Thursday 23 May 2013

The Island By John Heffernan


“The Urchin heard the sighs of the sea and listened to the whispers of the breeze. He felt the welcome of the sun as it woke the day, and could smell the scent of a storm.”

What do you notice about how the author describes the Island?

Can you find other examples in the book where the author uses certain types of language to describe something? 

Remember to use the book as a reference and to support your ideas.

Be sure to read other peoples posts and comment by either agreeing and adding to their post or disagreeing and giving reasons why.

24 comments:

  1. i've noticed that the author describes the island as if the blind boy has all the senses, as if the boy can see, hear, taste, feel and smell the island. I think that the author describes it like "even though your blind, you can sense beauty everywhere."

    The author has used 'sensory words' to describe a certain thing on certain pages, for example:
    -pg.9: He waited and "listened" as it slid closer
    -pg. 8: Early one morning, the boy "heard" a faint sound far out in the bay. It was something he didn't recognise.
    -pg.10: Soon the boy was at the water's edge. The boy stroked it, and it liked what his fingers "felt." Soft rubbery lips, scales that trembled, slithery skin, warm and wet with life. The urchin "smiled."
    -pg.11: When the creature "slid" back into the water, the boy followed. Soon they were playing together in the waves, and a strange sound trembled fro his lips. They "laughed."

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    1. i agree with marjorie that the author describes the island by the blind boys senses because the author is using sensory verbs.(the 5 senses)

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  2. Krista and Angela26 May 2013 at 17:47

    we like how the author John Heffernan put heaps of similes,personifaction and sensory verbs .for example the life of the creature was trickling away like sand through his fingers. we like this book because the author really let out the message which is you don't need sight to see the beautiful things around you.

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    1. Phoebe,Isabella and Brooke27 May 2013 at 17:31

      We agree with Krista and Angela because we think that the message is true and that there is a lot of personification and sensory verbs.

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  3. preet ån∂ keenån26 May 2013 at 17:48

    †he åu†hør uses sensør¥ wørds †ø ∂esçriße †he islånn∂ ßu† ∂øesn† use sensør¥ wør∂s †h冠∂esçriße e¥esigh† ßeçåuse †he måin ßø¥ in †he s†ør¥ is ßlin∂ ålsø †he ånswer †ø †he ø†her ques†iøn is †he åu†hør uses similies,me†aphors ånd persøniƒica†iøn so it could go with the pictures

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  4. Phoebe,Isabella and Brooke27 May 2013 at 17:27

    The author uses sensory verbs like, he felt the welcome of the sun as it woke the day. We like how the illustrator drew all the colours near the boy and all the dull colours near the boring people. On page 6&7 the boy is surrounded by sea shells and star fish that are colourful and bright, but the people that are walking don't have anything bright around them. We think that there are no colours around them because they see with there eyes but not with there heart.
    How do we find happiness? And once we find it, how can we hold on to it?
    We like the book because the Illustrator uses lots of different colours and we also like how the author makes the sensory verbs fit in to the story.

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  5. Danny G ANd thE Calvins27 May 2013 at 17:29

    We like how the author uses sensory words to make the book have more detail and understanding, even though the boy was blind.We also like how the author uses alot of similes and personification to make the reader have a better description and imagination.
    Example:

    -page 23:Only the urchin noticed.And he knew that the life of the creature was trickling away like sand through his fingers.

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    1. Phoebe, Isabella and brooke27 May 2013 at 17:37

      We think that page 23 is kind of sad saying that the life of the creature was trickling away like sand through his fingers. we agree with daniel and calvin because there are a lot of sensory verbs, but also they only put in one example in.

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  6. The author has used colour on the beach but when you look on the top there is no colour only black and white,by that the reader will get that on the beach there is life and happiness but on the in the town there is no colour means no one is happy.

    Page 2-3

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    1. id like to add that i think the author puts dual colors on the island where the town is, because there is no happiness but also the tribe cant see the beauty of the island even though they can see, however the blind boy with all the colorful colors has happiness because he can feel, smell, hear and maybe taste the beauty of the islnad. so i believe the author is trying to let the reader not only use the sense of see but use all of them

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  7. the author doesnt only uses sensory verbs, but he also uses personification, descriptive language and similes.
    e.g
    -pg3.the urchin "heard" the sighs of the sea.(personification)human can sigh except seas.
    -pg3."listened" to the whispers of the sea
    -pg16. waves of laughter
    and many more

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  8. maddy and isaac28 May 2013 at 17:25

    We think that it was a bit mean to put the creature in the pool because that caused him to nearly die because the pool was full of chlorine and they only did it to make themselves happy instead of thinking about the creatures happiness. The urchin. was the only one who cared.
    We agree with phoebe, Isabella and Brooke that page 23 is kind of saying that the creatures life is tickling away like sand through his fingers.

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    1. i agree when they put the creature in the pool was cruel, because i noticed that the creature was turning in to sad dull colors like when the tribe was dull colors when they werent happy

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    2. Mark and Zachary30 May 2013 at 17:31

      we agree the people were so cruel to the magnificent creature because they wanted to be happy but what if the creature needed food to survive he possibly would've came back to the village to have fun with the tribe.

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    3. Chris The Human30 May 2013 at 17:44

      I agree Mark and Zachary though adding on to yours it's not just creatures that need food people need food to and urchins... Anyway you are right if the creature needs food that means they may come back one day....MAYBE JUST ONE DAY.

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  9. In the mornings he let the island reveal its treasures. Swirling shells and time worn pebbles , crinkled sponges sculptured coral and the twisting limbs of driftwood. The author has used descriptive language as well as personification

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  10. The last comment I wrote 17:29
    The page number was {4-5}

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  11. Yes I agree with you bernadette the use personification and descriptive language .
    The people who live in the town can not make there own happiness they need the monster. After the boy and the monster went , the town was sad and probably that town is never ever going to be happy.

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  12. In the book why do they all were suits and also why is the island white then at the bottom there is colour???

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  13. Vanessa and kris30 May 2013 at 17:41

    Why are all the people on the island not laugh?

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  14. Why do the people in there suit drag the creature into the pool then the creature turns sad and pale???

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    1. The people on the island dragged the creature into the pool because they found happiness

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  15. Vanessa and kris30 May 2013 at 17:43

    Why can the blind boy sense things on the beach and the people on the island can't?

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  16. Jaiden and Melody30 May 2013 at 17:44

    The author describes the island through the blind urchin saying he can see, smell, hear and touch, all of these senses in the book are called 'sensory verbs' are used in the story.eg.

    pg3-"heard the fish as they slid through the bay"
    pg3- "he felt the welcome of the sun"
    pg3- "he could smell the scent of the storm"

    pg23-"only the urchin noticed. and he new the life of the creature was trickling away like sand through his fingers"=the author makes it as though the blind boy isn't blind at all.

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