Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kimmel, Eric A. 2007. ANANSI AND THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK. Ill. by Janet Stevens. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0-8234-0689-X

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

Anansi the spider is walking through the woods one day and happens upon a moss-covered rock with special powers. He uses it too trick his friends, until one of them is not fooled and decides to teach Anansi a lesson.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Not a big fan of spiders here! Putting that aside, though, Kimmel’s story was surprisingly easy to get lost in. The character of Anansi the spider is a trickster, and for good reason—he is an interpretation of the West African trickster god. The “once upon a time” introduction clues readers in to the fact that this is a tale of some sort. He comes across a “strange moss-covered rock” that puts you to sleep for an hour when those words are uttered. Once he discovers its magic ability through trial and error, he proceeds to use its power for bad by luring his neighbors to it and one by one stealing their food. That is, at least, until Little Bush Deer catches him at it and gives him a dose of his own medicine. This would be a good story to share with children in order to teach them about NOT doing harm to other lest it be returned upon you.

The book is illustrated by Janet Stevens who uses a vibrant color palette to bring the jungle to life. Though my eyes tended to skip over the spider (remember, not a fan!), the characters are beautifully drawn.

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “The text is rhythmic, nicely building suspense to the inevitable conclusion. Stevens' complementary, colorful illustrations add detail, humor, and movement to the text.”

5.      CONNECTIONS

*Lead children in a discussion about right and wrong. Is it right to trick people? What lesson did children learn from reading Anansi? What other means could Anansi have used to get food that didn’t involve trickery and stealing?

*Other tales featuring Anansi the spider:

            Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI AND THE TALKING MELON. ISBN 0823411672

            Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI AND THE MAGIC STICK. ISBN 0823417638

            Kimmel, Eric A. ANANSI GOES FISHING. ISBN 0823410226

The Three Pigs

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wiesner, David. 2001. THE THREE PIGS. Ill. by David Wiesner. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-00701-6

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

Wiesner’s THE THREE PIGS provides a unique twist to the traditional story it retells.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Wiesner’s THE THREE PIGS is simply wonderful! I enjoyed every page of this humorous retelling of the classic tale. The wolf is still present, and he’s still huffing and puffing and blowing houses down…but readers will notice that contrary to the written words, these little piggies don’t get eaten—they get blown right out of the story, much to the wolf’s confusion! After taking several detours through other classic tales, they invite their newfound friends to “come home” with them to the brick house in their story. Once there, the wolf, readying his attempt to blow down the brick home, gets a big surprise!

Every page of this adorable story was enjoyable—you just never knew what would come next. Wiesner’s artwork does his book justice by using watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil and colored pencil to create characters with different textures and coloring. The facial expressions he applies to the pigs are priceless. A highly recommended read!

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Winner of the 2002 Caldecott Medal

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Children will delight in the changing perspectives, the effect of the wolf's folded-paper body, and the whole notion of the interrupted narrative.”

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Wiesner has created a funny, wildly imagined tale that encourages kids to leap beyond the familiar, to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories.”

5.      CONNECTIONS

* Book discussion: what parts of the books do the children like best? Which do they prefer—the classic tale, or Wiesner’s take?

* Other Caldecott-winning books by this author:

            Wiesner, David. FLOTSAM. ISBN 0618194576 (2007 Winner)

            Wiesner, David. TUESDAY. ISBN 0395870828 (1992 Winner)

*Other Caldecott honor-winning books by this author:

            Wiesner, David. SECTOR 7. ISBN 0395746566

            Wiesner, David. FREE FALL. ISBN 068810990X

Rapunzel

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Zelinsky, Paul O. 1997. RAPUNZEL. Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN 0-525-45607-4

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

 RAPUNZEL is the retelling of the classic fairy tale by the brothers Grimm in which a young maiden with exceptionally long hair puts her locks to extraordinary good use.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

RAPUNZEL is a far-fetched story that I have a hard time swallowing, but then it wouldn’t be a fairy tale if it had any roots in reality. Case in point: the parents that tried for so long to conceive give their baby up because the mother has a craving for rapunzel the herb which apparently can only be gotten from a sorceress’ forbidden garden. But putting my disbelief aside, the writing is very good. The brothers Grimm are known for their darker folktales and Zelinsky does a wonderful job of adapting the story for younger children.

The artwork that accompanies the story is my favorite part of the book. Zelinsky uses stunning Renaissance style oil paintings to bring life to the characters and showcase the tale’s French/Italian background.

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Winner of 1998 Caldecott Medal

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “An elegant and sophisticated retelling that draws on early French and Italian versions of the tale. Masterful oil paintings capture the Renaissance setting and flesh out the tragic figures.”

Review in PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: "A breathtaking interpretation gives the fairy tale new art-historical roots, with illustrations that daringly-and effectively-mimic the masters of Italian Renaissance painting."

5.      CONNECTIONS

* Lead children in a discussion about good decision-making: what are some things they would do differently to avoid negative outcomes?

*Check out other works written and illustrated by this author, including these two Caldecott Honor-winning books:

Zelinsky, Paul O. HANSEL AND GRETEL. ISBN 0698114078

            Zelinsky, Paul O. RUMPELSTILTSKIN. ISBN 0525442650

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Viorst, Judith. 1972. ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Ill. by Ray Cruz. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-689-30072-7

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

According to young Alexander, today is not going to be a good one. Using humor to alleviate what might otherwise be a gloomy tale about a child’s horrible day, we follow Alexander from the moment he wakes up with gum in his hair, all the way to the moment he lays down to sleep and realizes the cat prefers the company of his brother over him. Throughout it all, Alexander consoles himself with the idea of moving away to Australia where, surely, people don’t have days like this.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Moving to Australia never sounded so good! Viorst’s description of poor Alexander’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is enough to make any 5-year-old want to pack it up and move. Her writing style is such that Alexander seems, at times, to have so many bad things going on at once that he’s rushing to get it out before the next bad thing happens. She accomplishes this by listing several incidences at once with little or no punctuation in between. At other times she uses short sentences as if Alexander’s trying to get a point across and he really wants his reader to pay attention.

Ray Cruz does an excellent job with the illustrations. He uses black and white cross stitch drawings that provide lots of great detail, such as Alexander’s adorable pout, which can be seen on nearly every page of this short but humorously charming book.

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review from Common Sense Media: "This book scores high on the reality meter; just about any school-age child has had at least one terrible, horrible day. As a bedtime read for any kid who has just had one of those days, this one's a winner--it's almost guaranteed to chase away the blues."

From Amazon.com Editorial Review: "Judith Viorst flawlessly and humorously captures a child's testy temperament, rendering Alexander sympathetic rather than whiny. Our hero's gum-styled hair and peevish countenance are artfully depicted by Ray Cruz's illustrations."

5.      CONNECTIONS

*Children have bad days, too! Use this book as a lead-in to a discussion about what their bad days have been like and what they think makes them feel better.

*Check out two more ALEXANDER books:

Viorst, Judith. ALEXANDER, WHO USED TO BE RICH LAST SUNDAY. ISBN 1416996214

Viorst, Judith. ALEXANDER, WHO IS NOT (DO YOU HEAR ME? I MEAN IT!) GOING TO MOVE. ISBN 0689820895  

My Friend is Sad

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Willems, Mo. 2007. MY FRIEND IS SAD. Ill. by Mo Willems. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 142310297-5

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

Gerald and Piggie are best friends, so how can Piggie be happy if Gerald is sad? This simple question is what drives the story. For a reason unknown to the reader, Gerald the elephant is sad, and Piggie notices this and takes it upon herself to cheer her friend up. Not recognizing her, Piggie disguises herself as the things that usually make Gerald happy, but they don’t work. Just when Piggie is ready to give up, Gerald makes her realize that while yes, cowboys and robots are cool, who Gerald really wanted was to see his best friend.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Mo Willems’ writing style in MY FRIEND IS SAD is simple and straightforward, a necessity when writing for such a young audience. The Elephant and Piggie series is geared toward early readers from kindergarten on up to third grade. With few words and plain drawings against a white background, Willems explores what happens when a close friend is sad, but you don’t know why. During the first part of the book, young readers should be encouraged to guess why Piggie’s antics aren’t cheering poor Gerald up. The second part of the book offers some humor when Gerald begins explaining why he was so sad, much to Piggie’s disbelief. Though happy that her friend is now himself again, she proposes to him: “You need new glasses….” Read the story to find out why.

As stated before, the artwork is simple with little variation in color and placed against a white backdrop. The dialog is housed in comic-style bubbles, which may make reading the story more appealing to its intended audience.

All in all, it’s a good story that teaches children to reach out to their friends when they are sad, and alongside that lesson is the idea that when someone is sad, what they need most is the support of a loved one.

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Willems creates engaging characters”

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Accessible, appealing, and full of authentic emotions”

5.      CONNECTIONS

*This is a book about cheering up your friends when they are sad. Lead the children in a discussion on what they would do to cheer someone up, and what makes them happy when they are down.

*Try more of this author’s many best-selling children’s books, including three Caldecott-honor winning titles:

Willems, Mo. KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE. ISBN 0786818700

Willems, Mo. KNUFFLE BUNNY TOO: A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY. ISBN 1423102991   

Willems, Mo. DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS! ISBN 078681988X

*Other books on dealing with sadness:

Willis, Jeanne. MISERY MOO. ISBN 0805076727

The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gerstein, Mordicai. 2003. THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS. Ill. by Mordicai Gerstein. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Book Press. ISBN 0-7613-1791-0

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

Using lyrical words and dramatic ink and oil paintings, author and illustrator Mordicai Gerstein tells the true story of Philippe Petit, a street performer from Paris who dreamed of one day walking a tight rope between the two towers of the World Trade Center. A thrilling tale from start to finish, Gerstein shares how Petit accomplished his seemingly impossible act with the help of several friends, and the clever use of disguises and a covert scheme to bypass the police and owners of the buildings.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Gerstein begins his story with a fairytale-like introduction: “Once there were two towers side by side.” This use of lyrical prose continues on all throughout this delightful true story of a street performer who dreams of walking between the two towers with nothing but seven-eighths of an inch thick rope beneath him. Gerstein touches on some tense moments, such as when the rope is almost dropped while Philippe and his friends are trying to get it in place, or when the police show up on the roofs of both towers and Philippe continues to dance back and forth between them on his rope.

The ink and oil illustrations are dramatic and, for those who spare no love for heights, stomach-dropping, making use of two fold out spreads (one horizontal, one vertical) in order to give the reader a clearer idea of just how high above ground Philippe actually is.

This book is a retelling of actual events that occurred in the 1970s. Philippe Petit is a real man and he really did walk a tightrope between the Twin Towers on August 7, 1974. Because this book is based in reality, the 2001 loss of the World Trade Center is acknowledged: “Now the towers are gone. But in memory, as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there.” The last image readers are left with is a memorial to the Twin Towers, transparently rising above the New York skyline with a small figure of man walking between them.

In general, this book is a wonderful story to share with readers of all ages. It carries a message of reaching for the stars, no matter how impossible it might seem. Emphasizing the fact that this is a true story, as well, will inspire generations to come.

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Winner of 2004 Caldecott Medal

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “unique and uplifting book”

Review in PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “dramatic paintings include some perspectives bound to take any reader's breath away”

5.      CONNECTIONS

*This book would be a wonderful piece for leading a discussion on going after your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem.

*Check out other works written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. He has written over 30 books for children.

*Another book for children about reaching for the stars:

Barasch, Lynne. KNOCKIN’ ON WOOD: STARRING PEG LEG BATES. ISBN 1584301708