Family Forest
Written by Kim Kane and illustrated by Lucia Masciullo, Family Forrest is about a boy narrating in first person narration a short story about his family. This book's narrative doesn't have a complication or resolution, but the story's shape is rather consistent as this young boy describes each of his family members, and finishes the story with a positive conclusion which leaves the readers feeling satisfied.
Family Forest is clever in the sense that most of the scenes in this book cover words or phrases that have double meanings, like for example when the boy describes that he has a 'half sister,' with the illustration provided with this sentence depicting only half his sister having been drawn on the page. This book begins to unlock to the young reader the meaning of certain words, and are aided by the use of the helpful illustrations to visually represent their meaning.
Hamish this sounds like a lovely book! It's interesting that it does not follow the typical narrative structure but still tells an important story. It is important for students to be able to describe the roles of the people in their lives, especially family. Students could maybe use this book as a guide to create their own family 'forest' or tree.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with your comment regarding the 'different' narrative structure. I think that it is important for students to understand that there is more than one way to create a story. Sophie, I also like the way you have suggested a possible activity that could be adapted for classroom use!
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