Fiction Evaluation Form

(Picture Books, Folklore, Modern Fantasy, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Multicultural Books)

Your Name:​ Abigail Torres-Jimenez Book Title: ​Vampirina Ballerina

Author:Anne Marie Pace Illustrator: ​Leuyen Pham

Genre: Modern Fantasy/ fiction Publisher/Year: ​Disney Hyperion Books/2012

EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS

STYLE and Language​: Using examples from the book, e​xplain the following: word choices, dialogue,
rhythm, rhyme and sentence length. Also, explain unexpected insights or interesting information the reader
learns from the story. Give examples.
The word choice for ​Vampirina Ballerina ​is simple enough for young children yet it has some complex
/uncommon words that children can benefit from sense they are building their vocabulary. The book
has some rhyme and the sentence length is short which is great for young readers to remain
entertained. The thing I found most interesting about the book is how although Vampirina is a
vampire all her ballet peers are humans, it made the theme of although you may be different you can
accomplish anything you work hard for.

CHARACTER – With examples from the book give the following: ​Who is the main character? Explain the
character’s personality traits.
How can the reader relate to the character, become involved in the story?
Who are the supporting characters?

The main character is Vampirina, Vampirina is a young girl vampire who dreams of becoming a
ballerina. Vampirina initially struggles to do as Madame says but through hard work and dedication
she succeeds. I find Vampirina to be a relatable character because many young children are taking up
new activities such as sports, music, or school that they may not be perfect at right away but succeed
in the end. The supporting characters of the book are Vampires monster family, Madame, and the
other ballerinas.

1. PLOT: ​summarize the major events in the story-

The story begins by Vampirinas mother helping her begin her journey to becoming a ballerina. Her
mom give her slippers and a leotard and signs her up to Ballet classes. At first Vampirina struggles in
her ballet class but does not give up as it is her dream to become a ballerina. Through hard work and
dedication Vampirina gets a debut.

2.SETTING ​– Explain the place and time of the book.

​ hat is the story’s theme/message?
THEME- W

Setting: ​The book has different settings for example in the beginning it takes place in Vampirina home
the middle/end portion of the book takes place in the ballet classroom.
Theme: ​The Main message of the book is to note give up on a dream because through hard work and
dedication anything is possible.

ILLUSTRATION –​Analyze the illustrations for the book you selected (see Chapter 4) with the categories
below:
Choose a 2-page spread in the book to answer the following:
What Style​ ​(realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon art)?
The style used in the book is cartoon art, I say it is cartoon art because of the monster family
used for Vampirina.

Media choices ​(paints, oils watercolors, pencil, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk​) :
The media choices used were pencil and paint.

Give examples and describe how the following visual elements are used in the illustrations​:
Line: ​The book has plenty of lines which are commonly used as the outline of a shape or
person which involves straight and curved lines.
Shapes ​The book overall does not have much shape besides the basic circle, square, and
rectangle.
Color ​The color used is pastels and is cool tones such as blue, red, and very light yellow-orange.
Texture ​The book has a smooth texture due to the paint used.

Explain how​ ​illustration​ and ​text​ ​are combined to tell the story. What do illustrations show that text does not
explain?
In the book ​Vampirina Ballerina ​the text presents the illustrations as a form of connecting
the text to illustrations. Also the illustrations help expand the text in form of feelings of the
characters although we aren’t reading of Vampirina excitement we can see it in the
illustration.

Page design: ​Summarize the following​:​ p​ lacement of illustrations and text; the use of borders and white/dark space; are both
pages designed the same or differently?
The page design is different throughout the book but in the first and second page the
illustration is on the left with white space surrounding it and the right is the text with a
continuation of the illustration from the left page which is also surrounded by white space.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES​ – ​CHOOSE​ 2 ​of​ ​theories below and evaluate the book according to the
developmental theories. (How the book fits the developmental stage and age?)

PIAGET-COGNITIVE-INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Name the stage_____________________________ and the age_____________________

Explain the cognitive development from the stage:

Give examples from the book show how the book fits the cognitive stage:

ERIKSON – PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Name the stage ___​_2​_______ and the age_​toddlerhood​____

Explain the social development for this stage: ​autonomy versus shame-doubt- Main task is to
develop a sense of autonomy - to explore their surroundings without guilt for accidents or
mistakes.

Give examples from the book that support the social development of this stage: ​Vampirina wants
to be a ballerina and although she is a vampire her family encourages her. Mom give her her
ballet shoes, leotard, and helps her sign up for ballet classes that work for vampire. The book
throughout has plenty of example of support for Vampirina such as her family allowing her to
practice in their rooms and being supportive of her dream such as all being there to cheer her
on on the day of her debut.

Emotional DEVELOPMENT
Identify the Age ____​7-11 years old ​_________________
Explain the emotional development for the age​:​ ​Self-conscious emotions become part of inner
standards for right actions

Using examples from the book, explain how the book fits the emotional development of the age:
The main example of emotional development is Vampirina, she was struggling to keep up
with her ballet class and instead of giving up she practiced, eat well, and slept well which
eventually helped her succeed in becoming the ballerina she wanted to become.

2. Overall Rating of the book (3 highest - 1 lowest) 1 2 ​3

Comments: (Support your overall rating)

Vampirina Ballerina ​is a unique book in the form of showing how although we may be different if you
want to be something such as a ballerina you can do it as long as you work hard and don’t give up. I
enjoyed the word choices for the book because it was simple yet it had some uncommon vocabulary
that is helpful for young children to expand on their vocabulary.