Analysis of The Children's Books of Robert Munsch: Stephanie's Ponytail Andrew's Loose Tooth and 50 Below Zero
Robert Munsch is known as a Children's author who writes books that appeal to both kids and adults. His universal appeal makes his books worth considering to determine how he achieves his effects. An analysis of three of Munsch's books will now be completed. These books are Stephanie's Ponytail, Andrew's Loose Tooth, and 50 Below Zero. All three of these books were illustrated by Michael Martchenko. By considering the technique, style, meaning, and humor, some effective techniques in Children's literature will be observed. The technique is similar in all three books, with all three storylines having a similar pattern. The technique is based on establishing repetition, providing a variation on the repetition, and then using the repetition that has been set up to conclude the story with a twist. In Stephanie's Ponytail, the repetition begins as Stephanie tells her mother that she wants a ponytail coming right out the back. When she goes to school with the ponytail, the other kids tell her it is ugly. Stephanie replies that she likes her ponytail. The next day, the other kids have a ponytail just like Stephanie's. This pattern repeats three times as Stephanie moves her ponytail from behind her head, to the side of her h
As the story continues, the technique changes. This occurs as the author provides variations on the repetition. In all three books, this occurs after three cycles of close repetition. In Stephanie's Ponytail, the changing act is when she goes to school with the ponytail in front of her face. While the events were following a close pattern, this event changes the pattern as the resulting events are different. In the other cases, everyone just had the same hair as Stephanie. In this case, Stephanie walks into trees, cars, and houses on the way to school. At school, the students and the teacher walk into everything because nobody can see where they are going and three girls go into the boys' toilet by mistake. It is important to note that this expansion of the story occurs after the repetition has made the reader comfortable. It is also important to note that this variation creates a lot of the humor in the book. This is an effective technique because it is only after the reader has settled into the book that they are comfortable enough to enjoy the variation. The humor is also enhanced because the events are unexpected. This adds to the entertainment value of the book, enhances the storyline, and prevents the book from becoming so predictable that readers lose interest. The same technique is used in 50 Below Zero. As noted, a repeating pattern is established as Jason finds his father in various places in the house. The pattern is then broken when Jason looks for his father, finds the front door open, and has to search for his father outside. Rather than return his father back to his bed like before, Jason has to get his sled and pull his father home. Like in Stephanie's Ponytail, this expands the storyline by making the consequences of an event greater than they were earlier. This makes the book more interesting and prevents it from becoming too predictable. Variations on the repetition are also used in Andrew's Loose Tooth, but the variation is a little different. The change occurs when Andrew is taken to the dentist to have the tooth removed. This represents a shift in the story, since Andrew is now going beyond his parents for the solution. This shifts again as Andrew calls the Tooth Fairy for her help and then asks his friend Louis for help. Unlike the other two books, variation is added in several steps, rather than by one significant step. The purpose of the variation does remain the same, though, since it is used to expand the story, to create interest in the storyline, and to prevent the story from becoming too predictable. In this case though, the element of the variation that makes the difference is that the reader is no longer wondering what will be done next to remove the tooth, but is also wondering who Andrew will go to next for help. Finally, it is important to note that the shifts that occur in the middle of the book contribute to the ending of each book. The message about how capable children are is also reinforced by the way that all the characters in the book succeed in achieving their goals. Stephanie just wants a unique ponytail at the back of her head and this is the final result for her. Andrew just wants his loose tooth to come out and he finally finds a way to achieve that. Jason just wants his father to stop sleepwalking and he finally finds a way to achieve that. This communicates to children that they are capable of achieving their goals. At the same time, it tells children that if they want something, they must keep working at it. This includes not giving up when it seems difficult. This can be considered as an underlying theme in Munsch's books. The final important aspect of Munsch's book
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Approximate Word count = 2482
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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