Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Michelle Valerio

Book Title: Pig the Pug

Author: Aaron Blabey

Genre: Picture Book

Illustrator: Aaron Blabey

Publisher/Year: Scholastic Press/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)

Pig the Pug is one of my favorite stories to read aloud. It has great

rhythmic pacing that allows for fun tonal inflection to hook children’s

attention. We see an example of this when Mr. Blabey writes, “‘There!’

shouted Pig. ‘Now you won’t get my loot! It’s MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!

So why don’t you scoot?’” He also uses some great vocabulary when he

uses words like satisfied, loot, and scoot. Those are just a few examples
of how he offers fantastic opportunities to expand children’s language. By

reading this book we get an engaging chance to explore how our actions

may have unforeseen consequences. Pig has no idea how his actions

could result in a negative outcome for himself.

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?

Pig the pug is the main character in the story. We know this to be true

for a few reasons. Our first clue is on the book's cover, the title is Pig the

Pug. Additionally, he’s the first character we’re introduced to. Children

can relate to some of Pig’s reasoning. An example of this is when he piles

all of his toys into a heap and refuses to share. This is a common emotion

for young toddlers. Furthermore, children can relate to the supporting

character Trevor the wiener dog. Trevor has a loving and innocent nature

that represents the caring side of young children. We know Trevor’s role

in the story is to instigate the development of Pig’s character because his

simple request throws Pig into his spiral. The spiral is what results in Pig
learning that his actions have consequences.

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

Pig is a selfish pug who doesn’t like to share. When his roommate Trevor

kindly asks to play together, Pug can hardly control his disgust for the

idea. In an attempt to keep Tever’s mitts off his toys, he piles them into a

big mountain and perches himself on the top. His unstable seat wobbles

him right out the window. This results in a full-body cast and lots of

sharing with Trevor as he heals.

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 set in the shared home of Pig and Trevor. Due to its

simplicity, this story could take place in any time period. This makes it a

timeless fun read! As mentioned before this story explores the unforeseen

consequences of our actions. We learn how it’s important to slow down

and think before we act.

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories

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

art)? (2 points)

The style of this book’s illustrations is cartoon. The dogs have large

cartoonish eyes.

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

acrylic, chalk): (2 points)

The media Aaron used in creating the pictures was acrylic with pens and

pencils on watercolor paper.

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

Line: Mr. Blabey uses lines around extremities to indicate motion. We

see this through Trevor’s wagging tail and Pig’s waving paws.
Shapes: There are a lot of round shapes in the pictures, the dog’s

prominent round eye is a great example. They communicate so much

expression just with the use of circles.

Color: On the page where Pig begins his emotional outburst the entire

background is red. It's a stark contrast to the rest of the pallet of the book

which is mostly neutral. This helps to communicate Pig’s rage.

Texture: The thin lines on Trevor's snout as he calls out to Pig whose

falling shows the texture of his whiskers.

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

dark space and all pages the same or different). (3)

The placement of the text is primarily on the top left corner of each set of

ages. Using this format allows the author to step out of this template for

emphasis. For instance, by placing “Well, pugs cannot fly.”, in the center

of the page it helps to put focus on that section of the story.

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. This book allows for lots of talk about how Pugs'

strong emotions affect himself and those around him.

1 would not recommend 2 average 3 highly recommended

Your rating of the book: _______3_______

Why?

I absolutely adore this book. Everytime I read it the children are rolling

with laughter at Pig’s out of control behavior. They’re also able to identify

why that reaction could be dangerous and what Pig could have done

instead. Pig is a great example of what not to do and the kid’s love

pointing it out.