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Z Is For Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky Picture Book Analysis
Kate de Goldi discusses Z Is For Moose on Radio New Zealand and has trouble not laughing. (This is what made me buy the book.) There is something inherently funny about a moose. Is it the bulbous snout, or the slightly onomatopoeic name? (I’m not sure what real-world sound the word ‘moose’ makes, but it…
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Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose by Dr Seuss Analysis
Theo Geisel had a thing for antlers. In the mid-nineteen thirties, Theodor Geisel was a fledgling author and artist, operating as an illustrator for New York advertisement agencies. His father, superintendent of parks in Springfield, Mass., from time to time sent him antlers, expenditures and horns from deceased zoo animals. Geisel stored them in a…
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This Moose Belongs To Me by Oliver Jeffers Analysis
This Moose Belongs To Me is a 2012 picture book written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.
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Two Weeks With The Queen by Morris Gleitzman Novel Study
Two Weeks With The Queen is an Australian middle grade novel by Morris Gleitzman. My edition is copyrighted 1989, though other places on the web will tell you this book was first published in 1990 or 1991.
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Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson and Qin Leng Analysis
Over The Shop is a wordless picturebook by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng, published 2021. Here’s something we all owe to the trans community: By pushing the conventional and arbitrary rules of gender, all of us are more free to be who we are. This picturebook is a celebration of these hardwon freedoms.
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Naive Illustration In Picture Books
When illustrators talk about creating artwork for children, they sometimes talk about including something in each work which will encourage child readers to pick up a pencil or brush and give art a go themselves.
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Hildilid’s Night by Durán Ryan and Lobel Analysis
Hildilid’s Night is a 1971 picture book written by Cheli Durán Ryan, illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The illustrations are notable for being rendered entirely in black and white until the sun comes up at the end. This story feels like it’s based on an ancient myth.
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Emotion In Storytelling: Kindness and Pathos
How does a storyteller create pathos in an audience? It’s not done by making a character sad. Nor is it done by simply killing a character off. Characters extending kindness to others is a far more reliable trick.
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Do Americans really frown with their mouths?
I saw this widely shared on Twitter and wondered if this frown analysis were an oversimplification of reality: On the other hand, it may be true. It would explain why (American-made) frowny emoticons have no eyebrows to speak of. This explains why the frowny emoticons have never looked satisfying to me. They just look mildly…
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Pig the Winner by Aaron Blabey Analysis
Pig The Winner, written and illustrated by Aaron Blabey, is another picture book in the widely-loved Pig The Pug series. I suspect these will become Australian classics in the same way the Hairy Maclary books became New Zealand classics. I pick and choose when it comes to Aaron Blabey books. Pig The Fibber, which felt…
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Bye Bye Baby by Janet and Allan Ahlberg Analysis
This month I wrote a post on Teaching Kids How To Structure A Story. Today I continue with a selection of mentor texts to help kids see how it works. Let’s look closely at a picture book called Bye Bye Baby by husband and wife team Janet and Allan Ahlberg. I’ve chosen Bye Bye Baby to contrast…
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What are character flaws in fiction writing?
Most writers are well-aware that a main character needs a shortcoming. Christopher Vogler and other high profile story gurus often talk about a lack: It can be very effective to show that a hero is unable to perform some simple task at the beginning of the story. In Ordinary People the young hero Conrad is…
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Story Structure: The Big Struggle
All complete narratives feature a big struggle scene. No, that doesn’t have to be a literal big struggle scene, Lord of the Rings style. In fact, we should be thinking outside that box altogether. One thing I love about Larry McMurtry’s anti-Western novels (especially Lonesome Dove) is that he condenses the gun big struggles and torture scenes in favour…
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That Is NOT A Good Idea by Mo Willems Analysis
That is NOT A Good Idea is a picture book written and illustrated by the Mo Willems team. This is a funny book which makes use of silent film techniques.