Olivia Bean Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart
This book honestly portrays the realities of life for today’s children by including things such as tests in school, and a child feeling different and separate from the rest of her peers. This book illuminates problems and issues of growing up in today’s world such as having divorced parents, and taking care of siblings as well as housework while parents are working. The story transcends the contemporary setting and has universal implications. It mentions things that can be relatable to all children, such as having siblings, classmates, and next-door neighbors. The story mentions a student who gets frustrated by geography tests and who competes with one of her classmates for the highest grades. The characters in this book are convincing and credible to today’s child. As I read this book, I felt like I was in the story myself. The characters are realistic and resemble children today. The author avoids stereotyping by including a main character who is an intelligent female who watches Jeopardy! each night rather than cartoons, as well as an intelligent male character who dislikes baseball but loves academics such as geography. The book truly represents the experience of the American culture by including things such as trivia shows, parents that constantly have to work late nights to support their children, American sports such as baseball, and children who know facts about things such as fast-food documentaries.
This book honestly portrays the realities of life for today’s children by including things such as tests in school, and a child feeling different and separate from the rest of her peers. This book illuminates problems and issues of growing up in today’s world such as having divorced parents, and taking care of siblings as well as housework while parents are working. The story transcends the contemporary setting and has universal implications. It mentions things that can be relatable to all children, such as having siblings, classmates, and next-door neighbors. The story mentions a student who gets frustrated by geography tests and who competes with one of her classmates for the highest grades. The characters in this book are convincing and credible to today’s child. As I read this book, I felt like I was in the story myself. The characters are realistic and resemble children today. The author avoids stereotyping by including a main character who is an intelligent female who watches Jeopardy! each night rather than cartoons, as well as an intelligent male character who dislikes baseball but loves academics such as geography. The book truly represents the experience of the American culture by including things such as trivia shows, parents that constantly have to work late nights to support their children, American sports such as baseball, and children who know facts about things such as fast-food documentaries.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
This book honestly portrays the realities of life for today’s children by including a child who lost her mother as well as a child’s struggles of living with just her father who is still heartbroken about his wife’s death. The book illuminates problems and issues of growing up in today’s world by including things such as a girl bringing a stray dog home and almost having to give him up as well as a girl who faces many people that are filled with sadness and who lack hope. This story transcends the contemporary setting and has universal implications because it includes events that could happen not only in America but also in other countries such as the death of a family member and the feeling of loneliness that many of the characters in the book possess. The characters are convincing and credible to today’s child because they have relatable characteristics. The main character, Opal, is a young girl who finds a stray dog in her local Winn-Dixie supermarket. She visits realistic places such as a library, a church, and a pet store, and she does things many kids her age would do such as washing her dog and making friends with the people who live in her town. The author avoids stereotyping by including a main character who is a female that likes getting messy and adventuring around town with her dog, rather than a stereotypical female character who likes to keep clean and participate in more ladylike activities such as tea parties and sleepovers. This book truly represents the experience of the American culture depicted because it includes places such as Winn-Dixie as well as a small town atmosphere where everyone attends church and going against the norm is highly frowned upon.
This book honestly portrays the realities of life for today’s children by including a child who lost her mother as well as a child’s struggles of living with just her father who is still heartbroken about his wife’s death. The book illuminates problems and issues of growing up in today’s world by including things such as a girl bringing a stray dog home and almost having to give him up as well as a girl who faces many people that are filled with sadness and who lack hope. This story transcends the contemporary setting and has universal implications because it includes events that could happen not only in America but also in other countries such as the death of a family member and the feeling of loneliness that many of the characters in the book possess. The characters are convincing and credible to today’s child because they have relatable characteristics. The main character, Opal, is a young girl who finds a stray dog in her local Winn-Dixie supermarket. She visits realistic places such as a library, a church, and a pet store, and she does things many kids her age would do such as washing her dog and making friends with the people who live in her town. The author avoids stereotyping by including a main character who is a female that likes getting messy and adventuring around town with her dog, rather than a stereotypical female character who likes to keep clean and participate in more ladylike activities such as tea parties and sleepovers. This book truly represents the experience of the American culture depicted because it includes places such as Winn-Dixie as well as a small town atmosphere where everyone attends church and going against the norm is highly frowned upon.
References:
DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
Gephart, D. (2012). Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. New York: Delacorte Press.
DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
Gephart, D. (2012). Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. New York: Delacorte Press.