Dinorella by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Edwards, Pamela Duncan. 1997. Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale. Ill. by Henry Cole. New York: Scholoastic. ISBN o590689487

An alliterative variant of the classic Cinderella tale, Dinorella is notable for its fantastic illustrations and its alliterative text. Dinorella is a dinosaur who wants to go to Duke Dudley's dance, but her dinosaur stepsisters keep her from the party with all kinds of work. When Dinorella's Fairydactyl shows up, the evening takes a turn for the better, and Dinorella gets to make an appearance (and save the day!) at Duke Dudley's dance after all. Cole's illustrations are so clever--prehistoric dinosaurs who dress in 1950s-era clothing (there is one picture of one of the dinosaurs putting on her pantyhose that is hilarious). The bright acrylics and creative touches (like the license plate which reads X-TNKT) make the illustrations a pleasure to look at.

The text, which is written using primarily D-words ("He dumped Duke Dudley and departed double-quick") is generally fun and light-hearted, but does occasionally flatten out because of the reliance on alliteration (calling teeth "dentures" for example, seems forced). Although the basic message of the book is lovely (being a hard worker is rewarded over laziness) some parents will have a problem with the name-calling ("disgusting dummy," "dopey domestic," etc.) in this book. However, although I as a parent had some reservations about this book, my kids love it, especially my four-year-old dinosaur-mad son. My six-year-old daughter likes to read it aloud, because she likes the way "all those D-words sound".

For me, the illustrations were the high point of this book, but my kids like to hear the story as well.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

"Cinderella and dinosaur devotees may find humor in this retelling, but there's a forced zaniness in the settings and situations, and Dinorella comes off a bit daffy and dreary." Publisher's Weekly

"In this retelling of Cinderella, it is an indentured dinosaur who escapes her life of servitude through the aid of a fairy godmother to begin a new life with a prince. In this version, the fairy godmother is a pterodactyl and Dinorella rescues the prince from a meat-eating dinosaur by tossing dirtballs and diamonds. Filled with words beginning with "d" and comical illustrations, this light-hearted book takes a new slant on an old tale." Children's Literature

"The alliteration begins to get away from Edwards, dictating the storyline and resulting in dialogue and descriptions that prove distracting after the first few pages. The story deteriorates further with name-calling: "dopey domestic," "disgusting dummy," "dimwit," "dingbat," and "dumbhead." Cole dazzles in this dumbed-down classic, which goes from hilarious to tedious in very short order." Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS:

This book could be a great way to teach alliteration (even to older students) and then ask them to try to write their own fairy tale variant using alliteration as well.

Dinorella could also be used as part of a Cinderella compare/contrast or as a fictional story to go along with a dinosaur unit.

Edwards has also written Some Smug Slug which also uses alliteration (although clearly, S-words instead of D-words). If students like the alliterative text, they might enjoy reading that as well.

And the Green Grass Grew All Around by Alvin Schwartz

Schwartz, Alvin. 1992. And the Green Grass Grew All Around: Folk Poetry from Everyone. Ill. by Susan G. Truesdell. USA: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN o60227575

This collection of folk poetry (mostly playground poetry and folk poetry for children) is fun and whimsy. For grown-ups, it is also nostalgic--a great collection of poems that perhaps have been long forgotten. Children will enjoy the silly illustrations (which reminded me of Quentin Blake's illustrations in Roald Dahl's books) and reading familiar (often funny) rhymes that they have heard from friends or on the playground. However, many of these poems will be unfamiliar and new to most children, and this book may actually help preserve some of the older playground poems and sayings.

The book is divided into categories of poems--there are poems about people, poems about school and teachers (often hilarious), poems about animals, and so on. I often found myself laughing out loud at the audaciousness of the poems because they so clearly reflect the culture of children. For me it was a nice trip down memory lane, for children it will be a nice celebration of their own kinds of poetry and oral tradition.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

Notable Children's Books of 1993 (ALA)
1993 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
1992 Books for Youth Editors' Choices (BL)
Children's Choices for 1993 (IRA/CBC)
Children's Books of 1992 (Library of Congress)
100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1992 (NY Public Library)
Bulletin Blue Ribbons 1992 (BCCB)
1993 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
1993-4 Alabama Emphasis on Reading Award

"Perhaps the best feature of the book, however, comes at the end where sources are provided for the rhymes. It is in this section that readers can see just how long some of these rhymes have been with us and where they came from." --Children's Literature

CONNECTIONS:

Many of these poems follow patterns or forms. ("Roses are red . . .") Students could be invited to write their own poems based on the forms of the poems in this collection.

Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein are two other well-known writers of poetry for children. Many of their poems deal with the same kind of issues and themes as the poems collected in this book and could be used to compare/contrast or simply enrich a discussion about some of these poems.

The Goose Girl retold by Eric Kimmel

Kimmel, Eric A. The Goose Girl. Ill. by Robert Sauber. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823410749

This story, retold from the Brothers Grimm, follows a princess, betrothed to a faraway prince. Her mother sends her on her way with a talking horse and a handkerchief as a protective token. However, her serving maid usurps the princess' place, forcing the princess to wear her rags while she wears the princess' rich clothing. When they arrive at the distant palace, the serving girl is recognized as the princess, and the princess is set to work as a goose girl. The goose girl cannot hide her royal qualities forever, and the story resolves itself in typical fairy tale fashion--they all live happily ever after--except for the wicked serving maid!

The illustrations in this book match the tone of the text very well--the rich, detailed costuming and emotionally charged facial expressions of the characters complement the traditional language of the text. The setting portrayed in the illustrations is exactly what one imagines a fairly tale setting to be--heavily forested areas, imposing palaces with turrets and towers.

The retelling of this story does not resolve some of the issues of the original Brothers Grimm story. The reader may find it difficult to understand why the princess allows her serving maid to abuse her so vilely and eventually force her into trading places. The story also does not even attempt to explain the princess' strange ability to command the wind.

This retelling is certainly not for the very young--the language of the text is vocabulary intensive (it uses words like "jade" for an old horse and "frock" for a dress) and the rather gruesome end of the wicked serving maid may be disturbing for younger readers. However, older readers may enjoy the rich language and the magical elements of the story.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

"With its castles and steeds, noblesse oblige and happy ending, this is a good choice for those looking for old-fashioned make-believe." Publishers Weekly

"This is one of those picture books that needs to find its way into the hands of older children and adolescents; they'll be the audience best equipped to appreciate the artwork's romantic appeal and the stark justice of the story." Booklist

CONNECTIONS:

For older readers, this could be a great introduction to many of the plot elements of Shannon Hale's Goose Girl. Readers could discuss how Hale deals with some of the unresolved issues of this picture book (The talking horse? The princess' ability to command wind?).

This would be a great story to use in a unit about the power of verbal persuasion.

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Taback, Simms. 1999. Joseph Had A Little Overcoat. Ill. by Simms Taback. New York: Viking. ISBN o670878553

This Caldecott-winning picture book features Joseph, who has an overcoat which gets worn and old. He finds a way (again and again) to make the old, worn overcoat useful in a new way. The overcoat becomes, among other things, a vest, a scarf, a button, and finally, when nothing else can be made, Joseph makes "something" from "nothing" and turns his overcoat's journey into a story.

This is an engineered book with cutouts on various pages to show the new form of the original overcoat. Children will enjoy turning the pages to see what the coat becomes, but they will also enjoy seeing how Taback works the back side of the cutout into his illustrations.

The simply told story is based on a Yiddish folk song, and the text is fairly sparse but follows a somewhat predictable pattern ("Joseph had a little handkerchief. It got old and worn. So he made a button out of it") that will help struggling readers navigate the text more easily.

One of the best things about this picture book are the folk art-style illustrations which complement the story well. The bright colors and detailed drawings make this book a pleasure to read over and over again (and my children asked for it over and over again). This multicultural book explores the themes of frugality and making-do with an overall tone of joyousness. When I went to write this response, I had to search for the book because my own children had commandeered it (it was in the car, next to my son's prized McDonald's toy). They love the simple, easy-to-read text and the little surprises in the illustrations (like the mouse hole with little mouse eyes).

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

Caldecott Medal Book, 2000
"Vibrant rich colors, playful details, and skillfully-placed die cuts contribute to the books raucous merriment that takes this Yiddish folk song far beyond the simple words." Barbara Kiefer, chair of the Caldecott Award Committee

CONNECTIONS:

My kids pulled out the book Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman and did an informal compare/contrast of the language and illustrations that give the same story a much different feeling in the two books.
Another series which shares the same theme of frugality and making do is The Boxcar Children (particularly the first couple in the series). For older readers, Little House on the Prairie also shares the same theme.
During a read aloud of this book, students could use simple, cut out props (maybe even cut them themselves as each page of the story is read?) to make the reading more interactive.
Also this book would be a good one to use for choral reading or group reading.

A Caldecott Celebration by Leonard S. Marcus

Marcus, Leonard S. 2008. A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal. New York: Walker & Company. ISBN 0802797032

As the title implies, this book provides an insight into seven different Caldecott-winning authors (one from each decade of the award's history) and their journey in creating a Caldecott-worthy picture book. It is filled with interesting stories and facts about the award winning illustrators, and also contains quotes from their Caldecott acceptance speech. For example, William Steig (author/illustrator of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) didn't start illustrating books for children until he was almost sixty years old. Chris Van Allsburg (author/illustrator of Jumanji) asked his wife to pose for his sketches of the wild monkeys, because he couldn't find photographs with monkeys in all the poses he needed.

Along with the back-story of each author's process, the book is also filled with photos of the illustrators, as well as early sketches they made as the stories began to take shape on the page. This book gives an informative and fascinating look at a few of the illustrators who helped shape children's literature through the years. Again, as the title suggests, it is truly a celebration of quality illustrations for children.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:
— 1999 ALA Notable Book
— starred reviews in School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist

CONNECTIONS:
--Have different groups read different books featured in this book, and then have them pair their reading with the section on their book. Have them present to the class on the process that the author went through. What was most interesting? What surprised them? How can seeing this process help them with their own writing?
--Look at the organization of this non-fiction text (along with others) to help students understand how different text structures can help (or hinder) our comprehension of the text.
--Related readings from the same author include Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy and Pass It Down: Five Picture Book Families Make Their Mark.
--Have students write a letter to their favorite Caldecott-award winning author, telling them what they like about the illustrations or asking any questions they might still have.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems

Willems, Mo. 2004. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. Ill. by Mo Willems. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 078681869

A funny picture book starring Pigeon (from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! among other titles) and a clever little duckling who knows that persistence pays off. When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog he wants nothing more than to enjoy eating it--all by himself. But Duckling keeps interrupting his meal with questions!

Willems writes this book with his trademark wry humor, using only the dialogue between the two characters (and the colorful, simple illustrations) to tell the story. Although the vocabulary is generally simple, there are some words that will stretch the young reader. For example, while Duckling takes notes, Pigeon describes the experience of eating a hot dog in this way: "They are a taste sensation. Each morsel is a joy! A celebration in a bun!" The interplay between the two characters is both fun and funny.

The illustrations add to the telling of this story as much, if not more, than the dialogue does. The deceptively simple drawings of Pigeon effectively convey his emotions, including his delight with the hot dog and his annoyance with the interfering Duckling.

Awards and Review Excerpts:
Booklist Online said: "Preschoolers who recognized themselves in the tantrum-throwing pigeon of the previous title will also see themselves in the calm, shrewd duckling that knows just how to get his way." Click here for full review.
Golden Archer Award for Primary, 2008

Connections:
--Because this book is written strictly in dialogue, it makes a perfect book for a student to read out loud with a partner, with one person reading the part of Duckling and one reading the part of Pigeon.
--Try other Mo Willems books: any of the Elephant and Piggie series (Today I Will Fly, My Friend is Sad, There is a Bird on Your Head!, etc.), Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny Too, etc.
--Compare the illustrations of Pigeon and Duckling with another illustrator who animates animals (like Rosemary Wells in Morris's Disappearing Bag). How do the illustrators show emotions in animals?
--Have students write their own glowing description of their favorite food. How would they describe it to someone who had never tasted it before?
--With older students, use this book as an example for a writing minilesson about effectively using dialogue to move a story forward.

Simply Wild About Books

One of my favorite books to read to my kids is Judy Sierra's fun rhyming book Wild About Books (illustrated by Marc Brown), featuring a librarian who takes books (and a love of reading) to the animals in the zoo. That's where the phrase "simply wild about books" comes from, and it rings true to me.

Although I like children's literature, my true love is young adult fiction, since I used to be a high school English teacher. Although I've been out of the classroom for five years now, I still find myself thinking of the kind of kid who might find a certain book enjoyable.