Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan

 

 

Bibliography:

Bryan, Ashley. 2003. Beautiful Blackbird. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689847318

 

Plot Summary:

Blackbird has been named the most beautiful bird in the forest by all of the other birds. In time, the other birds decide they want to be just as beautiful as Blackbird is. One day the birds ask Blackbird if he would give them a little bit of black coloring so they might be beautiful as well. Blackbird agrees to share his color with the other birds, but also works to teach the birds that real beauty comes from within.

 

Critical Analysis:

Beautiful Blackbird is Bryan’s variation on the Ila-speaking people of Zambia’s folktale on how the beautiful birds of the jungle got their attractive markings. 

Ashley Bryan chose to use a collage in order to illustrate Beautiful Blackbird. The collage allows for simple, bold and defined shapes which are easy for young readers to interpret. The brightness of the colors draws in readers with each turn of the page. The collage images perfectly match the text on each and every page making it so the images really are telling the story. Interestingly enough, a note at the end of the book states the collages were constructed using his mother’s old dressmaking scissors and her embroidery crochet scissors.

The text itself offers a rhythmic beat throughout the story which begs to be read aloud by an exciting storyteller. Children will no doubt want to dance along with the words in the story just as the birds do. This pourquoi tale not only offers a folk-type re-telling of how birds got their markings, but it also offers a lesson in self-esteem.

 

This title is recommended for children ages 3 and up.

 

Review Excerpt(s):

• Coretta Scott King Book Award (2004) Illustrator Award Winner
• Kirkus Reviews (2002) “This telling, by the master storyteller, just aches to be read aloud; the lively rhythms keep the simple folktale rollicking along."
• School Library Journal (2003) "...a thoughtful and entertaining addition to units on self-esteem."

Connections:

•  Pair this title with other great favorites such as:
               How the Tiger Got His Stripes by Robe Cleveland & Baird Hoffmire
               The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola
               Baba Yaga by Katya Arnold
• Allow the child(ren) to create their own beautiful birds. Cut out several bird silhouettes in different sizes, shapes and colors. Provide different colored markers for the child(ren) to decorate the birds with. 
• Compile a bird watching booklet for the child(ren). Locate images and basic information about local birds to put inside of the booklet. Be sure to leave a space for the child(ren) to color/write in so they can describe their bird watching experiences. Encourage the children to find as many 'beautiful' birds as they can.

 

Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs

 

Bibliography:

Isaacs, Anne. 2010. Dust Devil. Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. 9780375867224

 

Plot Summary:

Angelica Longrider, or Swamp Angel, grew too big (and tall!) to live in the state of Tennessee so she was forced to move west to the state of Montana. Once in Montana Angel began ‘adjusting’ the state to suit her large needs including “plucking mountains” from other areas and “planting” those mountains behind her house to bring about shade. As Angel makes herself at home in Montana she quickly realizes the need for a horse to suit her large size. Out of nowhere the worst dust storm the state had seen arrived at Angel’s ranch causing mayhem to all of the innocent people in the area. When the dust storm reaches Angel’s house she thinks she hears hooves and decides to investigate. To Angel’s surprise there is a powerful horse inside of the dust storm that she decides to tame and call Dust Devil. Finding Dust Devil was the best thing that ever happened to Angel and Montana since the mean and nasty Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes were busting through Montana trying to rob and frighten everyone they came across. Angel and Dust Devil decided it was up to them to save Montana from ugly ole Backward Bart and that is just what they did!

Critical Analysis:

From the author (Anne Isaacs) and illustrator (Paul O. Zelinsky) of Swamp Angel, a 1994 Caldecott Honor book, comes another tall tale about Angelica “Swamp Angel” Longrider. Zelinsky’s beautiful oil on wood (veneer) illustrations offer amazing brush strokes with soft subtle lines and lots of fun details.  The details, for instance, can be seen quite well on the mosquitoes which show little hairs on their bodies and antennae.

The illustrations are not the only part of the book worth mentioning as the story itself is wonderful. The text is written in such a way that saying the words without a southern twang would be nearly impossible; it would not be as fun either. This is yet another story which begs to be read aloud. The setting of Dust Devil takes place in the beautiful state of Montana during pioneer times. This tall tale explains how buttes came about as well as, geysers and more. Want to know how gold ended up in the rivers of California? Swamp Angel will tell you the answer to that one – here’s a hint: you can thank Backward Bart and the Desperadoes!

This title is recommended for children ages 5 and up.

Review Excerpt(s):

• Kirkus Reviews (2010): Given a Kirkus Star (for remarkable merit) "Artfully crude, comedic artwork, friendly, understated narration and a wildly hyperbolic story combine to create a new classic."
• School Library Journal (2010) "Review of the Day" states this title is "an honest-to-goodness new tall tale with a vernacular smart enough to match the pictures, and vice versa."

Connections:

•  Pair this title with other tall tale favorites such as:
            Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd
            Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg
            Davy Crockett Saves the World by Rosalyn Schanzer
• Create a posterboard prop for the state of Montana by printing or drawing the state's shape on the board. Be sure to include the state capital (to point out to the children). You can make it even more exciting by adding pictures of the state bird, bug and flower.
• Create a flannelboard activity! Make felt props or print out and laminate prop cards (glue felt to the back) and use the props to recreate the story. Need prop ideas? Make simple props that would be easy to identify such as: Swamp Angel, Dust Devil, mosquitoes, biscuits, a tornado, lightning bolts, buttes, a sheriff's star and whatever else you think would help retell the story.

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Bibliography:
Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. 9780618007011.

Plot Summary:
This version of The Three Pigs offers readers an interesting and alternative ending to the traditional story many of us know and love. Wiesner’s story starts off the same way as the traditional story goes, with the three pigs making their homes out of straw, wood and brick, but instead of being eaten up by the mean and hungry wolf, the pigs disappear behind the pages of the book! Once behind the pages, the pigs are able to visit other storybook pages and in turn are able to become part of the story they hop into. In the end, the pigs and the friends they made during their storybook adventures travel back to the story of The Three Pigs to protect the brick house from the wolf.

Critical Analysis:
It is easy to see how this book won a Caldecott Award after looking at David Wiesner’s illustrations. Each phase of the story matches the illustrations of the storybook the pigs are in. In the beginning of the story the pigs and all other illustrations are drawn simply, yet effectively with beautiful neutral and somewhat earthy tones. When the pigs ‘fall’ out of the story, they look almost life-like as you can see every little tiny hair on each of the pigs bodies. Upon entering the storybook with the nursery rhymes, the colors shift to light pastels – even the pigs change colors to match the scene! Once the pigs reach the book with the dragon in it, the pigs turn into pencil drawings. One of the most exciting parts about the illustrations happen when the pigs are halfway in and out of a page; half of their bodies match the storybook illustrations while the other half are illustrated to look realistic (the realistic illustrations occur when the pigs are in between/behind the pages).

What makes this title so exciting? The setting changes constantly as the pigs travel across all of the different storybook pages. The book is both fun and silly to read.

This title is recommended for little piggies ages 4 and up.

Review Excerpt(s):

• Caldecott Award (2002)
• Number 68 on School Library Journa's "Top 100 Picture Books" list
• School Library Journal (2001) "Not only is his narrative innovative in its postmodern construction, but it uses white space in a totally new way."
• Kirkus Reviews (2001) "Caldecott Medalist Wiesner (Tuesday, 1999) plays with literary conventions in a manner not seen since Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1993)."

Connections:

·         Pair this title with other silly favorites such as:

                           Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky
                           If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Jofee Numeroff
                          Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
      ·         Create fun piggy masks to go along with the story.
      ·         Print out coloring pages of pigs, a wolf, a dragon or even a cat with a fiddle.

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág

Bibliography:
Gág, Wanda. 1952. Millions of Cats. by Wanda Gag. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 9780399233159

Plot Summary:
Wanda Gág brings us an interesting story about an old couple that decides one day they would like to have a cat. The old man tells his wife he would go out and get the prettiest cat he can find for her and bring the cat back to their house. During his cat locating journey, the old man comes across millions of different cats and begins to select the cats which are the most beautiful. Regrettably, he ends up convincing himself that all of the cats are beautiful and brings all of the kitties back home to his wife. After reaching his home, his wife is shocked to see millions of cats have followed the old man home and explains they are unable to care for so many cats at once. The old woman decides she will pick the prettiest cat and keep only that cat. Unfortunately, even after of all of those cats they still cannot decide which cat is the prettiest so the old women suggests that the cats should decide who the prettiest cat is; once the cats decide that is the cat the old couple will keep. Unfortunately, all of the cats and kittens thought they were the prettiest and begin fighting one another until none of the cats were left. Shocked, the old couple ran outside to see what if any cats were left and all they found was a small, terrified kitten hiding in the bushes. This little kitten was never attacked by the mob of cats because the kitten never argued over its beauty. The little cat was taken in by the old couple, fattened up and loved dearly.

Critical Analysis:
Wanda Gág’s (‘Gág’ rhymes with ‘blog’) family is of Bohemian descent and this fact becomes obvious in her folk-art like illustrations. Millions of Cats is a black and white illustration picture book that offers quite a wide range of detail, but somehow remains simple enough for a small child to enjoy. While the couple is to be portrayed as elderly, nothing about their movements in the book hints at their apparent senior age group, despite the old man having a rather long beard. Both the old man and woman appear to move with ease, especially the old man on his lengthy journey. Additionally, both the old man and the old woman have kind, gentle faces which are not gnarled in any way. The setting of this story seems to take place in the country with no neighbors around for miles.

Gág uses repetition in her text which will help early readers grasp on to the bigger words they will see in this book. We can see evidence of such repetition in the constant use of “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats” all throughout the book.

Does this book have a hidden meaning? As I have learned from my professor’s textbook (Children's Literature in Action), it is common for adults to want to find a strong message in the text they are reading to their children, but this is not always the case; sometimes a picture book is just a picture book. With this said, if I had to choose a meaning for this story it would probably have to be: beauty is in the eye of the beholder – or at least an old couple in this case.

This book is idea for children ages 3 and up.

Reading Excerpt(s):

• Newbery Medal (1929)
• One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century (2000) in School Library Journal "this Newbery Honor winner is characterized by innovative design and a strong storyteller's cadence"
• Number 21 on School Library Journal's "Top 100 Picture Books" list

Connections:

• Pair this title with other great favorites such as:
            Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
            The Three Little Kittens by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
            The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen    
• Allow the child(ren) to make their own beautiful cat using brown paper lunch bags and different colored construction paper.
• Blank color sheets of kittens and cats can be printed to allow the child(ren) to decorate the prettiest cat.

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Bibliography:
Henkes, Kevin. 2004. Kitten's First Full Moon. by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow Books. ISBN 9780060588298

Plot Summary:
Kevin Henkes brings us a wonderful story of a callow and determined kitten that is experiencing her very first full moon. Unfortunately for Kitten, she thinks the moon is actually a large, tasty bowl of milk that she simply must try! Poor kitten does her best to stretch out her tongue and taste the moon, but ends up tasting a nasty bug instead. Kitten’s bad luck continues as she manages to fall down and get hurt while desperately trying to taste the bowl of milk in the sky. Eventually poor kitten is fooled by the moon’s reflection in the pond (she thinks the reflection is a bigger bowl of milk) and tumbles into the water. Feeling sad and defeated Kitten casts her efforts aside and decides to go back to the comfort of her home.When she finally reaches home Kitten is delighted to see that there is a bowl of milk waiting on the porch, just for her.  

Critical Analysis:
Henkes’s simple use of black and white illustrations does a fantastic job of expressing that the kitten’s journey happened at night under the glow of the moon's light. The black and white pictures pair perfectly with the storyline as they are both simple, but effective. Additionally, the illustrations even accurately portray realistic, cat-like behaviors. These behaviors are evident when Henkes writes of Kitten wriggling her rear end before pouncing towards the milk in the sky. At times, this movement can be seen in nature just before a cat lunges after its prey.

The choice of words Henkes used in the story is easy for early readers to read or for children to follow along with. The text is also easily located since it has been typed in a bold font. The bold font temporarily draws the reader away from the artwork and back to the story itself.

This book is recommended for children ages 2 and up.

Review Excerpt(s):

• Caldecott Medal (2005)
• New York Times "Children's Best Sellers List" (2005)
• Starred Review (2004) in Booklist: "Henkes creates another winner in this simple, charming story" 
• Starred Review (2004) in School Library Journal: "an irresistable offering from the multifaceted Henkes."
• Number 25 on School Library Journal's "Top 100 Picture Books" list

Connections:

• Pair this title with other great favorites such as:
            Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag 
            Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle
            When Cats Dream by Dav Pilkey
• Print out color sheets and hand them out for children to take home.
• Masks can be made using construction paper and popsicle sticks, while the moon can be crafted from a white paper plate.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Bibliography:
Willems, Mo. 2003. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. by Mo Willems. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 978078681988

Plot Summary:
In this silly story, a bus driver decides he has to step away from his bus for a moment and asks his audience to watch over the bus for him. The audience’s only real job is to prevent the curious and persistent pigeon from trying to drive the bus. All throughout the story the pigeon desperately tries to convince the audience to let him drive the bus. The pigeon tries to do everything in his power, including bribery, to get his audience to let him drive the bus. Eventually the pigeon realizes he is not going to get to drive the bus and throws a temper tantrum, all the while screaming, “LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!” Finally the bus driver returns and thanks the audience for preventing the pigeon from driving the bus. In the last few pages as the pigeon walks away he spots another vehicle of interest and begins to dream about driving it.

Critical Analysis:
Anyone who has been around toddlers long enough will recognize pigeon’s behavior. How many times have we seen a child whine about wanting to do something to the point of throwing a temper-tantrum and in the end the child gives up and finds something else more interesting to consider? As a mother, I have most definitely witnessed this behavior! Children will find amusement in Pigeon’s behavior throughout the book; you might be surprised to see the children telling the pigeon he cannot drive the bus rather than sympathizing with the pigeon and offering to let him drive the bus.

The text is easy to follow along with and gives children the opportunity to understand and recognize pigeon’s behavior. The illustrations are simple, effective and pleasing to the eyes. The pigeon’s body is made up of a strong, simple black line that is intentionally made to look as though the drawing was done by a preschooler.

This title is ideal for children ages 2 and up.

Review Excerpt(s):

• Caldecott Honor Book (2004)
• American Library Association Notable Children's Book (2004)
• Added to the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame (2009)
• Starred Review (2003) School Library Journal "A brilliantly simple book that is absolutely true to life"
• Starred Review (2003) Booklist "Willems finds the preschooler in a pigeon: a cajoling, tantrum-throwing, irresistable bird"
• Number 18 on the National Association of Education's "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" list
• Number 3 on School Library Journal's "Top 100 Picture Books" list

Connections:

• Pair this title with other great favorites such as:
            Giggle, Giggle, Quak by Doreen Cronin
            The Wheels on the Bus by Paul Zelinsky
            No, David! by David Shannon
• Have the child(ren) interact with the book as though the pigeon is talking to the child(ren).
• Create the pigeon using a child's handprint as the body of the pigeon.