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The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Hakes Noble and Kellogg Analysis
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash (1980) is a carnivalesque, cumulative picture book written by Trinka Hakes Noble and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. This picture book is a great mentor text for the way it handles dialogue visually, and also for the way the ironic distance between text and image expands at the end, […]
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Arthur’s Eyes by Marc Brown Analysis
Arthur’s Eyes (1979) by Marc Brown is an early story of the popular Arthur series, about an ambiguously animal creature (only after looking it up do I understand he’s a brown aardvark) who lives with his nuclear family in an American suburb. This is a well-crafted story and really speaks to its young audience. The […]
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Gaston by DiPucchio and Robinson Analysis
Gaston is a picture book written by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated in beautiful naive style by Christian Robinson. The colour palette is gorgeous. I liken Gaston to another popular contemporary picture book: Drew Daywalt’s The Day The Crayons Quit. The plots are not at all similar, but they share the same ideological problems, intending to […]
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Creepy Carrots by Reynolds and Brown Analysis
Creepy Carrots (2012) is a picture book written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. For anyone wondering how to create a scary book for the very young reader without keeping them awake all night, this book is our masterclass in the horror-comedy blend. First of all, the story is about carrots — a […]
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Little House On The Prairie Analysis
Should parents expose our modern kids to Little House On The Prairie, given the uncomfortable realities?
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Mercy Watson To The Rescue by DiCamillo and Van Dusen
Mercy Watson To The Rescue (2005) is a picture book divided into chapters for the emergent reader, written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen.
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The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton Analysis
Some stories have a linear shape. Others are circular, and emphasise the seasons. If we’re talking about circular, seasonal books for children, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton (1942) is the standout example. Circular plot shapes tend to have a feminine feel and star female characters (but not always). “The shape of a story” […]
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Tawny Scrawny Lion (1952) by Jackson and Tenggren
Tawny Scrawny Lion is a Little Golden Book first published in 1952, written by Kathryn Jackson and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
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Fly Homer Fly by Bill Peet Analysis
Fly Homer Fly is a 1969 picture book of 64 pages written and illustrated by Bill Peet who died in 2002 after a long career in children’s storytelling.
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Higglety Piggelty Pop! or There Must Be More To Life Analysis
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More To Life is an illustrated short story, though some might just call it a picture book. The language is too sophisticated to count as an early reader, unlike the Mercy Watson series, of a similar length and also divided into chapters. Why divide such a short story […]
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Gingerbread Girl by Stephen King Short Story Analysis
“The Gingerbread Girl” by Stephen King is a long short story by American writer Stephen King. Find it in Just After Sunset (2008).
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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970) Picture Book Analysis
from the book “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” written and illustrated by William Steig, published by Windmill Books, Simon & Shuster, New York, 1969. Winner of the Caldecott Medal in 1970
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The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss: Archetypal Carnivalesque
The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children’s book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. I keep mentioning this book as an archetypal example of the carnivalesque story subgenre in children’s literature but I’ve never actually broken that down, until now! THE REVOLUTIONARY POWER OF […]