Elements of Literature

Parts of a BookCover

PagesWords

PicturesEnd pages

SpineDedication

IndexTable of contents

Copyright dateTitle page

AuthorIllustratorPublisher

TitleAuthor’s PurposeTo express feelings

To entertain

To teach us thingsBecause they like to write

Give us informationSend message to the worldMake us think about things

Make us wonderMake us laugh

SettingWhere the story takes place

The sceneWhen the story takes place

Affects the story / MoodTells characters how to act

CharactersMain character—the person the

author talks about the mostThe story revolves around this

person

Can change during a storyCan be an animal or a person

Someone you follow through the book

Supporting characters are other characters in the text

IllustrationsRealistic or impressionistic

Animation—cartoonsUse different media—paint,

sketches, watercolors, oil paints, pastels, crayons

Borders of full pages

Tell us things the words may not

Point of ViewSomeone’s side of the story

Seeing things their wayPerspective

1st person—I went to the store3rd person—Two boys went to the

storeNarrators

PlotEvents in a story

The order things happenPlan of the story

The sequence of eventsChronological order

SymbolsSomething that represents

something elseLogos are symbolsPeace sign, Nike

Pictures can be symbols

MoodFeelings you have

Make you feel a certain wayAdds to the setting

Setting adds to the moodIllustrations add to the mood

ThemeThe big idea, main message

Man vs. nature, good vs. evil, friendship, death

Universal ideas, helps us understand ourselves

The moral or lesson in the story