TWU LS 5603 - Traditional Lit Reviews - SWAMP ANGEL

BIBLIOGRAPHY #3

 Isaacs, Anne, and Paul O. Zelinsky. 1994. SWAMP ANGEL. New York: Dutton Children's Books ISBN 0525452710

PLOT SUMMARY

This tall tale is the story of Angelica, a Tennessee girl who is nicknamed Swamp Angel. She is a bigger than life character who tackles a community’s biggest enemy, a bear named Tarnation, who has stolen all the food for winter.  After Swamp Angel captures and kills the bear, the community can survive the winter on the remains of the bear.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This tall tale is a perfect supplement to a geography lesson about the Great Smoky Mountains and its surrounding area.  The illustrations are beautifully drawn on a background of faux wood grain and are detailed with such great expanded aspects of the story that a reader would have a multitude of additional comments about the storyline. The facial expressions of the community show a desperation and fragileness that the Swamp Angel counters with her soft and sweet characteristics. The text is in the style of a spoken Tennessee dialect with phrases like “why, that varmint would rip the door off a food cellar and gobble up the whole winter’s rations without waiting for a napkin.” There is a mythological aspect of this story by explaining a natural occurrence using a human story. For instance, the Swamp Angel tossed the bear into the sky and left his impression in the stars and the dust stirred up by the wrestling of the bear left the mountains “smoky.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links (ALA) 10/01/08                                               

Notable Best Books (ALA)

BOOKLIST                                                               

School Library Journal 11/01/97

Caldecott medal Honor                                          

School Library Journal starred

Elementary School Library Collection 06/01/00

Wilson’s Children 10/01/06

Booklist starred (1994) - “Isaacs tells her original story with the glorious exaggeration and uproarious farce of the traditional tall tale and with its typical laconic idiom--you just can't help reading it aloud.”

Horn Book starred (1995) - “Zelinsky, working on cherry and maple veneers, has adapted elements of American folk art; his sense of line matches the exuberance of the text so that the effect is a seamless interpretation.”

 

CONNECTIONS

Wheeler, Lisa, and Kurt Cyrus. 2003. AVALANCHE ANNIE: A NOT-SO-TALL TALE. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0152167358

·         Partner this book in discussing other tall tales

Isaacs, Anne, and Paul O Zelinsky. 2010. DUST DEVIL. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

ISBN 0375867228

·         Partner this book as a sequel to Swamp Angel

Johnson, Paul Brett. 2001. FEARLESS JACK. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books ISBN 0689832966

·         Partner this book to have a male main character in a tall tale

TWU LS 5603 - Traditional Lit Reviews - THE THREE PIGS

BIBLIOGRAPHY #2

Wiesner, David. 2001. THE THREE PIGS. New York: Clarion books. ISBN 0618007016

PLOT SUMMARY

In this fractured fairy tale, the three pigs leave the wolf and jump out of the pages of their story only to find and lead other fairy tale characters back to the pig story pages.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book begins similar to the traditional story of the three pigs, with the role of the wolf waiting to eat his prey and the pigs building their houses from the straw, sticks and bricks. The moral of the story “to work hard and diligently to build a house out of brick” is not the theme of this tale. When the pigs are blown out of the story, the added text by the pigs is presented like a graphic novel with word bubbles.  The illustrations add to the visual feeling that the pigs have jumped out of the story by changing the way they are drawn to include more dimension in the story-free pigs. As the pigs take apart the pages of the story and create a paper airplane, the facial expressions of the pigs are of wonder and delight as brilliantly illustrated by Wiesner’s drawings. The use of the empty space on the pages, create a whimsical feel that the pigs have escaped their fate in the story and are playing like children. When the pigs are found in the “diddle diddle” story, the illustrations and colors are appealing to a typical younger reader who would be reading that particular story.  As the pigs enter the dragon story, they are drawn in the same style as the dragon in black and white.  While the pigs retain their simple conversational voices in the word bubbles, the dragon stays in his story character with word choices like “methinks” and “O brave and noble swine.” A final comical point is at the end of the story when the dragon greets the wolf at the final brick house and the text appears to have fallen down the chimney with the wolf. In the last scene, there is a strategically placed framed picture of the wolf in the living room of the pig’s house as all the characters are enjoying their “wolf soup.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links (ALA) 05/01/04                                               

Notable Best Books (ALA) 01/12/02

Booklist starred 05/15/01                                       

Publishers Weekly starred 02/26/01

Caldecott Medal/Honor 01/21/02                         

School Library Journal starred 04/01/01

Horn Book starred 05/01/01                                  

Wilson’s Children 10/01/06

Horn Book (2001) - “Wiesner may not be the first to thumb his nose at picture-book design rules and storytelling techniques, but he puts his own distinct print on this ambitious endeavor.”

School Library Journal (2001) - “Children will delight in the changing perspectives, the effect of the wolf's folded-paper body, and the whole notion of the interrupted narrative.”

 

CONNECTIONS

Hale, Bruce, and Howard Fine. 2008. SNORING BEAUTY. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 015216314X

·         Partner this book in discussing fractured fairy tales.

Pichon, Liz. 2008. THE THREE HORRID LITTLE PIGS. Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales. ISBN 158925077X

·         Partner this book in discussing another version of this fractured fairy tale.

Wiesner, David. 1996. MOO! New York, NY: Clarion Books.

·         Partner this book in discussing the author and his illustrations.

TWU LS 5603 - Traditional Lit Reviews-BABA YAGA: A RUSSIAN FOLKTALE

BIBLIOGRAPHY #1

Kimmel, Eric A., and Megan Lloyd. 1991. BABA YAGA: A RUSSIAN FOLKTALE. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 082340854X

PLOT SUMMARY
This story is a retelling of the Russian folktale of a witch who lives in the forest and has iron teeth. A girl leaves her stepmother and stepsister, ventures to the witch’s hut to ask that a horn be removed from her head, and almost becomes dinner for the witch. With the help of a frog, the girl performs good deeds for the witch’s animals and is rewarded with help to escape her doom. The father returns, only to see the mistreatment that the girl endured and casts the stepmother and stepsister into the streets.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This folktale has fairy tale elements of father abandonment, the evil stepmother and stepsister, the magical talking frog who shares the secret for eventual victory over the wicked witch in the forest, and the reunion with the lost father. The theme is a good versus evil story where the good wins in the end. The conflict is between the main character, Marina, and her stepmother and stepsister with the establishment of the situation from the story’s beginning and details of the mistreatment following the expanding storyline.  The reader wants Marina to flee the situation and find a way to have the horn removed from her head.

The setting is given in the opening lines of the story with the explanation of Marina’s house being set on the “edge of a deep, dark forest.”  This is a classic fairy tale setting whereby the reader assumes that the character will eventually go into the forest to find something dark and deviant. The frog plays the role of the traditional fairy godmother found in other folktales.  He gives Marina information that she will need to get away from the witch, Baba Yaga. As a Russian tale, the full color, vibrant, illustrations are important in educating the readers about the types of clothes, housing, and food that are traditional in Russian culture. The illustrations are positioned on each page to consume a majority of the page with the text interspersed and relate the main plot of the story without the need for text.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Publishers Weekly - “Lloyd's ( How We Learned the Earth Is Round ) burnished, somewhat cartoony illustrations of the rural scene--with such enticing details as a witch's cabin resting on chicken feet--are just right.”

CONNECTIONS

Listen to the Music of Russian composer, Modest Mussorgsky from Pictures at an Exhibition, Movement #9 The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yagá) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition

Helmer, Marilyn, and Noushin Pajouhesh. 2002. THREE TALES OF TRICKERY. Toronto: Kids Can Press. ISBN 1550749374

·         Partner this book in discussing other tales of trickery where good deeds win in the end.

Greene, Ellin, and Kimberly Bulcken Root. 1994. BILLY BEG AND HIS BULL: AN IRISH TALE. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823411001

·         Partner this book in discussing other evil stepmother characterizations and a male main character with other elements that boys would enjoy, like dragons and giants.

Yolen, Jane, and Vladimir Vasilʹevich Vagin. 2002. THE FIREBIRD. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers.  ISBN 0060285389

·         Partner this book in discussing other Russian folktales

TWU LS 5603 - Picture Book Reviews - THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT

BIBLIOGRAPHY #3

Potter, Beatrix. 1992. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT. Avenel, NJ: Derrydale Books. ISBN 051705079X

PLOT SUMMARY

This book is the tale of Peter Rabbit and his visit to Mr. McGregor’s garden. Peter’s mother gives her children a warning to avoid the garden, and all but Peter abide.  After consuming the farmer’s vegetables, Peter is chased out of the garden only to arrive at home and receive a quiet punishment from his mother.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This classic fable is timeless in the narrator’s delivery of the warnings by Peter’s mother and the subsequent consequence of not following the directive to stay out of Mr. McGregor’s garden. The perspective of Peter’s fear is highlighted by the exclamation points and short paragraphs. The description of the garden with its various vegetable names, gives the reader the idea that the garden setting is large and freeing as opposed to the small, confined spaces like Peter squeezing under the fence, narrowly escaping the sieve, and jumping into a can.  The pace of the story is controlled by the amount of text on each page and the illustration on each page.  The drawings assist the reader in the story plot understanding, as well as, add to the suspense of having Peter hide and sneak his way back to his house. The culmination of the story with the chamomile tea reflects the mother’s sentiment at having her son arrive safely at home by giving him a calming dose of the traditional juvenile punishment of “go to bed without any dinner.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links (ALA) 07/01/07

Wilson’s Children 10/01/06

Elementary School Library Collection 06/01/00

CONNECTIONS

The World of Peter Rabbit website. http://www.peterrabbit.com/us/index.asp

Gerstein, Mordicai. 2009. MINIFRED GOES TO SCHOOL. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0060758902

·         Partner this book in discussing rules and expected behavior

Pinkwater, Daniel and Pinkwater, Jill. 2003. BAD BEARS IN THE BIG CITY: AN IRVING & MUTUK STORY. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618252088

·         Partner this book in discussing the mischief one kind find in the country versus the city setting

TWU LS 5603 - Picture Book Reviews - UPTOWN

BIBLIOGRAPHY #2

Collier, Bryan. 2000. UPTOWN. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0805057218

PLOT SUMMARY

This picture book is a story of Harlem, New York and the sights and sounds on the streets as seen through a young boy’s eyes.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is a series of statements about Uptown in Harlem, New York that has a duet narrator approach and is visible in the font choice and arrangement, and the color choice of each declaration.  Each statement defining Uptown has a response by the main character, a young boy, as seen in the illustrations which are intricate pictures formed from patterns and prints. The book is illustrated in the form of collages that invite the reader to linger on each page after the text has been read. The illustrations authenticate the text on the page.  For instance, “Uptown is Jazz” is reflected in the picture of the upright bass made of a collage of wood and a saxophone constructed from a metal watch collage. Both instruments reflect a visual element that is true to the authentic instrument.

The text is not difficult for young readers nor does it contain much material for further discussion. The illustrations are beautifully detailed and add interest to the layout of the book which could create avenues for class discussions about all the things that define Uptown.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist (2000) -  “It's the artwork that takes center stage, the gorgeous, textured collages giving impressions of spaces and moments in the boy's neighborhood.”

Horn Book (2000) - “From small intimate places such as the local barbershop to the world-famous Apollo Theater, the reader's senses are bathed in the sights and sounds that make Harlem this small boy's paradise.”

Book Links (ALA) 01/01/09                                   

Kirkus Review 06/01/00

Booklist 02/15/02

Library Talk 11/01/00

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 11/01/00

School Library Journal starred 07/01/00

Coretta Scott King Award/Honor 01/15/01

CONNECTIONS

Suen, Anastasia, and Karen Katz. 2004. SUBWAY. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670036226

·         Partner this book in discussing sounds of the city or how to get uptown by riding the subway

Dillon, Leo, and Diane Dillon. 2007. JAZZ ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. New York: Blue Sky Press.

ISBN 0590478931

·         Partner this book in discussing the Jazz as a musical form including some of the founding fathers of the musical genre

 

TWU LS 5603 - Picture Book Reviews - THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS

BIBLIOGRAPHY #1

Gerstein, Mordicai. 2003. THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Book Press. ISBN 0761317910

PLOT SUMMARY
This picture book is an account of Philippe Petit’s 1974 daring tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. As a street performer, Philipe plans and carries out an amazing feat of bravery by installing the tightrope and spending an hour between the towers before being arrested and sentenced to perform for the children in the park below.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gerstein’s writing begins with simple, short sentences.  As the story builds and incorporates suspense and secrecy, the sentence composition is longer with more descriptive passages and numerous commas which allow the reader to take small short breaths adding to the emotional tension in the story. There is a foreshadowing of the story’s climax by the illustrations and text at the beginning where a small figure is seen in the corner of the opening illustration staring up at the enormous towers. The vocabulary is relatively simple with illustrations used for word discovery.  For example the word “unicycle” may not be familiar to young readers in print alone, but the added illustration yields the word from the reader.

The colors chosen in the night illustration scene reflect both the time of day and the emotional state of the main character which in effect results in the reader sharing the same feelings during the story.  The dark colors of blue, green and gray for the night-time scene also add to the “darkness” in breaking the law by crossing the towers. The unique, fold-out pages extend the illustration and the reader’s perspective with relation to height in following the main character on his journey across the rope. The extended illustrations can be a tool of discussion about architecture, math, urban living and geography.  

This book ends with a non-descript statement of the fact that the towers are no longer standing.  This book will require some pre-planned accurate answers for why the towers are no longer standing, based on the reader’s age, community, and school environment.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S) New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year, 2003 Winner United States

The Boston Globe – Horn Book Award Winner, 2004Randolph Caldecott Medal, 2004 Winner United States

Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “The pacing of the narrative is as masterful as the placement and quality of the oil-and-ink paintings.”

CONNECTIONS

Sobol, Richard and Hudson, Cheryl. CONSTRUCTION ZONE. ISBN 0763626848

·         Partner this book in discussing the procedures in construction and massive structure that was the World Trade Center.

Levy, Debbie. THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. ISBN 0737720719

·         Partner this book in discussing the World Trade Center as a great structure in history as compared to the famed Eiffel Tower and its 2001 demise.

Kimmel, Eric. Ill. By Mordicai Gerstein. THREE SAMURAI CATS: A STORY FROM JAPAN. ISBN 0439692563

·         Partner this book in discussing the violence in the destruction of the World Trade Center with the outcome of this book to discover that violence is not a solution to a problem.