ABC BOOK REPORT - EXAMPLES

Here are a few examples of detailed entries that required a little extra reading and online research.
These are not quick, fast definitions, but show depth of knowledge.  The only thing possibly missing is HOW the words fit into the story.  (See comments in parentheses on what could have been added).


H 
is for wool HABITS, which are the long robes that many monks or priests wore during Medieval times.  You could often tell the “order” or group a holy man belonged to by the color of his habit.  The Benedictines wore black; the Cistercians wore undyed wool or white.  St. Benedict stated that a monk’s clothes should be plain but comfortable. (Who wore them in your story? Describe the person who was wearing one.  What were they doing?  How are they impacting the story/plot?)

U
is for the UNIVERSE, which the human body was seen as being part of, an idea taken from Greek and Roman thought.  The human body was seen as having four types of “humors,” or body fluids that were directly related to the four elements: fire = yellow bile or choler; water = phlegm; earth = black bile; air = blood.  These humors had to be balanced.  Too much of one was thought to cause a change in personality -- for example, too much black bile could create melancholy (deep sadness). (Did someone discuss this topic?  Where?  Why?  What conclusion did they arrive at?  Or, was there a doctor or a person who claimed someone's humors were out of balance?  Maybe YOU can describe how a character in your book might be viewed.  How do they act and what might someone say about their humors?  Do we think like this today?)