Contemporary Realistic Fiction Book Review: Emma

Emma

"She loved to sit and dream about the little village across the mountains where she grew up." - Emma

Author: Wendy Kesselman
Illustrator: Barbara Cooney

Publisher: Dell Publishing
Copyright Date: 1980

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Reading Level: Pre-K, Grades 1-3

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Cost: $9.88 (Amazon)

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Emma loves her family and always makes treats for them whenever they visit. While they are away, she feels very lonely with only her cat, Pumpkinseed, to comfort her. For her seventy-second birthday, her family gave her a painting of the village across the mountain where she used to live. She loved her village and dreams about it often, but the picture isn't how she remembers it, which makes her sad every time she looks at it. In this book, you will see what Emma does to bring joy to her life and to take away the loneliness that she feels.

Emma is a short book that could be used in the classroom to talk about favorite places. After reading the book, the students could think about their favorite place and draw a picture of it. Then the students could write a sentence or paragraph, depending on the age, about why the place they drew is special to them. The students could show the class their picture, then read what they wrote about it. This would be a fun activity to do at the beginning of the year to help the students get to know each other better, and to help the teacher get to know more about his or her students. 

Book Rating:

	★★★★★	★★★★	★★★	★★	★	COMMENTS
PLOT	Plot is well developed with all five elements of a good plot structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution).	Plot is developed, but lacking one of the five elements of plot structure.	This book has a decent plot, but is lacking two of the five elements of plot structure.	This book has a weak plot that is lacking three of the five elements of plot structure.	This book does not have a defined plot, and is lacking four or more of the five elements of plot structure.	★★★★★ I give Emma five stars for plot because, even though it is a short picture book, it contains all five elements of good plot structure.
CHARACTER	The characters are well developed, have personality, and are believable.	Characters are well rounded, but lack in personality or they are not totally believable.	Characters are somewhat developed, and lack in personality or they are not totally believable.	The characters are underdeveloped, lack in depth and are not believable.	The characters are not developed   so the readers cannot connect to the book.	★★★★★ I give Emma five stars for its characters. The main focus of the book is on Emma, so readers get a good grasp of who she is as an individual and what her personality is like, which makes her believable.
PACING	The story flows freely and is not rushed or slow.	The story moves freely for the most part, but there are a few spots where it feels rushed or slow.	The story moves freely for about half of the book, but the other half is rushed or slow.	The story often moves too fast or too slow and does not move freely.	There is no pacing in the story, which makes it difficult to read.	★★★★★ I give Emma five stars for pacing. This story is short, but it has a good plot line, which helps it flow freely throughout the book.

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