo to live with his grandmother. Since they did not have a great relationship, he negotiated a deal with her to live in an apartment by himself.

            While going to the Aoyama Gakuin School in Tokyo, he became an apprentice to Noro Shinpel, a cartoon artist. This was the beginning of his training in art, and is a very important element of his autobiography, The Ink- Keeper’s Apprentice. When Say was sixteen, he decided to move to America due to the lack of opportunities in post-war Japan. So, he left and moved to California with no knowledge of English to find out that his father had already enrolled him in a military academy. He was the only non-white student attending the school, and was later expelled for smoking cigarettes on school property. With nowhere else to go, he enrolled himself at Citrus Union High School in Azusa, California and pursued art. He attended weekend programs at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, as well as the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. After graduation, Say moved back to Japan vowing never to return to America. However, after a year he decided to move back to American where he worked as an apprentice to a sign painter. He quickly became bored and decided to quit. He got married and moved up north in California and started study as an architect at the University of California at Berkeley. During his study, there was a mistake with his army deferment, and he was drafted into the army. He then spent two years in Germany, but continued to write and draw and take pictures. His work caught some attention from his commanding officers, and Say’s photography was published in the newspaper, Stars and Stripes.

            When he returned from his stint in the army, Say began to work as a commercial photographer. Many art directors and designers were impressed with the way he could sketch out a scene and ideas before committing them to film. It was these individuals who convinced him to illustrate images for books. His first book was Dr. Smith’s Safari in 1972. Say continued to write and illustrate books for the next ten years. The only novel he has ever written was his autobiography, The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice.

            In 1988, an editor at Houghton Mifflin Company came to Say with a story written by Dianne Snyder, entitled The Boy of the Three- Year Nap. It was an old Japanese folktale, and won the Caldecott Honor Award and the Boston Globe- Horn Award. After winning these awards, Say stopped photography all together and began writing and illustrating children’s books.

            In 2000, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles held a retrospective on Say’s work in Children’s Literature. Original drawings and paintings were featured along with original sketchbooks.

            I think Allen Say’s books are really interesting too both read and look at. His stories have so many layers of meaning that they can be taken different ways. You can read them for their topical value or dive deeper and read them in a deeper more meaningful way. Personally, I think it is Allen Say’s illustrations that make his books so powerful to read. His realistic way of sketching and painting gives depth and meaning to the illustrations, which in turn give the narration a deeper, more powerful meaning. Like I previously mentioned, Allen Say has won the Caldecott Honor as well as the Boston Globe- Horn Award for his work. Allen Say is a very strong author who creates valuable works that can be appreciated by people of all ages and backgrounds. The only thing is that some of the content matter in his books would be difficult to use in lower elementary grade classrooms. Even I had some difficulties understanding the full depth of his books on the first read through. I had to go back and re read and really pay attention to what he was saying in order to fully understand.

Titles by Allen Say:

Music for Alice (2004)

Home of the Brave (2002)

Grandfather's Journey (1993)

The Sign Painter (2000)

Tea with Milk (1999)

Allison (1997)

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree (1997)

Emma's Rug (1996)

Stranger in the Mirror (1995)

The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice (1994)

Tree of Cranes (1991)

El Chino (1990)

The Lost Lake (1989)

The Boy of the Three-Year Nap (1988)—Illustrations

A River Dream (1988)

How My Parents Learned to Eat (1984)—Illustrations

The Bicycle Man (1982) 

Bibliography:

"About Allen Say." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - Distinguished Book Publishing since 1832. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. <http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/allensay/author.shtml>.

 

"Allen Say." Something About the Autor. Ed. Donna Olendorf. Vol. 69. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.       181-83. Print.

 

Education Place®. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. <http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai/say.html>.

"The Gentle Art of Allen Say." USA Today Nov. 2000. Academic Search Elite. Web. 9 Sept. 2010.

Book Post #1

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by: Jon Scieszka Illustrations by: Lane Smith

Type: Picture book (cartoon) intended for children ages 6-10.

Rating: 5 Stars

                This picture book is a different take on the story of the Three Little Pigs. It is from the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective, and goes into detail about how he was framed by the Police and single-handedly blamed for the deaths of two of the three Little Pigs.

                I really enjoyed reading this book because of its satirical value and because of its alternative perspective on a children’s classic story. Perspective is an important element to think about when reading publications by any author. Authors write from their own personal perspectives and are therefore biased by their own opinions. Authors also make many different assumptions when writing. This is particularly evident when authors write on historical topics- they do not really know what happened back then, and therefore make certain assumptions based on their views of the historical event. I really would not have any concerns using this book in my classroom, because it is simply a different perspective on the Three Little Pigs, which is a story that has been told for many years.

                This book would work very well within a teaching practice to use concurrently with the original story of the Three Little Pigs, to show how varying view points and perspectives can affect a story’s plot, characters, and values. Since most school aged children have head the original Three Little Pigs, this story would be a good one to use to begin to entertain the idea of writing pieces from different perspectives. This book could also be used with a lesson about on judgments- the Big Bad Wolf was judged and convicted of killing the pigs, without any evidence or witnesses.

                There are really no controversial topics within this book, so it wouldn’t worry me to use this book to teach a lesson in a classroom. I am yet to use this book in an activity, but I am planning to use it next Wednesday with my reading buddy at Grant Wood Elementary School, so it will be interesting to see how she reacts to it.

Rapunzel by: Paul O. Zelinsky

Type: Picture Book: Representational (Realism) picture book intended for children ages 6-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This realistic book is more of a serious take of the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel. Although it does have a happy ending, this version of the classic story does not have the perfect Disney-esque qualities that most people think of when they hear the story of Rapunzel. In this version, Rapunzel’s singing lures the Prince to her tower, where she is able to use her long locks of hair to aid him in climbing up to the tower. Eventually, she becomes married and pregnant, and the Sorceress who placed her in the tower finds out. Then, Rapunzel’s hair is cut off so that she and the Prince cannot get back into the tower. The evil Sorceress then makes the Prince go blind; he remains so for one year, until he and Rapunzel find each other. They then live happily ever after.

                After reading this book, I ended up really enjoying it. When I first started reading it, however, I was a bit thrown off by how different this story of Rapunzel is, compared to the kind of Disney Princess version we are all used to hearing. Just as its “type” says, this book is a more realistic type of Rapunzel story. The pictures within the book use light and shading to make the scenes portrayed look authentic, almost as though a picture was being taken of the scene instead of being drawn of the scene. Although the ending of this version does have a “happily ever after”, I did appreciate that there were some actual struggles the characters had to go through before they could begin living in their picture perfect dream world.

                This book would work well within a classroom setting in a lesson about genres. There are numerous different children’s books out there containing the story of Rapunzel, and they are all slightly different in their main plot points, as well as the genre in which they deliver the story. In a lesson, you could check out a bunch of different Rapunzel stories and then read them to the class while they take notes on the genre of the book, and the main plot points. Afterwards, the students can contrast and compare the differences between the different genres of books in order to get an idea of how to write in different genres aside from narrative and expository writing, which are very common in the elementary grades.

                I have not used this book in a classroom setting, but after reading it on my own; I would have no worries about presenting it to a classroom. Although in this version, Rapunzel becomes pregnant and is then kicked out of her tower, she does so only after being married, so there are no moral problems with this book. I think it would be really interesting to see how students would react to this type of Storybook Story, compared to the version they are used to hearing.

Pigsty by: Mark Teague

Type: Picture book (cartoon) intended for children ages 5-10

Rating: 4 Stars

                This picture book is the story of a young boy who refuses to clean his messy room. His room becomes so messy that pigs begin to move into his room with him, hence the title Pigsty. At first the boy thinks it is really fun to have a bunch of pigs living in his room with him. They do things like play games together. But after a while more and more pigs begin to move in, and the boy realizes that it is not so much fun to have a messy room. So, he begins to clean his room. Eventually his room becomes too clean for the pigs, and they move out. But he and the pigs remain friends, and sometimes his room gets dirty so that the pigs can come over and play a game of Monopoly.

                I thought this book was really cute and funny. The topic of this book would be really easy for children to relate too as well. I know that when I was younger, my mother called my room a pigsty all the time. I really like how this book puts a fun twist on that saying and turns the main character’s room into an actual pigsty! The cartoon illustrations in this book are also clever, because they personify the pigs just as well as the actual narration does. We see images of them playing games, talking, and doing other types of human activities.

                This picture book would work well within a classroom to show the concept of personification and how writers can give human characteristics to non human objects, or in this case, animals. It would also work very well to show students that there does not always need to be definitive endings to their writings. For example, at the end of Pigsty, all of the pigs move out of the boy’s room, but then there is one more page that says something along the lines of “except when they came over for a game of Monopoly”. This ending provides the story with a nice little twist that keeps the tone of the piece upbeat and happy. I also would have no problem or worries about using this book in a classroom setting. I think students would really enjoy reading this witty book.

Zathura by: Chris Van Allsburg

Type: Picture Book- It appears to be a type of stipple cartoon-like art. It is composed of black and white illustrations made in black dots. Intended for children ages 6-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This book is a spinoff of the book Jumanji, which was written by the same author. It’s about two brothers who are left home alone and stumble across a mysterious game. Once they start playing, they are taken into space and have no choice but to finish the game or be lost in the universe forever. Along the way, they encounter many problems sprung upon them by the game such as robots going haywire, gravity being lost, and aliens boarding their house. In the end one of the brothers gets sent back in time by the game and stops his other brother from ever playing it.

                I thought this book was a very clever take on Jumanji. The author uses the same layers of writing style, illustration style, and story elements in Zathura that he did in Jumanji. It was fun to look at the book and compare it to the author’s first take on a magical board game. When you look at the book in this way, it becomes a very technical work of art and is much more than just a story about a magical space themed board game. The illustrations within the book are also interesting in the way that they are created by only using black dots in varying degrees of concentration. This book would be interesting to read even without knowing the original story, Zathura can hold its own as a fun adventure storybook for boys and girls of all ages to read and enjoy.

                I think it would be really interesting to use this book in conjunction with its preceding counterpart and contrast and compare the similarities and differences between the two books. It would be a fun twist on a language arts lesson to use books to simply contrast and compare similarities and differences instead of using them in a writing practice. I know that when I was in elementary school, books were usually used in lessons to show us different genres in which we could write. These lessons were almost always followed by writing practice, and I never really grew to like writing papers in school. So, whenever a book was brought out aside from classroom story time, I dreaded it because I always figured that a writing activity would not be far behind. So, using literature to help in other subject areas and lessons, I think, would be very beneficial. And using a piece like this to compare and contrast would definitely help a lesson like comparing and contrasting become more interesting.

The Home of the Brave by: Allen Say

Type: Picture Book- Representational (Realism) Intended for children 8-12

Rating: 4 Stars

                This book is a very interesting look at the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It begins with a Japanese man who is rafting in a canoe when he hits a large drop and is knocked out. He then dreams that he washes up on the shore of a Japanese internment camp where he sees many little kids with nametags on their jackets. He then stumbles upon the nametags of his grandmother and grandfather. Realizing where he is, he wakes up in a panic where he is once again surrounded by a group of Japanese children at what appears to be an old internment camp. There are nametags everywhere, but the story ends with all of them being swept up by the wind and let free to symbolically represent the release of the Japanese.

                I thought this book was very interesting because of its storyline and its illustrations, however, I’m not sure if younger kids would be able to quite grasp the concepts. I was even slightly baffled while reading this book as to what was going on, and what the hidden messages were. However, I suppose you do not have to use this book solely for the purpose of looking for hidden meanings. I thought the illustrations within this picture book were very good. They were realistic but also projected a feeling of eeriness and abandonment, which makes sense when you look at the theme and meaning of the book. So far I have found Allen Say’s illustrations to be some of the most interesting to look at. Especially in this book they add a great deal to the narrative in the way that they project a feeling onto the reader.

                A book like this would be great to use in conjunction with a history lesson to give students an artistic perspective on one of the events during World War II. It may gain more students’ attention than a cut and dry history book would as well as give a deeper meaning to some of the events that happened during World War II. This is one book that would be more difficult to use in a classroom setting, because of its more complex and mature content. If it is being used as a supplement to a historical lesson, I could see the ways in which it could be used. However, I personally would find it difficult to use this book on its own for a primary level reading lesson. A very solid lesson plan would be necessary in order to make this book work in a non-controversial way.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by: Jeff Kinney

Type: Children’s novel- includes some hand drawn cartoon pictures intended for children 9-13

Rating: 4 ½ stars

                Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the story of a young boy named Greg. His mom bought him this journal in which he keeps a recollection of what is happening throughout his life. It follows him through a yeah of middle school, and documents his struggles with girls, friends, and trying to be the most popular kid in school.

                I really enjoyed reading this children’s novel and thought it was a really good piece of writing that many kids in its intended age range would be able to relate to. This novel addresses many things that young kids go through, especially in middle school, like discovering that the opposite sex is not as yucky as you used to believe. It covers many topics in a short span like the aforementioned boyfriend girlfriend issue, as well as issues with friends and popularity. The little cartoons scattered throughout the novel make it even more fun to read, because it gives you a visual idea of what the author was picturing when he was writing about the “stinky cheese”, for example.

                I would have no qualms with using this book in a classroom setting because it addresses issues that every pre-teen and teenager has gone through, or will go through in his or her life.  However I think it would work much better as a silent sustained read for the students, or as something they write a book report on. The graphics are an integral part of the novel, and most students wouldn’t be able to see the little pictures in a read aloud type setting. The effect of the novel would be much stronger if a student was able to read the book on his or her own time.

                This novel could also be useful in a lesson about what is right and wrong. Greg does a couple of things throughout the novel that would not normally be considered nice, or what a good friend would do. For instance, he lets his best friend take the blame for something he did, but then becomes angry when his friends tells the principal that Greg was the culprit behind it all. As a result, Greg and his friend have a big falling out. Was it right for Greg to let his friend take the blame? Should his friend have told on Greg? These are all interesting questions to discuss with a class. Also, since these events happen in a small timeframe and are compressed together within the book, a teacher could use photocopies or something to pass out so that the students are able to see the drawings and receive the full experience of what the author was attempting to project.