31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 11: Many Moons

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If there is another children’s book author who loves words as much as William Steig, it must be James Thurber. His books read like an ode to language, particularly his short chapter book The Wonderful O. I will be sharing notes from another short chapter book by Thurber, The 13 Clocks, later in this series. Thurber’s life story is quite interesting, particularly the William Tell story (which I shared with my wide-eyed Book Detectives). He is possibly most famous for his very short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (click on link to read the whole story), which was published in The New Yorker in 1939 and recently turned into a full-length movie (both fantastic discussion material for slightly older students).

If you are new to James Thurber, start with the picture book Many Moons, published in 1943. It is a longer picture book easily enjoyed by older students and adults due to the humor and the subtly profound ideas. It’s also a blast to read aloud. Many Moons is a great choice if you are using picture books with middle school or high school students to introduce them to literary analysis. Yes, it’s a fairytale about a princess, but it’s also great fun. The conflict and the theme are more complex, as well. I’m still not sure I have it “right.”

“The moon?” exclaimed the Lord High Chamberlain, his eyes widening. This made him look four times as wise as he really was.

“Yes, the moon,” said the King. “M-o-o-n, moon. Get it tonight, tomorrow at the latest.”

The Lord High Chamberlain wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and then blew his nose loudly. “I have got a great many things for you in my time, your Majesty,” he said. “It just happens that I have with me a list of the things I have got for you in my time.” He pulled a long scroll of parchment out of his pocket. “Let me see, now.” He glanced at this list, frowning. “I have got ivory, apes, and peacocks, rubies, opals, and emeralds, black orchids, pink elephants, and blue poodles, gold bugs, scarabs, and flies in amber, hummingbirds’ tongues, angels’ feathers, and unicorns’ horns, giants, midgets, and mermaids, frankincense, ambergris, and myrrh, troubadors, minstrels, and dancing women, a pound of butter, two dozen eggs, and a sack of sugar—sorry, my wife wrote that in there.”

“I don’t remember any blue poodles,” said the King.

“It says blue poodles right here on the list, and they are checked off with a little check mark,” said the Lord High Chamberlain…

“Never mind the blue poodles,” said the King. “What I want now is the moon.”

“…[T]he moon is out of the question. It is 35,000 miles away and it is bigger than the room the Princess lies in. Furthermore, it is made of molten copper. I cannot get the moon for you. Blue poodles, yes; the moon, no.”

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

A kingdom by the sea

Fairytale world

When?

“Once upon a time…”

The story happens over the course of a day or two.

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Princess Lenore—girl, ten years old, going on eleven; likes raspberry tarts; wise

King—demanding, loves his daughter

Royal Physician—couldn’t heal the princess

Lord High Chamberlain—large, fat man; wore thick glasses; good at getting things but not very wise

Royal Wizard—little, thin man with a long face; wore a high red peaked hat covered with silver stars and a blue robe; good at magic but not very wise

Royal Mathematician—bald-headed, nearsighted man, with a skullcap on his head and a pencil behind each ear; wore a black suit with white numbers on it; good with facts but not very wise

Royal Goldsmith—talented with gold, but no imagination

Court Jester—man wearing motley and cap and bells; sat at the foot of the throne; “What can I do for you, your Majesty?”; did not look wise but was; humble; kind

[Older kids could possibly dig deeper at the end of the discussion and consider whether the characters (particularly the Chamberlain, Wizard, and Mathematician) each represent a larger idea.]

 

[I was incorrect about at least one thing in the chart above. The King did not ask for the Court Jester to help him get the moon for his daughter; he only asked for comfort. And that’s important!]

Other possible themes/morals:

Arrogant, self-important government, superstition, facts, and even productivity (and medicine?) fail when child-like understanding and faith is needed.

Wisdom can be found in unexpected places and in unexpected people.

Looks can be deceiving.

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 10: One Grain of Rice

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One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi blends math and literature in a story from India. [Similar tales can be found in other cultures such as China, retold in A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman, just as many cultures have their own version of Cinderella.]

Purchase a bag of rice so that kids can see for themselves how quickly one grain of rice grows when doubled each time!

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Asia, India

Province, village, rice farms

Palace, royal storehouses

Could be real world

When?

A long time ago

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Raja—man, ruler, rich with lots of elephants, greedy, selfish, thought he was wise and fair, ended up keeping his promise to girl

Rani—village girl, nice, clever, generous [the name means “queen” in India]

Villagers—poor, hungry

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 9: Amos & Boris

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William Steig is in my top ten list of children’s book authors. He is most famous for his picture book Doctor De Soto as well as the character Shrek, but Amos and Boris is my favorite of his picture books. [We previously discussed Brave Irene, another favorite.] Though his picture books are wonderful, he really shines in chapter-book form. I hope to share notes from Dominic, my favorite children’s chapter book, later this month. [We previously discussed The Real Thief, as well.]

Kids (and parents!) may be interested to know that William Steig did not begin writing children’s books until the age of 61. He then went on to write more than 30!

In this book, Amos and Boris (a mouse and a whale, respectively) ask some deep questions about the nature of life and death and friendship (Steig doesn’t hold much back). They may not have anything in common other than mammal-hood, but they develop a heart-warming relationship.

All of William Steig’s books are a blast to read aloud due to the high quality vocabulary.

“One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse, Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and right off the deck of his boat and into the sea.”

And later…

“Swimming along, sometimes at great speed, sometimes slowly and leisurely, sometimes resting and exchanging ideas, sometimes stopping to sleep, it took them a week to reach Amos’s home shore. During that time, they developed a deep admiration for one another. Boris admired the delicacy, the quivering daintiness, the light touch, the small voice, the gemlike radiance of the mouse. Amos admired the bulk, the grandeur, the power, the purpose, the rich voice, and the abounding friendliness of the whale. They became the closest possible friends. They told each other about their lives, their ambitions.”

Students should be able to spot various literary devices.

Alliteration:

He loved to hear the surf sounds—the bursting breakers, the backwashes with rolling pebbles.

Savage strength.

Said the mountain of a whale to the mote of a mouse.

Boris was already in the water, with waves washing at him, and he was feeling the wonderful wetness.

Simile:

On waves as big as mountains.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

The beach and the ocean

Fairytale world

When?

Amos sails on the sixth of September

A week to return to his home shore with Boris

Amos and Boris are very young when the story begins and old when the meet again, many years later.

(A timeless setting)

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Amos—an enterprising, capable, cheerful young mouse who loves life and adventure

Boris—a kind, strong, enormous whale

 

Students could also compare Amos and Boris to the well-known fable of The Lion and the Mouse or to this animated short film, The Girl and the Fox.

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 8: Lentil

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Let’s try something a little different today and discuss a classic children’s picture book.

I adore Robert McCloskey. He’s the Normal Rockwell of children’s literature. His books are filled with cheerfulness, ingenuity, mischievous kids, Main Street America, and illustrations full of life and personality.

Lentil is a short, entertaining picture book. It could serve as a lead-in to McCloskey’s chapter book Homer Price (which in turn serves as a great lead-in to analyzing chapter books, since each chapter contains stand-alone stories and can be discussed individually).

Serve a big picture of lemonade for this Book Detectives meeting. Even better, have harmonicas for the kids (and ear plugs for the adults).

Man vs. man conflicts are hard to find in children’s literature, so if you are trying to find a picture book for each type of conflict—man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, man vs. fate/God, man vs. machine/alien/supernatural—this is a good place to start.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Town of Alto, Ohio—cheerful, lovely, friendly, old-fashioned (fictional town but could be real)

Small Town, USA

Main Street, Train Station

A safe, happy world full of kind citizens, parades, and ice cream

When?

Published in 1940

Beginning of WWII (just after Hitler invaded Poland, just before Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor)

A short time in a boy’s life (the main action happens in a single afternoon)

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Lentil—boy (9-12 years old?), positive, cheerful, kind, persistent, carefree

Old Sneep—man, grumpy grumbler, wants others to be as unhappy as he is

Townspeople—friendly, cheerful

Colonel Carter—important, generous

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 7: The Language of Birds

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The Language of Birds is a retelling of a Russian fairytale, each page filled to the brim with text and illustration.

The conflict seems to be the most difficult story element to identify. In The Language of Birds, we’re not sure that Ivan wants or needs his father to believe him or that he is working toward getting his father to believe the truth, but the first hint of discord is when his father doesn’t believe the truth and yells at him, “Wretch! To invent such a tale! Serve you, indeed! You can spend this night with your friends, the birds. Let them serve you!” Ivan is punished, even though he tells the truth. And then, when he finds out that his brother’s story (which their father had believed) was a lie, he seems upset. “But my story is true!” protests Ivan. Other characters end up believing him (though not at first) during the story, so it seems that the actual resolution comes when his prophecy regarding his father serving him comes true.

With older children, it might be interesting to compare this story to the Biblical stories of Joseph and His Dreams in Genesis 37 or the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Russia

Fairy tale world

house
fair
forest—green and mysterious
boat

Kingdom

When?

1700s or earlier, old-fashioned, time of pirates

The story must cover a long period of time because the father says “Long ago, before I lost my fortune, I was a rich merchant.”

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Ivan—truthful, kindhearted, not greedy, humble

Vasilii—liar, greedy, boastful, dishonest

Ivan and Vasilii are brothers, young men

Merchant—father, wealthy, values $ above all else, judges by outward appearance

Sailors on boat

Czar Demyan

Princess—beautiful and smart

Birds

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 6: The Master Swordsman

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Alice Provensen (along with her husband, Martin) is one of my favorite picture book authors and illustrators. This lovely book contains two stories from Ancient China. The Master Swordsman is a charming and humorous story with great illustrations and fun repetition.

“How heavy the pails! How endless the wood! How far the well!”

‘“LOOK SHARP!” glugged the jug… “ATTENTION!” clacked the box… “BE ALERT!” creaked the log. “THAT’S THE WAY” wheezed the teapot.’

This is another story in which the conflict is harder to identify. It is clear that Little Chu needs to learn how to protect his village, but the antagonist seems harder to identify. He has to be patient and persevere (Man vs. Self), but this doesn’t seem particularly difficult for him. He has to stand up to the bandits (Man vs. Society), but that doesn’t seem to be the central conflict. He seems to need time to learn the skills and wait for his moment to arrive (Man vs. Fate).

I think some cabbage-chopping is needed after reading this story. Or, at the very least (and more safely), some tea-drinking. Or maybe a long list of chores…

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Ancient China

Little village of destitute rice farmers with huts in valley near mountains, each with a small piece of land

Lonely hut in mountains

Seems like the real world until objects start talking

When?

Ancient China

Little Chu wandered months before finding Master Li

2 years passed at Master Li’s hut

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Poor rice farmers

Mean bandits

Little Chu—boy, wanted to help, brave, leader, hard worker, tolerant, agile, chef

Boy’s parents

Master L—volatile, cunning, old, wise, deliberate, strong, patient

[P.S. I had flashbacks of The Karate Kid the whole time I was reading this story. Grin. Maybe older students could compare the two.]

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 5: Seeker of Knowledge

[Read the Introduction to this 31 Days series here.]

[Read a little more about our analysis process here.]

Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs is the perfect length for reading aloud at a Book Detectives meeting. It’s a fascinating biographical story, blending history (ancient and modern) and literature with wonderful illustrations. If you’re wanting to add a craft to your Book Detectives meeting, this story is begging for a hieroglyph art project!

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Paris, France [house, roof]

Egypt (Rosetta), Nile River

Real world

When?

Champollion’s whole life (40 years)

Born 1790 (George Washington, French Revolution, Napoleon) [Fair warning: CC students will be breaking into song…]

True historical story

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Jean-Francois Champollion—seeker of knowledge, loved ancient languages, obsessive, passionate, young

Brother—encouraging and helpful

Englishmen

Napoleon—wanted to dominate world, fascinated by Egypt

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 4: Temple Cat

[Read the Introduction to this 31 Days series here.]

[Read a little more about our analysis process here.]

Temple Cat is a simple picture book, perfect for younger ages or for beginning-level analysis. It is short and the illustrations are rich.

Authorship: Some kids may be familiar with a chapter book by the author, Frindle, which is one of the books discussed in Deconstructing Penguins. I try to point out other books by the author or share a bit about his or her life if possible.

The protagonist in this story isn’t a typical protagonist. When animals are the main character in a story, the character who needs or wants something, they are usually given human traits. They talk. They think. They have human emotions or needs or desires. When we are discussing the conflict, I remind kids that “man” (as in “man vs. society”) means hu-man, as in a character with human traits. It can be an animal or a boy or a woman or even a thing that has been personified, such as a toy. In Temple Cat, however, the cat is most definitely a normal cat and not a human (or a god)—but that is the point of the story!

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Neba, Egypt

Temple—formal, regal, shiny, glamorous, magnificent, somber, boring

Seashore

Fisherman’s Hut—enjoyable, delicious, plain, tiny, humble, comfortable

Real World

When?

Ancient Egypt

Whole life—from the time he was a tiny kitten

3-4 days of traveling

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Cat—Egyptians think he is a god, he acts like a cat, does not talk but thinks and feels and wants

Servants, priests, Egyptians—worship and spoil cat

Fisherman and children—love cat

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 3: Gilgamesh the King

[Read the Introduction to this 31 Days series here.]

[Read a little more about our analysis process here.]

Gilgamesh is the second oldest recorded fiction story in the world, also originating from the city of Uruk in the ancient civilization of Sumer. Gilgamesh the King, retold and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman, is the first in a trilogy of gorgeous, simple picture books, a perfect length for reading aloud at a book club meeting.

I found the conflict a little more difficult to identify in this story. Gilgamesh wants to be the most powerful person in the world, but what he needs is a friend. He is battling his own nature, but he also fights Enkidu for supremacy. And, clearly, the people of the city also need mercy. The battle between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is the turning point for all of these, though, and it symbolically takes place on the great wall. Gilgamesh does not get what he wants but he gets what he needs, and the people also get what they need and want as a result.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Land of Mesopotamia

Great city of Uruk—dazzling, beautiful, great wall

Forest—lush and full of animals

(The location is a real place, but at least part of the story is mythology.)

When?

“Long ago”

Ancient civilization of Sumer

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Gilgamesh—King, sent by the Sun God to rule Uruk, part god and part man, looked human but didn’t know how to be human, had power and wealth but was alone, bitter and cruel

People—overworked and hungry, in despair

Enkidu—sent by the Sun God, made from clay of the earth, strong as Gilgamesh, wild creature-man, lived with the animals in the forest, kind

Shamhat—woman, musician, beautiful, loved by all, tender and kind

[FYI: The author has altered the story in order to avoid the graphic nature of the original. This picture book is appropriate for younger ages. There is one page that some parents may take issue with, however. The illustration shows Enkidu and Shamhat kissing and reads, “In the days that followed, Shamhat taught him to speak and to sing and she fell in love with him. They explored the ways of love together and Enkidu promised he would stay with her always.”]

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 2: Lugalbanda

[Read the Introduction to this 31 Days series here.]

We have jumped in the “Way Back” time machine and returned to ancient history this fall in our homeschool, so it is fitting to kick off this Book Detectives series with a few ancient literature selections.

Lugalbanda is about as ancient as it gets. It is the oldest recorded fictional story, dating from 2400 BC (hundreds of years before the earliest text of Gilgamesh). This is a long picture book retelling, with lovely color illustrations on each two-page spread. It also contains six pages of excellent historical notes by way of introduction and conclusion.

In our Book Detectives meetings, once we’ve read the story, we begin discussion by exposing our “crime scene” and “suspects,” in keeping with our detective theme from Deconstructing Penguins.

Our “crime scene” is the setting, and our “detective tools” are the questions where? and when? I often ask specific questions from the extensive Socratic List in the Teaching the Classics syllabus, such as: “What is the mood or atmosphere of the place where the story happens? Is it cheerful and sunny, or dark and bleak? Is the setting a real or imaginary place? Does the story take place in a particular era? In what season? Over what period of time?

Our “suspects” are the characters in the story, and our main question tools are who? and what?  Who are they? What are they like? Man or animal? How old? What (quality) adjectives describe them?

When we’ve exposed our setting and characters, we move on to the plot chart. We usually identify the protagonist at the end of the exposition, when the first sign of trouble begins and causes the rising action. We identify the protagonist by asking Who wants or needs something? What is holding them back?

We then fill out the rest of the plot (rising action, climax, denouement, and conclusion) before writing in the conflict and finally discussing the theme. The plot is the specific, concrete details of the story and the theme is the universal, abstract ideas we take away from the story. Adam Andrews of Teaching the Classics says that the theme is different from a moral, and stories can say something about an abstract idea without giving the reader a moral conclusion (particularly in more complex works of literature). But children’s stories often lend themselves to specific moral lessons, and the kids often come up with one on their own.

My short disclaimer: I do not claim to have the “right answers.” These notes are merely my own interpretation (and those of the kids participating in discussion) of the clues in the text. Just as two detectives at a crime scene may come up with different conclusions based on the evidence, my interpretation may not match another reader’s.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

Uruk—a Sumerian city-state in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). A great city with brick buildings and paved streets

Zabu Mountains “where the cypress trees grow”

Lullubu Mountains “where no cypress trees grow”

Aratta—a legendary city with great artists and fine crafted objects, metals and precious stones

When?

“A very long time ago.” Before 2400 BC. A time when people worshipped nature as gods.

The main part of the story happened over a year’s time, roughly.

[This was the culture in which Abram of the Bible lived.]

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

King Enmerkar—powerful ruler of Uruk, proud, jealous

Many gods

Inana—the greatest of all the gods, goddess of love and war, the evening star, chooser of kings and fates, home in Uruk

Lugalbanda—young and weak, loved and admired his brothers more than anything in the world, brave

Brothers—young men in the prime of life, princes, commanders in the king’s army, loving toward Lugalbanda

Anzu bird—gigantic, terrible monster of the skies, teeth of a shark, talons of an eagle

We usually don’t cover literary devices in our Book Detectives meetings due to time limitations, but this retelling of Lugalbanda contains wonderful examples of alliteration, similes, metaphors, repetition of phrases, imagery, personification, and more. For IEW students, this is great material for identifying dress-ups and decorations.

“For days men flocked to the city in answer to the king’s call. They covered the ground like a heavy fog and stirred up a cloud of dust so big it whirled up into the sky. Their shields clattered. Their spears spiked the air. They stormed through the fields of barley that surrounded the city and crossed the plains like a herd of wild bulls. And Lugalbanda went with them.”

“War won’t wait.”

“In the Lullubu Mountains, where no cypress trees grow, where no snakes slither and no scorpions scurry, where the little prince slept and the night was dark, the multicolored mountain of the goddess Inana rises like a tower higher than all the others. At its top grows a tree so big its branches cloak the mountain slopes in shade and its roots drink like snakes from the seven mouths of the rivers far below.”

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 1: Introduction

[It’s October, which means you’ll be seeing 31 Days of ________ series popping up all over the blog world. I’ve never attempted a 31 Days series in all my 8 1/2 years of blogging, so this is a new experience for me. Let’s see if I have the perseverance…]

Several years ago, I was introduced to the idea of a parent-child literary analysis book club by the inspiring book Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading. After my first read-through, I was itching to begin my own book club, but I felt deeply my lack of experience with literary analysis. Sure, I could try to reproduce the fascinating discussions laid out in Deconstructing Penguins, with the specific books recommended by the authors, but I simply didn’t possess the confidence.

Some time later (a little over four years ago, to be exact), I had the opportunity to sit through a practicum using the Teaching the Classics DVDs and Syllabus. A fire was lit. I finally had universal literary analysis tools that could be used to discuss any piece of literature, from simple picture books to Hamlet.

Armed with these new tools from Teaching the Classics and the “book as mystery” concept from Deconstructing Penguins, my sister and I launched our very own Book Detectives parent-child book club with 12 kids (ages 5-10) and 10 parents. [You can read about our first meeting here.]

We all learned together by trusting the process and discussing books with each other. We started with picture books and then began to throw a few simple chapter books in the mix. I’ve shared some of our discussions here on the blog. [Scroll down to read the early discussions.]

Since then, I’ve led various Book Detectives groups, with various kids at various ages in various quantities, and they have all been a blast! I’ve discovered that picture books are magic, an accessible portal into the world of literary analysis for any age. I have been astounded at what I’ve learned from a focused look at simple books such as Brave Irene or The Real Thief, even if I had read them numerous times before.

I’ve found other helpful resources for literary discussion, as well. We’ve used the “ANI” chart from The Lost Tools of Writing to discuss whether a character should have performed an action in the book. [Example discussions here and here.] I’ve participated in a fascinating discussion of a picture book with other adults using the 5 Common Topics (also introduced in The Lost Tools of Writing or explained well in The Question by Leigh Bortins). The 5 Common Topics have become one of my favorite general discussion tools, whether for literature or life.

Honey for a Teen’s Heart is an excellent resource for discussing books with teens, including worldview questions that can be asked of any piece of literature.

A year ago, I was a guest on Sarah Mackenzie’s Read-Aloud Revival Podcast. We had a delightful time chatting about Book Detectives there. [Lawrence Goldstone, author of Deconstructing Penguins, and Adam Andrews, author of Teaching the Classics, also appeared as guests on the podcast.]

Sarah then asked me to do a video master class (over an hour of video!) on leading a Book Detectives group, and that can be found at the Read-Aloud Revival Membership Site along with a plethora of other master classes and read-aloud goodness such as author events, podcast extras, printable resources and quickstart guides, and more.

And now, for the next 29 Days, I will be sharing literary analysis notes and plot charts for Book Detectives, a book a day.

I am not an expert at literary analysis, and there is no official answer key, but I hope my notes will encourage you all to start your own Book Detectives groups! The last day of the series will be reserved for final thoughts and a list of all the book post links.

Stick around, put on your detective hats, and let’s uncover some book mysteries together!