Author: Polly Horvath
Title: The Trolls
Illustrator: None
Genre: Chapter Book
Subgenre: Fiction, Humor
Theme: Value of family.
Primary and Secondary Characters: Pee Wee, Amanda, Melissa, Aunt Sally, and various family members
Awards: National Book Award Finalist, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, ALA Notable Book, Riverbank Review Book of Distinction, Booklist Editor's Choice, Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, Horn Book Fanfare, A Rosie O'Donnell Pick and featured on her television show
Publishing Company: Square Fish
Date of Publication: 1999
Brief Summary and How to Use With Students:
When Pee Wee, Amanda, and Melissa’s parents cannot find a baby sitter they are left to call on Aunt Sally from Canada to come and watch them. Aunt Sally is different than any other baby sitter or grown up they have met before. She lets them color with eye shadow, play with their beans, and tells them wild stories of their family members whom they had never heard of before. The most intriguing story though, is that of the trolls.
This story is directed to students in fourth or fifth grade. It would be great to use for a book review or literature circle. From this book you could introduce other book reads on Canada. You can also teach lessons on the bubonic plague, metaphors, and similes. You can have students do a family tree project as well.
