The Three Little Pigs

Bibliography:

Boddy, Joe. The Three Little Pigs. Ohio:McGraw,1995 .

Plot summary:

The three little pigs is a traditional tale of how three pigs outsmart a hungry wolf. The Three Pigs  by Joe Boddy retells this classic tale however the pigs are sisters who had been living in the same house and after years of living together  the sisters agree to move out and live on their own lives. The pigs in this tale are Amanda, Kate, and Cassy. Amanda builds her house of straw. Kate builds her house of wood and clever Cassy builds her house of rocks. The familiar tale continues with the resourceful wolf knocking on the door and chimes  the classic chant of “no, no, no, not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chinas he attempts to get the  pig . She escaped to her sister’s house Kate and the wolf came again and she huffed and puffed and blew the house down. The sisters escaped to Cassy’s house and the wolf followed but he couldn’t blow the house down. The story ends when the wolf lost her balance and went sliding down the roof .Although the pigs were scared they showed  amazing compassion and took care of the wolf .

 

The story show how you can show kindness and how kindness can change your circumstances. The classic tale illustrates how the pigs forgiveness of the wolf’s action allowed them to develop a friendship. There are many variations of The Three Little Pigs. The author took this traditional story of good versus bad and made it a positive lesson of how one can change. Just as the characters set off on their own hoping to find their fortunes a major problem occurs when they are no longer together and the major life changing decision of simply choosing the wrong building material. Although in this version the pigs are not eaten ,they learn that they are better off together than apart in the end.

 Connections:

Children can dramatize the story as you reread it. Children taking the parts of the pigs can draw their houses on the chalkboard. Children listening can join in on the repeated phrases

Students can come up with an alternate ending.

Students can compare different versions of the three little pigs and compare the setting and how the overall plot changes or the dimension of the characters in a literacy chart. Students can compare how the illustrations help to enhance the story for the reader.

Book Review:

 I could not find any reviews for this book.

Anansi and the Magic Stick

Bibliography

Kimmel,Eric A. Anansi and the Magic Stick.New York: Holiday House,2002

 Plot Summary:

This is a tale about the familiar character Anansi.Anansi the spider wants his house and yard to look as good as his neighbors  but he does not want to do the work.  He watches Hyena, who has a lovely house and yard  and wonders why he never seems to work, and discovers that Hyena has a magic stick that does his work for him. Anansi steals the stick and has it paint his house and plant and water his garden. Anansi falls asleep, and the stick keeps watering...and keeps watering...and keeps watering, until the whole area is flooded. Hyena comes drifting by and asks if anyone has seen his magic stick and says a few  magic words and the water stops however the animals are now stuck with the lake.

 

Children should make a personal connection while reading this story if they have ever played a trick on someone. One could reference April Fools Day to draw prior knowledge. Sometimes things don’t go as you plan just like it didn’t for Anansi. Most important This tale  teaches the lesson/value  of honesty and how everything has a consequence. Honesty and the value of  hard work  are  important character traits explored in this tale written by .Dr. Kimmel who is a master storyteller and has written a number of picture books for children such  as Anansi and the talking melon, Anansi and the Moss-covered rock, and Anansi Goes Fishing.The story was illustrated by Janet Stevens who captures the sequence of the story with bright detailed pictures.

 

Connections

Warthog, Lion, Zebra, and Hyena all appear in this story. Ask children to

choose one of these African animals to research. They can find out where the

animal lives, what it eats, and how it behaves. Have children give a report on

their animal to the class.

 

 At the end of the book, the author points out that the story is similar to The

Magic Hoe and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Have children read one or the other

of these stories. Provide them with a two-column chart labeled Differences and

Similarities. Ask them to write down the ways the stories are different and the

ways they are similar.

Review Excerpts

-Children will delight in Anansi’s escapades as he annoys his neighbors and learns how to control the stick. Kimmel and Stevens make a good team, with the text fonts echoing the action of the story and the illustrations bringing Anansi and all his antics to life. This is their fourth Anansi collaboration (Anansi and the Talking Melon, 1996, etc.); has the tricky spider learned his lesson this time? Let’s hope not—his stories are too amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Review

Rumpelstiltskin

Read Aloud of Rumpelstiltskin

Bibliography:

Zelinsky, Paul O., Jacob Grimm, and Wilhelm Grimm. Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Puffin, 1996. Print

 

Plot Summary:

In this traditional classic tale retold and illustrated by Paul O.Zelinsky the mystical tale of Rumpelstilskin is brought to life.  This book was a 1987 Caldecott Honor book an ALA Notable Book for best illustrations. The tale was first told by the Grimm brothers in the 19^th century and the story takes place in medieval times. The story is about a poor miller who has a beautiful daughter and while one day in town the miller tells the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold and because the king loves gold he orders the miller to bring his daughter to him a once. However the miller’s daughter doesn’t know how to spin straw into gold. Enters a tiny little man who offers to do it for her for a price. Every time the mysterious little man spins the gold he asks the millers daughter for a fee until one day she promises to give him her first child when she becomes queen. As the years passed the queen had a baby then the tiny little man appeared to collect on his promise but the queen pleaded with him to keep her baby. The little man told her she could keep her baby if she could guess his name in three days. She beats the little man at his own game and guessed his name and he disappears and is never seen again.

 

The mystery and suspense in this magical tale will keep children and adults alike engaged in the story as the queen’s gets her servant to help find out the name of the mysterious magical little man. The vivid and colorful illustrations capture the richness of the medieval times. The overall message to children would be not to trust strangers and to be careful what you commit to. I remember listening to this story on tape as a child and l loved when Rumpelstelkin becomes upset and disappears.

 Teaching Connections:

Students read the story Rumpelstiltskin and discuss the literary elements. They read a different version of Rumpelstiltskin and complete a graphic organizer identifying the literary elements. Finally, they compare both versions and participate in a class discussion 

Practice summarizing literature in this resource, where young readers create a summary of text, including relevant details in proper sequence. They read "The Legend of William Tell Aloud." Next, they independently read "Rumpelstiltskin" summarize it in one paragraph

Learners examine classic fairy tales and their variations. They read and view a variety of fairy tale versions, compare and contrast the author's purpose and use of motifs and use an interactive website to construct a Venn diagram with their observations

Review Excerpts:

“Truly a tour de force.”-The Horn Book

Richly hued oil paintings complement a story simply and gracefully told. "Children...love the story for its mystery, and its familiarity. Adults will find that, like most classic fairy tales, this one rewards periodic rethinking." —New York Times Book Review

"Zelinsky's smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light." — School Library Journal

A Ball For Daisy

Bibliography:
 Raschka,Chris.2011 A Ball for Daisy.Random House Children's Books.
ISBN-13: 9780375858611

Plot Summary:
 Winner of the 2012 Caldecott Medal. This is a a very simple story about  a dog named Daisywho loses his special toy, a ball, to a bigger dog and how loss can have an effect on anyone even if the loss is small.The author uses a wordless picture book to convey how  happiness and sadness of a toy change your daily life .Rascha uses colorful illustrations to create mood and unique watercolors  to make the characters come alive. The colors and illustrations used in the picture book show a wide variey of emotion held by the dog due to the loss of his favorite toy.. his ball.

Crtical Analyis:
 In this story loss is explained in a simple manner for a child to understand. Raschka uses a story of small dog and his toy getting broken by a larger dog to explain loss and how friends can help one another after experiencing a loss.Although the book is wordless the wonderfully illustrated sequence of the story is delightful as the plot unfolds in a familar yet surprising manner. The illustrations are very detailed and they tell the story by the facial expressions of the dog. The illustrations in the begiming show how happy Daisy is at the start and how she changes in the middle and end of the story through slight details .

Review Excerpts:

Starred Review, Horn Book, September/October 2011:
"a story that is noteworthy for both its artistry and its child appeal."

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2011:
“Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity

Starred Review, School Library Journal, August 2011:
"Raschka’s genius lies in capturing the essence of situations that are deeply felt by children."

Connections:

Another book for children and toys  is Mine by Shutta Crum illustrated by Patrice Barton. This is a picture based book about two children and a dog who have problems sharing with one another.

Teachers can use this book for narrative writing, sequence, and cause and effect relationships.

This picturebook can help children who are readers and non-readers with the basic art of storytelling. Students can learn about emotions and analyze how and why they change..

We Are The Ship

Bibliography:
Nelson,Kadir. 2008. We Are The  Ship. Hyperion Books CH; 1 edition.
ISBN-10: 0786808322

Plot Summary:
 We are the ship is a story about the trials and tribulations of African-American baseball players at the turn of the 20th century.Kadir Nelson tells the story of baseball's great heroes. It details the history of racial discrimination and hardships endured by the baseball players and how social and political ideals influenced the perception of African-American baseball players. The story shows in short the daily hatred, low pay and the daily miserable plight the players faced just to do something they truly loved to do which was play baseball.Nelson uses a narrator "Everyman" to unveil his story stemming from the 1920's to the late 1940's.The book reads like a picture book but it has the perfect blend for a short chapter book.

Crtical Analysis:
This story shows the pride and the brotherhood shared by the men in the Negro Leagues.The book's beautiful artwork by Nelson enhances the story as you can read the emotional expressions  on the players faces and the breathtaking colorful artwork help to  empathize how they felt with each passing moment as they travel from city to city with constant mistreatment and racist comments.Each page is a wonderful piece of art history told from the perpective of the players and the creative mind of Nelson who is the author and illustrator. The strength of the men in their adverisity is a wonderful inspiration to all.


Review:

 From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 3 Up—A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2008) of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players. The history of the Leagues echoes the social and political struggles of black America during the first half of the 20th century. There were scores of ballplayers who never became as famous as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and were almost lost in obscurity because of segregation—and Nelson recreates their history here. The narrative is divided into nine innings, beginning with Rube Foster and his formation of the first Negro League in 1920 and closing with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier into white major league baseball. In between are fascinating snippets of the events and men who formed the Negro Leagues. Listeners glimpse the pain black Americans endured because of bigotry and segregation, but the true center of this story is the joy of baseball and the joy men felt at being able to play the game. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who began playing with the Negro Leagues, provides the foreword. Eloquent narration is performed by actor Dion Graham, and a bluesy guitar introduction and conclusion is reminiscent of the time period. Nelson's stunning oil paintings are included on a CD—but make sure to have the book available as well.

Winner of the 2009 Coretta  Scott  King Author Award

Winner of the 2009 Sibert Medal

 

Connections:
This information book could be used to teach lessons about the history of sports or a lesson about segregation.
  The story could be used as an example of writing that has a strong voice and could be a model for students to create their own writing voices and narrators

Are You My Mother?

1.       Bibliography: Eastman, P.D.  1960. Are You My Mother? Random House Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (June 12, 1960)

 

2.       Plot summary:  
     In this classic picture book written by P.D Eastman, a baby bird falls from his nest after hatching and he anxiously begins a journey to find his mother. The baby bird embarks on an adventure meeting various animals while asking the question “are you my mother”.He meets a dog, a cow, a plane and more on his journey.

3.       Critical Analysis:
     In this easy beginner book, the author explores the basic traits of identifying the baby bird’s mother. As the baby bird begins his quest he learns to differentiate the characteristics that he believes that his mother has. The story uses basic primer vocabulary and colorful primary illustrations to capture the young beginning reader. The theme is something all children can relate to.Most children love this book and the happy ending when the bird is reunited with his mother.

4.       Review Excerpts:
        www.jacketflap.com –A great book about a bird looking for his mother
      WINNER 2012 Scholastic Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for KidsWINNER 2012 TimeOutNewYorkKids.com 50 Best Books for Kids
 

 

5.       Personal/Teaching Connections:
      This would be a great book for early childhood teachers. Students could compare and contrast the various animals that the bird met to baby bird’s mother. Another activity would be to create a family tree in order for the children to tell about themselves and their family. Other books by P.D. Eastman are Go Dog Go and the Best Nest.