Title - Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Author: Steig, William Publisher: Simon & Schuster Print Synopsis Authors Purpose Genre In a moment of fright, Sylvester the donkey asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then cannot hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again. Entertain Fantasy RDQ (Reading Difficulty Quotient) Accelerated Reader Lexile Find at 856 3.4 710 RDQ based on a maximum of 3000 words Levels are suggested levels based on RDQ, not official levels Sentences Total Words Different Words Max Word/Sent 46 Total # of Words 1428 # of Different Words 471 Ave Word/.Sent 10 Hi Freq occurs 980 68.6% # of Hi freq words 195 41.4% % of Long Sentences 12.8 Low Freq occurs 63 4.4% # of Low freq words 50 10.6% Subjective Criteria Illustrations: Little support Dialog: Multiple speakers Dialog: Broken dialogue Vocabulary: Some difficult words Language: Many descriptive words Sentences: Some Long/Complex Text structure: Story/Poem Concept: Fanciful Features Character traits Topics Wishes Seasons Magic Donkeys Rocks/Minerals Family *Fictional Ideas/Charac Low Frequency Words aimlessly alfalfa calmed compote concluded dreadful duncan embraces eventually exclamations extraordinary fetlock flaming frantic gradually gratified gully helpless hind hobbies imagined inquiring instant longed meanwhile miserable muttered mysterious neighborhood neighbors nook oatsdale paced panicked perplexed pickled piglets possibilities relatives remarkable sassafras scent soothe sorrow startled surely sylvester unable warmth wart