- Title: Spoon
- Author(s): Amy Krouse Rosenthal
- Illustrator/Photographer: Scott Magoon
- Publisher and Year: Hyperion Books, 2009
- Number of pages: 28
- Tags: Diversity, Family, K-2, Picture Book, Morgan Houk
- Genre: Fiction
- Analysis:
This story is about a little spoon who is sad because he can’t do the same things that a fork, knife, or chopsticks can do. His mother tells him that he is special in different ways and plays a very important role at the table. There are some foods that would be nearly impossible to eat without him. The little spoon realizes all the things he can do and feels lucky to be a spoon.
This book could act as a mirror for all students. Everyone has their different strengths and weaknesses which is what makes us unique. This book is about self-acceptance and being proud of our differences. I think this is a great book for lower elementary because this is a time where students are gaining a sense of self and who they are and it is important to
teach them to appreciate what makes them unique. The illustrations appear to be drawn with colored pencils as well as painted with acrylics. Everything drawn appears to have a thicker black outline which really makes the food and the utensils pop off the page. The images are structured in a way that makes the little spoon appear much smaller than the other utensils pictured throughout the majority of the story. It is not until he accepts himself that he is pictured close up and appears to be one of the biggest things on the page possibly signifying a shift in power. The little spoon is also mostly pictured on the right side of the page which signifies that he is a less secure character and he is moving forward in the story. This is accurate in the sense that he is very unsure of himself and he is moving from utensil to utensil to show his mom all of the things they can do that he is unable to do. The ideational framework of the characters portrays the mother as a very soft and warm character. She is the only character that has pink blushed cheeks and she is always right next to the little spoon.