Literary Analysis

4 Classic Picture Books:

The Sneetches

By: Dr. Seuss

The Sneetches is considered a classic book that uses rhymes to convey an important message.  This story is about these creatures called Sneetches; there are star-bellied Sneetches and plain-bellied Sneetches.  The star-bellied Sneetches never included the plain-bellied Sneetches during any activities. While the plain-bellied Sneetches were sad a man named McBean stated that he could help turn them into star-bellied Sneetches.  This caused a lot of tension between the plain-bellied and star-bellied Sneetches. Both Sneetches began to put on and take off their stars so much that they didn’t even know who had stars and who did not. Eventually, they realized that stars don’t matter, so, they became friends with Sneetches regardless of their star or not.  Dr. Seuss conveyed a message about racism through rhyming word and illustrated pictures in order to appeal to young children. The illustrations reinforced the words on the page and spread across two pages. Repetition and rhymes are used throughout the entire book and are used to engage readers verbally. Overall, Dr. Seuss displayed controversial topics like racism and bullying through an engaging story with rhymes and beautiful pictures.

Dr. Seuss. (1961). Sneetches. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Book.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

By: Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is classified as a children’s classic book. The story is about a caterpillar that is very hungry and continues to eat, until he turns into a beautiful butterfly at the end. This book does help develop oral language skills with young children because it contains repetition and simple words to help build their vocabulary. The book is in English and uses counting as one of the main forms of repetition. This book is easily accessible and can be found in most libraries. This book feeds the curiosity of children, because they might begin to wonder how the caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly. This books is short and fun so it can be read in a single setting and keeps the students engaged throughout it. Traditionally this book is a board book that has small cut outs that children can lift and revel certain things. The pictures in the book help add to the story and are spread across the pages. The images could also tell the story without the need for words. This is a great children’s book that feeds the curiosity of young minds.

Carle, E. (2006). The Very Hungry Caterpillar. United States: Philomel Books.

Where the Wild Things Are

By: Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a captivating classic tale about a young boy named Max who escapes to a faraway land after he gets in trouble with his mom. In this land, he becomes the king of all the wild things and parties with them for many days and nights. Eventually, he begins to feel lonely and returns home after realizing that there is nothing that can replace a parents love. The entire plot is very relatable to young children, geared towards K-2, because it allows the readers to enter the creative and imaginative mind of the main character and follow him along on his journey through the land of the wild things. This land is captured in detail through many beautiful illustrations for the readers to look at and enjoy. The quote, “His mother called him ‘WILD THING’ and Max said ‘I’LL EAT YOU UP!’ so he was sent to bed without eating anything” captures the essence of Max’s wild and relatable character through most of the book. Illustrations of Max wreaking havoc all over the house and romping with the wild things also contribute to the portrayal of the main character and interesting plot. Although there are not a ton of words, the beautifully illustrated images tell the story on their own. Readers will be very intrigued by the portrayal of the beasts that Max rules over through many detailed illustrations. “And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all” captures the main theme of a parent’s love being irreplaceable, even in a child’s imagination. The concept of this theme is very important and relatable to all readers of any age and cultural group because we can all relate to feeling lonely and the need for parental nurturing and love. Overall, this book keeps it’s young reader’s attention from start to finish due to its appealing plot, vivid illustrations, and relatable theme.

Sendak, M. (1963). Where the Wild Things Are. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Goodnight Moon

By: Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Moon is classified as a children’s classic literature piece. This story’s main character is a baby bunny, which is a predominant animal that is reflected in a child’s life. Throughout the story, we are going through the baby bunny’s nightly routine of saying “goodnight”. He says goodnight to a cow, to a mouse, to some mittens, and many other things. The book begins with the bunny observing things around his room, then transitions into him saying goodnight to everything individually until he falls asleep. The language of this book is English and it uses patterns and rhymes throughout the entire book to keep the text engaging. The book has visual illustrations of the text on every page. Even though it was noticed that the only illustrations in color were the pictures of the entire bedroom of the bunny, but not the individual things the bunny was saying “goodnight” to. This is one of the most desired night- time tales for children, you can just about find it at any store that sells books, also in libraries. Goodnight Moon is an ideal book for children in creating pattern and routine, in this case more specifically during bedtime.

Brown, M.W. (1947). Goodnight Moon. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers.

4 Fictional Picture Books:

The Giving Tree

By: Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree is considered to be a fictional picture book appropriate for all ages from young to adult that has a very unique, but clever plot. The book uses simplistic but effective black and white drawings to enhance the words on each page. In this book a ‘giving’ tree meets a young boy that she loves very much, and they form a close bond. She gives him everything that he asks for, from apples to letting him swing from her branches. As the boy grows older, his needs and wants change, and he asks more and more of the giving tree. By the end of the book the young boy is an old man, and the giving tree is a stump with nothing left to give besides a place to sit and rest. The boy’s character does grow and change by the end of the book, when he realizes that all he needs now is a place to rest and just be with what is left of the giving tree. Although the drawings are simplistic, they convey a deep meaning on every page and complement the text by providing visuals of the boy and tree growing together. This books overall theme expresses the message of the gift of giving, and a serene acceptance of another’s ability to love in return. The quote, “Come, boy, sit down. Sit down and rest. And the boy did. And the tree was happy” embodies the theme in only a few words. The dialogue is appropriate for the two characters portrayed throughout the book. This underlying theme is great for kids of all ages to be exposed to because they experience a similar love at home with their parents, and they are able to get some perspective of what unconditional love truly is. The style of the book is one where the pictures and words often continue onto the next page, and is safely bound in a hard book cover. Shel Silverstein uses this book to express a very deep message that is appropriate for all ages and cultures.

Silverstein, S. (2004). The Giving Tree. New York: HarperCollins.

A Bad Case of Stripes

By: David Shannon

A Bad Case of Stripes can be described as a fictional children’s picture book that tells the story of a little girl, Camilla Cream, who discovers the importance of staying true to oneself despite what others may think. This message is portrayed in the form of a fictional story where a lima bean loving young girl develops a bad case of stripes due to her fear of eating something she loves most, because of what other kids may think. After many trials and errors, a wise old lady comes and feeds Camilla a mouthful of lima beans that cure her of her bad case of stripes. After this series of events, Camilla never worries about what anyone thinks about her love for lima beans again. This book can be read by students of all ages due to its meaningful and relatable theme, but is intended for K-3rd grade. The plot of this story is very original and unique, and the theme of staying true to oneself emerges naturally as the series of events unfold in a logical order. There is a sense of cause and effect between the beginning and end of the book. Because Camilla did not eat lima beans due to other kids judgment, she developed a bad case of stripes. There is also character growth evident in this book by the main character realizing that her own happiness is more important than what others think of her. The quote, “Afterward, Camilla wasn’t quite the same. Some of the kids at school said she was weird, but she didn’t care a bit” embodies the theme of the text and shows the growth in her character by the end of the book. The characters are introduced through narration as well as in conversation, and the dialogue is well suited to each character throughout the book. The layout of this book includes large sized paragraphs of text that are enhanced by very detailed and colorful illustrations relating to the text, and are bound nicely inside a hard book cover.

Shannon, D. (1998). A Bad Case of Stripes. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.

Little Blue Truck

By: Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck is categorized as a fictional picture book because it personifies a truck to deliver a message to its readers. This book is about a little blue truck that is driving around saying “Beep, Beep” to all of his farm animal friends. As he is traveling around a big mean dump truck pushes him and his farm animal friends out of the way in a hurry, leading to him getting stuck in the mud. Little blue truck being as carrying as he is goes to help the dump truck, but realizing he still needs help. With one “Beep, Beep” all of his farm animal friends come to the rescue. This book uses fictional characters to deliver the message of kindness and friendship. The text is in English, but there is no rhyming. The author uses onomatopoeia in the story to keep the book engaging. The characters are also relevant to the children’s lives considering they are popular farm animals and trucks. The images are very detailed and illustrated towards the story that you could understand the story without words. The author did a great job in this book telling a story through popular characters to show the overcoming of obstacles through the help of friends you are kind to.

Schertle, A. (2008). Little Blue Truck. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Red: A Crayon’s Story

By: Michael Hall

Red: A Crayon’s Story is considered to be a fictional children’s fiction book. The book is about a blue crayon that is accidentally wrapped in a red case; therefore all of the other crayons make fun of him for coloring the wrong color. All of the crayons are mean to him until a purple crayon sees the best in him and asks him to draw ocean waves for the boat she drew. This book is written in both narration and conversation mode. The narration is hand written in pencil and the actual conversations look like typed print. It appears as if the crayons are talking to one another. The pictures and words continue from one page onto the next and throughout the entire story, and enhance the text. The illustrations are made up of different styles, which enhance the text and adds character to the story. This book uses fictional talking crayons to portray the message that bullying is never okay and that everything you say and do affects those around you. The ‘Red’ crayon becomes popular because one crayon was nice to him. Both the purple and ‘red’ crayon experiences character growth because they are able to see the best in one another, regardless of their differences. This even translates into the real world that it is important to be kind to everyone, because it is essential to make everyone feel included regardless of the things that make him or her different. The underlying message of this book is very important for young children to lean to understand that it is important to always look for the best in people, and never make anyone feel that they don’t belong for the it is their characteristics that make them unique.

Hall, M. (2015). Red: A Crayon’s Story. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.