Topic may also be identified by saying that the book is about child abuse, or homelessness, or survival. In some types of children's literature, there are various phrases which are used to identify the central ideas of the stories and which reveal more abouat the story due to the simpler nature of the stories themselves. These phrases tell the reader more about the nature of the story because the story is a relatively simple one. Consider the story of Cinderella as an example to identify a story's topics and themes. Cinderella consists of several pivotal ideas which work together to create the story.
Conflict is the element of the story which shows the concerns of the central characters.
One or more of these may be used by an author to tell a story and to present a theme or a set of themes. Foreshadowing refers to a clue which suggests a later event in the plot, or the outcome of the story. The character who tells the story. The links on this page will take you to other sites which provide definitions and information about various terms used in the discussion of literature. Some of the definitions might be used with elementary level children, and some of the definitions would be more appropriately taught at high school and university levels.