
For my first book review I chose The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks. This is the first book in a series of three, called The Shannara Trilogy.
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Copyright date: 1977
Pages: 736
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Grade level: 9-12
Award: Appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List
Summary: When a tall stranger comes to the Vale, brothers Flick and Shea learn that the legend of the Sword of Shannara is not a legend after all, and their lives are changed forever. They embark on a dangerous journey against the Warlock Lord who is plotting to destroy the world. The only thing that can stop him, and the darkness, is the Sword of Shannara, but it must be wielded by a true heir of Shannara. Shea is the last of this bloodline. He must find the sword in time to stop the Warlock Lord but to do that he must also escape the ever lurching Skull Bearer who is tasked to kill him.
This book could be used in a Literature or English class. It is a great book to have young adults read and do a book report or paper on. It includes a lot of precise vocabulary and figurative language. As a teacher, you could have students write down unfamiliar words they come across while reading and those could be added to your vocab words for each week.
I gave this book a rating of 3***. My rating and reasoning for each criteria can be read below.
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Copyright date: 1977
Pages: 736
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Grade level: 9-12
Award: Appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List
Summary: When a tall stranger comes to the Vale, brothers Flick and Shea learn that the legend of the Sword of Shannara is not a legend after all, and their lives are changed forever. They embark on a dangerous journey against the Warlock Lord who is plotting to destroy the world. The only thing that can stop him, and the darkness, is the Sword of Shannara, but it must be wielded by a true heir of Shannara. Shea is the last of this bloodline. He must find the sword in time to stop the Warlock Lord but to do that he must also escape the ever lurching Skull Bearer who is tasked to kill him.
This book could be used in a Literature or English class. It is a great book to have young adults read and do a book report or paper on. It includes a lot of precise vocabulary and figurative language. As a teacher, you could have students write down unfamiliar words they come across while reading and those could be added to your vocab words for each week.
I gave this book a rating of 3***. My rating and reasoning for each criteria can be read below.
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Comments
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Plot
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Plot is well developed with a sequence of events. The
events are in good logical order. There is a clear conflict and resolution.
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Plot contains a sequence of events. The events are in
order but the conflict is not clear or does not contain a clear resolution.
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There are events but they are not in good chronological
order. The climax and resolution are lacking or not present.
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Not addressed
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*** The plot in this book has a clear sequence of events
and they are in good logical order. There is a clear conflict and resolution.
The plot is well developed.
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Characters
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Characters are well developed with clear roles and contribute to the
story. Reader is able to personally connect with the character(s).
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Characters have clear roles within the story. Reader is not able to
connect with the character(s).
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Character(s) are present but do not have clear roles. Reader is not able
to connect with character(s).
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No characters developed
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*** All main characters are well developed. The role of each is clearly
identified. I was able to connect with one of the main characters.
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Style and
Language
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Book contains precise vocabulary, figurative language,
and or dialogue. When dialogue is used it is effective and not distracting.
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Book contains precise vocabulary and/or figurative
language. When dialogue is used it is distracting.
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Book contains very little precise vocabulary and no
figurative language or dialogue.
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Book contains no precise vocabulary or figurative
language. No dialogue is used.
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*** This book contains a lot of precise vocabulary and
figurative language. When dialogue is used it contributes to the story.
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Theme
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There is a clear theme and it is easily identifiable by the story.
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There is a theme but it is a little more difficult to identify.
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The theme is almost impossible to identify.
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There is no theme.
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*** There is a clear theme in this book, good vs. evil, and it is shown
through the story.
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This book sounds very interesting. I have never heard of it or seen it in book stores. I like the lesson that students could do for it. I think they could even pick out or identify figurative language in the book. I like the vocabulary idea though!
ReplyDeleteI think this is the first blog I have read where vocabulary is mentioned as a teaching idea. I think this is missed sometimes. We have students read and don’t always question whether or not they comprehended all the vocabulary words. If they have to actually pick out words that they don’t know, then they may become more aware of vocabulary in the future.
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