The Chronicles of Narnia has been quite a hit with The Barracuda. It was a long shot. Usually favorite books up to this point have had some kind of talking animals. To the Barracuda's defense, he has mainly only been exposed to books with talking animals except for Tom Sawyer which was an abysmal failure (Mom's love for the boy in the book did not win out over "talking funny.")
It took about five days for us to read all of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Talking about the book as a whole, finding the important parts, figuring out what to draw the pictures of took another 2 days. Each picture was discussed as if it were a paragraph of an essay. He had to tell me the characters, setting, and main points, then provide a transition statement to the next picture. I helped a bit with fixing all the pronouns. At first there were many 'theys','its','theres', but after a question or two he was able to get the idea of a personal narrative and the captions went much smoother. As for the pictures, he had to decide what to draw, the order to put them in, and then what "distinguishing features" each person/creature would have.
So without further ado, here is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe according to The Barracuda.
"In the empty room at the Professor's house the kids go into the wardrobe and they find Narnia. They see the lamp post and meet a Faun who becomes captured by the White Witch. They decide to find Mr. Tumnus and help him. A beaver leads them through the woods to his house."
"The kids ate dinner with the Beaver's. Edmund sneaks away to the Witch's castle to tell her Aslan is coming. The Beavers and the kids set off to find Aslan and meet him at the Stone Table."
"Along the way to the Stone Table they meet Santa. Santa gives them presents for the battle. He gives Peter a sword and shield. He gives Susan a horn and arrows. He gives Lucy healing potion. Now they can survive the battle. Santa coming means it is Christmas and the Witch is losing her power. Aslan has come and the Queen (Witch) is losing. She makes it Winter, but never Christmas." This was the Barracuda's favorite part! Although he couldn't decide if he would rather have arrows or a sword, he definitely wanted the shield.
"By the time they reach the Stone Table it is Spring. The Witch comes to talk to Aslan. He wants to keep Edmund since he was a traitor. Aslan trades his own life for Edmund and the Witch tries to kill Aslan. He comes back to life and the Stone Table breaks in two pieces. Susan and Lucy are happy and play. Aslan and the girls go free the Witches statues and Mr. Tumnus."
"Aslan, the kids, and freed statues fight the White Witch and all the monsters at the Stone Table for control over Narnia. The kids win and the Witch dies." This was the Barracuda's favorite picture to draw. If you notice all the kids have their various presents.
"The kids are now adults and Kings and Queens of Narnia. They are riding in the woods. They see the light post and go to explore. They wind up going back through the wardrobe and come out in the same room with their old clothes on." The Barracuda was less fascinated by the fact their age changed back to children. He was completely fixated on their clothes changing. Apparently the changing of clothing is much more magical than the losing of a decade in age.
For Father's day the Barracuda drew pictures and wrote the stanzas for "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. It is his father's favorite poem. We framed it and it hangs in his dad's classroom. (Jules teaches high school English.) This is one of my favorite books, we might frame these and hang them in the hallway at home.
It took about five days for us to read all of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Talking about the book as a whole, finding the important parts, figuring out what to draw the pictures of took another 2 days. Each picture was discussed as if it were a paragraph of an essay. He had to tell me the characters, setting, and main points, then provide a transition statement to the next picture. I helped a bit with fixing all the pronouns. At first there were many 'theys','its','theres', but after a question or two he was able to get the idea of a personal narrative and the captions went much smoother. As for the pictures, he had to decide what to draw, the order to put them in, and then what "distinguishing features" each person/creature would have.
So without further ado, here is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe according to The Barracuda.
"In the empty room at the Professor's house the kids go into the wardrobe and they find Narnia. They see the lamp post and meet a Faun who becomes captured by the White Witch. They decide to find Mr. Tumnus and help him. A beaver leads them through the woods to his house."
"The kids ate dinner with the Beaver's. Edmund sneaks away to the Witch's castle to tell her Aslan is coming. The Beavers and the kids set off to find Aslan and meet him at the Stone Table."
"Along the way to the Stone Table they meet Santa. Santa gives them presents for the battle. He gives Peter a sword and shield. He gives Susan a horn and arrows. He gives Lucy healing potion. Now they can survive the battle. Santa coming means it is Christmas and the Witch is losing her power. Aslan has come and the Queen (Witch) is losing. She makes it Winter, but never Christmas." This was the Barracuda's favorite part! Although he couldn't decide if he would rather have arrows or a sword, he definitely wanted the shield.
"By the time they reach the Stone Table it is Spring. The Witch comes to talk to Aslan. He wants to keep Edmund since he was a traitor. Aslan trades his own life for Edmund and the Witch tries to kill Aslan. He comes back to life and the Stone Table breaks in two pieces. Susan and Lucy are happy and play. Aslan and the girls go free the Witches statues and Mr. Tumnus."
"Aslan, the kids, and freed statues fight the White Witch and all the monsters at the Stone Table for control over Narnia. The kids win and the Witch dies." This was the Barracuda's favorite picture to draw. If you notice all the kids have their various presents.
"The kids are now adults and Kings and Queens of Narnia. They are riding in the woods. They see the light post and go to explore. They wind up going back through the wardrobe and come out in the same room with their old clothes on." The Barracuda was less fascinated by the fact their age changed back to children. He was completely fixated on their clothes changing. Apparently the changing of clothing is much more magical than the losing of a decade in age.For Father's day the Barracuda drew pictures and wrote the stanzas for "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. It is his father's favorite poem. We framed it and it hangs in his dad's classroom. (Jules teaches high school English.) This is one of my favorite books, we might frame these and hang them in the hallway at home.
Labels: English
Post a Comment