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Gorilla by Anthony Browne Picture Book Analysis
Gorilla is the book that made Anthony Browne’s name as a creator of postmodern picture books. It was awarded the Kurt Maschler Award (1982-1999), which specifically rewarded British picture books demonstrating excellent integration between words and pictures. WHAT HAPPENS IN GORILLA? A girl called Hannah — about 6 or 7 years old — feels that […]
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The Tiger’s Bride by Angela Carter Short Story Analysis
“The Tiger’s Bride” is a short story in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber collection. Marina Warner writes of stories in The Bloody Chamber, published during the post-war feminist movement which largely denounced fairytales and everything they stood for: [Carter] refused to join in rejecting or denouncing fairy tales, but instead embraced the whole stigmatised genre, […]
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The Influence Of King Arthur
Was King Arthur real? People have been hoping so for 1500 years. And how similar was he to the historical Jesus? See: In Search of the Historical Arthur by C. Dal Brittain, professor of medieval history and fantasy writer Another good place to start with a King Arthur story is with “The Legend of King […]
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Telling A Story Over The Course Of A Single Day
12 HOUR CLOCKS IN PICTURE BOOKS Anyone who has read books to children will already know which of these single-day stories is more popular in children’s books. Some common clocks in picture books: The main character wakes up in the morning, goes on an adventure, comes home to safety and sleeps happily in bed. These […]
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This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen Analysis
This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen shows that toddlers can cope with the horror genre. “Jon Klassen’s darkly humorous illustrations are a joy to behold. Deceptively simplistic, the expressions and events that he captures, which range from the sublime to the sinister, are utterly wonderful.” The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal judges’ […]
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The Symbolism of Seasons
In stories for children, as in stories for adults, emphasis on the seasons and the circular nature of time gives a story a feminine feel. Each season carries its own symbolism, but it’s not a clear delineation. Why do we associate cycles and seasons with femininity? Who better to teach us something than Dwight Schrute? […]
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The Company Of Wolves by Angela Carter Short Story Analysis
Even if you’ve not heard much of Angela Carter, “The Company of Wolves” and other subversive stories have probably influenced some of your other favourite authors.
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Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner? Picture Book Analysis
Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner is one of my all-time favourite picture books and funnily enough, it has been created by a husband and wife team. Some of the very best picture books are obviously created with a lot of collaboration between writer and illustrator, and it amazes me that so many (also good) picture books are created without writer…
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The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Short Story Analysis
“The Bloody Chamber” is a feminist-leftie re-visioning of Bluebeard, written in the gothic tradition, set in a French castle with clear-cut goodies and baddies. The title story of The Bloody Chamber, first published in 1979, was directly inspired by Charles Perrault’s fairy tales of 1697: his “Barbebleue” (Bluebeard) shapes Angela Carter’s retelling, as she lingers […]
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The Magical Life Of Mr Renny by Leo Timmers Picture Book Analysis
The Magical Life of Mr Renny by Leo Timmers is a modern Magic Paintbrush story in which a central dog character can paint anything he likes. Timmers adds a romantic subplot. PLOT OF THE MAGICAL LIFE OF MR RENNY A ‘starving artist’ (represented by a dog called Renny) can’t sell any paintings at the market. […]
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The Picnic by Mavis Gallant Analysis
The Picnic by Mavis Gallant is darkly comic, a ‘comedy of manners’, starring an eccentric old French aristocratic woman. The reader is afforded a close-up view into her life via an American family, the Marshalls, Major Marshall being stationed in France after the war. The Comedy of Manners is an entertainment form which satirizes the […]
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What is dialogic reading?
‘Dialogic’ is related to the word ‘dialogue’ and describes ‘having a conversation’. In education, dialogic reading refers the conversation adults have with students around the text they are reading together. Adults typically ask questions and make comments to help young readers explore the shared story at a deeper level. Because it is the dialogue that happens […]
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Where Is The Green Sheep? Picture Book Analysis
A very popular Australian picture book. Looks so simple. But what’s the secret sauce?
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Accidents by Carol Shields Analysis
The more you read of [Shields’] stories the more you sense her delight in making connections, moving things on…If Shields had a single subject in these stories it was really solace, the strategies we employ to keep despair, or doubt, or even confusion at bay. Mostly that solace comes from language, whether it be literature or […]
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When we were alone in the world Picture Book Analysis
Written by author Ulf Nilsson and illustrated by Eva Eriksson, When We Were Alone In The World is a 2009 Swedish picture book produced by two longtime experts in their field. I am reading the English language translation from Gecko Press. PLOT OF WHEN WE WERE ALONE IN THE WORLD Written in first person point […]