UTRGV Last Stop on Market Street Children Book Literary Analysis

1) Select a children’s book originally written in Spanish.  It is of the utmost importance that you are able to correctly identify the book you select.

Here are some helpful points for selecting a book that is not translated:

• Do not be guided by the author’s name only, since the author may be called Juan Rodríguez (Hispanic), but since he was a boy he lived in the US and does not write in Spanish; or vice versa, a John Smith who moved with his family as a child to Mexico, and speaks, reads and writes in Spanish. Usually, of course, a Hispanic last name indicates that the author originally wrote the text in Spanish. But do not trust only for this.
• On the cover or on the first page, where the title of the book and its author appear, if the text is translated, it also says: “translated by Juan Pérez”, or “Translation of …” In that case, it is obvious that it was translated .
• Another indication is to see the back of the first page, where the information about where it was published, the ISBN, etc. appears. If the book was published for the first time (first edition) in another language, it means that it was not originally written in Spanish. For example, if the story is called  La casa magica  and in its first edition it appears as  The magic house, it  means that it was later translated into Spanish with that title.
• Sometimes in the book itself there is information about the author, where information about the language in which he writes is provided.
• If you have any questions, check with the teacher to determine if the book was originally written in Spanish or is a translation.
• You can use books that are on online pages, posted on YouTube, or any electronic format. You do not need to have the physical fitness books. If you have the opportunity, you can visit your public or university library but it is not mandatory.

2) Follow the following format to the letter .  

Your analysis should contain each of the parts listed below. The number of words will not be counted, but if you do not explain in detail what is being asked, especially in the sections where “Explain why” is asked, points will be lowered.

• The analysis is divided into 3 parts (Bibliographic data, text analysis and general evaluation (personal). The answer to the bibliographic data should be short and simple. The rest of the analysis requires clear answers, do not forget to include examples and support to your answers in paragraph form.
• Format to follow:

Bibliographic data, description and evaluation of a children’s story

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

• First and last name of the author
• Story title
• Book to which it belongs (if there are other stories in the book)
• Bibliographic citation (city, country, publisher, year, # pages)
• Source (if owned, purchased, (where), or taken from the library (reference #)

ANALYSIS

• Plot: Summary
• Setting
• Characters (main, secondary) / main: static or dynamic  (EXPLAIN WHY)
• Style: identify 1 example of connotative language (if any, EXPLAIN WHY)
• Realistic or fantastic tale (EXPLAIN WHY)

GENERAL EVALUATION

• Presence of diversity, positive or negative (EXPLAIN WHY)
• Evaluation: book recommendation (EXPLAIN WHY)