Swamp Angel

Swamp Angel, by Anne Isaacs, 1994

Isaacs, Anne, and Paul O. Zelinsky, ill. Swamp Angel. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 1994. ISBN 978-0140559088

Ages 5 and up

Author Anne Isaacs’ story about Angelica Longrider begins by mentioning her birth in 1815, and describes her as “scarcely taller than her mother and couldn’t climb a tree without help.” Right away, the matter-of-factness of such details tells us we are in for one TALL tale. In this Paul Bunyan-style story, Angelica Longrider grows up to become a gentle giantess who got the name Swamp Angel when she was 12-years-old after rescuing some stranded settlers who were mired in a swamp.

Illustration by Paul O. Zelinsky,
image from goodreads.com

Years later a huge bear, named Thundering Tarnation (because those were the words most commonly used when people saw him), had “a bottomless appetite for settlers’ grub” and began terrorizing the settlers of Tennessee. Swamp Angel, undeterred by the taunts of men who told her she should stay home and make a quilt or bake a pie, signed up to kill the varmint in a contest to earn the title of Champion Wildcat. After outwitting several men, Thundering Tarnation met Swamp Angel on the opposite bank of a river, and the two “commenced to fight.” In true tall tale fashion, Swamp Angel tosses the giant critter into the sky and lassos it with a passing tornado. The two wrestle for three days and stir up so much dust “that those hills are still called the Great Smoky Mountains.” When Tarnation pins Angel to the bottom of a lake, she simply drinks it dry. After they both fall asleep and snore down nearly the whole forest, Angel snores down the last tree and kills the bear. That night, Tarnation fed everyone in Tennessee, and the leftovers filled all of the emptied storehouses in the state, “just before the first snowfall.” Swamp Angel decided to keep the bear’s pelt as a rug, but had to move to Montana because it was too big for Tennessee. The pelt is now called the Shortgrass Prairie. People remember Tarnation on a starry night, because when Swamp Angel threw him into the sky, he crashed into a pile of stars and left a lasting impression.

In her first book, Anne Isaacs follows in the footsteps of tall-tale-tellers Steven Kellogg (Paul Bunyan), Julius Lester (John Henry), and Mary Pope Osborne (American Tall Tales) to bring Swamp Angel to life. True to the genre, Isaacs tells the exaggerated story of a larger-than-life Tennessee woodswoman in a matter-of-fact style.

Paul O. Zelinsky rightly won a Caldecott Honor for this book. He worked in a primitive style, oil painting on cherry and maple veneers, that gives the illustrations a warm and rich feeling. They are well detailed, and full of expression and whimsy – the perfect accompaniments to a tall tale set in the American wilderness.

Reading and writing connections:

• ·      Compare and contrast Swamp Angel and her story with other famous characters from tall tales. Consider these examples:

o   Kellogg, Steven. Paul Bunyan. ISBN 978-0688058005

o   Lester, Julius. John Henry. ISBN 978-0140566222

o   Kellogg, Steven. Pecos Bill. ISBN 978-0688099244

o   Osborne, Mary Pope. American Tall Tales. ISBN 978-0679800897

o   Nolen, Jerdine, Thunder Rose. ISBN 978-0152060060

o   Mora, Pat. Doña Flor. ISBN 978-0375823374

• ·      Have students write their own tall tale. Have them think through a character, setting, and problem/solution. Tall tales often explain (in exaggerated ways, of course) how natural elements occurred, such as the Shortgrass Prairie of Montana in Swamp Angel. Have your writers include a detail in their story about how a river, mountain, valley, desert, etc. came into being.
• ·      Older students can study tall tales more in-depth and research how and when they came to be known in America.

Awards:

Caldecott Honor Book, 1995

ALA Notable Book, 1995

School Library Journal Best Book, 1995

New York Times Best Illustrated Book, 1995

Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, 1995

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly: “This valiant heroine is certain to leave youngsters chuckling-and perhaps even keeping a close watch on the night sky.” (1994)

Kirkus Reviews: “It is impossible to convey the sheer pleasure, the exaggerated loopiness, of newcomer Isaacs's wonderful story. Matching the superb text stride for stride are Zelinsky's (The Wheels on the Bus, 1990) altered-state, American primitive paintings--gems that provide new pleasures, reading after reading. To say that you are entering Caldecott land doesn't begin to do this book justice.” (1994)

If you want to learn more about author Anne Isaacs and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky, here are links to their websites:

http://www.anneisaacs.com

http://www.paulozelinsky.com/index.html

Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale

Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale, Adapted by Eric A. Kimmel, 2010

Kimmel, Eric A., and Omar Rayyan, ill. Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Children, 2010. ISBN 9-780761-455998

Ages 4-8

Stories about wishes are always fun, because you know that somehow, some way, something will go terribly wrong. This folktale, adapted by Eric A. Kimmel, shows us yet another twist on how wishes can go awry.

Artwork by Omar Ruyyan, image from
schoollibraryjournal.com

This charming tale begins with our protagonist, Joha, walking down a long, hot road to Baghdad. He stops to rest in the shade of some ruins. When he leans against a wall, it gives way and he discovers a parchment that explains that the stick inside is a wishing stick, with the usual warning – “Use it wisely.” After wishing for red leather slippers for his tired feet, Joha discovers that not only does he not get what he wished for, but his worn-out sandals are gone also! After getting angry at the stick and wishing it would disappear, it sticks tightly to his hand (are you beginning to sense a theme here?). After being forced to carry a donkey on his back the rest of the way to Baghdad (instead of the donkey carrying him) Joha now realizes the stick he’s carrying is trouble, and vows to remain silent. But as the sultan passes by and Joha does not shout “Long life to the Sultan!” with the crowd, he gets in trouble with the guards, and then the sultan himself when a wish for a wart on the sultan’s nose to go away multiplies the wart instead. Joha flees before the guards can behead him, and a kindly shopkeeper hides him. After listening to Joha’s troubles, the shopkeeper realizes that Joha has been holding the wishing upside down, and “If the stick is upside down, your wishes will be upside down, too.” After this discovery, the shopkeeper reminds Joha that fixing the sultan’s nose would be the right thing to do. After he does that, however, the sultan takes the wishing stick from Joha and gives him the same donkey he had carried to Baghdad as his reward (but this time, Joha’s the rider). As Joha is riding away from Baghdad, he wonders to himself and the donkey if he should go back and tell the sultan about holding the stick the right way – then decides against it. The sultan, as we see on the last page, never figures it out for himself.

Illustrator Omar Ruyyan's beautiful watercolor paintings are intricate, detailed, and full of humor and whimsy. Bricks on Joha’s turban after he falls through the wall, the expression on the donkey’s face when it is being carried on Joha’s back, and the reflection of the sultan’s warted nose as he sees himself in a hand mirror are just some of the examples of Ruyyan’s wit and imagination. He depicts ancient Middle Eastern culture without stereotyping it, and some of the patterns and images he incorporates into his paintings can be found in photographs of Middle Eastern art and architecture.

According to Eric A. Kimmel’s “A Note from the Author,” (Joha Makes a Wish, Kimmel, 2010) Joha tales are well-known throughout the Middle East. He appears as Nasreddin Hoja, the wise fool, in stories from Turkey, Iran, and Central Asia. Joha stories have a lot to teach us about the thin line between wisdom and foolishness, according to Kimmel, and this specific tale was inspired by “The Answered Prayer,” a tale from Yemen. The text of that story can be found in Sharylya Gold and Mishael Maswari Caspi’s The Answered Prayer and Other Yemenite Folktales (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2004).

Joha Makes a Wish is a wonderful folktale that teaches young and old alike that granted wishes are not always what we wanted or needed. Kimmel writes in a way that is easy to read for story times, as well as quietly flipping through the pages, closely examining the artwork, and taking in the story as it unfolds. I had the opportunity to read this book to first, second, and third grade students, and they all enjoyed the story and laughed at the illustrations.

Reading and writing connections:

• ·      Have students read other stories about wishes and wishing to compare and contrast the stories. Here are some to consider:

o   Kunstler, James Howard. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. ISBN 978-0689800634

o   Perrault, Charles. “The Ridiculous Wishes,” retold in Old-Time Stories told by Master Charles Perrault. ISBN 978-1447449140

o   Djurklou, Baron G. “The Sausage,” retold in Fairy Tales from the Swedish. ASIN B004I43SBM

• ·      Have students write their own story about wishes. What everyday object can they imagine giving them wishes?
• ·      Since there are only a few speaking characters in this story (Joha, a guard, the donkey, the sultan and the shopkeeper), it could be easily adapted for readers theatre.
• ·      Get some wooden dowels at the hardware store (they will cut them to length) and let your students create their own wishing sticks with other art supplies that you or your art teacher provides.

Reviews:

School Library Journal: “The wishing scheme and fulsome pictures promise read-aloud fun.” (2010)

Jewish Book World Magazine: “Here Kimmel has melded a traditional Middle Eastern character with a traditional Jewish tale to tell a humorous story for general children's collections.” (2010)

If you want to learn more about author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Omar Rayyan, here are links to their websites:

http://ericakimmel.com

http://studiorayyan.com/omar-rayyan-info.php

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale, retold by Steven Guarnaccia, 2010

Guarnaccia, Steven. 2010. The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale. Ill. by the author. New York City: Abrams Books. ISBN 9-780810-989412

Artwork by Steven Guarnaccia, image by abramsbooks.com

Ages 3-8

We all know the timeless story of the Three Little Pigs. Author and illustrator Steven Guarnaccia puts a new and decidedly design-focused spin on this enduring story with The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale. He is currently the chair of the illustration program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.

Once upon a time, as this fractured fairy tale begins, three little pigs decide to leave their mother's arts and crafts style home (The Gamble House, designed by Charles and Henry Greene) to face the world on their own. The first little pig, represented as Frank Gehry, makes his house out of scraps, like the Gehry House. The second little pig, who resembles Philip Johnson, creates a house out of glass, a la Johnson's Glass House, and the third little pig, who is depicted as Frank Lloyd Wright, builds his Fallingwater home out of stone and concrete. The big bad wolf, looking stylish in a leather jacket and riding a Philippe Stark-designed motorcycle, arrives at the first pig’s house. With his request to be let in rebuffed ("not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin."), the wolf huffs and puffs and blows the house of scraps away. Then the wolf arrives at the Glass House, is refused entry, and proceeds to blow that house "to smithereens" (the children I read this book to really liked that word). After pulling up to the home of the third pig and unable to get in or blow it down, the wolf invites the pig to meet him at a greenhouse to get tomatoes the next day at 7 a.m. The pig arrives at the greenhouse (I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louve) at 6 a.m., gets some tomatoes, and leaves, having tricked the wolf. After two more days of trickery by the pig, the wolf arrives at Fallingwater and announces he is coming in after them. He tumbles down the chimney and into a fire, scorching his tail. Running from the house, smoke streaming from his tail, the wolf leaves, never to return, and the pigs sit down to a dinner of tomato soup and apple pie and live happily ever after.

Guarnaccia's pen and ink and watercolor drawings are eye-catching and pop off the page. Many of the illustrations include celebrated furnishings and other high-design objects created by world-renowned designers. As a guide for readers who want to know more about the objects, Guarnaccia included each object with its name, the designer’s name and year it was created on the endpapers. Even the greenery, trees, and clouds are stylized, and the text looks as though it was carefully handwritten.

This classic story has found new life in Guarnaccia’s picture book, which serves as an excellent introduction to architecture and design, and is great for a read aloud. He stays true to the story, and proves that he has a talent for combining art and the art of storytelling. The book is sophisticated enough that adults who are fans of design and architecture will enjoy it also. I personally read this book to three different classes at my elementary school, and the students truly enjoyed it. They were especially delighted to see the wolf on a motorcycle.

Learning connections include:

•      A more in-depth discussion of what architecture and design are. 
•           Every child is a designer! Let them use their imaginations to design an everyday object and/or a building (A new home? A new school?). You never know, one of your students could be the next big name in design.
•          Older students could research one of the architects or designers represented in the book, learning  more about them and their works.
•          If you have Guarnaccia’s Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you could compare and contrast the illustrations in both books.
•          Have students write about why design is important. What would life be like if all chairs looked the same, or everyone wore the same clothes?
•          Invite a local architect or designer to visit your class to discuss their job – remind them to bring some tools of the trade to show off to the class.
•         Invite your art teacher to get involved by asking him or her to show students famous examples of architecture and design and discuss why they are famous.
• Create a Three Little Pigs mutli-circled Venn diagram after reading other versions of the story, and have students compare and contrast.

Reviews:

Booklist: “Guarnaccia combines a delightfully fractured fairy tale with an ultrastylish, kid-friendly primer of twentieth-century design.” (2012)

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “There is a certain genius to this reimagining. After all, the original children’s tale was grounded in the lessons of choosing good materials and planning well.” (2010)

If you want to learn more about Steven Guarnaccia and his body of work, here is his official website:

http://stevenguarnaccia.com

The website is under construction, but currently features some of the illustrations from this book, for those who are curious.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?, by Mo Willems, 2012

Willems, Mo. The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? Ill. by the author. 1st ed. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 2012. ISBN #: 978-142315128-9

Ages 3-8

In this fifth book in the Pigeon series by Mo Willems, Pigeon’s cute little antagonist, Duckling, asks politely for a cookie, and gets one (with nuts!). Enter our indignant friend Pigeon, who is clearly upset by the injustice of not getting a cookie himself. The two banter on about why Duckling has a cookie (he asked politely), which leads Pigeon to become frantic because he asks for things all the time. He then recites a litany of things he has asked for, including a French Fry Robot, a walrus, a personal iceberg, and of course, to drive the bus. He ends this rant with a sobbing “But do I get what I ask for?” And of course the answer is a resounding NOOOO (with 27 O’s). After bemoaning how unfair the situation is, he asks Duckling why HE got the cookie, to which Duckling replies that he got it to give to Pigeon. Taken aback by Duckling’s generosity, Pigeon takes the cookie and thanks Duckling (very much). He then walks away, chomping on his cookie and remarking how cool Duckling is. Duckling then ends the story by asking for another cookie (again, politely), but this time, no nuts.

Willems’ simple line drawings, created with black felt-tip marker and digital color, are effective and expressive in how they convey the characters’ emotions. He also uses small detail lines outside of the characters’ bodies to depict motion, which creates a type of animation of the character. Other small details, such as the nuts on the cookie, feathers flying out from the Pigeon or Duckling and onomatopoeia to convey flying and walking sounds, make the book even more fun. The observant reader will also notice that the front two inside cover pages have illustrations of cookies with nuts. The back-cover pages – cookies with no nuts (and one is half-eaten).

This is the same illustration style that won Willems a Caldecott Honor in 2003, for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. He also won another Caldecott Honor in 2004 using that style along with retouched photography in Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. Willems wants his illustrations to be accessible to children – he wants them to be able to draw the characters themselves (readingrockets.org, 2007), and he accomplishes that with his simple and emotive drawings.  

Reviews:

Kirkus Reviews: “Just as enjoyable as a read-aloud to a group or as a one-on-one lapsit, it’s a pleasure to see Willems at the top of his game, and The Pigeon suitably humbled.” (Jan. 2012)

Amazon Best Books of the Month for Kids: “I appreciate the book’s message about the power of politeness and the rewards of sharing (warning: cookies are involved), yet the story never loses the jovial, high-spirited quality that makes the Pigeon books so popular with kids and the adults who read to them.” (April 2012)

The Horn Book Review: “The Pigeon may not get the Duckling’s message about manners and unselfishness, but young listeners will. And when they demand this book again, they just might ask politely.” (Mar./Apr. 2012)

Booklist: “Fans will delight at another outing, and the protagonist’s indelible pigeonality will welcome newcomers to the club.” (May 2012)

If you want to learn more about Mo Willems and his work, here’s his official website. It’s probably the most fun and informational children’s author’s websites around:

http://mowillems.com

Here’s a link to the too-cute and funny book trailer for The Duckling Gets a Cookie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nURTUmLSYd8

Works Cited/Used

‪"A Video Interview with Mo Willems" Interview by Reading Rockets. Readingrockets.org. 2011. Accessed September 12, 2012. ‪ http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/willems/

"An Interview with Mo Willems." Interview by Jared Chapman. Drawn.ca. May 25, 2006. Accessed September 12, 2012.

        http://drawn.ca/archive/an-interview-with-mo-willems/

The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, 1962

Keats, Ezra Jack. 1962. The Snowy Day. Ill. by the author. New York City: Viking Penguin, Inc. ISBN 0-670-65400-0

Currently celebrating its 50^th anniversary, The Snowy Day takes us through a day in the life of Peter, who on the first page, is in awe of the snow-covered world he just woke up to. The reader follows the inquisitive and adventurous Peter through his day of wonderment. After putting on his red snowsuit, Peter starts exploring the snow-blanketed city. He makes funny footprints in he snow and turns around to admire his handywork. He finds a stick and smacks a snow-laden tree with it – and gets a nice “plop” of snow on his head. He thinks twice about joining the older boys for a snowball fight, and instead chooses to create a smiling snowman and some snow angels. Then he pretends to be a mountain climber and climbs up a “mountain” of heaping snow and slides down it. Perhaps the most charming part of the story is when Peter gets home and decides to put a snowball in his pocket to save for tomorrow. After his mother helps him out of his wet clothes, Peter takes a bath and reminisces about his day. Before bed, he becomes very sad when he discovers his snowball is no longer in the pocket of his snowsuit. While he sleeps, he dreams that all of the snow melted away, but then he wakes up to discover that new snow is falling! So after breakfast, he gets his friend from across the hall, and they venture out into the newly fallen snow together.

Keats used collage, with cutouts of patterned paper, fabric and oilcloth, homemade snowflake stamps, and spatterings of India ink with a toothbrush to create the illustrations in The Snowy Day. The pictures are beautiful in their simplicity, and help the reader develop the story’s “movie in your mind” as each page is turned. Keats used muted tones to reflect colors in the snow, and bright colors to accent Peter in his red snowsuit, city buildings, the blue sky, and the big boys at play. A big pink cutout bathtub is featured on one two-page spread with a collaged mosaic tile floor underneath, while a thoughtful Peter sits in the tub with a yellow rubber ducky and soap bubbles floating above. Patterned paper was used to create Peter’s pajamas and his mother’s bright yellow dress. It is fascinating to me that Keats handmade the snowflake stamps used on the last few pages and inside cover pages. How many different snowflake patterns can you count? Certainly for its time, this was a uniquely illustrated book.

This classic children’s picture book, for ages 2-6, includes several firsts. It was the first children’s picture book to feature a minority (African-American) child as the main character. It was the first book that the author wrote and illustrated. The artistic techniques that give this book its unique look were methods Keats had never used before. And he was awarded his first Randolph Caldecott Medal for The Snowy Day in 1963.

Learning connections could include:

• A more in-depth discussion of the techniques Keats used, and allowing students to use collage, stamps, and spatter techniques to create their own unique art.
• Students could write reflections about their favorite snowy day.
• A literature discussion could focus on the Caldecott Medal. Why do you think this book won? What is your favorite illustration in the book and explain why it is your favorite. Make sure students qualify their answers as specifically as possible, discussing materials, colors, or the depiction of a really snowy day. What should be included in an illustration for a snowy day? What would they include?
• Compare and contrast other Keats books, especially those that have Peter as the main character.

Reviews:

The New York Times: “A gentle story that tells its action eloquently in few words and in the frosty blues and other beautifully combined colors of outstanding illustrations.” (1962)

Publishers Weekly: “Ezra Jack Keats's classic The Snowy Day, winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, pays homage to the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow.” (1996)

The Wall Street Journal: “The book remains beloved because Mr. Keats so beautifully captures the wonderment of a boy encountering his first snowfall.” (Jan. 2012)

Awards: The Randolph Caldecott Medal, 1963

If you want to learn more about Ezra Jack Keats and his body of work, here’s the official website of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation:

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org

Here's an animated, read-aloud version of the book, also from the Foundation:

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/fun-games/the-snowy-day-read-aloud/ 

Works Consulted

"Biography: Ezra Jack Keats." The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. 2012. Accessed September 12, 2012. http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/.