Realistic Fiction

 

 Title: Gleam and Glow
Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: Peter Sylvada
Age group: 4-7 y/o
Awards: None
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary

This book by Eve Bunting is a book about a family during the Bosnia-Herzegovina war. The father/husband leaves to go fight with the Liberation Army, while the wife and two kids stay at home. Their names are Marina and Viktor, and throughout the story, they would see the smoke from the soldiers burning the villagers houses. The next day they would see the villagers pass by their house for food and shelter. Their mother said they would be leaving soon as well due to it becoming more dangerous. One day a man came with two fishes in a fishbowl, and told them to keep them. Marina named them Gleam and Glow, and for two days they had them until they had to leave. The night before they left Viktor set them free in the pond they had and the next morning they left for the border. They walked until they reached the border and after a couple of days got reunited with their dad. When it was safe to go home, they did. Their house was ruined, but when they went to the lake, there was a whole bunch of fish in the pond.

Evaluation

I would use the book in class, because it gives hope, just like sometimes when we have to let our pets go, this book shows that they can find a way to live on. The book can be used to teach the students about what families had to go though in times of war. It can also be used to teach them that although it is hard for people to move, sometimes it is necessary and for the best. The book can also be used as a read aloud, because it is a really nice story, and the illustrations are beautiful. They really help when it comes to understanding what the text is saying and it helps one imagine. The illustrations are also big, they take up a whole page.