A Book Review of: THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by Jon Scieszka

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Scieszka, John. 1989. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Ill. by Lane Smith. New York, NY: Viking. ISBN 978-0140544510

PLOT SUMMARY

In this hilarious tale, the traditional story of “The 3 Little Pigs” is retold from the vantage point of the Big Bad Wolf, who, in this version, is neither big, nor bad. Alexander T. Wolf is a victim of the press. From his jail cell, he recounts what truly happened. Al, as he likes to be called, was making a birthday for his dear grandmother who, from the photograph that can be seen of her, was probably sick in bed. He, himself, was ailing, suffering from an awful cold. As he was concocting the cake, he realized that he had completely run out of sugar.

He walked to his neighbor’s house to ask if he could borrow a cup. His closest neighbor turned out to be one of the 3 little pigs. Al approached the straw house and tried to knock and call inside, but the pig pretended not to be home. As Alexander tried to leave, he was caught up in a terrible sneezing fit, and accidentally sneezed the pig’s house down. The pig was killed in the act and, not wanting to let good meat go to waste, Al devoured the corpse. Al proceeded to the next house, this one made of sticks that belonged to the first pig’s brother. He knocked and was told that the pig was busy and could not be bothered. Al was going to leave, when he sneezed again, inadvertently blowing down the second pig’s house. This pig, too, was killed by falling debris. Al, not wanting to waste food, devoured this corpse as well. However, he still did not have his cup of sugar. He approached the third pig’s house, the brother of the previous pigs. This house was made of brick, so when Al suffered a sneezing fit it did not blow down. He asked this pig for sugar and was told, very rudely, to go away. The pig then proceeded to insult Al’s poor, old grandmother.

At this point in the story, Al admits that he lost his composure, as would any decent person whose dear relative had been insulted, and began beating on the pig’s door. All of the excitement aggravated his cold, causing him to huff, and puff and sneeze and wheeze. When the police arrived, he seemed like a crazed neighbor on a rampage. When the story hit the press, the reporters found the tale of an ill wolf trying to make a cake for a sick grandmother boring and embellished the tale into the familiar one that we all know.

Alexander T. Wolf was framed.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

In this story, we, the readers, are about to hear the tale of an injustice done to a wrongly convicted felon, but should we take this wolf seriously? The character voice of Alexander T. Wolf is intelligent, witty, and slightly mocking in areas. His conversational tone draws readers in and holds their attention. The artwork belies the dark humor infused within this piece that can be enjoyed by children and adults.

Scieszka starts off with Alexander, who likes to be called Al, preparing us for a very atypical variant of the Three Little Pigs. He alerts us that there is a side of the story that we have never heard, and a more ignorant reader who was not read a summary or been allowed to see the cover of the book, might wonder whose side of the story we are about to hear. On the next page, we are treated to a close up of Al, the wolf, and he is wearing spectacles. This is a clever ploy by the wolf and the author, for it is assumed that people usually attribute these personality traits with those who wear glasses: intelligent, passive aggressive, wimpy. The colors used are dark, but Al is telling his story from his jail cell. We are meant to feel depressed, for he is.

Al introduces a wolf’s standard diet to us. It is not his fault he is a carnivore and the creatures he eats are what some of us think are cute. He indirectly says that we eat many of the same things and no one puts us on trial. He has become personable and relatable to us, and now can begin the case that he probably wished he could have presented in court to a more suitable audience.

Al recounts in the first pages how he was trying to bake a cake for his poor, grandmother. The kitchen is a mess, Alexander is wearing a tweed suit with a bow-tie and his glasses are askew. As he is trying to measure ingredients, the thermometer under his tongue slips; he has a bad cold. The author creates sympathy for this sick wolf by portraying him as someone who might be viewed as a “nerd” in contemporary settings, very unthreatening. However, if one peers further into the picture, the bowl in which the ingredients are being mixed contains a rabbit and rotten eggs and the photograph of granny looks mighty familiar. Is that the wolf that devoured Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother? It can be assumed that perhaps Al’s grandmother is ill and she had to take photograph in bed, but I have a feeling the author is too clever to let that be the only case.

When Al realizes he is out of sugar, he decides to borrow a cup from the neighbors, just like in an old fashioned television program that portrays images of wholesome families and neighborhoods. He walks from his house to the straw house belonging to the first pig. One must notice how much darker the colors are on the wolf’s side of the neighborhood as he ventures into the more brightly colored side of neighborhood where the pigs live. The wolf interrupts his tale, adding humorous interjections about how ridiculous it is for this pig to have built his house from straw, which should result in the reader forming a lower opinion about this pig due to his lack of intelligence.

The house was flimsy from the start. Al does knock, but there is no answer. He is going to leave, but instead of the traditional “huffing” and “puffing”, he “huffed” and “snuffed” and “sneezed a great sneeze.” This phrase replacing the traditional repetition of “huffed and puffed and blew the house down.” The first pig is home after all, and is killed in the accident. What a rude pig for ignoring his neighbor. The corpse lies in the debris, and Al, being a wolf views this as carrion, comparing to if we had found something we liked to eat lying around. Should it be left to waste? Al strokes his chin, trying to decide, as he does so, we can now see the gray and white in his fur. He is not only wearing a tweed suit with a bowtie and glasses and has a cold, but he may be elderly. Al decides not to waste meat and eats the pig, but he still does not have his cup of sugar. He proceeds to the next house, which ends up belonging to the first pig’s brother.

This pig’s house is made of sticks, and the author allows us to see how careless and sloppy the pig was in cutting down the trees in his own front yard to build his home with. He’s left the raw tree stumps and his saw out for the public see. When Al knocks on the door, the pig inside gives a rude reply and looks like a slob from the mere glimpse we see of him. Scieszka does an excellent job of literally painting the pigs in a bad light to make Al seem more of the hero, or rather antihero, of the story. Although, he is rudely treated, Al does not react and is preparing to leave, when he feels another sneeze coming on. The repetition is repeated. The audience can come to predict the saying and when reading it aloud, children can be encouraged to chant it with you.

The stick house falls and the second pig is dead—“as a doornail.” He offers his “Wolf’s honor”, but featured on this page is also a small picture of a gable. This could be interpreted to mean that perhaps, he was able to tell this story to the court and was not believed. Al devours the second corpse and is now so stuffed he can barely walk. The starting letter on the next page is formed by plump, link sausages, perhaps trying to help the audience associate the eating of the pig with humans eating sausage or hot dogs. The pig, to Al, is not a sentient being, but food, and as human beings, we do eat pork as well. He goes to the house of the third pig to ask for a cup of sugar. This house is made of brick. The pig inside has a very ominous, almost sinister look to him. His eyes are red and his face is cloaked in shadow. Al now has out his handkerchief wiping his nose as he has to look up to meet the pig’s eyes. He looks small and insignificant. The pig goes on to insult Al and his grandmother, and here Al admits that he lost his temper. In his fit of temperament, he tries to break down the pig’s door, all the while sneezing up a storm. The police, who are all pigs, arrive on the scene with clubs and reporters, who are also pigs, arrive with microphones and notepads to a nightmarish-looking scene. The profile of one of the police pigs can be seen, and he has sharp teeth and fangs, like a wolf, which might lead an audience to wonder just who were the real predators there?

We are told a believable story of how the press decided to embellish the tale to make it more interesting, conceiving the traditional story that the audience Al is talking to is familiar with. Who would not believe that a reporter would choose an alternate angle to make a story more likely to sell? The last scene we are given is of a very old Al, since he begins his tale with the traditional “once upon a time” we can infer that he has been in jail for a very long time, extending a tin cup from his prison cell, still wanting sugar for his grandmother. The warden beside the locked door is a sour-faced pig.

Using Al’s voice, Scieszka creates a successful unreliable narrator that the audience will want to believe. He transforms Al into a sympathetic character and plays the part of a criminal lawyer trying to redeem his client who was given an unfair trial. It is obvious that Al’s trial was probably lost before it began due to not having a jury of peers and public slander. The dark oil paints and sometimes hazy imagery used during Al’s story-telling, helps us to remember that the story being told is a recollection, a memory of something that happened long ago and may not be entirely accurate. After all, reporters are not the only people who know how to embellish.

Without vocal inflections or facial expressions, the tone of this work can be easily conveyed to listeners just by the witty, tongue-in-cheek turns of phrase Scieszka uses to flesh out the character of Alexander T. Wolf. The purpose of this book is clearly to entertain and to teach and remind younger readers, and perhaps older readers alike, that there are always two sides to every story.

REVIEW EXCERPTS(S):

"Designed with uncommon flair," said PW, this "gaily newfangled version of the classic tale" takes sides with the villain. "Imaginative watercolors eschew realism, further updating the tale." A Spanish-language reprint will be issued simultaneously ($4.99, -055758-X). Ages 3-8. –Publishers Weekly

Grade 1 Up--Victim for centuries of a bad press, Alexander ("You can call me Al") T. Wolf steps forward at last to give his side of the story. Trying to borrow a cup of sugar to make a cake for his dear old Granny, Al calls on his neighbors--and can he help it if two of them built such shoddy houses? A couple of sneezes, a couple of dead pigs amidst the wreckage and, well, it would be shame to let those ham dinners spoil, wouldn't it? And when the pig in the brick house makes a nasty comment about Granny, isn't it only natural to get a little steamed? It's those reporters from the Daily Pig that made Al out to be Big and Bad, that caused him to be arrested and sent to the (wait for it) Pig Pen. "I was framed," he concludes mournfully. Smith's dark tones and sometimes shadowy, indistinct shapes recall the distinctive illustrations he did for Merriam's Halloween ABC (Macmillan, 1987); the bespectacled wolf moves with a rather sinister bonelessness, and his juicy sneezes tear like thunderbolts through a dim, grainy world. It's the type of book that older kids (and adults) will find very funny. -John Peters, New York Public Library, SLJ

Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (1989) turned the favorite porkers' story upside-down by allowing the grossly misjudged wolf to tell his side of the story. Wiesner's latest is a post-modern fantasy for young readers that takes Scieszka's fragmentation a step further: it not only breaks apart and deliciously reinvents the pigs' tale, it invites readers to step beyond the boundaries of story and picture book altogether.

The book begins predictably: the three pigs set out to seek their fortune, and when the first pig builds a house of straw, the wolf blows it down. Here's when the surprises start. The wolf blows the pig right out of the picture and out of the story itself. In the following frames, the story continues as expected: the wolf eats the pig and moves on to the other houses. But the pictures no longer match up. Frames show the bewildered wolf searching hungrily through the rubble as first one, then all the pigs escape the illustrations and caper out into open space with the loose pages of the wolf's tale swirling around them. After fashioning a paper airplane from a passing page, the emancipated pigs soar off on a sort of space flight through blank white spreads, ultimately discovering other picture-book "planets" along the way. Finally, the pigs wander through a near-city of illustrated pages, each suggesting its own story. Joined by the nursery rhyme Cat and Fiddle and a fairy-tale dragon, the pigs find and reassemble the pages to their own story and reenter to find the wolf still at the door. In the end, the story breaks down altogether, as the wolf flees, the text breaks apart, letters spill into a waiting basket, and the animals settle down to a bowl of . . . alphabet soup instead of wolf stew.

Wiesner uses shifting, overlapping artistic styles to help young readers envision the pigs' fantastical voyage. The story begins in a traditional, flat, almost old-fashioned illustrative style. But once the first pig leaps from the picture's frame, he becomes more shaded, bristly with texture, closer to a photographic image. As the pigs travel and enter each new story world, they take on the style of their surroundings--the candy-colored nursery rhyme, the almost comic-book fairy tale--until, in the end, they appear as they did at the beginning. Chatty dialogue balloons also help guide children through the story, providing most of the text once the characters leave the conventional story frames, and much of the humor ("Let's get out of here!" yells one pig as he leaps from a particularly saccharine nursery world). Despite all these clues, children may need help understanding what's happening, particularly with the subtle, open-ended conclusion. But with their early exposure to the Internet and multimedia images, many kids will probably be comfortable shifting between frames and will follow along with delight. Wiesner has created a funny, wildly imagined tale that encourages kids to leap beyond the familiar, to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories. Carolyn Phelan, Booklist

CONNECTIONS:

Other variants of the traditional tale of “The 3 Little Pigs” can be shared with children to help them further compare and contrast plots of stories and recognize common thematic elements are:

Trivizas, Eugene. 1997. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. New York, NY: McElderry. ISBN 978-0689815287

Moser, Barry. 2001. The Three Little Pigs. New York, NY: Little, Brown Young Readers. ISBN 978-0316585446

Kellogg, Steven. 2002. The Three Little Pigs. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0064437790

A Book Review of RAPUNZEL by Paul O. Zelinksy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Zelinsky, Paul O. 1997. Rapunzel. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN 0525456074

PLOT SUMMARY

Once upon a time, a husband and wife live together in a beautiful villa next door to an old sorceress. The wife becomes pregnant and while sitting at her bedroom window, she glimpses into the sorceress’s garden and sees a bed of rapunzel. She begins to crave the herbs with a feverish passion, claiming to her husband that she will die if she does not get to taste some soon. Her husband, fearful of her mental state, climbs into the sorceress’s garden and steals as much rapunzel as he can carry.

The wife makes a salad of the rapunzel and savors the flavor of the herb so much she almost loses consciousness. She tells her husband that she has to have more or she will surely die. Fearful, once again, the husband steals into the sorceress’s garden for more rapunzel, but is caught by the sorceress. He pleads with the sorceress to spare him and his wife for the crime, explaining to her the situation. The sorceress forgives the husband of the crime, but demands the newborn baby his wife will bear as payment. The husband, who cares more for his wife’s life than anything else, agrees. So, when the baby is born, the sorceress comes to claim the baby girl.

The girl is named Rapunzel and she spends a happy childhood with the sorceress who meets her every need. When the girl turns 12, the sorceress locks her away in a tower in the middle of the wilderness with no door, only a window. The girl’s hair grows so long that it can be used as a ladder for the sorceress to climb in and out of the window when she comes to visit. One day, a prince rides through woods and hears the sound of Rapunzel’s singing. He searches for her voice and made inquiries in town, discovering the identity of the girl. The next day, he comes to the tower and beckons Rapunzel to let her hair down to him. He climbs into the window and, after some convincing is able to charm Rapunzel, who has never seen a man before. They eventually fall in love and have a spiritual marriage of sorts.

Rapunzel, unknowingly, becomes heavy with child. When the sorceress comes to visit one day, Rapunzel asks her to help her retie her dress; it has become too tight. The sorceress immediately realizes that Rapunzel is pregnant. She cuts Rapunzel’s hair and banishes her into the wilderness. The prince comes to visit again, and the sorceress lowers Rapunzel’s severed hair to him. When he climbs up, the sorceress reveals Rapunzel’s fate. In despair, the prince lets himself tumble to the ground; he is blinded in the fall. He wanders the wilderness and after some time, stumbles into Rapunzel, who has borne twins in her exile. Rapunzel’s tears heal the prince’s eyes and together, they and their children, return to civilization to live happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Author and illustrator Paul Zelinsky uses a masterful blend of the more familiar tale of “Rapunzel” told by the Brothers Grimm and earlier versions of the tale: “Petrosinella” and “Persinette” to create his retelling of “Rapunzel”. He chooses to set the story in an Italian countryside, and imitates the style of Italian Renaissance artists. The rich oil paintings on each page draw in readers with their beautiful and realistic imagery.

The text of the story is simple yet elegant that can be easily read aloud and understood by young audiences. The story begins in the traditional sense, by dating the story in a time period long, long ago, in a place far, far away. The main scenes in the beginning are established within the first two pages: the house of Rapunzel’s parents and the sorceress’s garden, which looks neither dark nor ominous. The garden is very neat, decorated with white stone statues of a mother holding a baby, and another woman wearing a shawl.

When the wife becomes pregnant and demands that her husband steal into the sorceress’s garden for rapunzel, the artwork remains light and lovely. The husband appears to steal the rapunzel in the middle of the day as the sun is up and the hills in the background are illuminated by its light. However, there is a slight shadow cast down upon the husband from a tall tree nearby as he gazes around nervously. Zelinsky chooses not to change settings and colors to reflect emotions in these scenes, but instead focuses on the facial expressions of the characters. In the next scene, the audience can see the wife’s joy at being given the rapunzel and the husband’s relief at “saving” his wife and not being caught in the process. The next time the husband steals into the garden, it is in broad daylight again. The sorceress appears, but she does not wear black or anything that looks threatening, but her facial expression is one of fury.

After the bargain to exchange the baby as payment for the rapunzel is made and the sorceress comes to claim the child, Rapunzel’s birth parents are left in shadow as the sorceress steps into the light from doorway holding the baby. Her expression is kind. We see a scene of the sorceress, who is portrayed in other stories of Rapunzel as mean and repulsive, as a kindly mother figure. She sits sewing while Rapunzel is allowed to play outdoors. Rapunzel and the sorceress blend into the natural imagery painted by the author/illustrator. To see the sorceress depicted as such a kindly maternal figure brings me back to the statue of a mother holding a baby in the garden. Perhaps this is a woman who could not have children of her own, but desperately wants someone to care for. She becomes a sympathetic character. Rapunzel dances by a body of bluish, green water as a peacock watches. Peacocks are known for their beauty and vanity and that one watches Rapunzel is indicative of her growing beauty. The sorceress locks Rapunzel away when she is twelve perhaps because Rapunzel has become too beautiful to escape the notice of those from the outside world. In a few years, young men would come to call and Rapunzel would marry and move away from her surrogate mother, leaving her alone again.

The forest or wilderness in contrast to the well manicured countryside is filled with tall trees that cast long, dark shadows. Forests are symbolic for confusion, chaos, and the human unconscious. Characters lose themselves in forests, usually in states of indecision or turmoil, and return to civilization in a better mindset, having matured or changed. Rapunzel spends her teenage years, or rather her transition years from a girl into a woman, trapped in the center of a forest.

One day, a prince emerges from the foliage on the back of a pure white horse. He invites himself into Rapunzel’s tower, her temple of isolation. The colors used are soft and romantic; the author brings us close enough to notice fine details in the faces of the main characters for the first time. When the sorceress returns to the story, she is wearing a scarlet dress, different from the duller greens and blues she has worn in previous scenes. Her facial expression is one of horror rather than rage when she realizes that Rapunzel is pregnant. It is clear that she feels betrayed without even reading the text. Rapunzel’s facial expression is one of rebellion rather than fear. This brings the audience to a deeper interpretation of the relationship between the sorceress and Rapunzel. Theirs is not the bond of a captive and a bailiff, but an overprotective mother and a willful daughter who has had enough.

The sorceress cuts Rapunzel’s long hair, pressing her against the open window so that we can see the dense, expanse of unknown wilderness below where Rapunzel will be banished. It is an amazing contrast between the narrow slice of civilization that is Rapunzel’s tower and the dark, wilderness of the outside world the sorceress sought to protect her from. When the prince learns of Rapunzel’s fate, he loses himself, letting himself plunge to the ground and losing his sight in the process. He wanders through the wilderness, like Rapunzel, lost in mental turmoil. When Rapunzel and the prince find each other again, they do it in a clearing, where the shadows of the forest have parted. The twins Rapunzel bore while in the wilderness watch as their parents embrace and the prince’s eyes are healed by Rapunzel’s cleansing tears. The second to last scene, shows the couple and their children leaving the wilderness in one panel, a single dark tree marking their exit, and the next panel shows the beginnings of city with a palace at its center. Rapunzel entered the forest as a girl who knew nothing of the outside world, but leaves it as a woman, a wife, and mother. The prince leaves the forest as a husband and a father.

The last image displays Rapunzel and the prince sitting together, gazing down at their children. They almost mirror the content image of Rapunzel’s parents at the beginning of the story. That they lived happily ever after is unneeded.

Zelinsky’s story of Rapunzel is filled with beautiful imagery, symbolism and clear prose that depict a traditional story in a new light that is actually closer to the true essence of the original story. The classical Italian settings are rich with detail; the pottery, statues, homes, clothing, and gardens may intrigue young audiences to seek out information on this time period. Children may also wish to seek out other works that feature this style of artwork and other authors who choose to tell variants of traditional stories that reflect an understanding and in-depth study of the original literature.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Caldecott Medal Winner, 1998

In our Best Book citation, PW said, "A breathtaking interpretation gives the fairy tale new art-historical roots, with illustrations that daringly-and effectively-mimic the masters of Italian Renaissance painting." Ages 5-up. (Oct.) –Publishers Weekly

Kindergarten-Grade 3. An elegant and sophisticated retelling that draws on early French and Italian versions of the tale. Masterful oil paintings capture the Renaissance setting and flesh out the tragic figures. –SLJ

Exquisite paintings in late Italian Renaissance style illumine this hybrid version of a classic tale. As Zelinsky (The Wheels on the Bus, 1990, etc.) explains in a long source note, the story's Italian oral progenitor went through a series of literary revisions and translations before the Brothers Grimm published their own take; he draws on many of these to create a formal, spare text that is more about the undercurrents between characters than crime and punishment. Feeling ``her dress growing tight around her waist'' a woman conceives the desire for an herb from the neighboring garden--rendered in fine detail with low clipped hedges, elaborate statuary and even a wandering pangolin--that causes her to lose her child to a witch. Ensconced for years in a tower, young Rapunzel meets the prince, ``marries'' him immediately, is cast into the wilderness when her own dress begins to tighten, gives birth to twins, and cures her husband's blindness with her tears at their long-awaited reunion. Suffused with golden light, Zelinsky's landscapes and indoor scenes are grandly evocative, composed and executed with superb technical and emotional command. (Picture book/folklore. 8-10)—Kirkus Reviews

By filling his illustrations with visual fine points and making them historically specific, Zelinsky also reminds readers of the idea that this story, or something like this story, actually could have happened. (Ages 4 to 8) -- The New York Times Book Review, Maud Lavin

CONNECTIONS

To further knowledge or to even introduce more retellings of traditional folklore and fairytales that are true to the original roots of the story, one might look for titles such as the ones that follow. Some children may be unfamiliar with the more traditional stories and will need a sound basis for comparison when introduced to more variant tales. Also, these stories share similar artwork, so that the children may be able to locate parallels in the artistic themes.

Zelinsky, Paul O. 1996. Rumpelstiltskin. London: Puffin. ISBN 978-0140558647

Lesser, Rika. 1999. Hansel and Gretel. Ill. by Paul Zelinsky. New York, NY: Dutton Juvenile. ISBN 978-0525461524

Craft, Mahlon F. 2002. Sleeping Beauty. Ill. by Kinuko Y. Craft. San Francisco, CA: SeaStar Books. ISBN 978-1587171208

A Book Review of: GLUSKABE AND THE FOUR WISHES by Joseph Bruchac

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruchac, Joseph. 1995. Gluskabe and the Four Wishes. Ill. by Christine Nyburg Shrader. New Work, NY: Cobblehill Books. ISBN 0525651640

PLOT SUMMARY

In this retelling of Gluskabe and the Four Wishes, Gluskabe is introduced as the being who defeated the beast that tried to keep all of the world’s water for himself. He is the one who made the larger animals smaller and less threatening to humans. When Gluskabe became satisfied that he had done enough to make the world into a better place for his descendants, he sailed away to a distant island in a great lake. It was said that any man who sought Gluskabe and found him would be granted a single wish.

Four men of the Abenaki tribe decide to seek out Gluskable. One is a man who longs for material wealth for he has little by way of worldly possessions. One is a man who longed to be the tallest man on Earth. One man is afraid of death and wants to live forever. The final man has an unselfish wish of becoming a great hunter so that his family and village will never go hungry. They cross the great lake and surpass four obstacles before reaching Gluskabe. When they arrive, Gluskabe greets them and agrees to grant their single wishes. Each man tells Gluskabe his desire, and Gluskabe gives each man a pouch, instructing them not to open it until they return to their respective dwellings.

The men part ways and each begin their journey home. The man who wished for material wealth sails home in the canoe given to him by the man who wished to live forever. The man cannot resist the allure of the pouch and opens it while still at sea. The material objects he wished for pour from the pouch and fill the boat to its capacity. The boat is so overweight that it sinks, and the man, tangled in his new possessions, sinks with it. The man who wished to be the tallest man on Earth also cannot resist opening the pouch before he arrives home, and so opens his pouch. He is transformed into a pine tree, taller than any man. The man who fears death also opens his pouch before the instructed time and is transformed into a boulder, its structure eternal.

The last man whose wish was unselfish does not open his pouch until he is inside his home. He finds the pouch empty, but knowledge floods him. He hears the voices of the animals and learns their ways and how to respect them. He becomes the greatest hunter among his people, never greedy and always respectful; his family and village are always well-fed. His unselfish gift is the best of all.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Joseph Bruchac created his written version of the oral tale of Gluskabe and the Four Wishes by collecting and studying four different versions of the story. The work he’s created is a well-written piece that is easy to follow, the words corresponding with the images on each page, which makes for a tale that can be easily read aloud to younger and older audiences alike.

The author/illustrator uses oil paint; the color mixtures and hazy, indefinite lines give the work a surreal quality and lend to the mysterious nature of a tale about a journey into the unknown and back again. There is no set time period for this story, but the opening words of the tale start with Creation, so audiences can safely infer that, like other traditional tales, this story takes place, “Once upon a time.” The mixture of darker, heavier colors at the beginning of the work emphasizes the mysterious nature of Gluskabe and his midnight departure from the human world. The darker blues and smoky grays are also used for the journey the four men undertake to reach Gluskabe, further giving the readers a sense of danger and unknown elements. The men are leaving what they know and venturing to the far away island of a great being who is a divine hero to their people. The journey is so perilous and rarely undertaken that this great being is willing to grant a wish to any man who dares to seek his counsel.

The men face four obstacles, and each of the four men takes a turn at solving the problems they meet. They all display intelligence and bravery and work together as a unit to reach the island. While traveling through the misty unknown together, none of the men display selfish behavior, so we are reminded through the story-telling of the men with selfish wishes. The author’s repetitions of the wishes of each man become the embodiment of each man, and their wishes become their names. When the men finally reach the island, they are greeted by the white-haired Gluskabe who is a wizened man in comparison to the still dark-haired young men who have come to visit. The painting of great Glusake spans over two pages; he stands before a background of fog, holding the pouches he gives to the men. The steamy fog is used to obscure the setting of the island, furthering the mystery of a world beyond our familiar, human world.

When Gluskabe inquires about the wishes of each man, the man with the unselfish wish to provide food for his family and people holds his request for last. Gluskabe only offers this man a smile, before distributing the magical pouches that the men are not to open until they return home. Older children may view this smile as a hint of foreshadowing, for it seems that only this wish pleases Gluskabe. Perhaps, the selfish wishes of the other men will have unfavorable outcomes.

When the men depart the island and go their separate ways, the darker, heavier colors from earlier brighten and some yellows are used to present the shores, though the waters are still a murky gray, so that readers will not forget the element of mystery. Water is a universal symbol for creation, rebirth, change and mystery. The man who wished for material wealth sails home, and so, is still cloaked in the fog when he opens his pouch against instruction and is destroyed by his own wish, sinking into a watery grave with all that he’d wanted. The horrified expression on his face as he realizes what is happening to him leads the readers to believe that perhaps he understands the folly of his wish as he resigns himself to his fate. The only bright color used in this image is the golden light coming from the pouch Gluskabe had given the man. Perhaps, this is enlightenment come too late.

The man who wishes to be taller than any man is transformed into a pine tree. The image on the page uses bolder lines than what has been used throughout the story, the colors are blends of browns and green and an airy blue for the sky. The tree appears tall and strong, and it almost seems as if the reader must look up to glimpse the top of it from the angle it is painted. The man, though we can be sure this is not exactly what he had in mind, is pleased with the outcome of his wish, as it is stated that to this day pines grow tall and when the wind blows one can hear these trees bragging about how tall they are. Here we are presented with a myth to explain why pine trees grow so tall.

The next man who wished he could live forever also disobeys and opens his pouch too soon. He is transformed into a boulder, a part of earth and nature that will always be with us. His expression is serene, if not a bit solemn as he will have forever to think about his selfish wish.

The last man with the unselfish wish to become a better hunter to help his people follows instruction and waits until he returns home. He is engulfed in a spiritual experience where he is allowed to commune with the voices of the animals as if they are physically present. His is the gift of godly knowledge, an unselfish gift that one should use to help others, as Gluskabe once used his mysterious, godly abilities to help all of his descendants.

Through this story, readers will learn the importance of thoughtfulness, and putting the basic needs of others before your own desire; good things will happen for you. However, if you are selfish and seek to please yourself before others, you may not always receive what you want in the way that you want it. In other words, “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Bruchac (Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back) combines several sources in telling this traditional Native American "teaching story." After making an arduous journey to visit Gluskabe, the Great Spirit's helper, four men are each granted a wish. Gluskabe gives each man a pouch, saying that it contains his heart's desire, but warns them not to open the pouches until they return home. The poor man who wishes for many possessions opens his sack while canoeing home, and so many things pour out of it that he drowns under their weight.The vain man who wishes to be taller is turned into a gigantic pine tree, and the fearful man who wants to live forever becomes a boulder. But the fourth man, a hunter who wishes only to be able to feed his people, waits to open his pouch, and receives "great understanding" of the animals. Plainly told yet suspenseful, the story breathes an easy authenticity. First-time illustrator Shrader's atmospheric if slightly muddy paintings convey some of the drama, but the exaggerated expressions of her characters undercut the conviction of Bruchac's narrative voice. Ages 4-8. –Publishers Weekly

Grade 3-6. Bruchac is a master storyteller, and his talent is amply displayed in this retelling of an Abenaki tale. Four men travel to the island where the legendary Gluskabe has concealed himself, each hoping to have a wish granted. One hopes for fine possessions while another, already tall, wants to be even taller. The third man wants to live forever, and the fourth wants to be a better hunter so that he can provide for his people. Gluskabe promises to grant their wishes and gives each a pouch, cautioning them not to look inside until they are home. Three succumb to temptation, and their wishes are granted in unexpected ways. The first man's canoe sinks beneath the weight of the things that pour out of his pouch; the second man is transformed into a tall tree; and the third changes into a boulder. The hunter does as he is asked, and the animals reveal their secrets to him. The text is lean and elegant, without an extraneous word, and the gentle, easy cadence lends itself to reading aloud; even the source note sings. The full-and double-page, muted, misty watercolors complement the text perfectly. Shrader gives each of the nameless men individuality, hinting in their features at the outcome. A worthy addition to any collection. Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA—SLJ

Ages 4-8. With graceful insight, Bruchac retells this legend of his ancestors, the Abnaki peoples of New England. Gluskabe, a magical culture hero, bestows wishes upon those who visit his remote island. Four men make the journey: the first wishes for possessions; the second yearns to be taller; the third seeks immortality; and the last desires only to become a good enough hunter to feed his people. Gluskabe gives them their wishes in pouches that they are forbidden to open until they are home. Greedily, the first man opens his pouch in the canoe, which sinks under the weight of his new possessions; the second and third men meet appropriate fates, too; however, the last man, who waits, gains a great understanding and connection with animals, and from that day on, he is revered as "the best hunter among the people." Shrader paints with a quiet, earthy palette and offers settings that, fittingly, incorporate rather than showcase the human players. With no loss of entertainment value, the story is highly moral, eschewing selfishness and materialism in favor of selflessness and harmony with the natural world. An informative author's note discusses the derivation of the tale. Julie Walton—Booklist

CONNECTIONS

Other Native American folktales that teach morals and also expose children to more Native American myths familiar to various tribes are as follows. These stories can also be used to help children make connections between myths and the natural phenomena they were originally created to explain.

Bruchac, Joseph. 1998. The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet. New York, NY: Putnam. ISBN 978-0698116474

Bruchac, Joseph. 1998. The First Strawberries. Ill. by Anna Vojtech. London: Puffin. ISBN 978-0140564099

Bruchac, Joseph. 1997. Thirteen Moons On Turtle’s Back. New York, NY: Putnam Juvenile. ISBN 978-0698115842

Oughton, Jerrie. 1996. How the Stars Fell Into the Sky: A Navajo Legend. Boston, MA: Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 978-0395779385

A Book Review of: FLOTSAM by David Weisner

Bibliography:

Wiesner, David. 2006. Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780618194575

Plot Summary:

Flotsam is a wordless picture book that tells the intriguing story of a young boy’s amazing discovery on the beach one afternoon. The boy follows beach-dwelling creatures along the sandy shore, paying special attention to crabs and snails. Treading too closely to the surf, he is overtaken by a small wave and a mysterious camera drifts onto the shore. The boy takes the camera to his parents, who then instruct him to take it to a lifeguard. Apparently, the lifeguard has heard no claims about a missing camera and tells the boy to keep it. The boy looks inside the camera and discovers undeveloped film. He takes the film to a local photo shop to have it developed, and the boy marvels at the photographs taken by the mysterious camera.

There are pictures of underwater creatures doing mundane surface things such as reading to their families, there are mechanical fish, and public transportation, as well as fish flying in blowfish powered hot air balloons. The most astonishing things he finds are photographs of children, like him, from various regions of the world and various time periods. Each child featured holds the photograph of the previous child who has found the camera. The boy decides to continue the chain of photographs and snaps a shot of him holding the photograph of the camera’s previous owner, then tosses the camera back into the tide for it to find yet another owner, so the chain can continue.

Critical Analysis:

Flotsam is a true work of art when it comes to wordless picture books. The oil paintings are realistic, the colors bright and vivid, the lines bold and defined. The artwork alone captures the eyes and mind, and the sensational pictorial story-telling creates a beautiful plot that can be interpreted in various ways by various minds.

In this story, children are invited to take a sneak peek into a secret world where marine life take on humanoid characteristics and perform our daily human tasks under the sea. The sequence of each frame tells a clear, yet unpredictable story from realistic, to fantastic, back to realistic again.

The final photos the boy views are of children around his age from different nationalities in different places of the world and different time periods. The setting in each picture is always near an ocean or sea but there are slight differences in the wildlife and natural scenery, such as trees native to certain parts of the world, or difference rock structures. The most interesting photographs are perhaps the ones that are portals in time. The more photographs the boy flips through, the older the pictures become, the oldest picture featuring a boy standing in the surf with women wearing Victorian skirts in the background.

The camera is like a chain letter, forever traveling to children around the world by way of sea. The boy takes a photograph of himself holding the previous photograph and returns the camera to the water. The fish carry it away and hopefully they will take more pictures of their secret lives under the waves for the next child to view. The passage of time as the camera is passed to the next owner is unclear, but it does wash up on different shore, perhaps Hawaiian, there are palm trees on the beach, for another child to find.

The photograph the protagonist takes of himself features him holding the previous picture while sitting in front of the surf. A wave comes and washes the other pictures from the camera away. It makes one ponder the history just lost to the sea, but perhaps it happened for a reason. Or perhaps the camera is magic, and the old film lost will reappear in the camera, for it is obvious that the previous children had to have developed the film too, to know what to do before sending the camera on.

This story causes a child to exercise his or her imagination and think of possibilities and make connections from frame to frame. It is an amazing wordless tale that younger children can enjoy the vivid imagery of and older children can appreciate for its mystery.

Other books written and illustrated by Weisner also depict clear plots despite the lack of words and use the same beautiful artistry as seen in Flotsam.

Review Excerpts:

“Filled with inventive details and delightful twists, each snapshot is a tale waiting to be told. Pair this visual adventure with Wiesners other works, Chris Van Allsburgs titles, or Barbara Lehmans The Red Book (Houghton, 2004) for a mind-bending journey of imagination.”–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

“The masterful watercolors and ingeniously layered perspectives create a clear narrative, and viewers will eagerly fill in the story's wordless spaces with their own imagined story lines.” –Gillian Enberg, Booklist

"Wiesner offers another exceptional, wordless picture book that finds wild magic in quiet, everyday settings." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"In Wiesner's much-honored style, the paintings are cinematic, coolly restrained and deliberate...An invitation not to be resisted." Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"Wiesner returns with his traditional wordless-narrative format for another fantastical outing." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Caldecott Medal, 2006

Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, Book Review (The New York Times)

Connections:

This story can be used in classrooms as something to spur brainstorming sessions or to encourage creativity. The art of pictorial storytelling without words depends on perfectly executed sequencing, and children can learn about chronological sequencing of events.

Other books that educators, librarians and parents may look for to accompany this book are:

Weisner, David. 1991. Tuesday. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0395551134

Weisner, David. 2008. Free Fall. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0061567414

Weisner, David. 1995. June 29, 1999. Eastsound, WA: Turtleback Press. ISBN 978-0613067454

A Book Review of: GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin

Bibliography:
Cronin,Doreen. 2002. Giggle, Giggle, Quack. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689845062

Plot Summary:
Farmer Brown goes on vacation, leaving his somewhat simple-minded brother in charge of his farm while he is away. Farmer Brown leaves specific written instructions for his brother, Bob, to follow and calls to check up on the farm every night. He insists that Bob keep a good eye on Duck, an irascible character who likes to stir up mischief on the farm. Upon leaving, Farmer Brown dropped his pencil, Duck has retrieved it and uses that pencil to edit the instructions Farmer Brown has left behind regarding the care of his animals. Needless to say, the animals enjoy pizza, bubble baths and a movie night as Famer Brown is oblivious of the changes made to his instructions. On the final night, Farmer Brown calls the farm and the animals answer instead of Bob, letting Farmer Brown know that something is amiss and it is probably a direct result of Duck’s mischief. He returns home.

Critical Analysis:
Cronin and Lewin make a great team, pairing up for this hilarious new story about the trouble-making Duck and his barnyard capers. The personification of the animals in this story makes it an easy tale for children to enjoy. The sentence structures used are simple with much usage of onomatopoeia: “Giggle, giggle, oink, quack.” The repetition of the phrase, give or take a sound effect each time, is entertaining and memorable for a young child.

The artwork is done in soft water color, using bright colors and smudged lines, creating a fun and funny work to view and enjoy. The pictures as well as the written text are both needed to convey the story, as some of the text of the story is included in Farmer Brown’s illustrated notes to his brother, Bob. Also, readers must pay attention to the small details in the artwork to understand the mood being conveyed and foreshadow the outcome of the story. On the first page, Farmer Brown is writing a list of things to do for his brother as the animals look on with shifty eyes, as if anticipating Farmer Brown’s departure with great excitement. At this moment, a reader can expect comical mayhem to ensure. On the second page, though it is not noted in the text, an observant reader will see that Farmer Brown has dropped his pencil, which is the key to unlocking the events of the story.

Though, the story is about misbehavior when the parental figure is away and tricking the “babysitter”, one can also see the thoughtfulness behind Duck’s actions. I, for one, could not help but notice that Duck never wrote any special instructions about luxuries for himself. All of the instructions he doctored were for the benefit of his barnyard buddies. All of the animals are friendly and jovial toward each other and there is a sense of camaraderie between all of the characters, even Duck and Farmer Brown.

This book is a light-hearted work that can be enjoyed by young children and their parents for a quick “giggle” before bedtime or any other time.

Review Excerpt(s):

“Cronin again balances wit and jovial warmth in scenarios that will have readers laughing out loud. Fans of the first book will delight in the details found in Lewin's chipper watercolor washes with a painted bold black line (the electric blankets originally demanded by the cows are put to good use, for example). This sitcom on the farm more than lives up to its title and demands repeat visits. Ages 3-7.” – Publishers’ Weekly

“Art and text cleverly play off one another. Early on, sharp-eyed viewers will observe that Duck is rarely without his pencil, thereby giving a clue as to who is really supplying the daily instructions. And Lewin's animated cartoon art with its loosely composed black line manages to capture well-meaning, but perfectly clueless Bob and that pampered barnyard crew. The scam ends when, during a check-in phone call, Farmer Brown hears "Giggle, giggle, quack" (the animals are watching The Sound of Moosic). Kids old enough to catch on will delight in seeing the clever animals pull off another fast one.” – SLJ

“There's no real story here, just one triumphant, messy scenario after another. But kids will love the silly, subversive farce, and Lewin's big illustrations with thick black outlines do a great job of showing close-up cows and pigs happily lolling on the sofa, splashing in the bathroom, and making themselves right at home.” – Booklist

A New York Times Bestseller


Connections:

This book is a simple light-hearted read that could perhaps cheer up a gloomy child or entertained a bored child.

Other books written by this author also feature similar light-hearted airs, vibrant watercolor and smudged lines to convey airy tones and intensify humorous situations.

Reader can look for these other books by Cronin and Lewin featuring Duck:
Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. ISBN: 978-0689832130
Cronin, Doreen. A Busy Day at the Farm. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. ISBN: 978-1416955184

A Book Review of: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak

Bibliography:

Sendak,Maurice. 1963. Where the Wild Things Are. 25 ed. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 9780060254926

Plot Summary:

Where The Wild Things Are is a tale set in the bedroom of a young boy named Max. Max dresses as a wolf and behaves in such a dissatisfactory manner his mother banishes him to his room without dinner, calling him a “Wild Thing.” Alone in his room, Max paces until his mind takes him on an imaginary year-long journey across an ocean to another land full of creatures deemed "wild things", just like him. He is declared king of the land of wild things, having been declared the wildest thing of all. After indulging in wild behavior and displaying bad manners to his heart’s content, Max smells the scent of a homemade meal and decides to leave the land of wild things and return home for dinner.

Critical Analysis:

This Caldecott Award winning picture storybook written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak is a tale of magical realism. Young Max takes a mental journey to a self-created place where his unsavory behavior is acceptable and he is revered for his ability to make mischief and display bad manners. The wild things he encounters are personifications of his punishable behavior that he can exert control over as he feels his mother exerts control over him. He embodies his mother while he is king of the wild things and sends them to bed without dinner, the same punishment he received from his mother for the behaviors they display. After he has punished the wild things for their mischief, the illustration on the next page displays a contemplative Max. He seems to be reconsidering his misbehavior and maybe even feeling remorse, and this is when he smells dinner. He decides to leave the land where bad behavior is acceptable and return to a place where he is expected to display good behavior. He removes the head of his wolf costume. Since his dinner is in his room waiting for him, his mother seems to have forgiven him and revoked his punishment. Though, she never physically appears in the story, the mother’s presence is felt. The appearance of dinner symbolizes that not only has Max thought about his behavior, but he is repentant.

The illustrations are two-dimensional and child-like, looking more cartoonish than realistic, which captures the young eye and accentuates the humor and fantastic elements of the story. The colors used are dark with strong definitive lines, the painting style: oil. Max begins his imaginary journey during the day, but arrives in the land of wild things during the night. The mischief Max wreaks with the wild things happens at night, but as the boy begins to contemplate his behavior and come to a realization, dawn light penetrates the dark, thick forest of Where the Wild Things Are. The dark artwork of the story, the darkness in the recesses of the jungle and the nighttime setting symbolize Max’s mindset at the beginning of the story when he feels his unruly behavior is justified and his mother is wrong. The dawn lights show the beginning of his acceptance that being thought of as a wild thing by authority figures in his life is not as desirable as he initially thought.

The moral of the story to me seems to be about the effectiveness of punishments. A child must be given a punishment that allows them to consider their behavior and come to the right decisions on their own, or else punishment is useless. Had Max simply been stripped of a toy or given a spanking, he would not have been given the chance to ponder why he was punished and why his behavior was wrong. Also, the story explores the imagination and the fantastic things a child can create within the recesses of his or her own mind.

This is a book that can be read by elementary school teachers and librarians when teaching children lessons about manners, behavior and obedience. Maurice Sendak is known for his stories and artwork that feature grotesque creatures and children who display undesired behavior going on journeys to the lands of these creatures and return ready to conform.

Review Except(s)

"Each word has been carefully chosen and the simplicity of the language is quite deceptive." -- SLJ.
Winner of the Caldecott Medal (1964)ALA: Notable Children's Books of 1940–1970Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Illustration (1981)Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book, 1936, 1982)Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1963, 1982 (NYT)A Reading Rainbow SelectionLewis Carroll Shelf Award (1964)Children's Books of 1981 (Library of Congress)1981 Children's Books (NY Public Library)100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1988 (NY Public Library)

Connections:

Another book that children might like when delving into the concepts of imagination is

Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon. ISBN: 978-0064430227