Literary File.

Sammi Pritchard
Literary Terms:
• Genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized
by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
• Basal Reading Series: usually published as anthologies that combine previously
published short stories, excerpts of longer narratives, and original works.
• Trade Book: a book published by a commercial publisher and intended for general
readership.
• Chapter Book: a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose, rather than
pictures.
• Young Adult Literature: catered towards readers from 12 to 18 years of age.
• Children’s Literature: includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are
enjoyed by children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different
ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Fiction
• Fiction: literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes
imaginary events and people
• Realistic Fiction: stories that could have actually occurred to people or animals in a
believable setting. These stories resemble real life, and fictional characters within these
stories react similarly to real people.
• Historical Fiction: a story is made up but is set in the past and sometimes borrows true
characteristics of the time period in which it is set.
• Fantasy: imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable
• Utopia: an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.
• Dystopia: an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a
totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.
• Epic: a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds
and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
• Graphic Novel: a novel in comic-strip format.
Fiction (cont.)
• Poetry: literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of
feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.
• Mystery: dealing with a puzzling crime.
• Myth: one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or
social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
• Legend: a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but
unauthenticated.
• Fable: a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.
• Folktale: a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of
mouth
• Fairytale: a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands.
• Tall Tale: A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true
and factual.
Poetry Definitions
• Acrostic: the first, last or other letters in a line spell out a particular
word or phrase.
• Cinquain: a verse of five lines that do not rhyme.
• Diamante: poem that makes the shape of a diamond.
• Haiku: a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided
into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.
• Limerick: humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second,
and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and
having the same verbal rhythm
• Tanka: similar to a haiku but has two additional lines.
Acrostic Poem Example
Cinquain Poem Example
Diamante Poem Example
Haiku Poem Example
Limerick Poem Example
Tanka Poem Example
Poetry Book:
• Author: Shel Silverstein
• Title: Where The Sidewalk Ends
• Genre: Children’s Poetry
• Age Range: 4-8 years
• Synopsis: Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings
stretches the bounds of imagination and will be cherished by readers of all
ages.
• Questions:
• What type of poetry does Shel Silverstein write?
• What is the message in the poem “Sick”?
• Personal Reaction:
Children’s Diversity Book
• Author: Lynea Gillen
• Illustrator: Kristina Swarner
• Title: Good People Everywhere
• Genre: Fiction, Diversity
• Age Range: 3-7 Years
• Synopsis: It provides a wonderful way to calm children before sleep, ease
their fears, and help them develop an appreciation for good work.
• Questions:
• Have you ever volunteered with your family?
• How could you help your community?
• Personal Reaction:
Young Adult Diversity Book:
• Author: Emily X.R. Pan
• Title: The Astonishing Color of After
• Genre: Paranormal Fiction, Diversity.
• Age Range: 12-17 years.
• Synopsis: Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet
her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to
find her mother, the bird.
• Questions:
• If you were adopted, would you search for your maternal parents?
• Judging from the cover, what do you assume will happen in this story?
• Personal Reaction:
Children’s Realistic Fiction
• Author’s: Ruhksana Khan
• Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
• Title: Big Red Lollipop
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• Age Range: 4-8 Years.
• Synopsis: Rubina has been invited to her first birthday party, and her mother,
Ami, insists that she bring her little sister along. Rubina is mortified, but she can't
convince Ami that you just don't bring your younger sister to your friend's party.
• Questions:
• Were you ever scared to bring your siblings to a party?
• Have your siblings ever embarrassed you?
• Personal Reflection:
Young Adult Realistic Fiction
• Author: Angie Thomas
• Title: The Hate U Give
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• Age Range: 14-17 Years
• Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood
where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between
these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend
Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
• Questions:
• Have you ever seen any imbalance in the news?
• How would you feel if your world came tumbling down?
• Personal Reaction:
• This book is very eye opening, even though it’s fictional. It makes you realize that everyone has different
views.
Children’s Historical Fiction
• Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Illustrator: Garth Williams
• Title: Little House on the Prairie
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Age Range: 8-12 years
• Synopsis: Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big
Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little
house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new
home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for
themselves and for their livestock
• Questions:
• Have you ever moved away?
• Do you go hunting with your family?
• Personal Reaction: This book is a classic that I used to read with my parents when I was younger, I
loved hearing the stories about the olden days.
Young Adult Historical Fiction
• Author: Gary Paulson
• Title: Soldier's Heart
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Age Range: 12-17 Years
• Synopsis: In June 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard enlisted in
the First Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15. He didn't know what a "shooting war"
meant or what he was fighting for. But he didn't want to miss out on a great
adventure.
• Questions:
• What have you learned about the Civil War so far?
• Who was president during the Civil War?
• Personal Reaction: This book was very enjoyable since I enjoy history so much.
Especially the Civil War era.
Children’s Science Fiction
• Author: Faith McNulty
• Illustrator: Steven Kellogg
• Title: If You Decide to Go to the Moon
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Age Range: 4-8 Years
• Synopsis: It’s a wonderful combination of poetry and science: they boy must prepare
properly, spend two and a half days in a ship, contemplate the immensity of space,
bounce around the moon’s airless, waterless grey surface, and find a way to get home.
• Questions:
• If you were given the opportunity to go to the Moon, would you go?
• What would you bring to the Moon?
• Personal Reaction: This is a nice book that could help introduce young students to outer
space.
Young Adult Science Fiction
• Author: Madeline L’Engle
• Title: A Wrinkle In Time
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Age Range: 11-15 Years
• Synopsis: Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (one of the most
popular boys in school) journey through time and space in search of Meg's father, a scientist who
disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem. What's a
tesseract? It's a wrinkle in time—but to say any more about the subject would rob the reader of
the enjoyment of Madeleine L'Engle's unusual and enchanting book.
• Questions:
• What do you think the phrase “A Wrinkle in Time” means?
• What do you think a Tesseract is?
• Personal Reaction: This book is amazing! I remember reading it with my 3rd grade teacher in
elementary school. We were just amazed at the story that enfolded.
Children’s Fantasy Books
• Author: Roald Dahl
• Illustrator: Quentin Blake
• Title: Matilda
• Genre: Fantasy
• Age Range: 8-12 Years
• Synopsis: Matilda is a genius. Unfortunately, her family treats her like a dolt. Her crooked car-
salesman father and loud, bingo-obsessed mother think Matilda's only talent is as a scapegoat for
everything that goes wrong in their miserable lives. But it's not long before the sweet and
sensitive child decides to fight back. Faced with practical jokes of sheer brilliance, her parents
don't stand a chance.
• Questions:
• Does your family ever treat you differently?
• Do you ever want to fight back against how people treat you?
• Personal Reaction: Honestly, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I did the movie. But it’s still a
good read for younger students.
Young Adult Fantasy Book:
• Author: Rebecca Schaffer
• Title: Not Even Bones
• Genre: Fantasy
• Age Range: 14-17 Years
• Synopsis: Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on
the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve
been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides
she wants out — dissecting living people is a step too far.
• Questions:
• Do you ever think something is taken too far in society?
• Would you want to dissect a specimen?
• Personal Reaction: This book was just confusing to me. I didn’t get into it as I did
other books. But it was still enjoyable as it was.
Children’s Mystery Book:
• Author: Rick Riordan
• Title: Maze of Bones
• Genre: Mystery
• Age Range: 9-12 Years
• Synopsis: Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone
from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39
clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to
assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important:
hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents.
• Questions:
• What would you do if your family history was lost?
• Would you want to find out what happened to your parents if they go missing?
• Personal Reaction: I read this book with a 5th grader at my house. She enjoyed it more than I did.
It was enjoyable at some parts, but kind of dragged on in others.
Young Adult Mystery Book:
• Author: John Green
• Title: Paper Towns
• Genre: Mystery
• Age Range: 14-17 Years
• Synopsis: When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—
dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s
always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving
Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished.
Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.
• Questions:
• Would you follow any random clues you found if you could?
• What do you think the title “Paper Towns” mean?
• Personal Reaction: I’m confused. The book went into way too many different areas and just made
my head hurt.
Children’s Folk Tale
• Author: Verna Aardema
• Illustrators: Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
• Title: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
• Genre: Folk Tale
• Age Range: 5-8
• Synopsis: Mosquito tells a story that causes a jungle disaster,
• Questions:
• Have you ever told an over-exaggerated story?
• Why would Mosquito tell a disastrous story?
• Personal Reaction: It seemed kind of creepy to me from the cover, but it
taught a good lesson at the end.
Young Adult Folk Tale:
• Author: Stefani Christova
• Title: Eve Anon
• Genre: Folktale
• Age Range: 18 Years
• Synopsis: Evgenia, a strong-minded and beautiful girl, spends the summer in Bulgaria. There, she
finds herself courted by two zmay—supernatural beings from the local folklore. Both of them are
stunningly handsome and powerful beyond imagination. Both of them promise her the world.
However, their intentions are not as forthright as she is led to believe, and soon the love story
turns into a nightmare.
• Question:
• Would you spend the summer in a different country?
• What would you do if you found supernatural beings?
• Personal Reaction: I didn’t really like this book as much as I thought I would. It seemed cool from
the beginning with the supernatural part, but it kind of pushed that to the side with the romance.
Children’s Graphic Novel:
• Author: Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm
• Title: Queen of the World! (Babymouse #1)
• Genre: Graphic Novel
• Age Range: 7-10 Years
• Synopsis: It's the same thing every day for Babymouse. Where is the glamour? The
excitement? The fame?!? Nothing ever changes, until…Babymouse hears about Felicia
Furrypaws's exclusive slumber party. Will Babymouse get invited? Will her best friend,
Wilson, forgive her if she misses their monster movie marathon?
• Questions:
• Have you ever been nervous about not being invited anywhere?
• Why would Babymouse want something different in her life?
• Personal Reaction: I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES. I read these books at my practicum setting.
They’re so enjoyable and the drawings are adorable.
Young Adult Graphic Novel:
• Author: Atlus
• Illustrator: Shuji Sogabe
• Title: Persona 3, Volume 1
• Genre: Graphic Novel (Manga)
• Age Range: 13-16 Years
• Synopsis: Between one day and the next, inserting itself into reality at midnight, sits the Dark Hour. Few
know about this special time that separates humans from the dangerous creatures known as Shadows. It is
here that a group of students finds the ability to summon their inner selves - their "Personas" - to do battle
with the Shadows before they can consume the minds of humanity.
• Questions:
• Do you believe that we have a “inner self” inside of us? If so, what would yours look like.
• How would you feel if you were able to visit the Dark Hour?
• Personal Reaction: Okay, so I’ve played the game that this book is based on. It goes through a lot that you
have to pay attention to. But I’ve loved the series since it first came out so I atleast understood what’s going
on.
Nonfiction Definitions
• Autobiography: an account of a person's life written by that person.
• Biography: an account of someone's life written by someone else.
• Informational: relating to or characterized by facts about something;
providing information.
• Essay: a short piece of writing on a particular subject.
• Narrative: a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.
Children Autobiography Books
• Author: Raina Telgemeier
• Title: Smile
• Genre: Autobiography
• Age Range: 9-12 years
• Synopsis: Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips
and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with
on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth
attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy
confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.
• Questions:
• Have you ever hurt your mouth?
• How did you think Raina felt hurting herself infront of all of her friends? Have you ever felt this way?
• Personal Reflection: I’ve read this series in middle school. It was really enjoyable and funny at the
same time.
Young Adult Autobiography:
• Author: Elie Weisel
• Translator: Marion Weisel
• Title: Night
• Genre: Autobiography
• Age Range: 14-18 Years
• Synopsis: Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant
autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new
translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal
memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent
• Questions:
• What do you think the author meant by calling this “Night”?
• Would you be willing to visit a Nazi Camp to experience what the author had to go through?
• Personal Reflection: This autobiography is AMAZING. It goes into many details that most
holocaust autobiographies just cant portray.
Children’s Biography Book
• Author: Mordicai Gerstein
• Title: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
• Genre: Biography
• Age Range: 5-8 Years
• Synopsis: In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the
World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a
quarter mile in the sky. This picture book captures the poetry and magic of the event with a
poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely paintings that present the detail, daring, and--in two
dramatic foldout spreads-- the vertiginous drama of Petit's feat.
• Questions:
• Why do you think Philippe risked his life to walk between the towers?
• Would you ever try to tightrope if given the chance?
• Personal Reflection: This book just makes me sad a little, the beauty of the Twin Towers is
portrayed brilliantly in this story that focuses on the walk. Not on 9/11.
Young Adult Biography Book
• Author: Carolyn McKinstry
• Title: While the World Watched
• Genre: Biography
• Age Range: 16 and up
• Synopsis: On September 15, 1963, a Klan-planted bomb went off in the 16th Street Baptist Church
in Birmingham, Alabama. Fourteen-year-old Carolyn Maull was just a few feet away when the
bomb exploded, killing four of her friends in the girl’s restroom she had just exited. It was one of
the seminal moments in the Civil Rights movement, a sad day in American history . . . and the
turning point in a young girl’s life.
• Questions:
• Have you heard anything about this bombing before?
• The youngest of the girls killed was 12 years old, how do you think the world reacted to this heinous crime?
• Personal Reflection: I first heard of this book in 7th grade, and have always wanted to read it since.
I’ve had prior knowledge of this bombing from the documentary “4 Little Girls”. And I’ve been
interested in this ever since.
Children’s Informational Book
• Author: Russell Freedman
• Title: Lincoln: A Photogiobraphy
• Genre: Informational
• Age Range: 10-13 years
• Synopsis: Russell Freedman begins with a lively account of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, his career
as a country lawyer, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the author focuses on the
presidential years (1861 to 1865), skillfullly explaining the many complex issues Lincoln grappled
with as he led a deeply divided nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter is a moving
account of that tragic evening in Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. Concludes with a sampling of
Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln historical sites.
• Questions:
• What president was Abraham Lincoln?
• Do you know any important acts that he initiated?
• Personal Reaction: This is a neat light into the life of our 16th president.
Young Adult Informational Book
• Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
• Title: Nine, Ten: A September 11th story.
• Genre: Informational
• Age Range: 8-12 years
• Synopsis: Ask anyone: September 11, 2001, was serene and lovely, a perfect day—until a
plane struck the World Trade Center.
But right now it is a few days earlier, and four kids in different parts of the country are
going about their lives. Sergio, who lives in Brooklyn, is struggling to come to terms with
the absentee father he hates and the grandmother he loves.
• Questions:
• What year did this event happen?
• Why do you think this event was a big deal. Something that we still remember to this day?
• Personal Reaction: I LOVE THIS BOOK. I’ve had the experience to visit the memorial and
museum of 9/11 and absolutely loved it.
Children’s Narrative Book
• Author: Susan Hood
• Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport
• Title: Ada’s Violin
• Genre: Narrative
• Age Range: 4-8 Years
• Synopsis: Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing
the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music
teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he
made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave
Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world,
spreading their message of hope and innovation.
• Questions:
• Can you play the violin?
• Would you join the orchestra if given the opportunity?
• Personal Reaction: This book seems interesting for those who enjoy music. I used to play violin as a child and
just never got into it.
Young Adult Narrative Book
• Author: Helen Keller
• Title: The Story of My Life
• Genre: Biography/Narrative
• Age Range: 13-18 years
• Synopsis: The extraordinary account of Helen Keller's struggle to overcome
the challenges of being deaf and blind--a masterpiece of modern
biography.
• Questions:
• Have you ever overcome any challenges?
• How long do you think it took Helen to learn how to speak?
• Personal Reaction: I read this book in High School, I enjoyed it. But it never
stuck in my mind.
Free Choice Book
• Author: Naoko Takeuchi
• Title: Sailor Moon, Volume One
• Genre: Graphic Novel (Manga)
• Age Range: 14-18 years
• Synopsis: Usagi Tsukino is a normal girl until she meets up with Luna, a talking cat, who
tells her that she is Sailor Moon. As Sailor Moon, Usagi must fight evils and enforce
justice, in the name of the Moon and the mysterious Moon Princess. She meets other
girls destined to be Sailor Senshi (Sailor Scouts), and together, they fight the forces of
evil!
• Questions:
• Who’s your favorite character so far?
• Would you ever befriend a talking cat?
• Personal Reaction: I loved this series as a kid, and now I can reread it again and have that
same enjoyment as before.