Claire's Literary Lounge

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gag, Wanda. (2024). Millions of cats . Neeland Media LLC. ISBN: 9781774646106 2. PLOT SUMMARY In the first picture book written by an American author, Wanda Gag tells the story of an old woman who longed for a cat, so her husband set out on a journey to find the prettiest one just for her. He ended up with more cats than they could handle, and the cats ended up turning on each other. In the aftermath, they found one scrawny kitten that they fed and nurtured back to health. That kitten ended up turning into the prettiest cat of them all. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Gag told the cautionary tale of what could go wrong when having an over abundance of one thing. The old man in the story kept trying to find the prettiest cat, but ended up with "hundreds, thousands, billions, millions, and trillions" of them. Like in most tales of warning, the consequences at the end were that all of the pretty cats killed each other leaving one scraggly kitten alive. However, the old coup...

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Denise, Christopher. (2022). Knight Owl . Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316310628 2. PLOT SUMMARY In this story a little owl has dreams of becoming a knight. When knights start disappearing off the castle wall, the little owl signs up to join the guild. He's not the strongest, but he excelled as a student which earns him a post on the Knight's Night Watch. One night, he encounters a hungry dragon and, b eing clever, he persuades the dragon to have some  pizza instead of the owl himself for dinner. The  little owl befriended the dragon, the  disappearances stop, and he earns a great many friends from his  efforts. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Christopher Denise tells a story of overcoming obstacles and never giving up on personal dreams. The story of this little owl longing to be a knight teaches perseverance, courage, and friendship. The main character   saw an opportunity to make his dreams come true, and even though it was difficult at tim...

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Leung, Julie. (2023). The truth about dragons . Ill. by Hanna Cha. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 9781250820587 2. PLOT SUMMARY This story by Julie Leung is told from a mother's narrative. She is telling her son a bedtime story about himself going on a quest to learn the truth about dragons. He starts his journey in a forest where he meets an old woman and she tells him a truth about dragons. After hearing the woman's story, she sends the boy on his way to a different forest where he encounters another old lady who tells him a different version of the truth about dragons. The end concludes that he doesn't need to pick one or the other, but rather both can be true for him. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Leung's writing has a soft tone like that of a fairy tale. The vivid descriptions such as "Follow the brook as it winds through the gnarled groves," matches the softness of the story and the pictures. Some of the vocabulary might be more difficult for young...

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Willems, Mo. (2005). Knuffle Bunny: A cautionary tale . Walker Books.  ISBN: 9781844280599 2. PLOT SUMMARY In this "cautionary tale" by Mo Willems, he writes the story of Trixie, a young toddler, going to the laundromat with her father. Somewhere along the way, Trixie's prized possession Knuffle Bunny, a stuffed animal rabbit, got lost. He uses comedy to detail Trixie's mix of negative emotions upon realizing Knuffle Bunny is gone and her frustration with being unable to communicate the problem to her father, and wraps it all up with a happy reunion for Trixie.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Willems' writing is straightforward with simple sentences made for young readers. Written in the third person, the narrator is depicting a short glimpse into this family's world where a simple errand has gone awry. Willems uses large colorful speech bubbles to insert dialogue highlighting the passion and importance that the main character feels about the issue of l...