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.