Bearhead by Eric A. Kimmel

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kimmel, Eric, and Charles Mikolaycak. Bearhead. New York: Holiday House, 1991. ISB 0-08234-0902-3


2. PLOT SUMMARY

The folktale begins with an old woman finding an odd child abandoned in the woods. The baby has the body of a person and the head of a bear. The old Russian woman decides to take the baby home. The Russian couple named the child Bearhead after deciding to raise him as their child. With the turn of a page, Bearhead has grown into a man. To save his father from having to work as a servant, Bearhead travels to work the local witch in his father's stead. Bearhead causes many problems for the witch when taking all of her instructions too literally. His literal mind benefits him in the end when the witch is tricked out of a wagon of gold. After giving the gold to his adopted parents, Bearhead decides to leave to find his people. The book ends with the promise of more stories to come. Bearhead is seen embracing a woman with a matching bear head.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The abandoned child is a popular motif in many popular folktales. The orphaned Bearhead is not like the others around him. He is loved greatly by his adopted family. Bearhead is stronger than those around him. To save his adopted father, Bearhead heroically takes the place as a servant. He did this brave act believing that he would never return home again. Bearhead is a very strong character that is a good role model.
The journey that the creature takes is quick. A lot of time passes quickly with the simple turn of a page. The plot is not linear, because it does not follow a familiar formula that I have seen in American folktales.
The witch added a lot of humor. She would jump under the bed to hide and show she is a coward. Bearhead is able to lift her above his head with ease. Bearhead is able to outsmart the witch.
The illustrations are warm and filled with many different bright colors. The images show the culture of Russian clothing and newspapers.
This story is unique because of the humorous aspects of taking someone's words too literally. The subject is not a common plot.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

From Kirkus Review: "A satisfying story in a handsome setting."

From Publishers Weekly: "this is a satisfying tale, and children will delight in the winning hero's literal interpretations of orders."

From School Library Journal: "While the book doesn't always gel, the basic humor of Bearhead's misinterpretations will appeal to children, and Mikolaycak's illustrations are, as always, a feast for the eyes."


5. CONNECTIONS

Other Books by Eric A. Kimmel:
The Birds' Gift: a Ukrainian Easter Story, Illustrated by Katya Krenina ISB: 9780823417247
The Frog Princess: a Tlingit Legend from Alaska, Illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger ISB: 9780823416189
I-Know-Not-What, I-Know-Not-Where: a Russian Tale, Illustrated by Robert Sauber ISB: 9780823410200
Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: a North African Tale, Illustrated by Omar Rayyan ISB: 9780823410934
Seven at ONe Blow: a Tale from the Brothers Grimm, Illustrated by Megan Lloyd ISB: 978082341386
The Three Princes: a Tale from the Middle East, Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher ISB: 9780823411153

Other Books Illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak:
The Man Who Could Call Down Owls by Eve Bunting ISB:978027153804
Babushka: An Old Russian Folk Tale by Charles Mikolaycak ISB: 9781846868979
The Hero of Bremen by Margaret Hedges ISB: 9780823409341

Lesson Plans:
Arts Edge offers a fun and interactive lesson plan for older children that involves technology. It contains analyzing style and content with literary arts, theatre, history, language arts, world languages, and social studies. The lesson is a little more than an hour long. Check it out here: Analyze Style

The International Literary Association has a lesson plan about learning about world cultures through folktales. Give it a look: Read Write Think

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books, 2001. ISB 0-618-00701-6


2. PLOT SUMMARY

The story begins traditionally with "Once upon a time" and a wolf looking down on the pigs building a house of straw. As the wolf blows down the straw house, one pig is blown out of the story. As the suddenly textured pig looks at his own story, the narration continues without the wolf being able to eat the pig. The text of the story continues as if the pig had never left. The wolf looks at an empty house confused as the words say, "and ate the pig." The second pig escapes with the first pig before the wolf can blow down the house built of sticks. The third pig escapes and the three pigs begin to push away the traditional pages of the story away. The pigs are able to walk on top of the book and fold up the pages to make a paper plane. The pigs are able to go on a grand adventure while flying across the empty pages of the book. As one pig looks out to the reader, the other finds another traditional fairy tale rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle. The pigs find a black and white fantasy story and rescue a dragon from having to fight a knight in shining armor. Their new found friends join them in looking at the many different stories. With a new plan, the pigs begin to put their story back in place. Instead of the wolves blowing down the door of the brick house, he is met with a large green fire breathing dragon. The story ends with everyone living happily ever after.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The characters of the book begin in a world of traditional hand-drawn artwork. The colors are muted and simple. When the straw pig is blown out of the story, there is much more detail. Instead of a flat tone, the pig is morphed into a creature that looks almost 3-D with soft white hair. The use of dark shadows makes he pig look above the other stories. The wolf's confusion is comical. The humor changes the mood of the story by making less about a villain and more about an adventure. For those with a sharp eye, the curious, orange cat with the fiddle can be seen sneaking out of his story to follow the three pigs. The pigs meet another villain, the dragon. While the wolf is only stripped of his power, the dragon is shown to never have been evil to begin with. There is a freedom away from the original story. The creatures are free from the death of their stories and are able to live happily ever after. The pigs break the fourth wall by acknowledging that they possibly see someone looking at them through the pages. There is a sense of excitement to be part of the action of the story. There are many different illustration styles to match the different traditional stories. The Hey Diddle Diddle artwork is bright and playful with familiar images of the cow jumping over the moon. The medieval tale is stark, like a black and white comic strip. The dragon becomes a multi scaled green once escaping with a new future. Although the original tale ends with low celebration happy ending with only the brick wolf surviving, the new tale allows for a happy ending that will leave children with a feeling of security.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

2002 Caldecott Medal Winner

Top 100 Picture Books #68 according to School Library Journal

Joanna Rudge Long from Book Horn: "Wiesner’s marvelously comical an just plain beautiful book demonstrates how far a good old story can take an artist inspired by its essential spirit."

Kyle Wheeler: "So meta. It blew my mind the first time I read it, and continues to do so."

Melissa Fox: "I love Weisner’s books, but out of them all, this is my favorite. I love the meta-ness of it, and I never get tired of reading the story aloud (even if I know how it ends)."

Aaron Zenz: "I love metafiction, and this book is perhaps – perhaps – the only example to surpass Grover’s classic Monster at the End of this Book. Leave it to David Wiesner..."

From New York Times: "Wiesner’s dialogue and illustrations are clever, whimsical and sophisticated."

From Publisher's Weekly: "Brilliant use of white space and perspective evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities–and that the range of story itself is limitless."

5. CONNECTIONS

Other 2002 Caldecott Medal Honor Awards:
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Brian Selznick ISB: 9704391494
Martin's Big Words: the Life of Dr. Martin Luter King, Jr. by Bryan Collier ISB: 9781423106357
The Stray Dog by Marc Simont ISB: 978067891017

Other Books by David Wiesner:
Hurricane ISB: 9780395629741
Tuesday  ISB: 9780780424524
Sector 7 ISB: 970395746561
Flotsam ISB: 9781448187850
Art & Max ISB: 97806185636

Lesson Plans:

www.Vickiblackwell.com offers an extensive page dedicated to The Three Pigs. It contains a PDF file for an art project, worksheets for analysis, sing alongs, activity cards, and more. I could not even begin to list all of the resources available on this page. Find it here: The Three Pigs

Zoe Ryder White offers some great ideas for using many of Wiesner's books in the classroom. The file is printable. Find them here: Ideas for Classroom Uses

Teaching Books has a great resource for using The Three Pigs for a discussion activity. It also contains ideas for Wiesner's June 29,1999, Tuesday, and Sector 7. Check it out here: Discussion and Activity Guide

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Taback, Simms. There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. New York: The Penguin Group, 1997. ISBN 0-670-86939-2

2. PLOT SUMMARY

The story begins with a crazed looking, colorfully dressed old lady walking outside. Without knowing if it is on purpose or an accident, the old lady swallowed a fly. A bird, cow, cat, and dog comment on the absurdity of someone swallowing a fly and suspects that she may die from eating a fly. Next, the old lady swallowed a spider to catch the fly. The old lady was in much better spirits after eating a bird to catch the spider.  The cow and the dog suspect that she could die from such a weird meal. We didn't know it was possible, but the old lady looked even crazier after eating an entire cat to catch the bird. The old lady swallowed a dog to catch the cat and swallowed a cow to catch the dog. Almost too big for the page, the old lady swallows a large cow. After swallowing a horse, the old lady dies. The moral of the story is: "Never swallow a horse."

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The main character of the book is a brightly dressed old lady. She is costumed in a large brimmed orange hat adorned with a yellow sunflower, a soft blue shawl, a hand bag, and an umbrella. Her eyes are wild to show her silliness. There are animal characters, not speaking in the initial rhyme, stretched throughout the book that Taback voices around the edge of the pages. These new rhymes add and enhance the classic to make this book a unique experience for older readers who may take more time to gaze longer on each page.
The story is simply an old lady who keeps swallowing animals from ascending size order. As her size expands to accommodate the animals, so does the cut-out that allows the reader to "see" into her stomach. The stomach cut out gets larger as the old lady swallows more animals. The rhyme continues to comment that "perhaps she'll die" until the joke ends with her actual death.
There is a deeper moral to not assume that one drastic action will remedy the consequences of a previous action. To the young children who may not understand this, there is the great moral that is presented in the end: "Never swallow a horse."
The style of illustrations in the book are childlike and fun. The pages are very detailed and have hidden fun images and messages for those who are taking the time to look. There is a newspaper clipping from The Times that has the headline of "Old Lady Swallows a Fly." There is a detailed recipe card for "Spider Soup" that calls for different bugs to be "sautéed with bug juice." One of my favorite pages of illustration is the vast tree of different birds with their names underneath. Another illustrations has a humorous New York Post paper with these amusing headlines: "CAT ATTACKED: CULPRIT IDENTIFIED (An old lady is pictured.); CAT IN THE HAT LOSES HAT; CAT HAS 8 LIVES LEFT!" There is even a funny illustrated appearance by the author.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

1998 Caldecott Honor

From Publisher Weekly: "Children of all ages will joyfully swallow this book whole. All ages."

From Common Sense Media: "It's wildly silly, and readers have an open invitation to rhyme along. The artwork, for all its goofiness, is mesmerizing."

From The Book Bag UK: "The only lesson Simms Taback and his book has is about how good it is to laugh and clown around. And that's the best lesson there is."

5. CONNECTIONS

Other Caldecott Medal/ Honor 1998 Winners:

Rapunzel, retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky IBN:978052545607
The Gardener, illustrated by David Small, text by Sarah Stewart IBN: 97803012367497
Harlem, illustrated by Christopher Myers, text by Walter Dean Myers IBN: 970590543407

Other Books by Simms Taback:

Postcards from Camp ISB: 97803992393731
Joseph had a Little Overcoat ISB: 970670878553
Safari Animals  ISB: 97819347060190
This is the House that Jack Built ISB: 9780142402009
Where are my Friends? ISB: 9780811847865
City Animals ISB: 9781934706527
I Miss You Every Day ISB: 978670061921

Lesson Plans: 

The National Asociation of the deaf has a short lesson plan for k-3rd grade ages. Find it here: There was an Old Lady Lesson

Make Learning Fun has a large website dedicated to young children's education. There are over five lessons offered for this book. I appreciate that they offer math as a teaching option. It is alway important to have cross curriculum material. Find it here: Make Learning Fun

I love using scholastic materials in my classroom. They have very detailed lesson plans and great worksheets that allow for critical thinking. This lesson can be modified for kids of all ages from kindergarten to 8th grade. Find it here: Scholastic Lesson

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings. New York: The Vikings Press, 1941. ISBN 0-670-45149-5


2. PLOT SUMMARY

The story begins with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard looking for a new home for their family. It seemed like Mrs. Mallard would never be happy with any place Mr. Mallard found until they found Public Garden. Public Garden would have been perfect for them to raise a family if it wasn't so busy. Fearing for the safety of the young, they found a place much farther away to lay their eggs. After the ducklings were born, Mr. Mallard went to Public Garden. When the ducklings were old enough to travel, Mrs. Mallard walked the ducklings to Public Garden with the help of the local police. The Mallard family found their new home to raise the ducklings and stayed in Public Gardens to eat endless peanuts.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Mallard parents are willing to sacrifice for the sake of their family. The mother shows her strength by staying with the children until they were ready to go. I believe that this is a plot device that ages the story. Almost seventy years after this was written, I see it strange that the father simply leaves his family behind to get to their new home without him. The caring feathery parents show the audience the strength of the mother's love for her children.

I enjoy that the story shows the same fears that parents have while protecting their kids has not changed over time. Parent's still want to raise their children in the best possible environment. 

Although the story is lack luster compared to many of the modern picture books, the illustrations are what make this book a true classic. The only colors are shades of brown. The sepia tones give the book a sense of age and make me feel like I can see through time. The art is precise and reminds me of WWII cartoon art. The art is detailed down to the individual feathers on the duck's wings. 

The book is a bit longer than what is considered average in today's standards. The book can only be appreciated if you take the time to look carefully at the detail in the sepia artwork.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

1942 Calcecott Medal Winner

#6 of 100 Best Picture Books according to School Library Journal

From Horn Book: "Robert McCloskey's unusual and stunning pictures have long been a delight for their fun as well as their spirit of place."

Heather Christensen: "McCloskey’s attention to detail and marvelous storytelling are a magical combination."


5. CONNECTIONS

Other Caldecott Medal Winners:
1943 The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton ISBN 9780547131047
1944 Many Moons Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber ISBN 9780590322720
1949 The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader ISBN 9780689717574

Other Books by Robert McCloskey:
Blueberries for Sal ISBN 9780616017159
One Morning in Maine ISBN 9780606042475
Homer Price ISBN 9781581181234
Time of Wonder ISBN 9780758700797

Lesson Plans: 

Bright Hub Education offers the most comprehensive lesson plan for the book. They concentrate on the history and awards of the book. I enjoy playing different games with my students and the game sounds fun. Find it here: Caldecott Classic Lesson

Scholastic offers a great art lesson for pre-k and kindergarten students. Find it here: Art Lesson

Teacher Vision offers four enrichment activities to do after reading the book aloud. Find them here: Literature Guide

Draw! by Raul Colon

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Colon, Raul. Draw!. New York: Simon and Schuster Books, 2014.  ISBN 978-1-4424-9492-3


2.     PLOT SUMMARY

A young boy is sitting on his bed reading a book about Africa. With an inspired mind, the boy begins to draw what he sees inside his mind. As he be gins to draw, the images get larger and larger until the bedroom has been replaced with the sights of the African wilderness. The boy waves down an elephant to draw. The elephant allows the boy to ride on his back after enjoying his portrait drawn by the boy. With the elephant at his side, the boy draws a group of zebras. Giraffes run past the artist in a flash. He spy's on lions from the safety of a tree and a  gorge. He almost ate his sandwich before he thought about gorillas and had to draw one first. His journey continued as the sun begins to set. He begins to draw a charging rhino and escapes danger in a tree. When he finally gets to eat his sandwich, he allows the monkeys to try drawing him.The boy says goodbye to the elephant as the sky begins to darken. The boys drawings grow smaller as you leave his imagination and find him still sitting in bed.


3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The book shows the power of imagination by giving the audience a journey into the mind of a boy. He embodies the spirit of small children by not shrinking from danger and allowing a sense of adventure into his decisions. The boy is able to control the animals in his imagination to allow him to be able to connect with the animals. This power allows a sense of security and safety for the boy by the readers. When the rhino begins to charge in the reader's direction, it adds a threat to both the reader and the artist.

The comic book style panels add an urgency to the charge when compared to the large double full page pictures of the previous images. The suspense created with the charge is alleviated to laughter when the artist escapes dangers. The readers learn the ease to which the mind can travel within our own imaginations.

The world of reality in the narrative has muted colors. Much of the page is white and grey. When the boy begins to draw, the colors become strong and saturated. There are flowing lines throughout the art in Africa that remind me of fingerprints. The lines give the pages a sense of movement as if you can feel the strong breeze on the savanna.


4.     REVIEW EXCERPTS

From School Library Journal: “Young artists will love this book, as will all children who know the joy of exploring their own imaginations. A must-have for every library.”

From Publisher's Weekly: "It’s a strongly developed and executed account of a childhood fantasy, urging all young artists to dream and to draw."

From Booklist: "A true celebration of where our imaginations can take us."

From Horn Book: "A marvelous wordless adventure."


5.     CONNECTIONS

Other books by Raul Colon:
Orson Blasts Off. ISBN 9780689842788

Lesson Plans:
Teaching My Friends is a great blog for teaching the upper grades in elementary school. I teach students across all ages, and it is important to remember that picture books are useful to students of older ages. Find the wordless lesson here: USING WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS

Valorie Gresser has over 150 individual lessons posted on Betterlessons.com for children in elementary school. She offers a two day lesson on wordless picture books. Find it here: First Grade Inferring Lesson

Reading A-Z has a simple wordless book lesson for elementary age students. I enjoy the different variations provided to concentrate on grammar, phonics, vocabulary, and writing. Check it out here: Wordless Books Sample Lesson

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Rashka

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rashka, Chris. A Ball for Daisy. New York: Schwartz and Wade Books, 2011. ISBN 978--375-85861-1


2. PLOT SUMMARY

This is the wordless story of a dog's love for a ball. A small pet dog is playing with a red ball. The grey dog loves to play with the ball around the house and on the furniture. The dog even sleeps and cuddles with the ball. One day, the little girl in polka dots and the dog go on a walk with the ball in tow. After being let off the leash at the park, the dog begins to play with the red ball. The ball gets trapped behind a fence and the dog cannot read it. As the little girl is giving the ball back to her dog, a brown dog pumps in and takes the ball playfully. The grey dog begins barking at the brown dog in anger for taking the ball. Before retrieving the ball, the brown dog pops the ball. The dog begins to mourn sadly for the loss of the red ball. The dog looks at the ball from different angles, shakes it around violently, and even howls, but nothing makes the ball the way it was before. The little girl in polka dots threw the ruined ball away while the dog followed sadly behind her. The dog did not want to play anymore without the special ball. The next time they went to the park they found the brown dog waiting with a girl in a stripes. The girl in stripes was holding a new blue ball. The grey dog was very excited and began to lay with the brown dog with the new blue ball. The happy grey dog left the park with the blue ball between its teeth as the two girls waved goodbye. The story ends with the dog cuddling to sleep with the new blue ball.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The art is as happy and playful as the small, shaggy dog in the story. The simple lines and lack of word do not hold back the large story and humanizing emotions. The images are not separated by breaks or borders and allow for quick comprehension of the narrative. As the images jump across the pages, the reader is able to jump along as if they are playing with the grey dog too. The loss of the ball is unexpected as if the pop of the ball was audible. The readers can sympathize with this loss, especially children. The audience rejoices for the dog when the blue ball is given to replace the red one.

The art looks like simple strokes of a watercolor brush that flow to show its playfulness and fun. The illustrations mimic the art of small children when finger paintings. Water color splashes are used for shadow and background. The comic book layout of many of the panels gives the story speed and urgency when leading up to the pop of the ball. The larger images stops the narrative to allow the audience to reflect and comprehend. The large images show happiness, sadness, and ends with happy again. The audience only sees what is most important to the shaggy dog, which are the massive green couch and the red and blue balls.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

2012 Caldecott Medal Winner

Lolly Robinson from Horn Book: "Raschka's sense of rhythm is flawless."

Danie Kraus from Booklist: "..feels like something of pure emotion. Pretty close approximation of what it's like to be a dog, probably."

From School Library Journal: "Ever the minimalist, Raschka continues to experiment with what is essential to express the daily joys and tribulations of humans and animals."

From Publisher's Weekly: "A wordless book with gentle, dreamlike spreads."


5. CONNECTIONS

Other Caldecott Medal Winners:
2010 Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion and the Mouse. ISBN 8580001051925
2013 Klassen, Jon. This is Not My Hat. ISBN 9780763655990

Other books by Chris Raschka:
Daisy Gets Lost. ISBN 9780449817414
Peter and the Wolf with Sergei Prokofiev. ISBN 9781455825448

Lesson Plans:
Jayne Gammons has a wonderful blog called ABC's of Reading that has a post on a great lesson plan for A Ball for Daisy for grade school children. Through drama and storytelling, it teaches strategies in inferring and making connections in literature. Please visit: ABC's of Readng: A Ball for Daisy

Random House has a helpful PDF printable file on a Wordless Picture Book lesson plan. This valuable resource even has great worksheets! Please visit: Wordless Lesson Plan

Melissa Satin has a website dedicated to her certification portfolio. The lesson over a Ball for Daisy is very detailed. I appreciated the sections over evaluation. Please check it out: Satin's Certification Portfolio