Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler Analysis

In Stick Man, an anthropomorphised stick ends up far away from his family tree when he is fetched by a dog, thrown by a child, used as a snowman’s arm, and even put on a fire, but finally, Santa Claus steps in to make sure that Stick Man and his family have a joyous Christmas.

Julia Donaldson is expert in several distinct areas: This is a writer with an excellent feel for and broad knowledge of folk and fairytale, myth and lore. In common in J.K. Rowling, she knows how to take bits from one well-known tale and mix it up to make an entirely new, popular creation. With elements from The Gingerbread Man, The Night Before Christmas and the structure of a classic myth, we have here a secular Christmas story, hence the snowy cover and high Christmas sales numbers.

Early-twentieth century illustration by Artuš Scheiner (1863 – 1938). Stick men are a folk lore character from antiquity.
Early-twentieth century illustration by Artuš Scheiner (1863 – 1938). Stick men are a folk lore character from antiquity.

Donaldson is also an expert rhymester (and performer). New writers are advised to avoid changing the natural order of modern English in order to squeeze lines into a rhyming scheme, but Donaldson gets away with using old-fashioned poetry techniques because she is creating a story-quilt from timeless stories. So it works.

stick man opening spread
Stick Man lives in the family tree/With his Stick Lady love and their stick family three.

Along with many of Donaldson’s stories, this one is a bestseller which has been turned into a play and a short film.

STORY STRUCTURE OF STICK MAN

SHORTCOMING

Stickman has been separated from his family.

DESIRE

Stickman wants to go home (for Christmas).

OPPONENT

The whole world is against Stick man. Every possible use for a stick is explored as Donaldson takes our Stick man on a perilous journey: opponents are dogs, children, a dad, and anyone else who can think of something to do with a stick.

stick man at the park

PLAN — omitted

Stickman is a reactionary character, flailing about from one perilous situation to the next even worse one, until finally he is thrown onto a fireplace as kindling. Later, when Santa struggles to come down the chimney, Stick Man helps out. This isn’t so much to get himself out of strife, it’s because he is a helpful stick.

poo stick

BIG STRUGGLE

When the Stick Man is washed out to sea we think this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone who wants to go home to their tree, but when he ends up on a fire, that’s even worse! That’s the masterful thing about this sequence of events; Donaldson really puts her hero through the wringer and we really do feel for the guy.

stick man is floating

The passing of time is shown succinctly with a montage of seasonal stills:

Stick Man Julia Donaldson seasons_600x810
stick man on the fire

ANAGNORISIS

The anagnorisis happens for the young reader, who receives a conservative and popular message: If you are nice to people even when you, yourself, are in the most dire of circumstances, people will be nice to you in return.

santa stickman
This picture could (almost!) be an illustration from The Night Before Christmas
stick man helps santa

NEW SITUATION

Stickman is reunited with his family and we assume they spend an enjoyable Christmas together.

STORY SPECS OF STICK MAN

At 731 words, this is a slightly higher word count than your average modern picturebook. (I figure if Julia Donaldson can’t persuade publishers to allow more than 500 words for the K-3 audience, no one can.)

Published 2009

32pp

COMPARE AND CONTRAST WITH STICK MAN

The Night Before Christmas
Home » Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler Analysis
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

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KINDLE EBOOK

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