Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Michelle Valerio

Book Title: Rubia and the Three Osos

Author: Susan Middleton Elya

Genre: Folklore

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Publisher/Year: Little Brown Books for Young readers / 2010.

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)

This is a bilingual story that flows flawlessly between English and Spanish. A great

example of this is, “...But one night at supper - la sopa prepared, the soup platos

ladled the chairs derriere’d-...”. Here we see how by combining the two languages, the

author offers context to children who may not know the Spanish words. The author

states that the sopa is prepared and the soup plates are ladled. In this way, she’s able

to define la sopa indirectly. There is also a great use of rhyming in this book.

Additionally, the sentence structure highlights this. An example of this is, "There once
were three Osos, who lived by themselves. Who stored their three platos, for soup on

the shelves." Where she chooses to place breaks accentuates the rhymes.

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?

The main character is Rubia, we know this because she’s the one through which we

see the lesson learned. It’s Rubia who makes amends for her actions by preparing

more soup and mending the chair. The supporting characters are the three Osos, as

they provide the catalyst for Rubia to wrong them and then subsequently repent. They

support her in making things right by being receptive to her trying to fix what she

ruined. Rubia is very relatable for young children. She has no malicious intent when

entering the home of the three Osos. She is merely exploring and thinks the house is

for her. Similar to an exploring child who thinks they own the pinecone they find.

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

A family of three Osos takes a family stroll before a supper of soup. A young Rubia is

also walking in the woods and finds their house. Rubia mistakenly believes the home

to be for her. Excitedly she explores it, trying all it has to offer. Unexpectedly, she’s

awoken by the three Osos. They are displeased with what she has done to their
home. After Rubia escapes out a window, she feels awful and begins making amends

for her transgressions by preparing soup and mending chairs. Subsequently, Rubia

and the three Osos become good friends.

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

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

This book is primarily set in the house of the three Osos. Our takeaway from Rubia

and the Three Osos is that even though we may not intend to hurt someone, we still

have to take responsibility for our actions. Rubia didn’t mean to disrupt the lives of the

three Osos, but when she realizes she has Rubia takes active steps to show her

remorse.

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories

Style (realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon

art)? (2 points)
The style of these illustrations is cartoon. Melissa Sweet makes great use of color and

shape in her illustration. My clues to the use of the cartoon style are the use of bright

colors, the eyes, clothing on the bears, and the semi-realistic proportions of the

characters and setting.

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

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

Line: The lines around Rubia’s limbs as she climbs down the tree show the motion of

her extremities as she flees. Doing this expresses her frantic motions in her escape.

Shapes: While Rubia mixes her soup you see a lot of soft round shapes for the

vegetables and flowers. This contrasts with the sharp rectangles of the tables and

windows.

Color: Ms. Sweet uses color to create depth. In the pages where Rubia is preparing

her soup, she uses color to make her 2D image look 3D. On the stovetop, for

instance, she paints the edge a slightly darker color to create the effect of a shadow,

this translates in our minds as three-dimensional.

Texture: The wiggly and curved lines show the curly texture of Rubia’s hair as he

grasps her hands with his mouth in surprise.

Page design (placement of the illustrations, use of borders, white

and dark space and all pages the same or different). (3)
The page design of this book is very interesting. The first and last pages serve as

bookends for the story. They have the same border and give the feeling of entering
and exiting the story's world. There is a lot of exploration of framing. Some pages

feature pictures in round, squares, and other unique frames. By zooming in on specific

images they’re able to highlight the character’s expression. Papa bear’s annoyed

expression, baby bears saddened face, or Rubia’s peaceful smile.

Child Development Theory: Choose either Piaget, Erickson or Social

Emotional to describe the connection to the book Chose 1 only (5 points)
Emotional Development

Identify the age: 3-6 Years Old

Explain the social development for this age and how the book
relates to the emotional level you chose:
At this age, children are developing a higher capacity for empathy. They are also

drawing more connections between actions and reactions. Cause and effect are

begging to make more sense. Expanding conversational skills are allowing for greater

dialogue about the fallout from strong emotions. Rubia and the three Osos relates to

this stage because Rubia empathizes with the Osos. She understands that she made

them feel upset and feels bad herself. Thus, she tries to make the bears feel better.

Your rating of the book: _______3_______

Why?

This book is a great option to explore the concept of empathy. I

particularly love how Rubia uses her actions to say sorry. It teaches that

our actions speak louder than our words.