Bibliography
Blumenthal, Karen. 2005. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. New York: New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689859570
Summary
In Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America Blumenthal includes the injustices of many female athletes to how women in politics helped introduce, pass and enforce Title IX.
Critical Analysis
What would you say if someone told you your daughter could not play sports because she doesn’t need to build character? When she graduates from college with a law degree she can only teach but not practice law because she is a woman. Karen Blumenthal’s Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, answers these and many other questions in an informative survey style book. The photographs, cartoons, newspaper and magazine clippings keep the heavily factual book interesting. Each chapter either focuses on female athletes or influential woman throughout the women’s rights movement and includes interesting female player profiles such as Mia Hamm and Billie Jean King. Although the split sentences during the course of the text create a bit of confusion at times the overall information found throughout is priceless.
Review Excerpt(s)
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, 2006
Booklist-“ As in Six Days in October (2002), a compelling overview of the 1929 stock market crash and a financial primer, Wall Street Journal editor Blumenthal uses specific facts and fascinating personal stories to give readers a wide view of history. Here, the author looks at American women's evolving rights by focusing on the history and future of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in U.S. education...”
Kirkus-“ The history of the small but wildly influential amendment known as Title IX receives a thoughtful, enlightening and inspiring treatment from the Sibert Honor-winning Blumenthal...”
Library Media Collection-“ Before the time that Donna de Varona won the gold in the Olympics and made the cover of Sports Illustrated, or Billy Jean King played Bobby Riggs, the battle for equality in the treatment of the sexes had been fought on several fronts. The warriors for the cause and the skirmishes leading up to the victory of Title IX are the subjects of this book...”
Connections
*Women Athletes
*Sex discrimation in sports
*Women’s rights throughout the centuries.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Bibliography
Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York: New York. Melanie Kroupa Books. ISBN 9780312661052
Summary
This is the story of Claudette Colvin a 15 year old African American girl who in 1955, when segregation laws were still in effect in Montgomery Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger and was arrested.
Critical Analysis
Did you know Rosa Parks was not the first African-American to make history by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated Montgomery Alabama? Phillip Hoose’s biography of Claudette Colvin shows readers anyone can stand up for their rights at any age just like Claudette Colvin did at the young age of 15. Teenage readers will identify with Claudette’s struggles as a single mom during her young adult years, to her decision participate in tumultuous court case that endangered her life. The book will appeal to readers visually with the many photographs that depict the ignorant way thinking such as the sign that read “NO Dogs, Negros, Mexicans,” back when segregation was in place to the faces of innocent lives lost and the courageous boycott leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Tidbits of interesting facts, such as how Jim Crow Laws got their name, are sprinkled throughout out the 10 chapter narrative filled with interviews from many individuals that lived in Montgomery Alabama during the tumultuous times of segregation to desegregation.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Booklist Starred Review-“ Starred Review* Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Hoose draws from numerous personal interviews with Colvin in this exceptional title that is part historical account, part memoir....”
* Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices-“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and Black.”
*Kirkus- “Claudette Colvin's story will be new to most readers. A teenager in the 1950s, Colvin was the first African-American to refuse to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Ala. Although she later participated with four other women in the court case that effectively ended segregated bus service, it is Rosa Parks's action that became the celebrated event of the bus boycott. Hoose's frank examination of Colvin's life includes sizable passages in her own words, allowing readers to learn about the events of the time from a unique and personal perspective….”
Connections
*National Book Award Winner
*Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist
*The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
*Civil Rights
*Segreation
*Inspirational biographies
Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York: New York. Melanie Kroupa Books. ISBN 9780312661052
Summary
This is the story of Claudette Colvin a 15 year old African American girl who in 1955, when segregation laws were still in effect in Montgomery Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger and was arrested.
Critical Analysis
Did you know Rosa Parks was not the first African-American to make history by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus in segregated Montgomery Alabama? Phillip Hoose’s biography of Claudette Colvin shows readers anyone can stand up for their rights at any age just like Claudette Colvin did at the young age of 15. Teenage readers will identify with Claudette’s struggles as a single mom during her young adult years, to her decision participate in tumultuous court case that endangered her life. The book will appeal to readers visually with the many photographs that depict the ignorant way thinking such as the sign that read “NO Dogs, Negros, Mexicans,” back when segregation was in place to the faces of innocent lives lost and the courageous boycott leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Tidbits of interesting facts, such as how Jim Crow Laws got their name, are sprinkled throughout out the 10 chapter narrative filled with interviews from many individuals that lived in Montgomery Alabama during the tumultuous times of segregation to desegregation.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Booklist Starred Review-“ Starred Review* Nine months before Rosa Parks’ history-making protest on a city bus, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Hoose draws from numerous personal interviews with Colvin in this exceptional title that is part historical account, part memoir....”
* Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices-“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and Black.”
*Kirkus- “Claudette Colvin's story will be new to most readers. A teenager in the 1950s, Colvin was the first African-American to refuse to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Ala. Although she later participated with four other women in the court case that effectively ended segregated bus service, it is Rosa Parks's action that became the celebrated event of the bus boycott. Hoose's frank examination of Colvin's life includes sizable passages in her own words, allowing readers to learn about the events of the time from a unique and personal perspective….”
Connections
*National Book Award Winner
*Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist
*The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
*Civil Rights
*Segreation
*Inspirational biographies
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Llama Who Had no Pajama
Bibliography
Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama. by Betty Fraser.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-205571-4
Plot Summary
This is a collection of 100 favorite poems by Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems are of universal topics such as birthdays, family, animals, insects, opposites and time.
Critical Analysis
The Llama who had no Pajama is an individual poet compilation of poems by author Mary Ann Hoberman from 2008 to 2010 and beautifully illustrated by illustrator Betty Fraser. The Language is full of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and repetition of sounds. The use of alliteration is found in the poem “Permutations” such as in the flea flew high to flee the fly. The poem “Termite” is full of rhyme. At the end of each line we find the following words that rhyme: sort, report, resort, state, rate, cooperate, find, blind, kind, kings, stings, and things. There are insect riddles as in “Who Am I” and animal tongue twisters as in the poem “Gazelle” 'O gaze on the graceful gazelle as it grazes'. The collection of 100 poems will resonate with young children since the poems center around themes young children will be able to relate. For example in the poem, “Brother” where the poet complains about having a little brother who is a bother and the poem “Let’s Dress Up” where little girls are enjoy playing dress up in grown-up clothes. The poems will also resound with adults since there seems to be a nostalgic feeling in the poems of things we enjoyed as children such as the rain. There is also an index at the end of the book where the first line of each poem is provided as a quick reference. The watercolor illustrations are simple but colorful and do not overwhelm the poems. The snow-white page backgrounds enhance the detailed and lively drawings that accompany every poem.
Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal-“Hoberman’s rhythms are lively and agile.”
Publishers Weekly-“This inventively illustrated collection brims with enough wordplay and silliness to please a room full of young wordsmiths.”
Connections
*The Llama Who Had No Pajama was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for Mary Ann Hoberman’s lifetime of poetry writing.
* The animal poems can be a great introduction to science themes.
Hoberman, Mary Ann. The Llama Who Had No Pajama. by Betty Fraser.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-205571-4
Plot Summary
This is a collection of 100 favorite poems by Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman. The poems are of universal topics such as birthdays, family, animals, insects, opposites and time.
Critical Analysis
The Llama who had no Pajama is an individual poet compilation of poems by author Mary Ann Hoberman from 2008 to 2010 and beautifully illustrated by illustrator Betty Fraser. The Language is full of rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and repetition of sounds. The use of alliteration is found in the poem “Permutations” such as in the flea flew high to flee the fly. The poem “Termite” is full of rhyme. At the end of each line we find the following words that rhyme: sort, report, resort, state, rate, cooperate, find, blind, kind, kings, stings, and things. There are insect riddles as in “Who Am I” and animal tongue twisters as in the poem “Gazelle” 'O gaze on the graceful gazelle as it grazes'. The collection of 100 poems will resonate with young children since the poems center around themes young children will be able to relate. For example in the poem, “Brother” where the poet complains about having a little brother who is a bother and the poem “Let’s Dress Up” where little girls are enjoy playing dress up in grown-up clothes. The poems will also resound with adults since there seems to be a nostalgic feeling in the poems of things we enjoyed as children such as the rain. There is also an index at the end of the book where the first line of each poem is provided as a quick reference. The watercolor illustrations are simple but colorful and do not overwhelm the poems. The snow-white page backgrounds enhance the detailed and lively drawings that accompany every poem.
Review Excerpt(s)
School Library Journal-“Hoberman’s rhythms are lively and agile.”
Publishers Weekly-“This inventively illustrated collection brims with enough wordplay and silliness to please a room full of young wordsmiths.”
Connections
*The Llama Who Had No Pajama was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for Mary Ann Hoberman’s lifetime of poetry writing.
* The animal poems can be a great introduction to science themes.
Flamingos on the Roof
Bibliography
Brown, Calef. Flamingos on the Roof. By Calef Brown
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618-56298-5
Plot Summary
In this compilation of poems written and illustrated by Calef Brown we are introduced to 28 poems that vary from topic to topic. The topics range from a biker named Bob to televisions in a taxi cab and worms.
Critical Analysis
The poems vary greatly from poems that rhyme like “Poseidon’s Hair” where we see words such as kelp, help, toupee, away. Then there are other poems, for example “Sally” where the poet compares people like Sally to Medusa from Greek Mythology. Then there’s “Combo Tango” where the poem is actually a simple tango. In “Allicater Gatorpillar” we see a play on words such as combining the words alligator with caterpillar. “Weatherbee’s Diner” is a great example of a poem with rhyme. Here we see words like eat, street, rain, main, loud, cloud, treat, sleet, dessert, hurt, warm, storm. The acrylic illustrations are lively and filled with colorful and wacky pictures. In the poem “Allicatter Gatorpillar” we see a butterfly with an alligator’s body and a caterpillar with an alligators head. Then in “Poseidon’s Hair” Poseidon appears with his green kelp hair and a tattoo on his arm stating king of the sea.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist-“An exuberant debut, equally enjoyable read silently or aloud.”
Publishers Weekly-“A traveling circus of poems…weird and wonderfully catchy.”
School Library Journal-“A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.”
Connections
*May be compared with non-silly poems from “The Llama Who had no Pajama.”
* It makes a wacky read aloud book of non-sense poems.”
Brown, Calef. Flamingos on the Roof. By Calef Brown
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618-56298-5
Plot Summary
In this compilation of poems written and illustrated by Calef Brown we are introduced to 28 poems that vary from topic to topic. The topics range from a biker named Bob to televisions in a taxi cab and worms.
Critical Analysis
The poems vary greatly from poems that rhyme like “Poseidon’s Hair” where we see words such as kelp, help, toupee, away. Then there are other poems, for example “Sally” where the poet compares people like Sally to Medusa from Greek Mythology. Then there’s “Combo Tango” where the poem is actually a simple tango. In “Allicater Gatorpillar” we see a play on words such as combining the words alligator with caterpillar. “Weatherbee’s Diner” is a great example of a poem with rhyme. Here we see words like eat, street, rain, main, loud, cloud, treat, sleet, dessert, hurt, warm, storm. The acrylic illustrations are lively and filled with colorful and wacky pictures. In the poem “Allicatter Gatorpillar” we see a butterfly with an alligator’s body and a caterpillar with an alligators head. Then in “Poseidon’s Hair” Poseidon appears with his green kelp hair and a tattoo on his arm stating king of the sea.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist-“An exuberant debut, equally enjoyable read silently or aloud.”
Publishers Weekly-“A traveling circus of poems…weird and wonderfully catchy.”
School Library Journal-“A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.”
Connections
*May be compared with non-silly poems from “The Llama Who had no Pajama.”
* It makes a wacky read aloud book of non-sense poems.”
What My Mother Doesn't Know
Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-0-689-855535
Plot Summary
In What My Mother Doesn’t Know we meet Sophie, a teenager who is almost fifteen. The entire book is about Sophie’s teenage life. We are introduced to her best friends Rachel and Grace and all the fun teenage things they love doing together and to the many boy crushes Sophie has.
Critical Analysis
This verse novel is filled with themes young adults will be able to relate to such as teen age love, parent and teen relationships, school friendships, and cultural acceptance. What my mother doesn’t know is written in a colloquial conversational language from the main characters point of view. The book is organized as a group of free verse poems written in short lines that are easy to read that will appeal to reluctant teenage girl readers. The story moves and evolves quickly making it a quick and enjoyable dramatic read aloud novel.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist starred review-“Fast, funny, touching.”
Publishers Weekly-“Honest, destined to captivate.”
Kirkus starred review-“A verse experience that will leave readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”
Connections
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a great verse novel to inspire reluctant teenage girl readers.
*Must read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, the novel in verse, from Robin’s (Sophie’s teenage love) point of view.
*Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, another acclaimed novel by Sonya Sones for reluctant readers.
*Compare and Contrast with another verse novel such as Heartbeat by Sharon Creech.
Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN 978-0-689-855535
Plot Summary
In What My Mother Doesn’t Know we meet Sophie, a teenager who is almost fifteen. The entire book is about Sophie’s teenage life. We are introduced to her best friends Rachel and Grace and all the fun teenage things they love doing together and to the many boy crushes Sophie has.
Critical Analysis
This verse novel is filled with themes young adults will be able to relate to such as teen age love, parent and teen relationships, school friendships, and cultural acceptance. What my mother doesn’t know is written in a colloquial conversational language from the main characters point of view. The book is organized as a group of free verse poems written in short lines that are easy to read that will appeal to reluctant teenage girl readers. The story moves and evolves quickly making it a quick and enjoyable dramatic read aloud novel.
Review Excerpt(s)
Booklist starred review-“Fast, funny, touching.”
Publishers Weekly-“Honest, destined to captivate.”
Kirkus starred review-“A verse experience that will leave readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”
Connections
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a great verse novel to inspire reluctant teenage girl readers.
*Must read What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, the novel in verse, from Robin’s (Sophie’s teenage love) point of view.
*Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, another acclaimed novel by Sonya Sones for reluctant readers.
*Compare and Contrast with another verse novel such as Heartbeat by Sharon Creech.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Rumpelstiltskin.
Bibliography
Zelinksy Paul O. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. By Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: NY. Puffin Books. ISBN 9780140558647
Plot Summary
In this variant of Rumpelstiltskin a poor miller tries to impress his king by claiming that his daughter can spin straw into gold, which is not true. The king sends for the miller’s daughter who is to spin straw into gold by the next morning or she will die. The girl begins to cry because she does not know how to turn straw into gold, in that instant a peculiar little man appears out of nowhere and offers to help her if she will give him something in return. She agrees to give him her necklace the first night, her ring the night and her first born child the third night he spins all the straw into gold. On the third day, the king is impressed at her abilities and marries her and they eventually have a child who Rumpelstiltskin comes to claim. Rumpelstiltskin gives the queen three days to find out what his name is and if she guesses correctly by the third day, she can keep her child. In the end the queen sends her servant to spy on Rumpelstiltskin. The servant overhears him chant his name and the queen gets to keep the baby while umpelstiltskin is never to return and the queen and king lived happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
In this variant of Rumpelstitskin it is easy to see the basic story elements of protagonist, problem, antagonist, climax, and resolution. The protagonist, the miller’s daughter, finds herself in a bit of trouble when she is asked the magical task of turning straw into gold, soon the antagonist, Rumpelstitskin is presented. He quickly offers a solution to the problem but not without a heavy price. At the climax of the story the antagonist returns for the queen’s first born unless his name is discovered. At the conclusion of the story, the problem is resolved when the queen’s servant discovers Rumpelstiltskin’s name and he disappears to never return again. Also, the significance of the number three is found throughout the story when the girl makes gold for three nights and then has three days to figure out Rumpelstiltskin’s name. This is typical in European stories where things usually occur in threes. (Vardell, p. 93)
It is easy to see why Zelinksy’s variant of Rumpelstiltskin was chosen for the Caldecott Honor. The illustrations have a painting like style that creates a memorizing background to the story such as in the royal wedding scene and the pages where the queen reveals Rumpelstiltskin’s name to him. The expressions in the characters and the detail to the castles walls and floors are flawless. The rich colors of the character’s medieval costumes and the piles of spools of gold thread shine and glistened as if they were real and in front of the reader. The illustrations give so much depth and detail that it will make readers want to reach out and touch every page in the book. The characters facial expressions are full of life for example when Rumpelstiltskin rejoices in the woods that no one knows his name. The illustrations are so full of life that they carry the story. I found myself turning pages without even reading the story. The Caldecott Honor Book was given to Paul O. Zenlinksy’s variant of Rumpelstitskin because it is truly a perfect example of a traditional tale in picture book form.
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal-“Zelinsky’s smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light.”
*The Horn Book-“Truly a tour de force.”
*The New York Times Book Review-“Children love the story for its mystery and familiarity.”
Connections
*Other Caldecott Honor Books by Paul O. Zelinsky: Swamp Angel
* Compare and Contrast with other versions such as the Rumpelstiltskin story from West India were Lit'mahn spins thread into gold cloth for the king's new bride, Quashiba.
*Integrate with other subjects such as math with the version of the Multipliyng menace: the revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert.
Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children's Literature in Action. Libraries Unlimited. Paperback: ISBN 13: 9781591585572
Zelinksy Paul O. 1986. Rumpelstiltskin. By Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: NY. Puffin Books. ISBN 9780140558647
Plot Summary
In this variant of Rumpelstiltskin a poor miller tries to impress his king by claiming that his daughter can spin straw into gold, which is not true. The king sends for the miller’s daughter who is to spin straw into gold by the next morning or she will die. The girl begins to cry because she does not know how to turn straw into gold, in that instant a peculiar little man appears out of nowhere and offers to help her if she will give him something in return. She agrees to give him her necklace the first night, her ring the night and her first born child the third night he spins all the straw into gold. On the third day, the king is impressed at her abilities and marries her and they eventually have a child who Rumpelstiltskin comes to claim. Rumpelstiltskin gives the queen three days to find out what his name is and if she guesses correctly by the third day, she can keep her child. In the end the queen sends her servant to spy on Rumpelstiltskin. The servant overhears him chant his name and the queen gets to keep the baby while umpelstiltskin is never to return and the queen and king lived happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
In this variant of Rumpelstitskin it is easy to see the basic story elements of protagonist, problem, antagonist, climax, and resolution. The protagonist, the miller’s daughter, finds herself in a bit of trouble when she is asked the magical task of turning straw into gold, soon the antagonist, Rumpelstitskin is presented. He quickly offers a solution to the problem but not without a heavy price. At the climax of the story the antagonist returns for the queen’s first born unless his name is discovered. At the conclusion of the story, the problem is resolved when the queen’s servant discovers Rumpelstiltskin’s name and he disappears to never return again. Also, the significance of the number three is found throughout the story when the girl makes gold for three nights and then has three days to figure out Rumpelstiltskin’s name. This is typical in European stories where things usually occur in threes. (Vardell, p. 93)
It is easy to see why Zelinksy’s variant of Rumpelstiltskin was chosen for the Caldecott Honor. The illustrations have a painting like style that creates a memorizing background to the story such as in the royal wedding scene and the pages where the queen reveals Rumpelstiltskin’s name to him. The expressions in the characters and the detail to the castles walls and floors are flawless. The rich colors of the character’s medieval costumes and the piles of spools of gold thread shine and glistened as if they were real and in front of the reader. The illustrations give so much depth and detail that it will make readers want to reach out and touch every page in the book. The characters facial expressions are full of life for example when Rumpelstiltskin rejoices in the woods that no one knows his name. The illustrations are so full of life that they carry the story. I found myself turning pages without even reading the story. The Caldecott Honor Book was given to Paul O. Zenlinksy’s variant of Rumpelstitskin because it is truly a perfect example of a traditional tale in picture book form.
Review Excerpt(s)
*School Library Journal-“Zelinsky’s smooth retelling and glowing pictures cast the story in a new and beautiful light.”
*The Horn Book-“Truly a tour de force.”
*The New York Times Book Review-“Children love the story for its mystery and familiarity.”
Connections
*Other Caldecott Honor Books by Paul O. Zelinsky: Swamp Angel
* Compare and Contrast with other versions such as the Rumpelstiltskin story from West India were Lit'mahn spins thread into gold cloth for the king's new bride, Quashiba.
*Integrate with other subjects such as math with the version of the Multipliyng menace: the revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert.
Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children's Literature in Action. Libraries Unlimited. Paperback: ISBN 13: 9781591585572
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
Bibliography
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. By Helen Oxenbury. New York: NY: MacMillan. ISBN 0590486225
Plot Summary
In this version of the three little pigs the, the wolves are the ones having their houses destroyed by the big, bad pig. The first house built out of bricks was destroyed with a sledgehammer, the second house built out of concrete was destroyed with a pneumatic drill and the third house made out of barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates, heavy metal padlocks and Plexiglas was blown up with dynamite. Soon the three little wolves decided they must try something different so they built a house out of flowers. Soon the big, bad pig came to tear their house down, but the smell of flowers was so lovely that his heart grew tender and he decided to become a good pig. From then on the wolves played games with the pig, ate together and lived together happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The text has the repeating situations and phrases from the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs. An example of this is when the three little wolves say “no, no, no. By the hair on our chinny-chin-chins.” And the big, bad pig says, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” Also, the characters are full of personality for they are either drinking tea, playing croquet in the garden or a game of shuttlecock and of course in the end build a house out of flowers. The ending of the story is quite ironic when the pig has a change of heart due to the strong aroma of the flowers and becomes friends with the three little wolves.
Helen Oxenbury's watercolor illustrations work well to create the various settings and transitions found in the story. The use of gray colors help to move the story from setting to setting from beginning to end, finishing with beautiful happy pastel colors, such as from the construction of the first house made out of bricks to the soft and aromatic petals of the house made out of flowers.
The author’s illustrations of the cold and hard houses made out of brick, mortar, barb wire and padlocks is a grim reminder of the disconnect and distrust many humans have with their neighbors just as the big, bad pig had with the wolves; therefore causing conflict among the two.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Publishers Weekly-"among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around."
*Booklist-“This fractured fairy tale has a subtle message, adding some heart to what otherwise might have been just a clever piece of storytelling. . . . The concepts that beauty can facilitate change and that tenderness works better than toughness won't be lost on kids.”
* Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books- “Irony entails a restoration of the proper order of things, and this book has a double transformation that will reassure young audiences at the same time it tells them a new truth about old tales: every pig has his day."
Connections
*Compare and Contrast with another version titled, The Fourth Little Pig, by Teresa Cecil and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*Practice point of view using the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*This version is a great example to use as a writing springboard where students may write their own version of The Three Little Pigs.
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. By Helen Oxenbury. New York: NY: MacMillan. ISBN 0590486225
Plot Summary
In this version of the three little pigs the, the wolves are the ones having their houses destroyed by the big, bad pig. The first house built out of bricks was destroyed with a sledgehammer, the second house built out of concrete was destroyed with a pneumatic drill and the third house made out of barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates, heavy metal padlocks and Plexiglas was blown up with dynamite. Soon the three little wolves decided they must try something different so they built a house out of flowers. Soon the big, bad pig came to tear their house down, but the smell of flowers was so lovely that his heart grew tender and he decided to become a good pig. From then on the wolves played games with the pig, ate together and lived together happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
The text has the repeating situations and phrases from the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs. An example of this is when the three little wolves say “no, no, no. By the hair on our chinny-chin-chins.” And the big, bad pig says, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” Also, the characters are full of personality for they are either drinking tea, playing croquet in the garden or a game of shuttlecock and of course in the end build a house out of flowers. The ending of the story is quite ironic when the pig has a change of heart due to the strong aroma of the flowers and becomes friends with the three little wolves.
Helen Oxenbury's watercolor illustrations work well to create the various settings and transitions found in the story. The use of gray colors help to move the story from setting to setting from beginning to end, finishing with beautiful happy pastel colors, such as from the construction of the first house made out of bricks to the soft and aromatic petals of the house made out of flowers.
The author’s illustrations of the cold and hard houses made out of brick, mortar, barb wire and padlocks is a grim reminder of the disconnect and distrust many humans have with their neighbors just as the big, bad pig had with the wolves; therefore causing conflict among the two.
Review Excerpt(s)
*Publishers Weekly-"among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around."
*Booklist-“This fractured fairy tale has a subtle message, adding some heart to what otherwise might have been just a clever piece of storytelling. . . . The concepts that beauty can facilitate change and that tenderness works better than toughness won't be lost on kids.”
* Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books- “Irony entails a restoration of the proper order of things, and this book has a double transformation that will reassure young audiences at the same time it tells them a new truth about old tales: every pig has his day."
Connections
*Compare and Contrast with another version titled, The Fourth Little Pig, by Teresa Cecil and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*Practice point of view using the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka.
*This version is a great example to use as a writing springboard where students may write their own version of The Three Little Pigs.
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