5Fiction Evaluation Form

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

Your Name: Heather Jun Book Title: Pinocchio

Author: Disney Illustrator: Walt Disney

Genre: Modern Fantasy Publisher/Year: Phidal Publishing/2016

EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS

STYLE and Language: Using examples from the book, explain 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.
Word Choices: There are some descriptive words in Pinocchio. An example is when Gideon and
Honest John are called, “swindlers” and “tricksters.” Lampwick is described in the book as, “a
naughty boy.”
Dialogue: There is quite a bit of dialogue throughout the book. The dialogue leads to interesting
points within the book. The very first dialogue is when Geppetto makes a wish, “I wish to have a son
who is gentle and kind, just like my little Pinnochio!” This starts the book off on an adventure of
Pinnochio being alive, not just a puppet on strings. The last quote in the book is when Pinnochio
yelled out, “Get in the raft everyone!” This last quote led to Pinnochio, Geppetto, and Figaro being
spit out of the whale, Pinnochio lying face down in the water, and the Blue Fairy making Pinnochio a
real boy.
Rhythm: The rhythm throughout the book remains the same. The sentences are full length, no
pausing.
Rhyme: There is no rhyming in this book.
Sentence Length: There sentence length throughout the book remains the same; complete
sentences.
Unexpected insights or interesting information the reader learns from the story:
An unexpected insight is when Pinocchio’s grows into a tree branch. It is interesting because,
although as humans our nose doesn’t grow into a tree branch, we can experience a reaction from
lying. This could include not being able to look at someone in their eye, increased heart rate, or
nausea.

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?
Main Character: The main character is the Pinocchio.
Character’s Personality Traits: Puppet, impressionable, gullible, childlike
How can the reader relate to the character, become involved in the story: The reader can relate to
the story because many kids as they grow up have to decide to follow their parents’ instructions or do
something different. Just like Geppetto, parents send their kids to school. The kids have to choose
whether to walk the route the parents tell them to walk or choose a different route. The reader can
also relate, because people deal with peer pressure and making decisions a lot through their lifetime.
Supporting Characters: The supporting character is Geppetto.
 1. PLOT: summarize the major events in the story-

Geppetto is an artist who wishes to have a son just like Pinocchio. The wish comes true by the wave
of the Blue Fairy appeared. Pinocchio became a real walking, moving puppet. On Pinocchio’s way to
school he encounters Gideon and Honest John. They convinced him he could be a star; turned out
they tricked him. He was placed into a cage. When the Blue Fairy appeared and asked him what
happened he lied. This made his nose grow like a tree. When he promised to never lie again, the
Blue Fairy released him from the cage with his nose back to normal. On Pinocchio’s way home he was
tricked again, this time to go to Pleasure Island. Pinocchio found out that Geppetto fell was
swallowed by a whale when looking for him. Pinocchio set out to find him and got swallowed by the
same whale. They all got out, but when Pinocchio was out he was face down in the water. The Blue
Fairy appeared a third time, brought him back to life, and made him into a real boy.

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

THEME- What is the story’s theme/message?

Setting: The setting is in an Italian village.

Theme: The theme of the story is to listen to what your parents tell you and not fall for peer
pressure.

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 is naïve style.
Media choices (paints, oils watercolors, pencil, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk ):
Acrylic paints appear to be the media choice in Pinocchio.
Give examples and describe how the following visual elements are used in the illustrations :
Line: Throughout the book when Pinocchio is drawn, he has lines on his legs and arms. This makes
him look like a puppet versus a real boy. On page 11, there are small white perpendicular lines that
represent rain. On page 17, the door is angled in the picture with lines running from top to bottom.
This makes the door look really big and tall. On page 3, there are five black lines running vertically
behind Pinocchio which represent strings.
Shapes: On page 15, there are round almost half circles drawn under the donkeys. These represent
debris being kicked up from the hooves. On page 1 in the background there is a triangle on top of the
building that looks to appear to represent a church.
Color: There is a lot of color throughout all pages. A color example that sticks out is the way the
illustrator used white around the Blue Fairy. It makes her look like she has an aura around her.
Texture: On page 3, there are brush strokes in the brown color to make it look like wood. Same on
page 5, the brush strokes make the wood to have texture, not smooth. On page 9, the road looks
partly smooth and cobblestone on the other part. This was created by the smooth road to be a solid
color, the cobblestone to have thick lines of dark color. On page 18, the top of one of Pinocchio’s ears
is not a smooth tip. They have indentations. It appears to make it look like hair.

Explain how illustration and text are combined to tell the story. What do illustrations show that
text does not explain?
An example of the illustration and text being combined is on page 12 when Stromboli yelled to
Pinocchio, “Poor little fool! You think I would let a gold mine like you out of my sight? From now on,
you’ll stay in this cage!” The illustration shows Pinocchio in a cage holding onto the handles with an
expression of shock on his face. Stromboli is illustrated next to him as if pointing his finger towards
him and smirking. On page 7, the illustrations show Pinocchio leaving his house to go to school and
shows school children running with books and waving hi as they pass him. The text does not speak of
the school children.
Page design: Summarize the following: Placement of illustrations and text; the use of borders and
white/dark space; are both pages designed the same or differently?
The end pages are consistent throughout the book. The pages do not continue from left to right.
Each page is separate. There is a white border around all pages. The writing on each page is either on
the very top with the picture below or writing on the bottom with the picture above.

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: Preoperational and the age: 7

Explain the cognitive development from the stage:

The cognitive development feature selected for this stage is egocentric thinking; does not see things
from other viewpoints
Give examples from the book show how the book fits the cognitive stage:
An example from the book that shows how it fits egocentric thinking is when Pinocchio was let out of
the cage by the Blue Fairy. On his way home he encountered the tricksters again. Instead of going
home as he should, he did what he wanted and went to Pleasure Island. Although he was hesitant, he
still did what he wanted to do.

ERIKSON – PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Name the stage __________________________________ and the age_____________________

Explain the social development for this stage:

Give examples from the book that support the social development of this stage:

Emotional DEVELOPMENT
Identify the Age: 7
Explain the emotional development for the age:
More accuracy and complexity in understanding consequences, causes, and behavior signs.
Using examples from the book, explain how the book fits the emotional development of the age:
When Pinocchio decides to follow the swindlers and not to go to school as Geppetto instructed, the
consequences are serious. He gets locked in a cage. Another example of causes and consequences is
when Pinocchio lied. The consequence of him lying was his nose growing like a tree.
2. Overall Rating of the book (3 highest - 1 lowest) 1 2 3
Comments: (Support your overall rating)
I really enjoyed reading this book. It reminded of me when I was young, and I thought if I lied my
nose would grow. This book can connect to readers on different levels. It can also connect to not just
children, but also adults. The book is engaging, creates suspense. It appears that at first Pinocchio
will be stuck with Stromboli forever, but then the Blue Fairy appears. Pinocchio is saved! Readers
don’t just read along with the book; they also feel the emotions being felt through the book. The
illustrations are well drawn. They tell not just what the words say, but also more of the story is
inferred from the illustrations. This book is a fun read for readers of all ages.