The Lady in the Blue Cloak

Bibliography:
Kimmel, Eric A. 2006. The Lady in the Blue Cloak: Legends from the Texas Missions. Ill. by Susan Guevara. New York, NY: Holiday House. ISBN: 0823417387

Plot Summary:
Eric Kimmel showcases the stories of four different missions from across Texas in this compilation work. From a woman who tells the indigenous people of the Texas Territory that a friar will come to tell them of God to stories about losing loved ones, each retelling is accompanied by a oil on canvas picture. Many mission origination stories are included in the work, as well as an origin of some phrases popular among people of the modern city of San Antonio. There are stories of loss, love, kindness, why it is important to follow the rules included and all have a historical nature about them.

Critical Analysis:
Each story has that critical element of legends: some extraordinary, mystical power is at work, even if we do not know it. What is more interesting is that these stories give clear morals within each selections. All are set in a time period far before Texas was even a state, lending some historical interpretations to the stories. The writing is easily understood by an older reader, although some younger student may find the subject matter difficult to follow. The stories themselves are not necessarily fluid and may contain some "foreign" words, which an elementary school reader could find hard to understand.

Each story is introduced by a striking oil painting and although the illustration is one per story, the picture tells so much of the story that is included. The colors are lush and the each illustration is informative of the story plot to which it corresponds. The paintings have the air of religiosity, which lends itself nicely to the topic of the book.

Awards and Reviews:
Naylor Award - Daughters of the Texas Revolution

"Each of these six selections opens with a full-page illustration that captures the heart of its story...the tales are all well told and engaging." - SK Joiner, School Library Journal

"The background is 17th-, 18th- and early 19th-century Texas, then under the rule of Spain and Mexico, and the conflicts between Spanish colonizers and Indians is evident in these brief tales, which include strong moral lessons." - Kirkus Reviews

"There are very few collections of these stories available for the age group, and the mysticism, faith, and magic--captured in reverential oil paintings bordered with angels, saints, and other religious imagery--will resonate with some children, particularly Catholics and Texans, for whom the symbolism and history may be more familiar." - Gillian Engberg, Booklist

Connections:
*Especially for those in Texas, this can be used in conjunction with a unit on Texas history. Read some non-fiction choices about the history of Texas Missions and compare what you have read between the two books.
*Take a picture that had several elements and have the students create their own story based on it.
*Have a reader's theater based on one or more of the stories in the work. Students can be groups of charging Comanches or friars protecting their mission.

Book Jacket found on: http://www.flipkart.com/lady-blue-cloak-eric-kimmel/0823417387-t7w3fm5ibc

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales

Bibliography:
Cousins, Lucy. 2009. YUMMY: EIGHT FAVORITE FAIRY TALES. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763644749

Plot Summary:
Several popular children's fairy tales are recounted by Cousins in this picture book anthology. The tales range from well-known, like "Little Red Riding Hood" to some that are less known to children in the states, like "The Musicians of Bremen". Using the classic tales, Cousins puts her own twist in some tales, like changing names or actions, while keeping the integrity of the root version. The reader of this title will find themselves being taken through a more modern version "Goldilocks" right into the nearly word-for-word recounting of "The Little Red Hen".

Critical Analysis:
While the stories are (or could be) familiar to a reader, the way in which Cousins uses her illustrations give even the most recognizable characters and stories new life. Pictures are bold, and though they are not intricate they emphasize and underscore the story for the young reader. The tales are simple to follow, with a clear emphasis on morals to be learned from the story. No moral is more explicit than that of "The Little Red Hen": no one wanted to help the Hen, so no one gets to enjoy the fruit of all her labor, save her!

What is important to note is the severity and brusqueness of some of the illustrations, which may be too much for a very young reader. Little Red Riding Hood's feet are dangling out of the wolf's mouth and the woodsman chops the wolf's head clean off in that story. However, the illustrations look like a child could have done them, which may help a child to identify and understand a story on a different level. Additionally, the text is repetitive, making it conducive for a young reader, just learning.

Awards and Reviews:
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
Booklist Editors' Choice
New York Times Book Review 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books
New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of the Year

"Though Cousins uses simple language to tell the stories to a younger audience, she manages to convey the wit and wonder of these tales with an admirable economy of language. Her illustrations fill the page with strong lines, vivid colors, and significant events that bring the story to spine-tingling life." - Keri Collins Lewis, Children's Literature

"Beloved classics are successfully served by these bold, striking renditions. Large, arresting gouache spreads in Cousin's signature style utilize saturated colors and thick, dark outlines against solid backgrounds. Expressive characters enhance the stories' shifting moods. Large type accentuates the dynamic texts, building each spare entry to its powerful climax." - Meg Smith, School Library Journal

Connections:
*Have your kids find a fairy tale they are fond of and recreate their own version! Ask them to draw their own pictures, change around characters or make the story their own. Have them tell their version to the class and ask why they may have made the changes they did.
*Read different versions of each of the stories, maybe from different countries. Compare the works, making a list as the children tell you what they think the differences are. Use the same idea to make a list of the similarities.

Book Jacket found on: http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?mode=book&isbn=0763644749&browse=Title

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella

Bibliography:
Fleischman, Paul. 2007. GLASS SLIPPER, GOLD SANDAL: A WORLDWIDE CINDERELLA. Ill. by Julie Paschkis. New York, New York: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN: 080507953X

Plot Summary:
The story of Cinderella can change from country to country and Paul Fleischman incorporates these Cinderella variations in GLASS SLIPPER to create one cohesive tale. We follow the story from a perspective of a mother reading her daughter a Cinderella tale and the work begins at the universal beginning, speaking of a girl left with only a father after her mother dies. The story takes flight from this point, bringing in elements of the classic tale, like a stepmother, unsightly stepsisters, a handsome prince and a ball. However, instead of only recounting a Cinderella tale American children are familiar with, Fleischman uses bits and pieces of the story from around the world. For instance, the fairy godmother Americans may be familiar with is introduced as a crocodile (from Indonesia) or a witch woman (Appalachia). Recognizable elements of the traditional American Cinderella tale are wound with foreign ones to develop the work, from start to finish.

Critical Analysis:
The plot of this book is fairly straight forward, in that there is a clear conflict. Its theme is also one of "good versus evil", where good inevitably triumphs, as it should in any classic folktale. What is especially of note in this particular book, is the way the author intertwines the different Cinderella tales to create one simple, unified tale. The story contrasts within itself: the Cinderella character finds what she is going to wear to the ball in a variety of different ways, all displaying the differences between each country's version of the tale within one book.

This contrast further pointed in the use of the illustrations. Illustrations in this book are use to show the differences between each country; main pictures are set within backgrounds that display elements of the country. Ireland has a green background with prevalent Celtic symbols, while France is a purple background with a prominent Fleur-De-Lis. The Cinderella character is drawn approximately the same facially, to give some consistency, while other characters and clothing change with each country.

Awards and Reviews:
IRA Notables Books for a Global Society
NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing
Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Arizona Grand Canyon Young Readers Master List
California Children's Media Award, Silver Medals

"This inspired retelling blends many versions of Cinderella into a single, extraordinary tale. Paschkis...makes use of folk art and textile patterns throughout the world in the clever background paintings behind each of her panel illustrations...and characters remain recognizable despite their costume changes." - Publishers Weekly

"Fleischman and Paschkis have created a pan-cultural, universally pleasing interweaving of variants from 17 different cultures. [It] reads nearly seamlessly and somehow manages to convey simultaneously the essential sameness of the story and the particularities of the different versions." - Miriam Lang Budin, School Library Journal

Connections:
*This is a perfect story for comparing and contrasting! Read this book and one of a more familiar version (Americanized). Break the students into groups after reading the story and have them list all the differences they notice.
*Since the story has elements from many different countries, take the opportunity to spotlight these countries on a map. Have the children investigate other stories from those countries!
*Take a trip in the classroom! From the countries used in the work (like Germany or Iraq), take time to show the children a custom from a particular country. This could have significance to why their version of Cinderella is told the way that it is or it could just be how to properly say hello.

Book Jacket found on: http://www.sunprairiepubliclibrary.org/Cinderella.html