Isabella+Z

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<-- Noel Streatfeild, London: Orion Children's Books, 1936 __ Cathy Cassidy, England: Puffin Books, 2004 -->
Author: Noel Streatfeild || Modern – Title: Dizzy Author: Cathy Cassidy || **Petrova Fossil** - shy, can be a tomboy, into cars/mechanics **Posy Fossil** - talented, dedicated to dancing, immature **Sylvia/Garnie** - caring, easily worried, often stressed **Nana** - strict, wise, assertive **Great Uncle Matthew** - kind, loves to travel & collect things **Madame Fidolia** - stern, but has a soft side, hard to please || **Dizzy** - confident, curious about her mother, cares for her dad **Storm** - unreliable, fun, often careless **Dad** - principled, protective over his daughter, Dizzy **Finn** - mysterious, kind, mature **Mouse** - vulnerable, cheeky, lonely without his mother **Lucy** - sweet, loving, eager to be closer to Dizzy ||
 * Questions: || Classic – Title: Ballet Shoes
 * 1. Describe the time and place in which your novel is set. What clues within the book tell us this? || 1930's - mid 20th century in London - because the weather is normally cold and they visit Harrods often. The language is always very formal/proper and use words that aren't mentioned nowadays. They refer to dresses as "frocks" and to them, a "shilling" is worth a lot of money value. The children are relied on to work & make money for the family and there doesn't seem to be much technology except for typewriters & cars. || 2004 in Birmingham - because the characters say which cities they travel to and where their homes are. CD's, mobile phones and TV's are already invented. They also mention familiar bands such as Linkin Park, which are fairly recent. The language is informal and uses some slang instead of proper words. ||
 * 2. Who are the main characters in your book? List the names and a short description of their personality traits. || **Pauline Fossil** - very confident, loves to act, independent
 * 3. Describe the significant relationships between the main characters. || Pauline, Petrova & Posy are adopted sisters who are being looked after by Sylvia. She is the guardian of the three girls and the niece of Great Uncle Matthew. He is the man who rescued and then adopted the girls. Nana is Pauline, Petrova & Posy's nan/child minder who helped Sylvia raise them while Great Uncle Matthew was away. Madame Fidolia is a strict ballet teacher at the Stage Academy the sisters train at. She especially likes Posy for her beautiful dancing skills. || Dizzy is a 12 year old girl who lives with her caring, but very protective Dad. Storm is her mother, who left their family when Dizzy was 4. Finn is a teenage boy she meets and befriends when she goes to stay with Storm at the "hippy" camps and festivals. She also meets Mouse there - he is a young, troubled boy who is very lonely and misses his mother. ||
 * 4. Who is your favourite character and why? Or - Who is the character that you can most closely relate to and why? || My favourite character is Pauline Fossil because she is a very sweet, loving girl who is willing to do anything she can to help her family. She is very caring towards her younger sisters and loves them very much. She is also very considerate and generous, since she always wants to use the money she earns from working to help her family. I can relate to Pauline the most because I am also the oldest, and I understand how she has the need to be independent in order to contribute as much as she can to her family. I also understand why she feels very responsible and why she tries to set the best example for her siblings because I want to do the same for my brothers. || My favourite character is Storm, Dizzy's unreliable mother, because she if a very interesting woman who sees approaches life differently. However, she doesn't have completely positive personality traits and is a strange, poor and 'hippy-type' lady. She left Dizzy and her father a few years after Dizzy was born. This was quite an awful choice because she left her own daughter to travel around Europe with another man. She became a hippy, going to all sorts of strange festivals, always travelling around and living in an old, dusty mini van. ||
 * 5. Describe the style of language and literary devices that the author uses.

a) Find examples of; colourful adjectives, similes, metaphor, dramatic irony, etc..

b) Find a quote (with page number) for each example. || The language style that the author uses is very formal and proper. The words are old-fashioned and uncommonly used nowadays. The book contains many colourful adjectives and a few similes, but limited metaphors.

Old-fashioned Language - (pg. 88) ...at the rate of thirty shillings each for Pauline's and Posy's... (pg. 89) She was wearing an ugly brown velvet frock. (pg. 137) ...peered between the leaves at what was going on and thought it all very gay, and stopped wishing she was safely at home.

Similes - (pg. 1) "He's been," Pauline once said, "like the stork in the fairy-tale."

Colourful Adjectives - (pg. 6) "Petrova, who was a dark, sallow baby, very different from the golden-haired, pink-and-white Pauline" (pg. 89) It was plainly made, with a white collars and white cuffs, and a tight bodice with rows of buttons down the back. (pg. 89) She has a clever, interesting face, and long, but rather colourless, brown hair. (pg.68) ...a jade-green satin frock and a black velvet bodice and white blouse and apron under her scarlet cloak. || The language style that the author uses is modern and casual. It is very much like the way we speak today. The book contains many colourful adjectives and barely any similes or metaphors.

Colourful Adjectives - (p. 40) A small boy; mousy, colourless, follows behind... (p. 40) A tall man... tanned and lean with frizzy hair, flecks of gold stubble on his chin and eyes like chips of green ice. (p. 45) ...curls of soft green bracken and my boots crunch twigs, squelch into damp, mossy hollows. (p. 69) ...his face painted with dozens of curling green leaves, dark, mossy, dreadlocked hair.flopping forwards across blue-grey eyes. ||
 * 6. Is your book an example of ‘classic’ or‘modern’ literature? You must use evidence to back up your stance. For example; has your book stood the‘test of time’? Are there theme’s that will transcend time? || My book is a classic piece of literature. It has stood the test of time because it is still published and being read today. A movie based on the book has also been made. The book has many themes that will definitely transcend time, such as:

Sisterhood - the bond between the three sisters is very strong and interesting. The Arts - the book contains subjects of dance (ballet) and acting in famous plays. Growing Up - coming of age sub-themes, such as gaining independence are shown in the story. Family Relationships - the story focuses on the life of a family that suffers through losing money and the struggles of trying to make money to keep them together. || My book is a modern piece of literature. It hasn't stood the test of time yet and I doubt it will because it was published only a few years ago, in 2004 and is still not very popular. The themes may transcend time, for they are common in many other books.

Relationships - Dizzy shares a strong bond between her father, who raised her on his own. She tried to develop a relationship with her mother, Storm who she first met on her 12th birthday. Independence - Dizzy goes to stay with her mother for a while, she gains independence because she has to look after herself. Her dad would usually watch out for her, but he wasn't around and Storm didn't seem to look after her much. || Describe your feelings towards the novel. Did you enjoy it, why or why not? Did you find it easy to get into? Did you like it the more that you read it? Would you read more books by the same author, or of a similar genre? || **Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild** is about the lives of three adopted sisters named Pauline, Petrova and Posy.It is set in the 1930's - mid 20th century in London, England.The genre is a narrative and the main themes in the story were sisterhood, family relationships, coming of age/growing up and the Arts.
 * 7. After reading the book, write a short note to a friend describing the book. Include a description of the genre, setting and difficulty level. You need to also include the following information; What were the main themes in the book? What was the central conflict? How was it resolved?

Although the book had several problems, the main one was that the family was running out of money and they had to find a way to care for themselves. This problem was solved by the children, because they agreed to train at a stage academy, where they learnt how to perform in order to earn money to keep the family together. They also had to take in boarders into their large home, and almost had to sell their house in order to make more money.

I felt very curious about what would happen to the family while reading this novel because the sisters had a very close bond even though none of them were related. It was interesting to see how they dealt with the daily challenges like growing out of clothes and having to use hand me downs from the oldest sister. They had to find proper education because their school was only focused on performing - dancing/acting.

I really enjoyed this book because I am interested in the subject of the Arts and sisterhood. I could also relate to this book because one of the themes was family relationships and there were some similarities to my family. There was also the theme of growing up/coming of age, which I can understand because I am also growing up and will soon be reaching an age where I, too have to be more independent. I found this book easy to get into because the minute you start reading, you just can't wait to read about the three girls' interesting family. I definitely liked it the more I read it because it got much more detailed and deeper into the story, which made me very curious about the book.

I would read more books by the same author because I am very interested in this type of genre and themes used in the story. || **Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy** is a regular 12 year old English school girl named Dizzy who was raised by her dad because her mother, Storm left the family when Dizzy was young to travel the world with another man. It is set in the 21st century in England. The genre is a narrative and the main themes of the story were relationships and independence.

The first obvious problem in the book would be the fact that Dizzy hasn't met her mother yet, but it is resolved when Storm (mother) visits on her 12th birthday. However, that is when the problems are created. Storm asks Dizzy to come stay with her for a while, Dizzy's dad disagrees. In order to get what she wants, Storm lies to Dizzy and tells her that her dad is fine with it and they set off to some sort of hippy festival in another city. More problems are created after this event and the story starts to get more complex.

I felt very sorry for Dizzy's dad who must of been extremely worried when his daughter disappears with an unreliable woman. I also felt bad for Dizzy because she trusted her mother who had lied to her the whole time, but it is good that she realises she can't just trust anyone, even if they are your mother.

I enjoyed the book because I really wanted to know what happened to Dizzy while she was staying with her mother and whether her dad would find her in the end. Fortunately, he does and he takes Dizzy back to their home. I don't think I could relate to this book because I have both of my parents and I know I can trust both of them. However, this is another reason I enjoyed the book. I found it very interesting to see how different other parents and their families can be.

I have already read other Cathy Cassidy books before and they are quite good. I would read books of the same genre too. ||