Must support with examples from the story!Ĭover Art - Examine several books.
Inference - Have students guess which of the three Hardscrabble children is the narrator. Genre - Keep track of parts that make this realistic story seem like fantasy Plot Engagement: Propelled by mystery of Kneebone Boy, with foreshadowing hints of missing motherīelievability: Good, though Gothic and magical seeming, always within the realm of plausibilityĪwards: Nominated for Middle Grade CYBILS Award
Themes: Non-Traditional Family, Love, Acceptance, Mental IllnessĬharacter Development: Unique and Interesting Characters Genre: Magical Realism with Mystery, Adventure and Gothic too! Quirky, odd, charming, witty, affecting, weird: I’ll be waiting to hear more from the Hardscrabble children…… It’s the ability to look at a situation of normalcy with a magical eye that fascinates me, makes me want to readjust my own lens. For the same reason I shun mainstream media, I embrace those stories (and tellers) who see the world in a different slant, those who are able to impart a bit of magic into the mundane without throwing us into a fantastical world of escapism (don’t get me wrong, I like a good fantasy occasionally too). One thing I especially liked was The Kneebone Boy's genre defying uniqueness. And in rescuing him, they solve the mystery of their missing mother. They, of course, decide that they must rescue him. The children learn of a mysterious Kneebone Boy, locked away in a castle tower. Through a series of missteps, the siblings end up in the home of their maternal aunt. Hardscrabble is a portrait painter who travels frequently, returning with glorious tales of the royalty he meets. One of them is the narrator of the tale, though we wonderfully never get to know which. Max, the youngest, is a brainy boy, often deep in thought. She's quick-witted, daring, a bit controlling and understands Otto's invented language. He wears a scarf and communicates through an invented sign-language. He's is the oldest and has not uttered a word since he was eight, around the time his mother disappeared. I should have known this would be one of my favorite reads of 2010, just from that cover!
The ability to see the real world through a glimmering eye.
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