Alyssa, Paige, Stepheny, and Becca

Introduction to the Genre: Modern Fantasy

Modern Fantasy is known for its story elements that break the laws of nature. There
a variety of elements that are used to do this such as talking animals, imaginary
worlds, mythical beings and creatures, and magic.
There are six motifs of modern fantasies:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Magic
Other Worlds
Good vs. Evil
Heroism
Special Character Types
Fantastic Objects

*This information was retrieved from the packet Dr. Myers provided in class

Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel)

About: He was born in 1904 in Massachusetts where he grew up listening to his mother soothe him and his
siblings to sleep by chanting rhymes. His mother is who he credits for giving him his love of rhyming
literature. Many of the settings in his books are inspired by his hometown of Springfield. He first started
using his pseudonym Seuss when he attended Dartmouth College and became their editor-in-chief of their
humor magazine. The defining moment of his career is when Houghton Mifflin of Vanguard Press asked
Seuss to write a childrens primer book using only 225 new reader vocabulary words. This book was called
The Cat in the Hat. Seuss would go on to write 44 childrens books that have been translated into more
than 15 languages. (Theodor)
Contributions: Dr. Seuss is a name we all know and love. He contributed dozens of beloved works of
literature for children and parents of all ages to enjoy. The rhyming and vocabulary that his books are
famous for are excellent literacy tools for students, particularly in building their phonemic awareness. His
books also incorporate a variety of moral lessons that readers can reflect on for the rest of their lives.
(Wetzel, 2012)

Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel)

Awards:

In 2012, Dartmouth named their medical school after Seuss and his wife.
In 1955, Seuss also received an Honorary Degree in Humane Letters from Dartmouth.
In 2010, he was called a cultural icon by Life Magazine in their 100 people who changed
the world article.
In 1984, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his contributions to the education and
enjoyment of Americas children.
In 1986, he was named a New York Public Library Literary Lion.
He received the Legion of Merit award from the military for his efforts during WWII.
Three of his books earned a Caldecott Honor Book award: McElligots Pool, Bartholomew
and the Oobleck, and If I Ran the Zoo.
Seuss won 3 Academy Awards, 2 Emmys, a Peabody Award, and has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(Accolades)

The more that you read,

the more things you will
know. The more that you
learn, the more places
youll go. -I Can Read
With My Eyes Shut!

You have brains in your

head, you have feet in your
shoes. You can steer
yourself any direction you
choose. -Oh, the Places
You'll Go!

Examples
of his
work:
(Vultaggio, 2015)

You do not like them.

So you say. Try them!
Try them! And you
may! -Green Eggs and
Ham

David Wiesner
About:Born in Bridgewater, New Jersey and went to the Rhode Island School of
Art and Design, where he got a degree in fine arts.
Contributions: Wiesners strongest attribute would have to be his powerful
imagination and strong illustrator skills. He uses fun ideas and art to really
captivate his audiences and pull them into the story.
Awards: Caldecott Award: 1992, 2002, 2007 (most distinguished American
picture book for children). New York Times bestseller for Floatsam, 2007. Prix
Sorcires for Three Little Pigs, 2004. Japan Picture Book Award for Tuesday,
1991.

Examples of Work:

Before they
read words,
children are
reading
pictures.

Laura Joffe Numeroff

About: Laura was born in Brooklyn, NY and has enjoyed writing her own stories and drawing pictures since
she was a young girl. She started off her college years majoring in fashion but quickly learned that writing
and illustrating was her passion. Right when she became a college graduate she got her first book contract
for Amy for Short. She later went on to work with many illustrators. After she wrote and illustrated 9 books
she decided that her strength was in writing and decided to stop illustrating her own book and just solely
focus on writing. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California and spends time with her two older sisters and
their families.
Contributions: She is famously known for her circular story formats. She presents to her readers a chain of
events. A lot of her stories follow the If___, then___ scenarios. She uses a lot of animals as her main
characters in her books and uses clear rhyme schemes.
Awards: California Young Reader Medal-1988, Colorado Children's Book Award-1988, Georgia Children's
Picture Storybook Award-1988, Nevada Young Readers' Award-1989, Buckeye Children's Book Award-1989,
Quill Award (If You Give a Pig a Party)-2006, The Milner Award-2007

Laura Joffe Numeroff

If you give a mouse a cookie..Hell ask you for a glass of milk

Eric Carle
About: Born June 25, 1929 in Syracuse, NY. Moved to Germany with parents and
came back at to america in 1952 after acquiring an art degree from a highly
competitive art school. He got a job with NY Times as a graphic designer.
Contributions: Carle is most well known for his unique way of illustrating. He
mixes Van Goughs and Picassos techniques to achieve his illustrations. They
are widely recognized in childrens books today.
Awards:The Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal; awarded to writers and illustrators of
childrens books published in the U.S. who have made a substantial contribution
to childrens literature over an extended period of time He has won many others
but this is his most notable one.

Eric Carle
Examples of his work:

Quotes/Excerpts: Brown bear, Brown

Bear what do you see? I see a _____
looking at me -Brown Bear, Brown Bear,
what do you see?
On Saturday, he ate through one
piece of chocolate cake, one icecream cone, one pickle, one slice of
Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one
lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one
sausage, one cupcake, and one slice
of watermelon ... That night he had a
stomach ache. -Very Hungry
Caterpillar

Bibliography: Dr. Seuss

Accolades and Honors. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2016, from http://www.drseussart.com/bioaccolades/
From this source, I retrieved information on all of Dr. Seuss accolades and honors.
Theodor Seuss Geisel - "Dr. Seuss" Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2016, from http://www.catinthehat.
org/history.htm
From this source, I retrieved information about Dr. Seuss life and the defining moment of his career. I
also retrieved some examples of his works.
Vultaggio, M. (2015, March 02). Dr. Seuss Quotes 2015: 20 Inspirational Sayings On His 111th Birthday.
Retrieved March 26, 2016, from http://www.ibtimes.com/dr-seuss-quotes-2015-20-inspirational-sayings-his111th-birthday-1828636
From this source, I retrieved famous quotes by Dr. Seuss.
Wetzel, J. (2012, March 1). Childrens literature expert discusses enduring value of Dr. Seuss. Retrieved March
26, 2016, from http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/03/dr-seuss/
From this source, I retrieved information about the contributions Dr. Seuss books have made to literature
and society.

Bibliography: David Wiesner

Bookshelf. (2016). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.hmhbooks.com/wiesner/bookshelf.html

This is where I got the information on Wiesners books and his awards, as well as personal
information.
Johnson, V. (n.d.). David Wiesner: He's Still "the Kid Who Can Draw" Retrieved March 28, 2016, from
http://www.librarypoint.org/david_wiesner
This is where I got the information on Wiesners books and his awards, as well as personal
information.
Welcome to the Caldecott Medal Home Page! (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.ala.
org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal
This is where I got information on the Caldecott award.

Bibliography: Laura Joffe Numeroff

Laura Numeroff. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/ehymowitz21/biography

From this source I received information about her life before becoming a writer and
contributions

If You Give a Mouse Book Series. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kidsbookseries.com/

if-you-give-a-mouse/
From this source I found information on her awards

Bibliography: Eric Carle

Awards List. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.eric-carle.com/awards.html

different pages of the website. They were the most credible and most reliable sources since
they came from him and his team of publishers
Biographical Notes for Eric Carle. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.eric-carle.
com/bio.html

I used this page to find out his awards. All of my information is from his official website, just

From this site I got his biographical life information, like where he grew, up and when he was
born.
Carle, E. (n.d.). How I create my pictures. Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.eric-carle.
com/slideshow_collage.html
This is where I found out exactly how he draws in pictures.