Olivia

Falconer, I. (2000). Olivia. New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster.

Age Level: 4-7

Genre: This is a Picture Storybook because it uses illustrations to enhance the text of the book.


Reflection:

Olivia by Ian Falconer is a hilarious hardcover children’s picture book about a pig and all of the things that she loves to do. This book was also a Caldecott Honor book. I chose this book because it is a popular book that I often saw students reading, but I had never actually read it myself. The simplicity of the illustration on the front of the dust jacket also drew me in and made me want to find out what the book was about. The front of the book had a simple title in large black and gray print. It also displayed a gray, black and white illustration of a pig with a bright red dress on. The simplicity of the front of the dust jacket reflects the simple, but funny illustrations inside. After reading Olivia, I would highly recommend it for young students who are beginning to read. The joy of the book is something that I would want to share with my students.

In the story, we meet Olivia, a vivacious and confident pig and we are introduced to her family: her mother, her father, her little brother Ian, and the dog Perry and Edwin the cat. We find out all of the things that Olivia is good at and we also find that she is confident and will try anything that she thinks interesting. This includes: copying the painting Autumn Rhythm #30, by Jackson Pollock on one of the walls in her house and building an exact replica of the Empire State Building out of sand. We also find that she never tires and is very good at negotiating with her parents. The plot of the book is episodic. Each thing that Olivia does is not in chronological order, but is spread out over different days. For example, one day, Olivia is at the beach building sand castles, and then on rainy days, she goes to the museum to look at her favorite painting. The setting of the book also ranges from the beach, to the museum to Olivia’s house.

 The theme of the book is about being confident and facing your fears and trying new things. Children in the classroom have all had to face new things and will be able to relate to the main character Olivia. All children can learn from Olivia about how to be confident and to not give up the first time that you fail. This book could be used to teach students about comparison and contrast by having students compare their lives with Olivia’s. Since I teach Head Start, this sort of lesson would help my students realize that stories can relate to our lives. Websites with more ideas about how to use Olivia in the classroom can be found at the end of this reflection.

 Illustrations, which were also done by Ian Falconer, enhance the text of the pages and are what complement and make the text comical. The sentence: “Sometimes Ian just won’t leave her alone, so Olivia has to be firm,” (pg. 6) is a sentence that is not so effective or convincing on its own. The illustration that goes along with it shows Olivia with a paper bag on her head with a scary face drawn on to it and her little brother Ian running away. The illustrations range from doublespread to each illustration representing the text on each page. At several points in the book, Olivia is drawn multiple times on one page, doing different things, such as jumping rope, playing with a yo-yo or standing on her head. Ian Falconer uses Expressionistic art for his illustrations. He uses the same black, white, and gray colors to draw Olivia and her family, but then uses the color red to illustrate or exaggerate something that Olivia is good at. For example, she is drawn using a yo-yo, and the yo-yo is red. Many of the things that Olivia wears are also red such as her dresses, hats, purse or even a pair of sunglasses. The color red is often the color of confidence, so it is obvious that since Olivia is exuberating confidence on every page, that she would wear the color red.

Big Questions to Ask:

How do you show your confidence? How is your family and life alike or different from Olivia’s?

Lesson Ideas:

http://www.pampetty.com/oliviastudent.htm

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/olivia.php

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Age Level:  9-12

Genre: Realistic fiction

Reflection:

Brian Selznick’s young adult novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a combination of a picture book, graphic novel, and movie. The illustrations are essential to the progression of the plot and make this novel a unique experience to read. I chose this book for its mysterious summary and for the combination of the colorful and interesting cover that coincides with the black and white illustrations.

Main character Hugo is an orphan, whose father was killed in a fire, and is then abandoned by an alcoholic uncle, who was his only living relative. Hugo lives inside the walls of the train station. When going by the museum that was burned and killed his father, Hugo discovers the automata, a mechanical man that his father had loved and promised to fix for Hugo. Hugo harbors the automata in his small apartment and steals parts to fix the mechanical man. Living in constant fear of the Train Station Inspector, Hugo continues to take care of the numerous clocks around the train station, his uncle’s former occupation, in order to avoid being found living alone in the walls. Then, Hugo meets the shopkeeper of a toy store that he steals mechanical parts from. Georges Melies, the shopkeeper discovers Hugo’s notebook of drawings of the automata and his secret threatens to reveal itself. Little does he know, the shopkeeper has a secret of his own and the lives of these characters are intertwined in ways that they did not imagine.

Author Brian Selznick uses an integral setting of 1930’s Paris to include the history of silent films. Georges Melies, the shopkeeper in the story, was an actual filmmaker in the 1890’s and made films through the 1920’s. The author’s website, www.theinventionofhugocabret.com gives a brief history of the filmmaker and even offers a link to watch one of his films A Trip to the Moon, the film mentioned in the story as Hugo’s father’s favorite film. The website also offers a brief history of children’s books author Remy Charlip, the model used to illustrate Georges Melies in the book due to his likeness to the filmmaker.

Brian Selznick also illustrated this book. The illustrations are all done in black and white graphite pencil. Diagonal lines are used to draw the illustrations, expressing motion of the pictures. The book, to a young reader might seem intimidating at first due to the 525 pages, but over 300 of the pages are doublespread illustrations that do not illustrate what was just read, but illustrate what happens next.  The text then picks up where the illustrations left off. The pictures provide a motion by motion illustration of what is happening, almost like a movie. Since silent films are a huge part of the book, I imagine that the black and white illustrations and motion like sequence are homage to those silent movies. The book also offers some photographs from the actual train station in which Hugo lives and some screen shots of the movies of Georges Melies.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is made up of layers of secrets and mysteries, much like the secret of magic and filmmaking during this time. Hugo is an inventor, a magician. He is able to fix a mechanical man, he fixes and keeps the clocks running and he “fixes” or invents his life. He overcomes all the obstacles of becoming orphaned and abandoned and makes and builds a future for himself. The big idea or theme of this book is overcoming all that stands before you to become who you truly are. It is a theme that reflects not just in Hugo, but the central character Georges Melies himself.

Big Questions: How would you handle the same obstacles that Hugo Cabret faced in the story? What are some obstacles that you have had to overcome? What if this story was set in modern times? Do you think the automata and silent films would have had the same impact on the story?

I would recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The illustrations and storytelling style make this a unique book that one must read.

Classroom Connections:

Here are excellent websites offering lesson plans and ideas for using The Invention of Hugo Cabret in the classroom:  

http://www.highsmith.com/pdf/librarysparks/2008/lsp_nov08_LL_hugo_cabret.pdf

https://sites.google.com/a/umail.iu.edu/the-invention-of-hugo-cabret-webquest/teacher-materials

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/amazing-world-brian-selznick-discussion-guide

Introduction

      Hello everyone! My name is Lindsay Williams and I am from West Liberty, KY. I am a newlywed and have not changed my name with the university, so my last name is Wright now. My husband and I have a four month old Weimaraner which we keep indoors so that is my only child. 
      I am currently a teacher for Gateway Headstart in Frenchburg, KY which is a very challenging experience. I hope to use what I learn in this class to begin a love of books in my current students who are three and four years old, a perfect age to introduce them to books that they would not otherwise have access to. I hope to one day teach K-5 which was my major in college. I really enjoy reading literature and read a little bit of everything.
      In my spare time, I read and enjoy spending time with my husband going to movies or just doing somthing outside.