Little Homeschool Blessings: Home School Adventure Co.: The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis {A Review}

Home School Adventure Co. sent us The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions ebook ($14.95) to review. Literary analysis questions are provided to accompany the book, The Wise Woman by George MacDonald. Ideally the text is suited as a read aloud for ages 9-11 and for ages 12 and up as an independent read. For the younger ages, the journal questions fit well as discussion and for the older ones, the questions would work well in a written reflection journal.

First Thoughts
George MacDonald is a favorite author around here. We have enjoyed The Princess and the Goblin,The Princess and Curdie, and At the Back of the North Wind. So expectations for The Wise Woman ran high. We were excited to get started on the book with the added challenge of the critical thinking involved with the literary analysis questions.

What’s Included
The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions ebook includes a pdf download of The Wise Woman, 16-24 questions per chapter, and 6 vocabulary words per chapter.

About the Book
George MacDonald's fairytale is the story of how a mysterious woman interlaces the lives of two girls from very different backgrounds, but not so different in their manners. One of the girls is a princess, the other is the daughter of a shepard. But both of them are proud, disobedient, selfish, and unkind because of the influence of their parents and their own sinful desires.

This is definitely a family book written for children to develop the characteristics of obedience, love, self-sacrifice, and compassion (to name a few) and for parents as a witness to what overindulgence and blind parenting can do in the life of a child.

About the Questions
The questions follow each chapter with spaces to write answers out. Questions follow the why, when, where, what, who, and how format and they ask the child to make prediction, recall facts, infer, use their opinion, describe, judge, evaluate, apply, clarify, assume, consider perspective, give evidence, and explain cause/effect.

About the Vocabulary
Located in the glossary section, vocabulary words (6 in each chapter) have been chosen and placed into a chart with the chapter and page number listed that the word was utilized. There is a blank box for the definition. Some of the words chosen include: tyrannical, aromatic, odious, impudent, admonition, roguishly, and many others. There are spaces on the last page for the child and parent to write in their own words.

Additional Materials Required
We printed off our copy and put it in a binder. A writing tool would be needed, if your child was completing the questions as a written journal.

Time Frame
For reading and discussion, we needed about 20 minutes per chapter. If you'd like your child to work independently with a written journal, you'd want to allow him/her more time.

How we Used it
We read the chapters one at a time each night, until the story was through. After each reading, we would discuss the questions. At the end, I had the girls create a picture that told the story in part or whole.

What the Kids Thought
Ceesa says, she loves the story. "I like how the girls slowly, piece by piece, learn how terrible they have been. When I compare the two girls problems with my own life, I can see the problems that I am having and try to correct them. The questions go right along with the story. When the author gives a good question, it helps to understand the story better."

"When Rosemond comes running in attacking her rabbit, her father yells at her. She throws the rabbit in her mother's face. Then she goes running out of the room. The Wise Woman sweeps down and wraps her up in her cloak. I drew the part when the Wise Woman is coming to trap her, because I remembered it the most."

Jo-Jo says, she likes it. "I like how the Wise Woman showed the girls how to be nice, loving, and kind. I learned that I need to try not to get upset when I don't get my own way. I especially liked how the questions referred to what the author (MacDonald) was trying to get across...like the question...What is like these girls that you do?"

detail: I just love her patches.

"I drew the picture of when the princess was going to the Wise Woman's house. There was a whole patch of wolves and hyenas. The Wise Woman promised that Rosemond would be able to get to her safely, so Rosemond ran right in the middle of them. They ran away like their tails were on fire."

Wishlist
We'd like to see sections in the glossary for writing the sentence where the word is found. And another space for both the child's guess at a definition, and the dictionary definition (one definition space is provided).

For younger children, a place for drawing the answer to a carefully chosen question or two would allow him/her to follow along. This could be applicable to vocabulary too. He/she could draw the meaning of the vocabulary words.

Special Offer
If you are considering purchasing any of these downloads from Home School Adventure Co., there is a 10% discount with the special code for our readers!