Potch & Polly by William Steig
The strength of this book is the wonderful examples of figurative language and descriptive words.
Figurative language: “there was an angel with a clown’s face hovering over the bed” on the day that Potch was born which is saying that Potch is a very happy person most of the time.
Metaphor: Polly was a sugar bowl to Potch.
Alliteration: The author uses an abundance of words beginning with the letter “p.” He also uses other sounds for alliteration throughout the story.
Inference: Potch has a butler and servants. We can infer that Potch is well off or rich.
Gammon, his butler, makes an inference that Potch is overweight when he says he should dress as a hippopotamus rather than a skeleton for the party.
Multiple meanings of words: “having a ball at the ball.”
Descriptive words: reluctantly, preternatural, smitten, ensconced
Predicting: Who will be in the box?
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