The+Legend+of+the+Blue+Bonnet

=Alyssa Couden= =__The Legend of the Bluebonnet__= Author & Illustrated by: Tomie DePaola

__ Bibliographic data: __

Reading level: Ages 4 and up Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: Puffin (April 16, 1996) Language: English ISBN-10: 0698113594 ISBN-13: 978-0698113596

__ Analysis of a literary element __ :

The main character in //The Legend of the Bluebonnet// was She-Who-Is-Alone. In the beginning of the book I thought she was weak. She-Who-Is-Alone was the protagonist in the story. For example, she said,“O Great Spirits, here is my warrior doll. It is the only thing I have from my family who died in this famine. It is my most valued possession. Please accept it.” When she gave up her doll, you can tell she was unselfish and courageous. The antagonist in this book was the setting because there was a drought. From this book, it is obvious that the main character has shown character growth. Her name changed from She-Who-Is-Alone to One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

__ Book Summary __ :

In //The Legend of the Bluebonnet// an Indian tribe is suffering from a drought and famine. A girl from the tribe, She-Who-Is-Alone has no family because they all passed away. The only thing she has left from her family is her doll. She sacrifices her doll, which is her most prized possession, in order for the spirits to forgive her tribe for being selfish. The next day the land is filled with beautiful flowers and it begins to rain. Then, she was given the name One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People from giving up her doll for her tribe.

__ Book Review: __ My opinion of //The Legend of the Bluebonnet// was that it is a wonderful book for children to read and it integrates literature and social studies. I enjoyed reading this book very much. I thought it was good because it teaches children that they sometimes have to make sacrifices and they can relate to them. I thought She-Who-Is-Alone was brave and it teaches children to be brave and unselfish. In addition, this book had beautiful illustrations. I would recommend this book to teachers to use in their classrooms not only because it is a great book, but because teachers can also do a lot of lessons and activities with it.

__ Author biography __ : Tomie DePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut on September 15, 1934. At an early age Tomie developed a love for books because his mother read to him everyday, and she also loved books. When he was younger he told everyone that he wanted to write stories and draw pictures for books when he grew up. After high school, Tomie attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where he practiced drawing for four years. Several years after graduating from Pratt, Tomie received a contract to illustrate //Sound//, a science book. In addition, more than 15 million copies of Tomie’s books have been sold worldwide and his books have been translated into almost 25 different languages. His books have been recognized for Caldecott Honor Awards, Newbery Honor Award, Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and many others. Furthermore, Tommie has illustrated roughly 250 books and written stories for more than 100 books for those illustrated ones.

__ Related Links __ :

__ http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/legend-bluebonnet-extension-activities __

__ Youtube video: __

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This is an image of bluebonnets. Bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas.