Hot on
the Scent by Peter Lind
Text
1. The text of a children's book is usually organized into
simple sentences and short paragraphs. How is the text organized in the book
that you have chosen to review? Explain whether this organization was
sufficient for the story that this book is telling.
I chose a
wordless picturebook to review. Since
there are no words to read aloud, additional time must be provided for students
to explore the images in greater detail (Serafini, pg. 112, 2014). There isn’t any text organization within the
book other than on the cover page.
Reading the title and any information provided on the book jacket or
author-illustrator note can help students prepare for the visual narrative
within (Serafini, pg. 112, 2014).
2. Children's book authors often employ literary tools to help
make the story more vivid in the readers minds. Commonly used literary tools
are rhythm, alliteration, repetition, refrains, onomatopoeia, simile,
personification, rhyme, and imagery. Identify three different areas in the text
where a literary tool has been employed. For each example you identify, state
the type of literary tool that is used and how the employment of the tool helps
support the story.
Repetition- The little mouse’s picture
is on every one of the stories pages, and he is repeatedly faced with obstacles
along his trail of tracking where exactly this good aroma is coming from.
Personification- The mouse is
portrayed as a human wearing clothing, having a wife and kids, and sitting at a
table eating dinner with his family.
Imagery- This is what this story is
all about, pictorial images. The 27 images
are sequenced to tell a story even without words. The images illustrate that the little mouse
is “Hot on the Scent” and it turns out to be aroma of his wife cooking dinner.
3. Identify two areas in the text that use a question or other
device to help move the reader to the next page.
There isn’t text in the story but the pictures lead you to
wonder what will happen next. Such as,
when the mouse almost falls off the rocks and is stopping on his heels. Does he stop or did he fall? It makes you curious to flip the page!
Images
1. Some picture books have an image on the front cover that
presents the main conflict or point of the story. Identify two or more elements
from the front cover of the book you are reviewing and explain how they relate to
the story.
The front cover has the main character of the story, a mouse,
sitting on a rock. This tells me that
maybe the mouse is hot on the scent for some acorns since he’s holding one, or
possibly something is hot on the scent for him?
The background looks like the mouse is out in the wilderness so it makes
me curious to what scent the mouse smells or what smells him?
2. What is the primary medium (collage, drawings, photographs,
etc.) used in the images?
The primary medium used in the story was drawings. All of the images used were drawn by Bente
Bech.
3. Identify the image that in your opinion is the most effective
in developing the story as a whole. Explain how two or more elements in the
illustration help support and develop the story. If you can, insert a
screenshot of the image into your blog.
I think the third image in the story is the most effective in
developing the story. The mouse almost
falls off a rock cliff and has to figure out a way across. He chews down a tree and makes his way across. I think this shows he is very determined to
find where exactly this scent is coming from.
4. Identify two elements that are repeated throughout a majority
of the images. Explain how these elements support the story. If you can insert
a screenshot into your blog.
The mouse is continually faced with challenges and obstacles throughout
the story. He almost falls off a cliff,
he falls in a mole’s hole, he almost gets scooped up by a shovel, eaten by a
vulture, caught by a cat, washed down a waterfall, and caught in a spider’s
web.
5. Find an example of how the images and text work together to
create irony,metaphor and/or metonymy. If you can insert a screeenshot of the
image into your blog.
I think the mouse crawling up the cat’s
tail and back would be classified as irony.
Characterization
1. What is the easily identifiable dominant trait of the story's
main character?
He is a very intelligent and determined mouse.
2. Identify a character trait of the main character that is
established through the text.
There isn’t text to establish and identify any character traits
of the mouse.
3. Identify a character trait of the main character that is
established through the images.
The images establish that he is a husband and father of mice
that live in the roots of a tree.
4. Identify two
character traits of the main character that young children identify or
sympathize with.
By the expressions on his face in a lot of the images he is
scared. Children can relate to being
scared in uneasy situations. Also, he is
happy when he gets home to his family.
Children can relate to being happy when they are at home with their
families.
5. What was the main problem that the main character faces in
the book? How is this problem similar to a problem that most children have
faced before?
The main problem of the story was all the obstacles the mouse
faces trying to find where the scent was coming from. Sometimes children are chased and
scared. Sometimes children are frightened
by birds, cats, and water. The little
mouse makes it home and is happy to see his family. Most children are happy to get home and see
their families!
6. Sometimes a children's book character will solve the main
conflict on his or her own. How did the character in the book you selected turn
to self-reliance to solve the main conflict of the story?
The mouse ran fast, chewed down trees
to cross over the deep trench, and ran away from a vulture and a cat to save
himself to get to find out the scent he had been tracking was his wife cooking
him and his children dinner!
