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.
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| 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:
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