Schwartz, Alvin. And the Green Grass Grew All Around. New York: Harper Collins, 1992.
ISBN 0-06-022757-5
Summary:
This collection of folk poetry contains a variety of types of poems. Some are songs with music written in, some are teasing, some are warnings, as well as riddles, stories, and good old tall tales. These are American poems and songs – some familiar, and some new to me. The stories are humorous, and entertaining with pictures that complement the lyrics and lines. Some of the rhymes are clearly meant to tease, and even leave blanks for you to insert the name of the person you intend to tease.
Reviews
Full of vigorous, swinging rhythms and funny, often nasty, sentiments, the pages are filled with well-known rhymes as well as new discoveries.
Horn Book starred (September, 1992)
There are also the universal rhymes that kids all over the world seem to learn from each other. As always, Schwartz's scholarship is unobtrusive and stimulating, with detailed notes at the back about sources and variants for any child or adult who's curious to find out more.
Booklist starred (Vol. 88, No. 17 (May 1, 1992))
Enrichment Activity
Recite some of the more commonly known verses of a poem, and then explore the other line. Children would enjoy memorizing these silly poems and songs, and perhaps some of the less than nice rhymes could be used for children to make nicer versions- turning some of the teases and taunts into rhymes that help them remember simple math equations or history facts.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Talking Eggs
San Souci, Robert. The Talking Eggs. New York:Dial Books for Yong Readers, 1989.
ISBN 0-8037-0619-7
Summary:
A poor young girl named Blanche lives with her selfish mother and sister goes to fetch water from the well one day and meets an old woman. She gives the old woman a drink of water, and went home to take water to her family. Her sister complains about the water being too warm, and mother and sister begin to beat her. She runs off into the woods, and meets the old woman again. The woman offers to take her in as long as she agrees not to laugh at anything she sees. She agrees, and sees amazing, unbelievable things at the old woman’s house. The next day, the old woman tells her that she must go home, but since she has been a good girl, she could go out to the chicken coop and pick the eggs that say, “take me.” She does, and out of them comes great gifts. When her mother and sister see all of her gifts, they want some of their own. Blanche’s sister goes to find the old woman, and succeeds only to show her selfishness, and get what she deserves in the end, while Blanche moved into town to live like a lady.
Reviews:
A lively retelling of a rather hard-hearted Creole version of a widely collected folktale. Blanche does all the work while her mother and older sister Rose put on airs and treat her cruelly. To repay a kindness, a mysterious old woman leads Blanche to her magical shack deep in the backwoods, where the chickens have rainbow colors, the two-headed cow brays like a mule, and nattily dressed rabbits dance.
Kirkus Review (1989)
This adaptation of a Creole folktale contains familiar European fairy tale elements, but certainly stands on its own and is a unique contribution to the American folktale repertoire. In imagistic language spiced with Southern folk flavor, San Souci tells of a cruel mother and her two daughters, Blanche and Rose. Rose is just like her mother, while Blanche is good and kind, and consequently abused. One day Blanche meets an old woman and treats her with a ``spirit of do-right.'' Soon they meet again, when Blanche runs away from mistreatment and the old woman takes her back to her house.
School Library Journal (September 1989)
Enrichment Activity
Students could decorate eggs based on the story- more ornate for the eggs that say “don’t take me,” and simple looking eggs for the ones containing gifts.
Another activity would be to read other Cinderella stories, and draw pictures of the magical animals that occur in the story.
ISBN 0-8037-0619-7
Summary:
A poor young girl named Blanche lives with her selfish mother and sister goes to fetch water from the well one day and meets an old woman. She gives the old woman a drink of water, and went home to take water to her family. Her sister complains about the water being too warm, and mother and sister begin to beat her. She runs off into the woods, and meets the old woman again. The woman offers to take her in as long as she agrees not to laugh at anything she sees. She agrees, and sees amazing, unbelievable things at the old woman’s house. The next day, the old woman tells her that she must go home, but since she has been a good girl, she could go out to the chicken coop and pick the eggs that say, “take me.” She does, and out of them comes great gifts. When her mother and sister see all of her gifts, they want some of their own. Blanche’s sister goes to find the old woman, and succeeds only to show her selfishness, and get what she deserves in the end, while Blanche moved into town to live like a lady.
Reviews:
A lively retelling of a rather hard-hearted Creole version of a widely collected folktale. Blanche does all the work while her mother and older sister Rose put on airs and treat her cruelly. To repay a kindness, a mysterious old woman leads Blanche to her magical shack deep in the backwoods, where the chickens have rainbow colors, the two-headed cow brays like a mule, and nattily dressed rabbits dance.
Kirkus Review (1989)
This adaptation of a Creole folktale contains familiar European fairy tale elements, but certainly stands on its own and is a unique contribution to the American folktale repertoire. In imagistic language spiced with Southern folk flavor, San Souci tells of a cruel mother and her two daughters, Blanche and Rose. Rose is just like her mother, while Blanche is good and kind, and consequently abused. One day Blanche meets an old woman and treats her with a ``spirit of do-right.'' Soon they meet again, when Blanche runs away from mistreatment and the old woman takes her back to her house.
School Library Journal (September 1989)
Enrichment Activity
Students could decorate eggs based on the story- more ornate for the eggs that say “don’t take me,” and simple looking eggs for the ones containing gifts.
Another activity would be to read other Cinderella stories, and draw pictures of the magical animals that occur in the story.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bubba the Cowboy Prince
Ketteman, Helen. Bubba the Cowboy Prince. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.
ISBN 590255061
Summary:
Bubba is a ranch hand for his “wicked stepdaddy,”and has two brothers who boss him around, and make him do their chores. When Miz Lurleen puts on a ball to find a worthy rancher to be her husband, Bubba helps his family get ready to go, but he, himself is too dirty and smelly to go. That is when his fairy godcow steps in to give him some new clothes, and a noble horse to take him to the ball. When he finally gets to dance with Miz Luleen, it is almost midnight, and the magic wears off of him before the dance is over. He ran off in his dirty smelly clothes, and rode home on a cow, but lost one boot as he was leaving. Miz Lurleen visits all of the area ranches the next day, and finds Bubba. The two ride off into the sunset together.
Analysis:
This book is a fractured fairytale, and its original form, of course, is Cinderella. This variation on Cinderella has a male protagonist rather than a female, and contains recognizable stock characters (the wicked step parent, and siblings. . . ). The use of informal language is part of what gives this story it’s charm, using Texas style dialect and idiomatic phrases that make it a fun read. The ending is predictable, whether you are looking for a fairytale ending, or the ending of a western, because it fits both standards.
One thing that this version of Cinderella lacks that is typically found in a traditional tale is repetition. In many of the Cinderella stories, the protagonist has three or more impossible tasks to complete, and goes to a ball that lasts over a few days, so has several encounters with the love interest. With Bubba, however, the reader doesn’t see the monotony or great challenge of his tasks, and only goes to the ball one night, before his love comes to find him.
Reviews:
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions.
Kirkus Review (1997)
Rustler lingo and illustrations chockablock with Texas kitsch make this ranch-spun Cinder-fella a knee-slappin' tale.
Publishers Weekly (November 17, 1997)
Enrichment Activity:
After reading Bubba the Cowboy Prince, read Cinder Edna to the students. Use a venn diagram to compare and contrast the two stories. Focus especially on the settings and characters.Have students write their own variation on Cinderella in which the student is the protagonist, and use people in their own lives to fulfill the roles of the other characters in the story.
ISBN 590255061
Summary:
Bubba is a ranch hand for his “wicked stepdaddy,”and has two brothers who boss him around, and make him do their chores. When Miz Lurleen puts on a ball to find a worthy rancher to be her husband, Bubba helps his family get ready to go, but he, himself is too dirty and smelly to go. That is when his fairy godcow steps in to give him some new clothes, and a noble horse to take him to the ball. When he finally gets to dance with Miz Luleen, it is almost midnight, and the magic wears off of him before the dance is over. He ran off in his dirty smelly clothes, and rode home on a cow, but lost one boot as he was leaving. Miz Lurleen visits all of the area ranches the next day, and finds Bubba. The two ride off into the sunset together.
Analysis:
This book is a fractured fairytale, and its original form, of course, is Cinderella. This variation on Cinderella has a male protagonist rather than a female, and contains recognizable stock characters (the wicked step parent, and siblings. . . ). The use of informal language is part of what gives this story it’s charm, using Texas style dialect and idiomatic phrases that make it a fun read. The ending is predictable, whether you are looking for a fairytale ending, or the ending of a western, because it fits both standards.
One thing that this version of Cinderella lacks that is typically found in a traditional tale is repetition. In many of the Cinderella stories, the protagonist has three or more impossible tasks to complete, and goes to a ball that lasts over a few days, so has several encounters with the love interest. With Bubba, however, the reader doesn’t see the monotony or great challenge of his tasks, and only goes to the ball one night, before his love comes to find him.
Reviews:
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions.
Kirkus Review (1997)
Rustler lingo and illustrations chockablock with Texas kitsch make this ranch-spun Cinder-fella a knee-slappin' tale.
Publishers Weekly (November 17, 1997)
Enrichment Activity:
After reading Bubba the Cowboy Prince, read Cinder Edna to the students. Use a venn diagram to compare and contrast the two stories. Focus especially on the settings and characters.Have students write their own variation on Cinderella in which the student is the protagonist, and use people in their own lives to fulfill the roles of the other characters in the story.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Pass It Down
Marcus, Leonard. Pass It Down: Five Picture Book Families Make Their Mark. New York:Walter and Company. 2007. ISBN-100-8027-9600-1
Summary:
This book relates the stories of five families who have impacted the world of picture books, and how the parents impacted the lives of their children to become writer or illustrators of picture books. Families included are: Crews, Hurd, Myers,Pinkney, and Rockwell.
Analysis:
The collection of biographies in this book is wide ranging, in that the stories of the authors' lives are very different, but they also relate to one another so closely that the biographies of the children who became authors/illustrators seem almost like overlays of one another.
Review:
"Marcus's writing is, as usual, tight but lively, and each chapter is liberally laced with photographs, preliminary sketches, and final art. The book will be of interest to those readers who enjoy getting behind the scenes of the books they love."
School Library Journal
Enrichment Activity:
A great activity after reading this book to children would be to read and display the books that the featured authors and illustrators worked on. A class of students could easily spend a day reading about an author or illustrator family, and reading a book or two by that author/illustrator, and then trying out the techniques that were used to create the images in the book (painting vs collage. . . ).
Summary:
This book relates the stories of five families who have impacted the world of picture books, and how the parents impacted the lives of their children to become writer or illustrators of picture books. Families included are: Crews, Hurd, Myers,Pinkney, and Rockwell.
Analysis:
The collection of biographies in this book is wide ranging, in that the stories of the authors' lives are very different, but they also relate to one another so closely that the biographies of the children who became authors/illustrators seem almost like overlays of one another.
Review:
"Marcus's writing is, as usual, tight but lively, and each chapter is liberally laced with photographs, preliminary sketches, and final art. The book will be of interest to those readers who enjoy getting behind the scenes of the books they love."
School Library Journal
Enrichment Activity:
A great activity after reading this book to children would be to read and display the books that the featured authors and illustrators worked on. A class of students could easily spend a day reading about an author or illustrator family, and reading a book or two by that author/illustrator, and then trying out the techniques that were used to create the images in the book (painting vs collage. . . ).
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