I felt so-so about the book. One thing I didn’t like about the book was that the paragraphs were kind of long and felt out of place with the artwork. The artwork is a very elaborate and detailed watercolor and it’s beautiful, but then you see the paragraph just kind of thrown onto the page in a harsh font. The artwork and the text do not mesh well together, in my opinion. However, I did like the story. I thought the story was very cute how in the end the tin soldier and the ballerina, even though the goblin tried to keep them apart, they still were able to be together. The main idea of the book is that no matter what happens, whatever is destined to be will happen in the end. ( )

The Steadfast Tin Soldier By: Hans Christian Anderson Retold By: Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated By Jen Corace
Summary
This book tells the tale of a one legged tin soldier who falls in love with a dancer. It tells of the many obstacles he encounters in his life. It tells of a goblin who tries to prevent the soldier and the dancer from being together. It tells of all the obstacles and adventures he must overcome. However, in the end the tin soldier and the dancer end up together forever.

Reaction
This book is written from the 3rd person point of view. The book’s setting goes from a toy room, to down a drain, to a sea full of fish, a kitchen, and to a fiery pit. The author uses similes throughout. The tale is one that shows children the importance of never giving up. It also tells that in life we will face obstacles, but if we persevere we can succeed. The illustrations of this book are cartoon like, however, they give you the view from a toys perspective. They allow their readers to be captured into the position of the tin soldier and dancer. This book shows that at times we have to accept our circumstances. However, at times these circumstances are not the end of the story. Throughout the book I am reminded that at every age we have obstacles to overcome but remaining steadfast allows us to overcome. The plot of this story is to not give up even in bad circumstances.
Extension
1. Ask children what obstacles they have overcome.
2. Have children say how they relate to the tin soldier.
3. Have children make a one legged soldier.
4. Have children write short story from point of view of dancer and goblin.
5. Have children make a web of obstacles soldier had and how he overcame them.
6. Give children words to look up such as steadfast, courage, challenge, magnificent, flattering, clumsy, and stumble. Have children then use words in a sentence. These words may be new to children. ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the bright and vivid illustrations enhance the story. The charcoal illustrations use bright colors to captivate the audience and provide students with an image as they follow along with the story. The illustrations enhance the text because it provides an image of an unusual and abstract story that the audience may have difficulty envisioning. The illustrations are detailed and realistic, making the illustrations an integral part of the story. I also like the language in the book. The language is descriptive. For example, the author writes, "However, just as he was adjusting himself to life in a fish, he was blinded by a great streak of light, and he felt himself being lifted up and put on a table. All around him there was great commotion, but he was so dizzy from his adventures that he could not understand what was happening. The soldier received a soapy bath. The soap so stung his eyes" (p. 23). The author uses descriptive language to appeal to the audience's five senses. By using the five senses, the author appeals to the audience and provides detailed descriptions throughout the story. Overall, the big idea of this book is determination, as the one-legged tin soldier finds his way back to his love, the ballerina. The story focuses on determination. ( )

REVIEW:
A one-legged toy soldier stands still in a toy room in his box with twenty-four of his fellow soldiers. From across the room, he spots a one-legged ballerina and he knows that they are meant to be. A goblin is aware of their connection and seeks to destroy their connection, so he knocks the soldier onto the floor, starting the soldier's misfortunate adventures; he sails down a river en route to an angry rat, gets eaten by a fish, and falls into a fire. In the end, the soldier finds his way back into the toy room, but this time, he stands right next to beautiful ballerina.

I really like the style of the writing in this book. It's very story-like in the sense that it sounds like the author is directly speaking to the audience. For example, I can sense this in the sentences, "He knew love was in the air. And being a goblin, he hated this" and "It is very hard to be dignified when one has landed upside down." The story is also written for an older elementary audience because of the higher vocabulary and because of the long sentence lengths. The illustrations (which are done in watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen and ink) are very detailed, adding another engaging dimension to the tale. The colors are also very bright, which match the tone of the story.

MEDIA: watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen and ink

GENRE: Fairy tale (Fantasy Fiction)
This book belongs to the fairy tale genre because it is a traditional storm from a Denmark tale written by Hans Christian Anderson (although the ending differs from the original). It is also a mystical, magical story that involves toys that have feelings, which contributes to the fantasy part.

USES:
(1) Students could write simple tales where inanimate objects (such as toys) take on human characteristics.
(2) Students could write adventure stories that follow a sequence of events, just as the toy soldier did in the story.

AGE APPROPRIATENESS: Upper elementary (3rd through 5th grade) ( )

traditional tale ( )