Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Alexa Tribuli

Book Title: The Monster of the Woods
Author: Claire Freedman
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Illustrator: Russell Julian
Publisher/Year: Cartwheel Books/2013
Evaluate the Book for the following elements
Style and Language: Using examples for the book, explain the following: Word
choices, dialogue, rhythm, rhyme and sentence length. Share unexpected insights or
interesting information the reader learns from this story. (5 points)

Word Choices: The word choice in the book is simple but has some words that help to
expand the knowledge of the child by expanding their vocabulary and context clue
skills to figure out the words meaning. For example, the word “shivered” is used on
page six.

Dialogue: There is a lot of dialogue between the characters in the book. In the
beginning of the book there is almost only talking between Owl, Rabbit, and Mouse
about their plans to avoid the Monster in the woods.

Rhythm: This book does not have a very noticeable rhythm; I feel like the rhythm
would depend on how the book is read. For example, when the three main characters
hear knocking that they believe belongs to the monster they freeze and say, “THE
MONSTER OF THE WOODS!” This line could be read very fast as if they characters can
hold back their fright, or it could be read very slowly and loudly like the characters
are so frightened they can not speak.

Rhyme: There is not rhyming in this book.

Sentence Lengths: This book is primarily create with short sentences. For example,
when the characters are talking to each other, they say no more then ten words.

Character: With examples from the book, provide the following- (5 points)
Who is the main character?
How can the reader relate to the character?
Who are the supporting characters?

Main Character:
There are three main characters in this story. They are Owl, Rabbit, and Mouse.

Relate:
The main characters are frightened by a monster in the woods. All people have been
scared of something at some point in their life.

Supporting Characters:
The Monster in the Woods (Snuggles)

Plot: Summarize the major events of the story (6 points)

1. Owl, Rabbit, and Mouse are scared of a Monster in the Woods, so they devise a
plan to avoid the monster incase it goes after one of them.
2. That night there is a scary storm. Owl is woken by the storm and rabbit and
mouse come over to Owl’s house because they think they heard the Monster.
3. When they are all safe inside the house, they hear knocking. It must be the
Monster!!!
4. They lock the door, close the curtains, and pretend to not be home.
5. Then they hear crying, so they open the door,
6. The Monster of the woods is at the door, but he is not scary at all. He is
frightened of the thunder.
7. Owl, Rabbit, and Mouse let the Monster in to the house and let him stay.
8. Then they have another very important meeting but this time the Monster of
the Woods is also attending it and his name is Snuggles.

Setting: Explain the place and time of this book. (2 points)

Theme: What is the main message of this book? (2 points)

Setting: In the woods, inside Owl’s house.

Theme: Facing your fears to help others, Acceptance

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories
Style (realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon art)? (2
points)

Realism: The illustrations are faithful to the proportions and realistic depictions of the
animals in the story.

Media Choice (paints, oils watercolors, pencils, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk):
(2 points)

Painterly Materials: Watercolors and Acrylic paint

Give examples of describe how the following visual elements are used in the
illustrations: (3)

Line: Straight lines are used only in structural aspects such as the chairs, bookshelf,
stairs, and clock. This are all items not from nature.

Shapes: The animals are each an odd shape, meaning they are natural items. Some
other oddly shaped aspects in the book is the lightning bolts from the storm.

Color: This book has both categories of hues. In the beginning and very end of the
book (daytime) the hues are very warm. In the middle section of the book, during the
storm, the hues are very cool. The value of the illustrations are very bright, even in
the illustrations from the storm. You are able to clearly see all the different items in
the illustrations. The saturation of the illustrations are averagely bright. It feels like a
sunny day and a stormy night.

Texture: This book has a lot of texture. Each character has a different technique with
paint to create a unique fur/feather texture.

Page design (placement of the illustrations, use of borders, white and dark space and
all pages the same or different). (3)

The illustrations cover the entirety of the page, there is no white space. All pages are
the same.
Child Development Theory: Choose either Piaget, Erickson or Social Emotional to
describe the connection to the book Chose 1 only (5 points)

ERIKSON
Stage: Initiative VS. Guilt
Age: 3-5

Cognitive Development:
This stage is where a child will begin to assert themselves and begin the develop
confidence in themselves. This correlates to the book because Owl leads Rabbit and
Mouse when they all need help. Owl devises a plan to help all of them avoid the
Monster they were all frightened of. Owl also allows Rabbit and Mouse to join him
during the storm when they were all scared the Monster would come.

Recommendation and Rating:

Rating: 3 Highly Recommend

Why: I had never read this book before finding it for this project. As I read it I fell more
and more in love with the subtle vocabulary that the book had. The reader (the
children) would be able to understand the content while also expanding their
vocabulary. I also like that one of the massages of the book is acceptance. It is really
interesting that the main characters heard all those scary things about the Monster in
the woods and then when they meet him, they give him a chance to introduce who he
really is. They are accepting him for who he really was.