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.
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:
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