All of these
are questions to explore with your children while reading.
Characters are more important to the theme of a story than any other single aspect. When your child is very young, you can ask, "Who is the good/bad guy? How do you know?" As they get more experienced, you can discuss, not just their actions, but the words the author chooses to describe them, the kind of companions he has, both human and animal (think Disney animal sidekicks), the kind of family or house he lives in (Sauron in Mordor vs. elves in Rivendell), and even the name the author chooses. "Danny Rugg," from the Bobbsey Twins always sounded like a bully to me. "Captain Ahab" tells you all you need to know about the character in Moby Dick, named after the most godless king of Israel ever. "Bilbo," "Frodo," "Pippin," and "Merry" are all bouncy cheerful hobbit names, while "Samwise" has common sense written all over it.
Personally, my favorite class in public school was Reading/English and, specifically group discussion. The great thing about stories shared with your children is that any story is fair game: docudramas about history, Disney movies, picture books and novels all have characters, real and fictional, whose personalities and presentation can be examined. When we examine those characters, it helps children to not only understand the story better, but present characters in their writing, as well as examine their own characters and who they want to be as they grow up. For instance, my son Ben really disliked Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer is supposed to epitomize The American, but Ben thought he was conniving and self-serving and decided that he didn't admire him. As a businessman today, he is evaluating how to live his life -- not like Tom Sawyer!
Characters are more important to the theme of a story than any other single aspect. When your child is very young, you can ask, "Who is the good/bad guy? How do you know?" As they get more experienced, you can discuss, not just their actions, but the words the author chooses to describe them, the kind of companions he has, both human and animal (think Disney animal sidekicks), the kind of family or house he lives in (Sauron in Mordor vs. elves in Rivendell), and even the name the author chooses. "Danny Rugg," from the Bobbsey Twins always sounded like a bully to me. "Captain Ahab" tells you all you need to know about the character in Moby Dick, named after the most godless king of Israel ever. "Bilbo," "Frodo," "Pippin," and "Merry" are all bouncy cheerful hobbit names, while "Samwise" has common sense written all over it.
Personally, my favorite class in public school was Reading/English and, specifically group discussion. The great thing about stories shared with your children is that any story is fair game: docudramas about history, Disney movies, picture books and novels all have characters, real and fictional, whose personalities and presentation can be examined. When we examine those characters, it helps children to not only understand the story better, but present characters in their writing, as well as examine their own characters and who they want to be as they grow up. For instance, my son Ben really disliked Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer is supposed to epitomize The American, but Ben thought he was conniving and self-serving and decided that he didn't admire him. As a businessman today, he is evaluating how to live his life -- not like Tom Sawyer!
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