Sample Book Review and Requirements for Honors English 7

Journey by Aaron Becker

When a young girl is desperate for some attention from her family but they appear to be too wrapped up in their own lives to notice her, she draws herself into an imaginary land and can get herself out of any predicament with just a few lines drawn from a magical red crayon. But for older readers who look at this book and immediately make the connection to the classic picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon, there may be a surprise allusion for you later in the story.

Journey is an absolutely stunning, heart-skipping wordless picture book. It will make you gasp at its beauty and feats of imagination. It is probably my favorite wordless picture book of all time. What is so captivating about this picture book is the variety of influences you see in Becker's art, namely the Eastern influences, especially on the first full page spread where our protagonist enters the land of her imagination and you see paper lanterns strewn about the forest. But truly, this book can be summed up by reading Aaron Becker's biography on the back flap:
 
"Aaron Becker has made several memorable journeys in his lifetime. He's lived in rural Japan and East Africa, backpacked through Sweden and the South Pacific, and, most recently, ventured from San Francisco Bay to Amherst, Massachusetts, the town he and his wife, daughter, and lazy cat now call home. To this day, his favorite destination remains his imagination, where he can often be found drawing secret doorways and magic lanterns."

LOVE that. Especially because, despite the fact that the journey in this book is by that of a young girl, it still felt very much like a personal journey for the illustrator. So reading his bio at the end didn't surprise me at all. This book really is his journey. If you are a reader who likes books to take you on a journey, don't miss this gem of a story that proves a picture really is worth a thousand words. 

Book Review Assignment Requirements

Your book review must include:

·       A picture of the book cover at the top of your paper

·       Mention the title and author of the book in your title or first paragraph (italicized and capitalized properly)

·       A one paragraph summary of the book that does NOT give away the ending

·       One paragraph that gives your opinion of the book

·       Incorporates some sort of quoted evidence such as:

o   A quote from the book

o   Something the author has said about the book in an interview or on their website

o   Something another reviewer or critic has said about the book such as:

§  School Library Journal

§  Publishers Weekly

§  Kirkus Review

·       Also discusses some sort of literary elements in the story such as: characterization, similes and metaphors, static and dynamic characters, allusions, climax, rising action, exposition, etc.

Remember that the point of a book review is persuasion, whether that’s to read the book because it’s SO GOOD or not to read the book because it’s SO BAD. The best book reviews are for books you either loved or hated. Sometimes I read a scathing book review and want to read the book just to see if it’s as bad as the reviewer says it is. You know the old adage: all publicity is good publicity.

Due Date: December 12