The following reviews were made as part of an assignment for the Literature for Children course through Sam Houston State University.
The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
Bruchac, J., & Vojtech, A. (1993). The first
strawberries: A Cherokee story. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
ISBN: 0-8037-1332-0
The first man and woman live happily together until one day
the man returns from hunting to find the woman picking flowers. The man is very
hungry, so he becomes angry and speaks harshly to the woman who becomes angry
in turn, and she walks away. The man tries to follow after her, but she is too fast,
so the sun intervenes to slow the woman down to allow the man to catch up to
her. The sun creates several berries in her path but the only ones that slow
her down long enough for the man to catch up. He apologizes and she shares her
strawberries. The book’s closing line sums up the moral of the story. “To this
day, when the Cherokee people eat strawberries, they are reminded to always be
kind to each other; to remember that friendship and respect are as sweet as the
taste of ripe, red berries.”
This book is beautiful in its simplicity and the artwork,
done in watercolor and colored pencils, complements the story without stealing
the show. The moral of the story – be kind – is likewise very simple and
universal.
Review from Publisher’s Weekly: “Spare text, an uncomplicated
story line and gentle illustrations keep this quiet but resonant tale
accessible to even the youngest child. Vojtech's soft, luminous watercolors
conjure up an unspoiled landscape bathed in sunlight--visual reinforcement of the
idea that the earth and its wonders are indeed gifts.” Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8037-1332-1.
For younger students the story can be used in a lesson
about eating fruits and vegetables as a part of healthy food choices. A lesson
plan can be found by iGrow Readers at https://extension.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2020-07/S-0008-25.pdf.
For older students the story can be used
to story map or reflect on cultures. These and other ideas found at https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=22748.
You may also like: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
by Tomie dePaola or We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell illustrated
by Frané Lessac.
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
Scieszka, J., Smith, L., & Viking Press.
(1989). The true story of the 3 little pigs.
ISBN: 0-670-82759-2
There are two sides to every story and in this hilarious
retelling of the classic tale the wolf tells his version of events. The wolf
has a name – Alexander T. Wolf – and wants to be called Al. Al says wolves aren’t
so big and bad, their nature is to be a carnivore and people find pigs and
bunnies to be cute, so it is really an issue of bias. The real story is about
Al, suffering from a cold, wanting to bake a cake for his granny and needing a cup
of sugar. At the door he sneezes a big sneeze that blows the first two pig’s
houses over. The pigs were dead in the middle of the rubble of their respective
homes, and he couldn’t let a good meal go to waste, so he had to eat them. The
third pig was quite rude and insulted Al’s granny, that’s why he tried to beat
down that door. To make it worse the cops pulled up while Al was in the middle
of a sneezing fit. The media caught wind of the story and the two pigs Al had
eaten earlier and made up the rest. He was framed!
This book is a refreshing look at the three little pigs
from the other side of the story and the wolf character is written to be very
likeable helping the reader to be open to his side of the story. The illustrations
seem to have a dark shadow to them hinting that this isn’t really what happened
at all. Included are several details that both support the wolf’s story and the
reader’s bias. There is the animal burger with feet, a mouse tail, and bunny
ears sticking out of it. The cake ingredients also include bunny ears, and the
picture of the wolf’s sick granny is none other than the wolf of Little Red
Riding Hood. My favorite detail of all is the way the sticks fell around the
second pig to suggest that the pig’s rump is the center of a place setting of
spoon, knife, and two forks.
From Kirkus Reviews: “Scieszka carries off this revision
with suitably mordant humor, ably reflected in Smith's dark, elegantly
sophisticated illustrations. Not for little children, but middle grades and up
should be entertained while taking the point about the unreliability of
witnesses.” Retrieved from: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jon-scieszka/true-story-of-3-little-pigs/.
This book would be perfect for a study on bias for older students.
There is a lesson plan and links to other activities for this story at http://www.teachingheart.net/truepigs.html.
Unfortunately, not all of the links work but several do such as pig word
problems. There are also activities and leveled readers linked at the Reading
is Fundamental website: https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/true-story-3-little-pigs.
You may also like: The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz illustrated by Dan Santat or the series You Choose: Fractured Fairy Tales for an interactive read.
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Taback, S. (1999). Joseph had a little overcoat. New York: Viking.
ISBN: 978-0-670-87855-0
Based on a Yiddish folk song, this is the story of Joseph
and his ability to make something new out of the old. He starts with an overcoat
and when it is tattered and worn, he repurposes it to a jacket. When his jacket
is worn, he makes it a vest, and so the story goes until the overcoat has
become a button that he then uses. When he has nothing, he still can make
something when he sits down to write a book about it.
Simms Taback did a fantastic job writing and illustrating
this book. The rhythm is apparent as you read and is evidenced in the music and
lyrics to the song included at the end of the book. The illustrations are a hilarious
combination of watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink, and collage. Details include
letters, newspapers, and artwork. One page even includes a fiddler on a roof
accompanied by a snippet of the music and lyrics in Yiddish. Readers will also
find die cuts on several pages hinting at what the overcoat will become next.
It is no wonder this was a Caldecott Medal winner.
From CommonSense Media: “The text is sparse, but it faithfully depicts the day-to-day
life of a Yiddish farmer. And Joseph displays heroic determination in his quest
to save his overcoat, looking life's crises in the eye and outmaneuvering them
with a healthy dose of thrift and a needle and thread.” Retrieved from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/joseph-had-a-little-overcoat.
Younger students can explore the idea of “Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle” in conjunction with this story. Older students can identify the author’s
purpose, and make connections and predictions based on the text. Bible Belt
Balabusta shares templates for children to make a collage and shares links to other
resources at https://biblebeltbalabusta.com/2013/12/11/joseph-had-a-little-overcoat-collage/.
You may also like: There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly also by Simms Taback or for a Latino spin the bilingual book Maya's Blanket / La Manta de Maya by Monica Brown illustrated by David Díaz.
Swamp Angel
Isaacs, A., Zelinsky, P. O., Moorer, A., Huff, S., Reynolds,
R., & Weston Woods Studios. (2002). Swamp Angel. Westport, CT: Weston Woods.
ISBN: 0-525-45271-0
This tall tale is the story of Angelica Longrider who at
birth was “scarcely taller than her mother and couldn’t climb a tree without
help.” At the age of twelve she rescues a wagon train stuck in the swamp and
earns the nickname “Swamp Angel”. The settlers of Tennessee are menaced by a
huge bear called Thundering Tarnation and so a competition is held to motivate
hunters to take down the bear. Although Swamp Angel is a giant, the men entering
the competition taunt her with traditional female stereotypes to try to stop
her from entering. As it turns out she is the last “man” standing in the
competition. For days, she and Thundering Tarnation fight across the hills of Tennessee
and when the bear has Swamp Angel trapped fifty feet under water, she drinks up
the lake to save herself from drowning. Fighting until they both fall asleep she
snores down a tree killing Thundering Tarnation. The story ends with her moving
to Montana to use the bear pelt as a rug.
This tall tale immediately makes me think of Paul Bunyan
and Davy Crockett. Swamp Angel and Bunyan are probably equals in size and the
story is so far fetched I can imagine Crockett telling it as his own. The story
elements explain the geography of Tennessee, for example the dust from the
fight is the reason the mountains are called the “Great Smoky Mountains” and claims
that when Thundering Tarnation was thrown into the sky, he left an indentation creating
a constellation. Swamp Angel is a fun tale to entertain all ages. Illustrations
are painted in oils on cherry, maple, and birch veneers giving the book a
primitive pioneer look to match the setting of the story.
Publishers Weekly calls the story
“casually overstated” and says, “This
valiant heroine is certain to leave youngsters chuckling-and perhaps even
keeping a close watch on the night sky.” Retrieved from: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-45271-3.
This would make a great text to use in history during the
study of westward expansion. Author Anne Isaacs provides ideas for activities
using Swamp Angel on her website www.anneisaacs.com.
Words Alive also offers a lesson plan at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56663dee841abafca76d6f46/t/5b64c0402b6a28806c9863da/1533329473704/Swamp+Angel+-+formatted.pdf.
You may also like: the sequel Dust Devil by Isaacs and Zelinsky or one of the many versions of the Paul Bunyan story, also available in a graphic novel The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan: The Graphic Novel retold by Martin Powell and illustrated by Aaron Blecha.
