This is a great book because many children can relate to it.

To view an annotated bibliography of this title written for EDLI200, expand the spoiler entry below:


Categories/Genres:
Picture Book
Fantasy Fiction
Dark Fiction
ICDL- International Children’s Digital Library

Estimated age level of interest:
Lower Grades

Estimated reading level:
Grade 3

Brief description:
A little girl who has lost her parents feels unloved by the world, so she builds herself a tower to live in and befriends many wondrous animals who visit her.

At least 2 characteristics of this genre and subgenre and how they appear in this book:
In picture books, the illustrations “convey, enhance, and extend the meaning behind the story” (Huck textbook). Design choices are made with intention to achieve this goal. One important element of design is color, which can be used to suggest or elicit particular emotions. Aside from the use of gray, the illustrations in this book are entirely monochromatically rendered in shades of blue. Given the somber themes explored in the book, the choice of blue is exceedingly appropriate and further conveys the sense of sadness experienced of the protagonist.

Good picture books avoid oversimplification of language because the authors understand that while young children may not be able to read complex sentences on their own, they are able to understand them and will often have picture books read to them by an adult. This book includes several lengthy sentences on most pages and often utilizes words that are more complex than a very young reader would likely be able to decipher alone. Also, the content of the book explores some really complex and challenging emotional material that would greatly benefit from adult guidance at the time of reading.

In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience?
I wish I could say this book provided a sense of hope and reassurance to children without parents. That is what my initial expectation was when I began reading it. However, the little girl who lost her parents and feels so very lonely does not find love and warmth by the end of the story. Instead, she shuts out the world to live in solitude, obsesses over the memories of her mother that still linger, and, eventually, “climbs a staircase into the sky” to be with her mother again… Perhaps I am misjudging how this book would be received by children (online reviews by 8-10 year olds seems to indicate that most of them thought this was a happy ending), but to me this seems like a pretty blunt metaphor for the girl having died after a short, sad, lonely life, which does not provide the message of hope and perseverance I had anticipated. I suppose, with scaffolding from a teacher or another adult, this book could be used to broach the subject of life and death or to provide representation in a library collection for children who grow up without their biological parents, but I would be a little concerned about what message a young reader might take away from it.

Awards, if any:
Grigor Vitez Award 2003

Links to published, professional reviews, if any:
None

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In my opinion I think this books is not a good book. I think the language was descriptive it was also very confusing. The wording and phrasing of the book seemed unnatural at points, as if almost the person who wrote was not fluent or proficient in English. For example on page 12, “It carried its house on its back. It was the only one who lived in that house. From time to time a clouds would fly through the house. The girl happily waved her hand at the snail.” This is a good example of how the author jumbles multiple ideas together in addition to unclear language, which makes the flow very awkward. Additionally, in the beginning of the story the author refers to Cinderella and makes this book seem as if it is her Cinderella tale, yet there are no similarities between the two stories. Another aspect of this book that was confusing was the writing. Often the author made comparisons or used references that did not fit it or add to the story. This is evident in the author’s reference to “Alice in Wonderland”. In addition to the confusing references, I think the concept is also very confusing. At the end of the story “The girl went through the door and climbed the stairs. No one has ever seen her again”. I think this was very confusing because it seemed as if the little girl committed suicide. If this is what the author meant to hint at, I think it is very inappropriate for a child to read. Overall, the main message of this book is to accept lost ones death and to not dwell on the negative things in life. ( )

A creative story about how a girl overcomes her loneliness and missing her mother.

Can help students who are dealing with loss of a parent to see the bright in the world. ( )

1. Summary & Comments: 高い塔に１人で住んでいる少女は母親との再会を願うが、母親が昔読んだ話に出てくる動物たちが現れ、母親との思い出を少しずつ思い出す。５歳のころに両親を亡くした作者自身の心情を照らし合わせたような話。
2. Line or Phrase: Nobody has ever seen her again.
3. Number of words: about 1500
4. Reading time: 25min ( )