Kindergarten Book Analysis
Review: Focus Themes
The book Monkey and Me (Gravett, 2014) is well suited for children starting to read. The book introduces kindergarten learners to the use of metaphors and, in particular, personification through the character of the monkey doll that accompanies the human protagonist throughout the text (Wang, 2021). Additionally, the book uses a series of illustrations for every mentioned animal, which augments young learners’ understanding and association of words with things (Ewing et al., 2016). The book mentions and illustrates several animals that are likely to interest and capture the attention of kindergarten readers, such as the elephant.
The underlying themes in this imaginative text are adventure and closeness. The narration is given from the point of view of a child and the monkey doll, as they encounter several interesting animals, which encourages children to embrace the outdoors with curiosity and verve. At the end of the day, the two characters in the book go back home to a warm cup of tea, which gives the story the familiar feel of home and close bonds with family and friends.
Written Features (Corresponding Elements)
The storybook utilizes the repetition of a block of sentences to create a reliable narrative structure that ends with a different animal after every iteration. The name of the animal is given in big, bold letters on a singular or double page for emphasis to the reader. Moreover, the following written features are evident in the story:
- Phonemic Awareness: Assonance: Monkey, me, see.
- Sight Words: Most Frequent Words: See, me, we.
Visual Features (Corresponding Elements)
The book has a distinct visual style to illustrate the animals labeled by pronounced text. For instance, the use of double pages to show a mischievous baby elephant pulling its annoyed mother’s tail allows the young reader to view pictures and an illustrated moment. Callow (2013) notes the importance of young readers learning to decipher what a picture is communicating.
Moreover, the framing of the illustrations of animals on each page fits in less than ten pictures. Notably, kindergarten learners are also learning to count and articulate their counts, which this story encourages. This impactful design feature recognizes the importance of learners taking in as much as they can from a singular learning activity.
The colors used for the illustrated animals represent their actual form, which augments the learners’ association of names with things in real life. The illustrations are highly informative to the kindergartener, as evidenced by the image of a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch, whereas the baby penguin and baby elephant walk alongside their parents. Such images can inspire curiosity in children as they learn about the differences between animals and nature.
Engagement and Inherent Qualities
The book is significant because it has a simple, repetitive structure while motivating children to explore the outdoors and sight-see. The story’s illustrations trigger “I wonder” questions on multiple levels, including questions about the biological traits of the stated animals. It is also a highly thought-provoking text for young learners as the monkey doll accompanying the protagonist is taken as the human’s equal. Notably, one of the animals they see on their adventure is the monkey, likely to present a well-defined complication for the young reader. Wang (2021) notes the importance of personification in the development of children’s ability to understand abstract concepts. The book’s closing brings the reader to the familiarity of a home, which is a positive way to wind down the readers’ imagination and bring them back to a well-known reality.
Brief Class Activity
The learning intention and focus of this activity are sight words, particularly their instant recognition, meaning, and verbal articulation by kindergarteners. In this instance, the learners will read and reread the three sight words written on the board from the story; “we,” “see,” and “me,” after which the meanings of the three words will be explained to them. Additionally, each learner will be taught an accompanying action for each word. For instance, they can point to their eyes for “see,” point to their chests for “me,” and open palms drawn inwards for the sight word “we.”
The learners will be divided into groups of three. The teacher will read out each word and observe each learner to ensure they gesture correctly. After a few rounds, the learners will be asked to observe and correct each other within the group of three as the teacher reads the sight words.
For the next phase of the activity, each group of learners will be asked to read the words themselves and perform the correct sign while being watched by the rest of the learners. The teacher will note any learners who are still struggling with the articulation or gesticulation of any sign in this phase. Lastly, the learners who will have advanced through this activity swiftly will be asked to caption and draw themselves, carrying out each of the three sight words in their exercise books.
Year 1 Book Analysis
Review: Focus Themes
The book Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea (Allen, 1998) is a good read for learners in Year 1. Mr. McGee is curiously attacked by a flea while flying a kite by the beach in close proximity to a dog. The story encourages critical thinking in young readers who are at an age where they are likely to have interacted with domestic pets, especially dogs. Notably, readers need to have aspects in a story that they can relate to at the individual level for them to be intrigued and keen (Meek, 1991). For young readers who have never been to the sea, it gives them a glimpse of the happenings and objects that can be found on a beach.
The most profound theme in the story is that of distress. Mr. McGee is attacked by a biting flea that ruins his day out on the beach. It makes him lose his kite and causes him significant physical discomfort by biting him all over his body. Eventually, he has to strip and jump into the sea for the flea to cease its attack on his body. Even then, the flea attacks the dog, and its reign of terror is restarted. Additionally, Mr. McGee loses his kite after the flea bite, which adds to his woes on a day that starts brightly for him.
Written Features (Corresponding Elements)
The story utilizes a variety of language features that make it memorable and entertaining to kids. Moreover, the story repeats an onomatopoeic sound, which can interest a young reader by presenting.
- Phonemic Awareness: Rhyme: Fun and sun, in and din, bite and kite.
- Vocabulary: Verbs in past participle: Running, frightening, holding.
Visual Features (Corresponding Elements)
The storybook uses several visual features to add context to the story. It incorporates several pictures of things found near an ocean, such as a boat, birds that look like seagulls, and bright, clear skies. Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) point out that the use of pictures can provide additional cues that enhance the context and setting of a story and provide additional meaning to a narrative. The illustrations also progressively showcase Mr. McGee’s howling and itching as the flea’s attack intensifies.
Moreover, the use of bright colors adds to the overall feel that the story’s setting is a beach. In particular, the bright yellow kite and Mr. McGee’s multi-colored clothes create a jolly atmosphere, as can be expected at the beach. The illustrations support the text in the parts where fleabites on Mr. McGee’s body grow in number and hue as the story progresses. The use of double pages allows multiple pictures of Mr. McGee’s distress to be placed sequentially. The image of the kite being blown away after Mr. McGee releases it has meaning as it is a representation of the departure of Mr. McGee’s jolly day to be replaced by the horrors of a flea bite.
Engagement and Inherent Qualities
The story is well suited for Year 1 learners as it has an engaging storyline and descriptive pictures. Moreover, the story uses a very relatable character in Mr. McGee, who, despite being an adult, engages in an activity typically reserved for children in flying kites. The story triggers several “why” questions, including why the flea attacked Mr. McGee in the first place and why it ultimately survived through Mr. McGee’s efforts to exterminate it. From viewing the last page of this book, the author, Pamela Allen, has written several other books on Mr. McGee’s adventures. Thus, a young, eager reader can get more tales in the same vein as they grow into more accomplished readers.
Notably, the text also urges the reader to look keenly into the text and especially how it is structured. In particular, rhyming enhances word identification and is an important part of the development of a child’s repertoire as it encourages them to find out more about word patterns (Ewing, 2013). For learners around Year 1 and Year 1, this story can be an entry point into poetry, considering the heavy use of rhyme by the author.
Brief Class Activity
The author uses rhyme to great effect in this story, and learners can learn a lot about phonology. The learning intention in this activity is for Year 1 students to identify and understand rhyming words and their use to create rhythm and a desired phonetic structure. Firstly, the teacher reads the story to the class and writes down all the rhyming words used at the end of the sentences on the board. The teacher asks the learners to read the words out loud together and divides them into pairs. The teacher provides the pairs with several cards with a word written on each. The words should rhyme with the words in the story identified earlier but should not be in the story.
The teacher then reads a word from the story, and each pair of students with a word that rhymes with it should raise their hands and bring the card forward to the teacher’s desk. The paired learners should be encouraged to cooperate in this activity. After the teacher reads all the words in the story, any students with cards left are asked to bring them forward. The teacher then returns all the cards to the learners and asks them to write on them all the words that rhyme that they had discussed earlier. The teacher then compiles the cards and creates a card book of rhyming words.
References
Allen, P. (1998). Mr McGee and the biting flea. Viking Children’s Books.
Callow, J. (2013). The shape of text to come. PEETA.
Ewing, R. (2013). Creative arts in the lives of young children: Play, imagination and learning. ACER Press.
Ewing, R., Callow, J., & Rushton, K. (2016). Language & literacy development in early childhood. Cambridge University Press.
Gravett, E. (2014). Monkey and me. Simon and Schuster.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. Routledge.
Wang, W. (2021). Pictorial and multimodal metaphors in informational picture books for children — a case study. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 11(05), 761–785. Web.
Meek, M. (1991). On being literate. Bodley Head.