Author/Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: Harper & Row; 1st edition (May 6, 1981)
Genre: Short Story
Readability Lexile: Grades 1-2
Summary and Target Audience:
This short story is about a shape who cannot find its match. No other shapes will fit it just right and it can't seem to make itself more attractive without making a fool of itself. One day it meets The Big O who tells the shape to make it on its own because The Big O doesn't have any room for it. So the shape begins to roll and rolls all of its sharp edges off until it becomes whole. Great story for children and families of all ages. Especially wonderful at the teenage years when attending a new school or high school and trying to find their place.
Evaluation of Text:
Good Story- This is a wonderful story. Although short, it makes a strong point of making yourself whole by working only on yourself and that no one else can make you fit. It keeps the reader guessing and would be appropriate for all ages. The shapes are general and nonspecific and it also addresses the issue of growing.
Characters seem real- Although the main characters are shapes, they are relatable. The shape who is trying to find a match with another shape is a little piece of all of us at one point or another. The Big O is also a piece of each of us because at one point or another we worked hard to become who we are today.
Language was appropriate- The language in this story is conversational and understandable. Shel Silverstein does a great job of choosing and describing the feelings of the inability to fit in with easy to understand sentences and descriptions.
Literary Elements:
Symbolism- The symbolism of the shapes as people was very compelling. When the little triangle finds its shape that it completes at one point and then all of the sudden starts to grow and can no longer complete the other shape was very meaningful. I could relate to the feeling of finding someone who fits with you perfectly and then out of nowhere something happens and you grow when not expecting to and suddenly you are no longer a perfect match.
Dramatic- The drama throughout the story of the shape was extremely real. Although just shapes the shapes and their descriptions of one another was again, very relatable. The drama of the small triangle finally finding The Big O and then The Big O not having any place for it was stunning.
Crisis- The crisis throughout the story was the finding of self. The triangle had the need to fill someone elses shape and in the end, after meeting The Big O who didn't need anyone to be complete, started working on itself and made its edges round and rolled with The Big O in the end. Such a touching tale!
Illustrations:
Again, Shel Silverstein is brilliant with his illustrations. The shapes have some expression but overall are very simple and don't move very much. However, somehow he is able to capture the text with the illustration in such a way that the pictures come to life.
Mini-lesson:
Because the finding of self is so strong in this text I would have to do a lesson on being yourself. What would be great would be to do this reading as a read-aloud and to have the students create a poem or a story about themselves and what their edges are and how and who they "roll" with. It would be a wonderful "working on self" kind of activity and give the students an opportunity to look within themselves and reflect in a creative and safe environment.
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