By Sandra V. Feder, illustrated by Susan Mitchell
Toronto : Kids Can Press, 2013, Ages 7-10
Daisy's Defining Day is a story about a young girl who loves words. She loves to write new and fun words in a journal. One day a younger boy begins calling her Lazy Daisy. this upsets Daisy and she starts on a journey to create a new name using an alliteration, which is what she is learning about in school.
Sandra Feder uses alliteration and rhyming to catch the reader's attention. She also uses verbs like "groaned," "stomped" and "chanting" to help the reader visualize the action in the story. When Daisy was upset about being called "lazy," the author used this opportunity to again show the reader how amazing words can be and to use alliteration to engage the reader. One example is when she wrote:
To make herself feel better, Daisy turned to her favorite things--words. She thought about alliteration and tried to come up with words that not only started with the same letter or sound but also fit well together. Soon she had a list called "Perfectly Paired Words." "Bouncy Balls" and "Chunky Chocolate" were on the list along with "flying flags" and "summer sun."I enjoyed reading this book. I believe it would be a good choice for students learning about alliteration. It could also be used to discuss inappropriate name-calling or even positive self-image. I believe that it showed Daisy as an empowered young girl who chose to not listen to the negative speech, but find her own positive words to describe herself. This would be a good book for children in 3-5th grade when many of these types of behaviors can be prevalent.
--Review by M.K.B.
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