Title: Julia’s
House for Lost CreaturesAuthor / Illustrator: Ben Hatke
Publisher: Roaring Books Press
Year: 2014
Word Count: 362
____________________________
Summary
Julia, a resourceful redhead, lives in a rundown Victorian house that rest atop a giant tortoise. Once her house settles by the sea, Julia isn’t content to sit alone in a quiet house. So she opens a “House for Lost Creatures.” Beasts quickly arrive, including a patchwork kitty, a melancholy mermaid, and a variety of monsters. But Julia realizes that each creature must have a chore in order for everyone to live peacefully together.
Julia, a resourceful redhead, lives in a rundown Victorian house that rest atop a giant tortoise. Once her house settles by the sea, Julia isn’t content to sit alone in a quiet house. So she opens a “House for Lost Creatures.” Beasts quickly arrive, including a patchwork kitty, a melancholy mermaid, and a variety of monsters. But Julia realizes that each creature must have a chore in order for everyone to live peacefully together.
Story Element: Pacing
Spread 1: (Introduction)
Julia's house plops down. She gets to work heaving her mailbox into the ground. And waits.
Julia's house came to town and settled by the sea.
Spread 2:
Pace is effected by sentence length and the word and.
This changes to mood from peaceful to lonely.
Julia's house came to town and settled by the sea.
Spread 2:
Pace is effected by sentence length and the word and.
This changes to mood from peaceful to lonely.
That evening there was a warm fire and toast and tea.
And all the house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Spread 3:
Pace changes with her plan of action.
Pace changes with her plan of action.
So Julia ran to her workshop.
She got out her tools and her paints and went to work. She made a sign.
Spread 4:
Her plan works!
She hung the sign up outside the front door.
It said: Julia's House for Lost Creatures
And then she waited.
She didn't have to wait for long.
In the next 3 spreads, creatures show up at her door.
First just an odd looking cat, and then a line of creatures.
The growing number of guests causes increasing alarm.
There were SCRAPES, SCRATCHES, WHINES, BANGS, BARKS, and BELLOWS.
Her plan works!
She hung the sign up outside the front door.
It said: Julia's House for Lost Creatures
And then she waited.
She didn't have to wait for long.
In the next 3 spreads, creatures show up at her door.
First just an odd looking cat, and then a line of creatures.
The growing number of guests causes increasing alarm.
There were SCRAPES, SCRATCHES, WHINES, BANGS, BARKS, and BELLOWS.
In a
later Spreads:
Julia
is overwhelmed by her dirty guests. The pace turns frantic.
Soon
Julia's house was filling up
with
lost and homeless creatures
of
every description.
tea
and toast.
They
had ideas of their own.
They
spilled things and
they
didn't clean up.
And
THEN
the
troll found Julia's old record player.
"STOP!"
shouted Julia.
EVERYBODY
STOP!"
Then
Julia locks herself in her workshop.
After
a long time, she comes out with a new plan.
She
had created a Chore Chart for all to follow.
It
works!
A mix
of panel sequences, spot illustrations, and full-bleed spreads also push the
action forward.
(Post
#11 for the 14:14 Picture Book Blog Review Challenge created by Christie Wild
of Write Wild. http://christiewrightwild.blogspot.com)
This is a great post to illustrate a variety of ways to set up pacing. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really fun PB.
DeleteI too like the variety of pacing aspects...great review. Thanks Manju.
ReplyDeleteRoaring Brook Press has some of the best picture books around! Thanks for sharing this one!
ReplyDeleteRoaring Brook Press likes to be adventurous.
DeleteWhat a fun and lovely cover! Thanks for all the pacing tips in this one. Seems like one of the harder elements to teach.
ReplyDeleteI agree that PB pacing is tricky. I'm working on those page turns.
DeleteThis sounds like such a richly imaginative picture book! I saw another picture book recently with characters living on a turtle's back, called Turtle Island. How funny that two authors would each have that unusual idea.
ReplyDeleteNow, I'm curious. I'll have to read Turtle Island.
ReplyDeleteI like the story, the message, and the illustrations. Thumbs up on this one.
ReplyDelete