Children’s Story Reports.

What should you write in your report? Here is my outline. Read it carefully. This will tell you how to write your report.

Your report can be in either English or Japanese (English reports may get more points but they must be comprehensible).

1. What is the title of your story in English and in Japanese?
2. Who are the main characters? Don’t just tell us their names. E.g. “The main characters are a family of four London children who go to live with a Professor who lives in a big house in the country. The other characters are a wicked witch, and various talking animals, including a lion called Aslan.”
3. Where and when does the story take place? E.g., “The story takes place in England during the Second World War. The four children are sent away from London to avoid the war. In the Professor’s house they discover a wardrobe which is a gate to a magical world called Narnia, where a wicked witch rules and it is always winter and never Christmas.”
4. Give a short summary of the story (main points only). E.g., “A wicked witch rules Narnia where it is always winter. The real ruler of the country, however, is Aslan the lion. There is a prophecy that he will return. Another prophecy says that the witch’s rule will end when four human children sit on the four thrones of the castle in Narnia called Caer Paravel. When the witch hears that a human child has entered Narnia and that that child has 3 brothers and sisters, she decides to catch them and kill them. Some animals help the children. One of the children, Edmund, is tempted to betray his brother and sisters to the witch. But Aslan arrives and stops this. According to the old law, the traitor must be given to the Witch. Aslan and the Witch agree that Aslan shall die instead of Edmund.  Aslan is killed. The next day, however, he returns to life. There is an older magic, he says, which says that death shall be reversed if someone offers their life for another. The four children and their animal friends and Aslan defeat the Witch in battle and she is killed. Winter is over and spring returns to Narnia. The four children become kings and queens of Narnia. Many years later as adults, they go through the door of the wardrobe, and find themselves in England once again as young children.
5. Compare the story you read with “The Magician’s Nephew”.
   1. Is magic used in your story? How? What kind of magic? Is it good magic or bad magic, or both?
   2. Is there another world in your story, like Narnia? If so, what kind of world is it? How is it different from Narnia? How is it the same?
   3. What other similar points 共通点 are there between your story and “The Magician’s Nephew”?
6. Did you like the story you chose? Why (or why not)? Which parts did you enjoy? Do you recommend this story to your classmates? Why (or why not)?
7. (Optional) Add your own illustrations.