Short+Story+Reading+Assignment

= __Short Story Reading Assignment__ DUE: April 14th  =

1. The author’s background. 2. Plot- the major events in the story. 3. Setting- describe it. Also, how does it add to the story? 4. Characters. Describe them. Do they seem real? Likable? Why? 5. Your favorite part of the story.
 * //**Choose 3 stories (see below) to read. For each story, write a paragraph on the following:**//

//**Also, complete the following pages in the Practice Book:**// 'Darnell Rock Reporting’ ( pages 26-35) ‘Summer of Swans’ ( pages 44-50) __**‘Saving Shiloh’**__ ( **__pages 59-65)__** || =Old Yeller = The author of this book is Fred Gipson (born in 1908, and died in 1973). He lived his childhood in Mason, Texas and worked on a family farm there. However, his dad used to tell him stories, which I think, inspired him to write stories just like the inspiration he got from his Texas background. After he worked as a reporter, he started writing fiction books and finally wrote the most popular book, __Old Yeller__. He also wrote the sceenplay for the movie based on Old Yeller. I personally think that he is a wonderful author to come up with this exciting book, like he said, "I've always liked true adventure tales...".
 * __‘Number the Stars’ (__****__pages 36-43)__**
 * __‘Old Yeller’__** ( **__pages 51-58)__**
 * __The Author's Background__**

There weren't many major events in this story except the climax part. Just like everyday, Little Arliss was catching little animals with Old Yeller (a dog in their family). When Travis was cutting down the trees, he suddenly heard Little Arliss screaming in the forest. Since the little boy screams everyday without a good reason, Travis didn't really care. However, this scream was something real and was different, with the roar of a bear. So Travis ran as hard as he could to Little Arliss, and then realizing that he was too late. The little boy was grabbing a cub's leg, which made the cub's mother come to save her son and kill the enemy. Now the mother bear was an inch from killing Little Arliss, when Old Yeller suddenly came and rescued the boy by biting the mother bear's neck. Then Travis and his mother were both relieved, and they brought Little Arliss home.
 * __Plot- the Major Events in the Story__**

__**Setting- Describe It; Also, How Does it Add to the Story?**__ There were mostly 2 settings in this short story, the cabin (their house) and Birdsong Creek, which are all in the Texas hill country. The cabin is where they live, and they eat their dinner (the fish Little Arliss and Old Yeller catched) there. This setting affects the story since their house is a cabin and cabins are most likely to be beside a lake or a forest. Also, Birdsong Creek had fresh characteristics that added to the story by using bears and an affective setting for the climax.

__**Characters. Describe them. Do they seem real? Likable? Why?**__ There were 4 main characters in this short story, but I would expect much more characters in the real book. It starts from Little Arliss, the little brother of Travis, and ends at Old Yeller. Since the book's title is 'Old Yeller', I would expect the dog to be the main character. I think Old Yeller is just a brave, adorable dog, and normal. It's not like the dog has super powers and can fly, but he is just a normal cute dog. I personally don't like dogs, since they lick your face and sometimes, they get annoying. Because I had a pet dog in the United States, I know how annoying it can be when they want you to play and you have to give them food everyday. However, I don't think Little Arliss is annoyed with Old Yeller since he loves him! I understand why those little boys like dogs. It's because they just love them with all their heart! Little Arliss is very likable because he is cute, how he brings insects to Mama and says that he caught it, and I like his personality of a nice kid. Also, there is Mama (the mother of the family, I don't know much about her) and Travis, the big brother of Little Arliss. I don't really like Travis since he is not my type (he is just a normal, brave big brother). In conclusion, all of the characters seem real since the story is realistic, without those magical creatures. It is a realistic fiction book, which is happening in the real world, with real actions, and real characters.

My favorite part was of course, the climax. The climax was read with the most excitement in my head, and I could even picture the movie in my head. The author did a great job of showing, not telling, and described the event very well. So the climax was when Little Arliss was grabbing to a cub, because he caight it with Old Yeller, and then the mother bear came. He couldn't let go of the cub since he was so frightened and the bear could eat him anytime. Travis and Mama were running to save Little Arliss, but they were too late. That's when Old Yeller suddenly faught with the bear, to rescue the little boy from danger. Old Yeller sacrifised his body for this fight; he was biting the mother bear on the neck. This situation was quite touching and happy at the same time. Like I said, Fred Gipson did a fantastic job on writing this major event.
 * __Your Favorite Part of the Story__**

=Number the Stars = The author of this book is Lois Lowry (1937-still), and she wrote the book __The Giver__, which is also an award-winning book. However, that's not the only great book she wrote. She wrote the Newberry Award-Winning book, __Number the Stars__. When her Danish friend told her about how it felt like in WW2, Lois started to get some ideas for the book. Still, she needed more information to write the book. So she went to Denmark to research about their culture and got other ideas such as the shoes with fish skin. Her Danish friend told her stories how the Danes saved the Jewish people, just like in the book. As Lois heard more stories from her friend, she knew that the book, __Number the Stars__, would be a fantastic book.
 * __The Author's Background__**

There was one major event and other minor events. This story was basically very depressing because the book was based on a real thing that might've happened during WW2. So the German soldiers are "relocating" all the Jews in Denmark. However, the major event was when the German solidiers came in the apartment very rudely and asked if there were any Rosens (Jewish people and are the Johansen's friend) in the house just in case, since the Rosens were their friends. Mr. Johansen told the soldiers that there are no Rosens here and are all his daughters. Actually Ellen, Mrs. Rosen's daughter, was acting that she was Lise Johansen (the oldest daughter that died earlier). With Ellen's great acting ability, the German soldiers finally believed the family; that Ellen Rosen is Lise Johansen. Luckily, the soldiers went out of the apartment, with the relieved minds of the family, and the Jewish girl.
 * __Plot- the Major Events in the Story__**

The setting was during WW2, with the German soldiers finding for Jews. Overall, there was only one setting- the Johansen's house in a apartment. Of course, the book had much more settings, but in this short story, there was only one background. The story started with the girls (including Ellen) playing with their paper dolls. Then Kirsty (the youngest daughter) gets a new 'fish' leathered shoes, which they are going to color it black later on. Other minor events occur, and then it's the German soldiers coming down to their apartment.
 * __Setting- Describe It; Also, How Does it Add to the Story?__**

There were a lot of characters compared to the other stories. The main character was probably Annemarie, the oldest daughter now (since Lise died) and her Jewish best friend, Ellen. First of all, I think Annemarie is a charming, normal girl who wants to save her best friend. She is likable, since she tries her best just to save her Jewish friend with her courageous personality (you'll get to know more when you read the whole book). Ellen is Annemarie's best friend, but she is Jewish. That's not a problem between Annemarie, but it's a problem with the German soldiers. Jsut like Annemarie, I think she is just a normal, clever, young girl that's trying to fit in. There are other characters such as Kirsty and Mr. and Mrs. Johansen, but I think they are sort of in the minor side of the characters. However, all the characters are likable (except the soldiers and the mean people), and the story's mood is sad, so you can expect what the characters are feeling.
 * __Characters. Describe them.Do they seem real? Likable? Why?__**

My favorite part of the story was when the German soldiers suddenly came in the house. The mad soldiers were very rude to Mr. and Mrs. Johansen and then just went in to annemarie's room. After Mrs. Johansen showed the German the 3 baby photos of Annemarie, Kirsty, and Lise (she is acting that Ellen is Lise), the rude soldiers finally believed the woman and went. That paragraph just shocked me, since no one expected that the soldiers would come in 4 A.M. asking if there are any Jewish people in here. I mean, you won't appreciate a soldier coming in rudely to your house and just goes in your daughter's room. I can't imagine how shocked and scared Annemarie was when they heard the angry soldier's voice talking with her dad. Especially when you actually have a Jewish girl right next to you. All in all, I think that this section was very well written by the author.
 * __Your Favorite Part of the Story__**

=Saving Shiloh = The author of this book is Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1933-still) and has wrote over 100 books including the 'Shiloh' series! She was even talented in writing during her school days since she just loved writing and listening stories. A teacher had asked her for a story for a magazine, and the teacher bought the story for $4.67. However, she started writing the 'Shiloh' series when she saw an abused dog that was very frightened and wouldn't let Phyllis pet her. So, Phyllis started writing 'Shiloh', even though the dog's real name was Clover. She has a lot of hobbies when she has her free time, including visiting schools to talk about her books.
 * __The Author's Background__**

The major events were very thrilling. The major events were sort of like the whole story, but there were 2 major events. The first one was when Michael Sholt called Marty and David, and said that there was a dead man floating on the creek, which turned out to be a dumb joke. However, that dumb joke turned into a serious problem. When Dara Lynn (one of Marty's sister) was acting if she was bird and was walking on the rail, she accidently fell down to the water. Now everyone, including Mr. and Mrs. Ellison, are afraid if Dara Lynn is going to drown. The problem grew bigger. Then Shiloh tries to paddle to Marty, and ends up the same with Dara Lynn. Finally, the second major event is when Judd Travers (the rude man that hated Shiloh) saves Shiloh by jumping in the water. The last part was extremely touching.
 * __Plot- the Major Events in the Story__**

The Middle Island Creek was the setting for nearly 90% of the story, but for the whole book, I would expect about 10 settings. The Middle Island Creek was very descriptive for the reader, with a heavy rain and a creek's current very strong. The setting was very affective to the reader by using the stream as a important setting. Without the creek, the story won't make sense. However, the other 10% of the settings were Marty's house where his family lived. The beginning of the story started there, with Shiloh destroying the Monopoly game that Dara Lynn was playing.
 * __Setting- Describe It; Also, How Does it Add to the Story?__**

The charaters in the story were well described with words by the strong words from the author. The main character would be Marty, the normanl teenager boy that has a personality of not giving up. Also, I think he is just a nice boy that you would see in a park or a playground. His friend, David, would be a important character for the story since he hangs around with Marty a lot. I like both of these guys since I think it'll be fun to be their friends. The dog that Marty has is also one of the main character since the dog builds up the whole story with his actions (even the book is named after him!). Because Shiloh doesn't talk, his motions help you understand what he feels like right now. I like this cute dog as in a book, but like I said in the book __Old Yeller__, I don't really like dogs in the real world. Lastly, the sisters are considered as main characters since they interupt in the book making the audience entertained. I think both of the sisters, Dara Lynn and Becky, are silly (you can see in the book for a proof) and I personally don't really like them since sisters are annoying.
 * __Characters. Describe them.Do they seem real? Likable? Why?__**

Of course, people like the sad and relieving parts. My favorite part of the story was when Judd saved Shiloh from the creek. This section was captivating enough to capture the reader's mind. I never expected Judd, the meanest guy, to save Shiloh for Marty. If you read the first book __Shiloh__, you can realize how much Judd tortured Marty just to not let Marty have the dog, Shiloh. The old man even kicked Shiloh many times! No one would've expected this incredible scene to happen later on, in the last book. When Judd dived in the water to save Shiloh with sacrifising his body, I felt the actual deep warmth inside Judd. All in all, I was just impressed with Judd and felt relieved because Shiloh was now safe from drowning.
 * __Your Favorite Part of the Story__**

**I did the pages: **

‘Old Yeller’ ( pages 51-58) ‘Saving Shiloh’ ( pages 59-65) in my Practice Book, ready to hand in. **
 *  ‘Number the Stars’ (pages 36-43)