Author and Illustrator: Ian Falconer
Genre: Easy Fiction
Lexile Level: AD270L
ISBN: 978-0689874727
Grades: k-1
Discussion:
The book Olivia has won the Caldecott medal and
for many good reasons. First, the text is very short and easy to understand.
The pace of the book is set up with slowly introducing Olivia to the reader.
First, we see a bunch of Olivia’s clothes scattered all over the place to prepare
us who we will be dealing with: someone who definitely likes a lot of
clothes. Then we have a picture of
Olivia with her black and white tights with a red dress and an introduction:
“This is Olivia. She is good at lots of things.” Next, we see that the pictures go hand in hand
with the text and even help to make sense of the words. If it wasn’t for
pictures, some phrases would sound totally different and a lot of context would
be missing. The book would have been read as a totally different book, I would
say. For example, when it casually says that when she gets home from the
museum, she gives it a try, (picture), we would have no idea that she “tried”
it on the wall and that’s why her mom had to give her a time-out if it wasn’t
for pictures. There are many more such instances where the pictures clarify the
text or add to it for a full effect. Ian
Falconer has a certain rhythm in his books: he never has long sentences but
instead and he is always successful in communicating what he means, which is important
with younger children especially. It’s
hard for children to listen to a long sentence, especially if it has big
unfamiliar words in it and Ian Falconer understood this wisdom as well. All of
his children’s books, including Olivia,
are phrased simply and meaningfully. The book makes you feel like you are a kid
again, with all your little fantasies and hobbies. Even though you see all of
Olivia’s trouble makings, you still love her. I remember this book back in 2010
I believe, I was still in college, getting my Bachelor’s in k-6 and they had a
children’s section. Little did I know that I will become a librarian and can
talk about this book again. I read it in my library and kids loved it too. It
still has that awesome feel to it, even after rereading it for the fifth time
probably.
If you
haven’t heard of Olivia yet, make
sure to check this book out. And now they have a cartoon for it too, on
YouTube. This adorable piggy has won many hearts with her honest kid phrases,
fantasies and her love for books. My two favorite parts from Olivia are: “Only five books tonight,
mommy” when she is going to sleep and when her mom gives her a kiss and says
“You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway. And Olivia gives her
a kiss back and says: I love you anyway too.”
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