Brittany H Modern Fantasy

Lucy Dove

by Janice Del Negro

This was a supernatural tale about a man who is told by a fortune teller that if he can get a pair of trousers sewn by the light of the full moon, in the graveyard of old St. Andrews church, the trousers will bring him good fortune. The only problem is St. Andrews is haunted by something no one dares speak of, however that isnt enough to stop seamstress Lucy Dove from accepting the challenge for a much needed sack of gold. When she enters the graveyard and begins sewing under the full moon, everything is fine and she starts to let her guard down until a horrific monster with long pointy teeth awakens from a near grave! However, Lucy Dove is very brave and continues finishing the trousers even under the threat of the monster! Through the plot we can easily see how this book falls under the modern fantasy category. It is a fun childrens ghost story about ghoulish monsters and we can see that an item is personified in this story, that being the lucky trousers. I would also like to mention that the situation of sewing trousers in a graveyard by the light of the full moon is much exaggerated for the purpose of making it into a more fantastic event for children. None of these characteristics are something we come across in reality, so we can easily determine that this is a modern fantasy novel! Del Negro, J. (1998). Lucy Dove. New York, NY: DK Publishing Co.

Dust Devil

by Anne Isaacs

This is a modern fantasy story (sequel to Swamp Angel) about a girl named Angel Longrider who is growing up in the 1800s. The first thing the reader will notice is how very large Angel actually is. In fact, Angel has grown so large since the last book that she outgrew the state of Tennessee and had to move to Montana. In Montana, she rides a dust devil like a bucking horse and creates the Grand Canyon! You can see through this example how this story fits into this genre, because saying that an oversized little girl riding a storm created the Grand Canyon is just something so outrageous! While in this new state she meets a gang of

ornery bandits, who fly around on humongous mosquitoes! This is not possible in reality so again it is an example of how it falls into the modern fantasy category. In this story I like the fact we really get to know the character Angel, because you easily realize how brave, spunky, and caring she is in many ways. For example, when she locks up the bandits and everyones gold teeth get returned to the rightful owners! I really enjoyed this story and think it would be so fun to use in a social studies class to introduce all the beautiful landscapes in Montana. However, I would have to be sure and let them know the Grand Canyon and geysers were not caused by a giant young girl and her enormous horse! After the book you could make a list and integrate into science about how these landscapes actually formed and how long it actually took. Isaacs, A. (2010). Dust Devil. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Part Two
What characterizes this genre as being different from Traditional Literature or Fantasy? o Traditional Literature is based upon stories that have been passed along orally, so the original authors are unknown. These stories are often just retold and the versions vary. In modern fantasy, we know who the original author is. o In traditional fantasy and literature the characters usually arent well known and developed to the reader; it is more based upon some kind of theme or message. In modern fantasy, we do know the characters very well and we know the world the characters are in!

What characterizes this genre as being similar from Traditional Literature or Fantasy? o Traditional Literature and Fantasy are both similar to this genre because they are all stories that are about situations we dont encounter in real life. Also, all three of these genres are stories that are untrue.