For this assignment I chose three different children's stories to analyze. I chose "The Little Gingerbread Man" by Carol Moore, "The Invisible Alligators" by Hayes Roberts, and "The Wiener Dog Magnet" by Hayes Roberts.
The first, "The Little Gingerbread Man" is a story that follows the adventure of "the gingerbread man". He was half the size of all the other gingerbread men that were made in the same batch as him, that day. Yet, he was the only one who could run. There was plenty dialogue in the story, mainly between the gingerbread man, his friend the butterfly, and all of his predators. In the dialogue it is explained of how the gingerbread man feels, as well as how his predators feel about him: they want to eat him. This helps to add to the conflict of the story, and how being a delicious gingerbread man is dangerous. Running away from the ones who wish to eat him is the conflict this "man" faces. Also, he struggles to trust his savior, and friend, the butterfly, throughout the story, fearing that she too wanted to eat him. Young children would easily understand this situation, especially if they themselves love gingerbread. They are able to comprehend how tasty one would think a gingerbread is, and how he would be in danger. To resolve the conflict, the gingerbread man must place his trust in the wings of his friend, the butterfly. After almost being eaten he is rescued by his friend, carried to safety; teaching the children the lesson of friendship and trust. In the end, the butterfly's intentions were good, leading the gingerbread man to a happy ending.
Next, I read "The Invisible Alligators". The main character is a young, orange, monkey named Sari, with huge eyes. There is dialogue between Sari, and the invisible alligators. It follows the plot, and how the alligators are causing trouble for not only her, but many others. Best of all, the dialogue expresses the main idea best. As the alligators make issues for everyone, they also teach them a lesson in one way, or another. Sari is conflicted as to why things are going wrong in her house. Her homework ruined, toys cover her staircase, her llamas scattered, the invisible alligators have caused it all. I believe it is a fun conflict that children will understand in a way. The comical aspect will make it intriguing to young kids. As well, if they maybe have siblings, or pets, who seem to ruin everything, then they can comprehend the frustration Sari feels. To resolve the conflict, Sari follows the invisible alligators into their lair to examine the damage they do. Afterwards, she remains confused as to why they do this, but as she heads home, it is clear that a lesson has been taught. The message was to teach responsibility to Sari. If she left her toy castle out at night, it was broken; her toys covered the staircase, teaching her to pick them up. In the end, she would know to clean up her messes, and learn how to handle tough situations.
Finally, "The Wiener Dog Magnet" follows Kiki Marie, the monkey. There is no dialogue in this story, just narration. Kiki Marie purchased a magnet, that was shaped like a wiener dog, only to later be conflicted with the fact that her "wiener dog magnet" had actually magnetized to real wiener dogs. Afterwards, spotting two alligators who are stranded in the water, Kiki Marie becomes conflicted about how to help. I think the conflict of being excited about something, then having it turn bad, is a conflict that young children of any age, could understand. They could relate if they had a toy themselves that may have broken not long after they got it. To resolve the conflict of the alligators, Kiki Marie uses her wiener dog magnet to build a bridge and save the day. It teaches the children that even when things appear they have gone wrong, there is always a way to fix them.
The three stories are similar in characters. Though they are not all the same non-human character, they are all not human. This is helpful to catch the children's attention with talking animals, and gingerbread men. Also, they compare with the resolving conflicts. Things seem to be the worse they could be for the character, but later, they realize the solution is simple. Some differences in the stories is how accepting the characters are. In the first, and last stories, the characters learn to accept the way things are. Yet, in the second story, the main character does not understand, and refuses to accept the idea that things will work out for the best.
I believe these stories would be appealing to young children in many ways. In the first story, the idea of a talking, and running, gingerbread man, with a butterfly sidekick, is hilarious. Also, this gingerbread was different than the rest, being smaller in size. Yet, he had his own abilities that are extraordinary, that the others did not. It captures the child's interest if they themselves feel different than others their age. As well, in the second, the story provides the children with an unrealistic idea of "invisible alligators" under their bed. It may scare some, but for others, they may be provided with a theory for all the things that go wrong in their lives. The final story shows a young monkey with a favourite toy. This would be appealing to children because most do have a toy they love best of all. Like the monkey, they would carry it around everywhere, and do everything with it. So, they can relate well, causing a growing interest in the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment