Literary Devices Answer Key

Note:  Example answers are only supplied for some of the more abstract, or harder to find, literary devices:


Parts of Speech:  The Building Blocks of Sentences
Maizels, Jennie.  Amazing Pop-Up Grammar Book

Sentence Construction.  Remember when I told you that literary devices were like the carpenter's toolbox for writers?  Just as a carpenter uses wood and other materials to build a house, a writer uses the following building materials to build a sentence:

"A sentence is a word or group of words that tells a complete thought.  It begins with a capital letter, and ends with a punctuation mark."
e.g. "Worms wriggle."
e.g. "Come here!"
e.g. "I am going to watch the football game, but Logan is staying here."

"Most sentences have two main parts,  a subject and a predicate":
e.g.  SUBJECT            PREDICATE
       "The fierce wind    whistled around the house."

The subject is "the word or words that tell what or whom the sentence is about."

The predicate is "the word of words that show the action that is being done in the sentence."

Noun:  "Names a person, place, or thing.  Most nouns stand for things you can see or touch.  A few nouns stand for things you cannot see or touch.  These nouns name ideas and emotions."
e.g. Person: "sister," or Janice
e.g. Place:  "river," or Old Man River
e.g. Thing:  "sandwich," or BLT
e.g. Idea:  "honesty"
e.g. Emotion:  "happiness"
Cleary, Brian.  A Mink, A Fink, A Skating Rink:  What Is A Noun?  428.2 Cle
Heller, Ruth.  Merry-Go-Round:  A Book About Nouns.  372.61 Hel
Proper Noun: "Names a particular person, place, or thing.  It always begins with a capital letter."
e.g. See nouns, above.

Collective Noun: "Names a group of people, animals, or things."
e.g. "a gaggle of geese"

Greenway, Shirley.  Two's Company.  428.2 Gre
Heller, Ruth.  A Cache of Jewels.  498.2 Hel
Hooper, Patricia.  A Bundle of Beasts.
McCarthy, Patricia.  Animals Galore.
McCarthy, Patricia.  Herds of Words.
West, Kipling.  A Rattle of Bones:  A Halloween Book of Collective Nouns.  428.2 Wes


Pronoun: "A word that takes the place of a noun."
e.g. "I, me, he, her"

Collins, Herald.  Nouns and Pronouns.
Heller, Ruth.  Mine All Mine:  A Book About Pronouns.


Verb: "Most verbs are action words.  They may be called "doing verbs."  Other verbs are "being verbs," such as "am, is, are, was, and were."
e.g. "The airplane swoops and soars."

Heller, Ruth.  Kites Sail High:  A Book About Verbs.
Iutzi, Cindy.  Herb the Verb.
Terbain, Marvin.  I Think and Thought And Other Tricky Verbs.


Adjective:  "Tells something about a noun or pronoun.  It usually tells which (descriptive adjectives), what kind, or how many.
e.g. Which:  "this toy"
e.g. How many:  "five elephants"
e.g. What kind: "gigantic milkshake"
 

Cleary, Brian.  Hairy, Scary, Ordinary:  What is an Adjective?  428.2 Cle
Heller, Ruth.  Many Luscious Lollipops:  A Book About Adjectives. 428.2 Hel


Adverb:  "Describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.  Adverbs can tell how, when, where, how often, and to what degree." An adverb often "describes an action."
e.g. Modifying verb: He nearly forgot his book.
e.g. Modifying adverb: "We almost never have snow this late in the season."
e.g. Modifying adjective: We were very happy to hear the good news.

Heller, Ruth.  Up, Up, and Away:  A Book About Adverbs.  372.61 Hel
Ragan, Vicki.  The Edible Alphabet Book.


Prepositions:  "Shows how the noun or pronoun that follows is related to the rest of the sentence.  A preposition can show a place, time, or manner relationship.
e.g. Place:  "above, across, against, along..."
e.g. Time: "after, before, during, on, since, until"
e.g. Manner: "with, without, like, for, of"

Cleary, Brian.  Under, Over, By the Clover:  What Is A Preposition?  428.2 Cle
Heller, Ruth.  Behind the Mask:  A Book About Prepositions.  428.2 Hel
Hoban, Tana.  All About Where.  428.2 Hob


Conjunction:  "Used to join two parts of a sentence."
e.g. "Todd and Joy were invited to the birthday party." (Coordinating conjunction)
e.g. "The beans will not grow unless you water them." (Subordinating conjunction)
Interjection:   Words that show surprise or emotion.
e.g. Fantastic! Wow!

Heller, Ruth.  Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!  A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions.  428.2 Hel
McMeel, Andrew.  Conjunction Junction and Interjection:  What's Your Function?


Word Concepts:  Language Is A Game

Synonym: A word or phrase that means the same thing as another word.
Antonym: A word opposite in meaning to another:
Davis, Lee.  Lifesize Animal Opposite Book.
Hanson, Joan.  Antonyms:  Hot and cold and other words that are different as day and night.
Harris, Pamela.  Hot, Cold, Shy, Bold. 372.61 Har
Hendra, Sue.  Opposites. In Process
Hewitt, Kathryn.  Opposites.  372.4 Mea G. 3
Hoban, Tana.  Exactly the Opposite.  428.1 Hob
McMillan, Bruce.  Becca Backward, Becca Forward.  428.1 Hob
Pittau, Francisco.  Elephant, elephant:  A book of opposites.
Tullet, Herve.  Night and Day:  A book of eye-catching opposites.
Watson, Carol.  Opposites. 428.1 Wat
Pun/Homonym: "Use words that sound alike but have different meanings to create humour."
Abolafea, Yossi.  Fox Tale.
Daly, Niki.  Mama, Papa, and Baby Joe.
Gwyne, Fred.  A Chocolate Mouse for Dinner.  428.1 Gwy
McAfee, Annelena.  The Visitors Who Came to Stay.
Macauley, David.  Why the Chicken Crossed the Road.
Parish, Peggy.  Any of the Amelia Bedelia books.  F Par.  PBK F Par
Ross, Tony.  The Three Little Pigs.
Stolz, Mary.  Storm in the Night. F Sto
Terban, Marvin.  Eight Ate.  428.1 Ter  
Tolhurst, Marilyn.  Somebody and the Three Blairs.
Tremain, Ruthven.  Teapot, Switcheroo, and Other Word Games.  793.73 Tre
Walton, Rick.  Can You Match This?  818.54 Wal
Walton, Rick.  What a Ham!  818.54 Wal
Idiom: A group of words having a different meaning, by popular use, than if the words are read individually.
e.g. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." (Snicket, p. 112)
e.g.  "Let's not split hairs." (Snicket, p. 157)
Artell, Mike.  Fun With Expressions.
It's Raining Cats and Dogs:  How Idioms Make Our Language Exciting.
Nevins, Ann.  From the Horse's Mouth:  A Book About Idioms.
Terbain, Marvin.  In a Pickle.  428.1 Ter
Terbain, Marvin.  Mad As A Wet Hen! 428.1 Ter
Terbain, Marvin.  Punching the Clock:  Funny Action Idioms.  428.1 Ter
Weinstein,  Crazy Idioms.
Oxymoron:  Combination of contradictory words
Agee, Jan.  Who Ordered the Giant Shrimp?  420.2 Age
Malpropism:  Character noted for his/her misuse of words.
Parish, Peggy.  Any of the Amelia Bedelia books.  F Par.  PBK F Par.  Beginning:  Amelia is asked to dust the furniture, so she takes this literally, and adds dust to the furniture, instead of taking it away.

Sound Devices:  Help writers "create stronger word pictures for readers," using the sounds of words.

  Alliteration: "Repetition of the same first sound in a group of words."  It can "create a musical effect."
e.g. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
 
Grassby, Donna.  A Seaside Alphabet.  421.1 Gra
Harrison, Ted.  A Northern Alphabet.   971.9 Har
Kahl, Virginia.  How Do You Hide A Monster?
Kellogg, StepHen.  Chicken Little.  398.2 Kel.  E.g. "foolish fowl"
Lobel, Anita.  Alison's Zinnia.  421.1 Lob
Ruurs, Margaret.  A Mountain Alphabet.  578.753 Ruu
Shaw, Nancy.  Sheep In A Shop.  F Sha
Stevenson, James.  What's Under My Bed?


Onomatopoeia: "Imitate the sounds they name."
e.g. "Ping pong."

Benjamin, Alan.  Rat-a-Tat, Pitter Pat.  428.1 Ben   E.g. sizzle
Cole, Sheila.  When The Rain Stops.
Piper, Watty.  Little Engine That Could.
Potter, Beatrix.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  F Pot
Yolen, Jane.  Sky Dogs.  398.209 Yol.  Beginning:  Grass = Swee-swash, swee-swash.
Yolen, Jane.  Welcome to the Green House.  577.34 Yol


Rhyme:  "Repetition of the same vowel and consonant sounds at the end of words."
e.g. A short poem written by one of the friends of the Baudelaire children, about a rude, filthy, violent girl at their school:
     "I would rather eat a bowl of vampire bats
than spend an hour with Carmelita Spats." (Snicket, p. 44, 46)
Rhythm: The "beat" of a sentence.

See the suggested titles in the Poetry Teaching Ideas Showcase handout.
Alderson, Sue Ann.  Bonnie McSmithers, You're Driving Me Dithers.  F Ald
Arnold, Ted.  No Jumping On The Bed.
Bouchard, David.  If You're Not From the Prairie.  811.54 Bou
Cameron, Polly.  I Can't Said the Ant.
Fitch, Sherree.  If I Were the Moon.  811.54 Fit
Lee, Dennis.  Alligator Pie.  811.54 Lee
Lesynski, Lois.  Nothing Beats a Pizza.  Any other Lois Lesynski's books.  "I am crabby, it's true, but adding rhymes to words unscrambles me." (CLA/ALA Conference, 2003, Lois Lesynski)
O'Huigin. Sean.  Scary Poems for Rotten Kids.  811.54 Ohu
Prelutsky, Jack.  Beneath a Blue Umbella.  811.54 Pre
Service, Robert.  Cremation of Sam McGee.  811.52 Ser
Steig, William.  Shrek.
Stevenson, James.  What's Under My Bed?
Yolen, Jane.  Color Me a Rhyme.  811.54 Yol
 
Sounds and Moods: "Soft consonants (s, m, n, l, r) sound gentle to the ear and hard consonants (b, p, d, t, k) sound harsh."
Frost, Robert.  Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.  811.52 Fro



Figures of Speech:  Specific tools writers use to paint "word pictures."
Simile: "Comparison between two unlike things using like or as."
e.g. "Leaves drifted from the maple trees like tiny parachutes."
e.g. "He is as clever as a fox."
Browne, Anthony.  My Dad.  F Bro
Bunting, Eve.  The Man Who Could Call Down Owls. F Bun.  Beginning:  "his cloak drifting about him like March mist."
Carrick, Carol.  Dark and Full of Secrets.  Beginning:  "Mist rose from the pond like steam from witches' brew."
Chaucer, Geoffrey.  Chanticleer and the Fox.  398.2 Cha.  Beginning:  "Comb was redder than fire coral and turreted like a castle wall."
Collins, Meghan.  The Willow Maiden.  End:  "Parting was for each of them like a tearing of roots."
Dragonwagon, Crescent.  Jemima Remembers
Say, Allen.  The Bicycle Man.  F Say.  Beginning:  "The building creaked like an old sailing ship."
Wallace, Ian. The True Story of Trapper Jack's Left Big Toe.
Yolen, Jane.  Owl Moon.  F Yol


Metaphor: "Makes a comparison, but it does not use the words like or as. Sometimes a metaphor makes the comparison by using the words is, are, was, or were."
e.g. "I remember once, as a kid, lying back and watching clouds....There went a nifty schooner....Next came chilly Greenland, with Labrador much too close for comfort.  But the banana split was the best one of all."
e.g. "The road was a ribbon of moonlight."

Carlstrom, Nancy.  Goodbye Geese.
Fleischman, Paul.  Rondo in C
Major, Beverly. Over Back.
NcNutty, Faith.  The Lady and the Spider
Parnall, Peter.  Alfalfa Hill: Winter
Ringgold, Faith.  Tar Beach.  F Rin
Stephenson, James.  What's Under My Bed?
Turner, Ann.  Dakota Dugout.  F Tur.  Middle:  "The ground was iron."
Yolen, Jane.  Owl Moon. F Yol
Personification:  "Giving human characteristics and feelings to animals, objects, and ideas."
Bourgeois, Paulette. Franklin Has a Sleepover.  F Bou
Burns, Marilyn.  The Greedy Triangle.  F But.  Beginning:  "Once there was a triangle that was -- as most triangles are -- mostly busy."
Burton, Virginia Lee.  The Little House.  F Bur
Ets, Marie Hall.  Gilberto and the Wind.  F Ets
Little, Jean.  Gruntle Piggle Takes Off. F Lit
Lunn, Janice.  Amos's Sweater.  F Lun
Mark, Jan.  Silly Tails.
Steig, William.  Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.  F Ste
Hyperbole: "Exaggeration that is so extreme it cannot be true."
e.g.  "The girl who was yelling at you, I'm sorry to say, was Carmelita Spats."
"She didn't seem very nice," Klaus said.
"That's the understatement of the century," Isadora said.  "Carmelita Spats is rude, filthy, and violent, and the less time you spend with her, the happier you will be." (Snicket, p. 44)
Cole, Babette.  The Trouble With Grandad.
Hutchins, Pat.  The Very Worst Monster.  F Hut. Beginning:  The baby "can bend bars with his teeth."
McPhail, David.  Pig Pig Rides.  F McP.  "I'll jump 500 elephants on my motorcycle."
Prelutsky, Jack.  "I'm The Single Most Wonderful Person I Know" in "The New Kid on the Block."    811.54 Pre.  Note:  I know this is not a picture book, but I like it so much I am hoping you will not notice!
Riddle, Tohly.  Careful With That Ball Eugene
Synecdoche.  "Using a part to represent the whole of something, or visa versa.
e.g. "The lookout spotted a sail on the horizon (Sail is used for ship.)"


General Literary Devices:  General, "all purpose" tools designed to help an author improve his/her writing.

Allusion:  A reference to another literary character or story, or something or someone familiar to the reader.
e.g. "I wonder what Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonian, would do to help us," Klaus said.  "He was one of the world's greatest researchers." (Snicket, p. 160)

Ahlberg, Janet.  Each Peach Pear Plum. F Ahl.  Play I Spy with a variety of folktale characters.
Aliki.  Use Your Head, Dear. 
Baker, Jeannie.  Where the Forest Meets the Sea.  372.6 Ref Gr. 6(2).  The boat is called, "Time Machine," an allusion to H.G. Wells' book by the same name.
Scieszka, Jon.  The Frog Prince, Continued.  F Sci.  Alludes to the fable, "The Princess and the Frog."
Yolen, Jane.  Piggins. 372.4 Mea Gr.3.  Character's names refer to the animals pictured.  Piggins alludes to Sherlock Holmes.


Foreshadowing:  An incident that points to an upcoming event in a story, used to build suspense
e.g. "It was not the buildings or arch that made the children gasp.  It was how the buildings were shaped -- rectangular, but with a rounded top.  A rectangle with a rounded top is a strange shape, and the orphans could only think of one thing with that shape.  To the Baudelaires each building looked exactly like a gravestone." (Snicket, p. 11)

Allard, Harry.  Miss Nelson Has a Field Day
Arnold, Tedd.  No Jumping on the Bed
Attman, Helena Clare.  A Grain of Rice.  398.2 Pit.  Beginning:  "Since he is so good with numbers."
Brett, Jan.  Annie and the Wild Animals.  F Bre.  Beginning:  "Something was wrong with Annie's cat."
Bunting, Eve.  Someday A Tree.  Beginning.  The grass smells funny, and is turning yellow.
Crews, Donald.  Shortcut.  F Cre.  Beginning:  "We should have taken the road."
Daugherty, James.  Andy and the Lion.  398.2 Dau.  Beginning:  Andy, and his father, are both reading about lions, in front of the fire.
DePaola, Tomie.  Strega Nona. 398.2 Dep.  Beginning:  "The one thing you must never do is touch the pasta pot."
Fleischman, Paul.  Time Train.  F Fle.  Beginning:  "In that case you want the Rocky Mountain Unlimited, Gate 44A ....We knew we were in for an unusual trip."
Flournoy, Valerie.  The Patchwork Quilt.  F Flo.  Grandma needs to rest before beginning the quilt, which hints at her future illness.
Kellogg, Stephen.  Ralph's Secret Weapon.  F Kel.  Beginning:  The cake makes the mouse sick.
Martin, Bill and Archambault, John.  Knots On a Counting Rope.  F Mar.  Middle:  "Learning to cross the dark mountain" refers to the boy's blindness.

Understatement:  A statement less than the truth.
e.g.  "The girl who was yelling at you, I'm sorry to say, was Carmelita Spats."
"She didn't seem very nice," Klaus said.
"That's the understatement of the century, "Isadora said.  "Carmelita Spats is rude, filthy, and violent, and the less time you spend with her, the happier you will be." (Snicket, p. 44)

Arnold, Tedd.  No Jumping On the Bed.  F Arn.  On each page, as Walter crashes through the floor, the characters come up with understatements like, "Excuse us, we won't be staying long."
Arnold, Ted.  No More Water in the Tub.  F Arn.  As William surfs in the bathtub, through his apartment building, each character comes up with understatements like, "I see your folks are having plumbing problems."
Cole, Babette.  The Trouble With Gran.
Cole, Babette.  The Trouble With Mom.
Noble, Trinka.  The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash. F Nob.  First page:  The field trip is described as "kind of dull, until..."   Middle:  "Jim brought his boa constrictor to meet all the farm animals, but the chicken's didn't like it."

Stereotype:  A simplified representation of someone.
Reverse Stereotype:  Representing someone the opposite of their stereotype.

Browne, Anthony.  Piggybook. F Bro.  Whole book:  male/female stereotypes change to reverse stereotypes. 
Hutchins, Pat.  Rosie's Walk. F Hut.  Whole book:  "smart fox" is not so smart.
Kellogg, Steven.  A Rose For Pinkerton.  F Kel.  Whole book:  Rose is a present for a big dog, and Rose happens to be a cat.  Rose acts like a dog, and Pinkerton acts like a cat.
Little, Jean.  Gruntle Piggle Takes Off.  F Lit.  The pig does not like farm life, or dirt.
Munsch, Robert.  Paper Bag Princess.  F Mun.  Whole book:  The princess does not want, or need  rescuing by the prince.
Steig, William.  Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.  F Ste.  Page 1:  Sex role stereotypes -- Who is doing what on this page?

Point of View:  The perspective of a character in a story.

Arnold, Ted.  Green Wilma.  F Arn.  Whole book:  How would a human act, if they took a frog's point of view?
Baylor, Bird.  Everybody Needs A Rock. F Bay.  Life from a rock's point of view.
Brown, Ruth.  The Picnic. 
Goble, Paul.  Death of the Iron Horse.
Granowsky, Alan.  Another Point of View series.  e.g. HangUp 372.6 Ano. v.3, v.5.   Each book is actually two versions of the same story, written from two distinct points of view.
Szieszka, Jon.  True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  F Sci.  The 3 little pigs story from the wolf's point of view.
Willis, Jeanne.  Earthlets As Explained by Professor Xargle. F Wil.  How do humans look from an alien's point of view?

Flashback:  Interruption of time in a story, with the insertion of a past incident.
e.g. "The Baudelaires ....were reminded of the last time they saw their parents, waving good-bye to them as they left for the beach.  They had not known, of course,  that it would be the last moment they would spend with their mother and father..." (Snicket, p. 174)

Baylor, Bird.  One Small Blue Beard.  Book moves from present to distant past.
Kellogg, Stephen.  Missing Mitten Mystery.  F Kel.  Flashbacks to real and imaginary events earlier in the day are contained in cartoon boxes on each page.
Macaulay, David.  Why the Chicken Crossed the Road. F Mac.  Beginning:  The beginning of the story is actually the ending, so the whole story is a flashback.
Stevenson, James.  What's Under My Bed?
Van Allsburg, Chris.  The Wreck of the Zephyr.  F Van.  2nd page:  Man tells the story from the past, about a wrecked boat.

Imagery:  The art of painting images, using words, not paintbrushes.

Bedard, Michael.  Emily.  Middle:  "It seems the music starts to breathe."
Caudill, Rebecca.  A Pocketful of Cricket.
Frost, Robert.  Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.  811.52 Fro.  Beginning:  "...to watch his woods fill up with snow."
Hume, Stephen Eaton.  Rainbow Bay.  F Hum.  Beginning:  "It's morning and the earth is new."
Johnston, Tony.  Whale Song
Keats, Ezra Jack.  The Snowy Day.  F Kea.  Beginning:  "Crunch, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow."
Lobel, Arnold.  The Rose in My Garden.  F Lob.  Middle:  "Peonies pleasingly plump."
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.  The Changing Maze.  F Sny.  Beginning:  "Sharp, cold hill."
Steig, William.  Rotten Island.  Beginning:  "Volcanoes that belched fire and smoke."
Stoltz, Mary.  Storm in the Night.  F Sto.  Beginning:  "Thunder like mountains blowing up."
Yolen, Jane.  Owl Moon.  F Yol.  Beginning:  "Trees stood still as statues."

Irony or Paradox:  Contrast between the expected and the actual event or statement (often "hidden" from the characters in the story).
Verbal irony:  Saying one thing, but meaning the opposite (e.g. sarcasm)
Situational irony:  Events turn out opposite to what you expect
Dramatic irony:  Reader sees what the characters in a story do not see

Bemelmans, Ludwig.  Madeline.  F Bem.  Girls in story think having appendix out is fun.
Blos, Joan W.  Old Henry. F Blo.  The neighbors and messy Henry hate each other, until Henry leaves.
Cutting, Michael.  The Little Crooked Christmas Tree.  F Cat.  By saving a dove from the cold, a tree is no longer straight enough to be a  Christmas tree, but then it is saved from being killed for Christmas.  At the end of the story, it ends up being a living Christmas tree for a family.
Flack, Marjorie.  Angus and the Ducks.  F Fla.  End:  "For exactly three minutes by the clock, Angus was NOT curious about anything at all."
Gag, Wanda.  Millions of Cats.  F Gag.  End:  The ugliest cat ends up being the prettiest cat.
Gay, Marie-Louise.  On My Island.  F Gay.  Every page:  The words and the story on each page contradict each other.
Gordon, Margaret.  The Supermarket Mice
Howe, James.  I Wish I Were a Butterfly.  372.4 Mea Gr. 2 (Nature).  Two insects wish they were each other, instead of enjoying their own gifts.
Hutchins, Pat.  Rosie's Walk.  F Hut .  The wise fox is not so wise, after all.  See also stereotype.
Leaf, Munro.  The Story of Ferdinand.  F Lea.  Ferdinand, the only bull who does not want to be in the bull fights, ends up being chosen because of an accident.
Lunn, Janet.  Amos's  Sweater. F Lun.  The sheep ends up with a full coat of wool, after all.
McGovern, Ann.  Too much noise. PBK F Mcg.  End:  A noisy house is not so noisy, once it is filled, and then emptied, or even more noise.  It all depends on your point of view.
Pittman, Helena Clare.  A Grain of Rice. 398.2 Pit
Say, Allen.  Grandfather's Journey.  F Say
Slobodkina, Esphyr.  Caps for Sale.  PBK F Slo.  End:  No matter how hard he tries to get his caps back from the monkeys, it does not work, until he stops trying.
Steig, William.  Doctor, De Soto. F Ste.  The mouse dentist kindly helps a fox, only to almost become the fox's dinner.
Wood, Audrey.  King Bidgood's in the Bathtub.  F Woo.  None of the wisest court members can get the king out of the tub.  Only the lowliest page knows how, with the simplest solution.
Yee, Paul.  Roses on New Snow.  F Yee.  End:  In spite of her family's efforts to hide her talents (because she is female), Maylin becomes famous.
Zion, Gene.  Harry and the Dirty Dog.  F Zio.  Harry hates taking  a bath, until no one recognizes him, as he is too dirty.

 

Symbol:  The use of an object to represent something else (Sometimes a more abstract idea).
e.g. (The Baudelaires were forced to run around a large, glow-in-the-dark "O" they had been forced to paint on the grass, all night, every night.  This was particularly hard for them, especially Sunny, who was just a baby, and could not even walk yet.) "...The glowing circle stayed in their minds for so long that it became symbolic.  The word "symbolic" here means that the glowing circle felt like it stood for more than merely a track, and what it stood for was zero....It was symbolic about what they knew about their situation." (Snicket, p. 136)

Goble, Paul.  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.  F Gob.  Horses represent freedom and happiness.
Oppenheim, Shulamith Levy.  The Lily Cupboard.
Ringgold, Faith.  Tar Beach. F Rin.  The roof top represents a holiday beach.  Flying represents freedom and happiness.
Say, Allen.  Grandfather's Journey.  F Say.  Songbirds are a symbol of another country.
Steig, William.  Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.  F Ste


Parallel Story:  A story within a story.

Burningham, John.  Time to Get Out of the Bath, Shirley. F Bur.  Shirley's daydreams and Shirley in the bathtub are two parallel stories.
Gay, Marie-Louise.  On My Island.  F Gay.  There are two stories:  on and off the island.
Gilman. Phoebe.  Something From Nothing. 398.2 Gil.  Joseph's human family in their house and the mice's home under the floorboards are two different stories.
Macauley, David.  Black and White.  F Mac. 
McCloskey, Robert.  Blueberries for Sal.  F McC.  The two sides of the mountain tell the parallel stories of the bears and humans picking berries.
Say, Allen.  Grandfather's Journey.  F Say.  A grandfather's and grandson's journey to America is told in the same story.  See also symbol.

Inference:  Like a great detective, the reader draws conclusions from the limited or "hidden" clues given by the author.  That is, the reader "reads between the lines."
e.g. (Klaus comments on the unusual Latin motto over the archway in front of their new school:)  "If I am not mistaken," said Klaus, who was rarely mistaken, "'Momento Mori' means "Remember you will die."  The reader might infer from this motto that there is danger, and perhaps even death, at the school, for them to face.

Bang, Molly.  Dawn. F Ban.  Beginning:  a strange woman in brown, with a scar, shows up shortly after a Canadian Goose is rescued.  The reader can infer that they are one and the same.
Allard, Harry.  Miss Nelson Has a Field Day.  End:  Coach Swamp's identity is implied on the last page.
Brighton, Catherine.  Five Secrets in a Box
Innocentia, Roberto.  Rose Blanche.  F Inn.  End:  Rose's fate is implied, but not stated, on the last few pages.
Kraus, Robert.  Come Out and Play, Little Mouse.  372.6 Ear Gr. EC-1 v.38.  Page 24:  Doesn't the dog look like a mouse?
Mahy, Margaret.  Jam, A True Story.  F Mah.  End:  "A soft thud on the roof"  infers that more jam will be made.
Nichol, Barbara.  Dippers.
Wiesner, David.  Tuesday.  F Wie.  End:  the answer to the question, "Who  will go flying now?" is  infered by the picture on the 2nd last page.
Van Allsburg, Chris.  The Mysteries of Harris Burdock.  F Van.  Whole book:  what stories are implied by each picture and caption?

Parts Of A Story:  The Building Blocks Of a Story
Again, literary devices are like the carpenter's toolbox for writers.  Just as a carpenter uses wood and other materials to build a house, a writer uses the following building materials to build a story:
Theme:  The underlying topic of a story, a general statement about life.
Brown, Margaret Wise.  The Runaway Bunny.  F Bro.  Young one is torn between independence and dependence.
Gag, Wanda.  Millions of Cats.  F Gag
Miles, Miska.  Annie and the Old One.  F Mil.  You can not stop the passage of time.  Death is inevitable for all of us.
Paterson, Katherine.  The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks.  398.245 Pat.  Kindness returns to its sender.
Sendak, Maurice.  Where the Wild Things Are.  F Sen.  A child's defiance does not end a mother's love.
Viorst, Judith.  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  F Vio.  You can not run away from your problems, even to Australia.
Yolen, Jane.  Encounter.  F Yol.  The weak are often exploited by the powerful.
Tone:  The mood or atmosphere an author creates, often using the senses of his/her characters.
Booth, David.  The Dust Bowl.  F Boo
DePaola, Tomie.  Strega Nona.  398.2 Dep
Innocenti, Roberto.   Rose Blanche.  F Inn
Locker, Thomas.  Where the River Begins.  F Loc
McFarlane, Sheryl.  Waiting For the Whales.  F McF
Sciezka, Jon.  The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  F Sci
Smucker, Anna Egan.  No Star Nights.  F Smu.  Middle:  "Some days it seemed as though there was a giant lid covering the valley." Claustrophobia.
Vozar, David.  Yo, Hungry wolf!:  A Nursery Rap.  398.2 Voz.  Humour.
Wood, Douglas.  Grandad's Prayers of the Earth.  F Woo.  Reverence and wonder (for life, the environment, and  prayer).  A sense of love and loss.  End:  Rain on window coincides with death of the grandfather.
Yolen, Jane.  All Those Secrets of the World.  F Yol.  End:  "Come back, come back," I cried, suddenly afraid he'd disappear forever."  Feelings of loss throughout story.
Plot:  What happens in the story?  The action plan of a story, usually involves introduction, rising action, climax, resolution, and conclusion.
Hutchins, Patricia.  Rosie's Walk.  F Hut
Davis, Aubrey.  Sody Salleratus.  F Dav
Setting:  When and where does the story take place?
Booth, David.  The Dust Bowl.  F Boo
Locker, Thomas.  Where the River Begins.  F Loc
Characters:  Who or what is the story about?
Caricature:  Use of exaggeration to make a character humorous

Fox, Mem.  Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.  F Fox
Gay, Marie Louise.  Stella, Star of the Sea (Cartoon Art).  F Gay
Gregory, Nan.  Wild Girl and Gran
McKissack, Patricia.  A Million Fish...More or Less
Munsch, Robert.  Mortimer.  F Mun
Root, Phyllis.  Soup for Supper.
Rylant, Cynthia. The relatives came.  F Ryl
Scrimger, Richard.  Princess Bun Bun. (Cartoon Art)