Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Michelle Valerio

Book Title: The Worst Princess

Author: Ana Kemp

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie

Publisher/Year: Random House Books for Young Readers / 2014.

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)

Ana Kemp makes great use of vocabulary and rhyme. An example of her rhyming is

when she writes, “Just smile a lot and twist your curls, dragon bashings not for girls.”

Furthermore, the pacing of her sentences makes for an engaging read. Some of the

more interesting vocabulary she uses are stiff, plaits, t’was, journeyed, slain, vicious,

foe, and so many more. Using these words in such an entertaining story helps

expand the children’s vocabulary.

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 Sue. It’s through her eyes that we engage with the story. We

see how she learns that what she thought was freedom was just another trap. The

Prince and the Dragon are her supporting character. They help her to realize the life

she wants for herself and then to attain it. Through her interactions with the Prince,

Sue learns that the life she’s being given is not the one she wants. Subsequently, she

enlists the aid of the dragon in destroying the tower and freeing herself of the prince.

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

Sue is elated to have her prince finally arrive to rescue her from her tower. As they

gallop through the forest Sue is distraught to learn that the Prince expects her to live

like a proper princess in the tower of his castle. Angered, Sue makes friends with a

dragon who destroys her tower and angers the Prince. Sue takes off with the Dragon

and lives a life of exploration.

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

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

This book has two major settings. Sues tower as she waits for the Prince and the

Prince’s tower that she wants to escape from. The main message in this story is that

you must take control of your life and make your own happiness.

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. Sara uses mostly realistic proportions with

cartoonish aspects. The Prince's protruding knees, his long noes, and the characters'

simple round eyes.

Media Choice (paints, oils watercolors, pencils, pen, charcoal, crayons,

acrylic, chalk): (2 points)

Watercolors, pencils, and pens.

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

Line: The squiggly lines coming from the dragon’s nose signify smoke.

Shapes: The pointed triangles of the dragon's teeth show how sharp they are.
Color: The progression of red, orange, and yellow expresses the intense heat of the

dragon’s fire.

Texture: The red and orange U shapes create the dragon's scales.

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

dark space and all pages the same or different). (3)
This book makes fun use of large landscapes. More than once, the image spans both

pages. This shows the grandeur of the world and mirrors Sue’s longing to explore it.

They explore the layout on the page where Sue views the dragon in her telescope. It

keeps the book interesting and put’s the reader in Sue’s shoes.

Child Development Theory: Choose either Piaget, Erickson or Social

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

Stage 2 Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt: Toddlerhood

In this stage, children explore independence and seek to do more on their own. They

build autonomy when mistakes are embraced and accepted. In contrast, shame can

develop if negative connotations are connected to mistakes. Sue is a sparkling

example of learning to become autonomous. Initially, she thinks that to be happy she

needs to follow what the Prince says. The prince represents adults. When Sue

decides she wants to explore more of the world and not be stuck in the tower; she

knows she has to break away from him.

1 would not recommend 2 average 3 highly recommended

Your rating of the book: 3

Why?

I looked at a few books for this assignment. This one stuck out to me as the most

engaging, due to the rhyming and pace of the story. I love the lesson that you are in

charge of your own life and have to be an active participant in making it what you

want.