Poetry for Children- The Llama Who Had No Pajama

The Llama Who Had No Pajama

By Mary Ann Hoberman

Illustrated by Betty Fraser

ISBN: 978-0-15-205571-4

Each week I try to select a book that I not only want to take out from my local library, but one that I want to purchase and keep in my own personal library, and to use professionally with students in the future.  I am confident that the selection I made for this week's assignment is one that I will use time and time again as a teacher.

I chose The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Mary Ann Hoberman because I found the collection of poems entertaining and engaging.  I think that poetry can be a wonderful genre to share and explore with students, but that you must be careful in the selection and approach you take so that the children in your class grow up as poetry fans.   The poems in The Llama Who Had No Pajama will definitely appeal to students with topics such as cockroaches, frogs, worms, and everyday items such as windshield wipers; everyday items, animals and ideas. 

The other component that I liked about this collection of poetry was the artwork by Betty Fraser.  The colors are not bright, and the images are not extremely detailed, but they accompany the text very well, and are position around the poems themselves, making the images even more apart of the written words.

The Llama Who Had No Pajama is the winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, as well as other accolades, and it easy to see why; the poems are wonderfully written.

My favorite poems in the story are those about sea life such as "Whale", "Way Deep Down", "A Thought" and "Fish"... the subject matter of sea life fascinates me, the illustration that accompanies these poems is beautiful, and the adjectives and flow of these poems grabbed my interest.

There are far too many poems in this book to share with students in one sitting, a hundred poems actually.  I think it would be best to share only a single poem at a time and really enjoy and digest each individual poem.  There is so much that can be done with poetry, and it would be great to use book to show children poems about nature and everyday and then take a trip to a local park and have students create their own poems about things they see there- trees, insects, people, etc.

Its A Small World After All

Whoever You Are

By Mem Fox

Illustrated by Leslie Staub

Published by Voyager Books

ISBN: 0-15-216406-5

I have to admit before the beginning of this semester I had never heard of Mem Fox. I was completely unfamiliar with her stories and have yet to recognize one as having read it before. I am a career changer, and as an undergraduate my reading consisted primarily of business textbooks. So, there is a large gap in my knowledge of children’s literature. If I did not read an author as a child myself, there is a good chance I have not been introduced to their work until now.

With that being said, I am so grateful to have been introduced to Mem Fox’s work. I think many of the books we’ve looked at in class are varied in their style, composition and subject, but are all poignant and high quality. Also, since Fox works with different illustrators, many of the designs, layouts and illustrations are varied in her books as well, and I find that appealing as a reader.

I have selected Mem Fox’s Whoever You Are, published in 2001 by Voyager Books and illustrated by Leslie Staub as an example of a multicultural picture book to share with you.

While many of Fox’s stories take place in her native Australia and display her own culture, there are some other stories that do not. Whoever You Are celebrates cultures around the world and shows the commonalities we have as a human race. That is a very big concept, yet this book is clearly written for children as young as kindergarten. I especially love how the story begins, “Little one, whoever you are.” Fox is talking directly to the child and letting them know right from the beginning that this story is written for them, about them. The language is eloquently written throughout, and sends a clear message to children that despite the differences in cultures throughout the world, inside everyone is the same.

The book details the differences in ethnicities such as language, skin color, schooling and even the land where they are from, but focuses on the similarity that people from these different cultures all share. This similarity is feelings; everyone loves, laughs, hurts, and feels the same emotions. I think the message of this story is so important to share with students. I would use this story to begin the school year, as well as when learning about multiculturalism and different ethnicities.

The illustrations that go along with the story are what really caught my eye. I skimmed through a few contenders, but eventually settled on Mem Fox’s Whoever You Are because I always try to pick a book I want to purchase and keep in my own library. The illustrations are a big part of the reason I was drawn to this book. Leslie Staub created the images. Originally, the illustrations were done as oil paintings. Each page has an image of the actual frames that the oil paintings are in, and these are made from painted plaster and wood and have gems on them. I would take a great amount of time examining each page with students to look closer at the culture being highlighted in each picture, be that in Asia, Europe, Australia, the Americas or Africa.

One great idea I saw to try with students is having them create illustrations, using Leslie Staub’s work in Whoever You Are as inspiration. This is exactly what one class did in a school in Quebec, Canada. (Don’t you just love that not only does the book transcend to different places, but so does the lessons and activities you can do with students.) The images the class created are pretty amazing, check them out for yourself.  The work that students can create will be able to fill your classrooms wall and bulletin boards, and serve as a reminder of the message in Mem Fox's story.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... The Twelve Dancing Princesses: The Original Fairy Tale of Girls Night Out!

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

As Told By Marianna Mayer

Illustrated by K.Y. Craft

Published by Morrow Junior Books

"What is your favorite fairytale?"

That is the question I asked friends and family this week.  I received a host of answers including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rapunzel, and my own personal favorite Sleeping Beauty.  Then I asked a coworker and finally received an answer I was unfamiliar with, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  I was intrigued.  Disney hadn't tapped into this fairytale, and neither had I.  I decided that I needed to find this fairytale to focus on for this week.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a German fairytale originally published by the Brother Grimm.  There have been various adaptations of this story told over time.  Every story that I came across had a few key components in common and the general synopsis that there were twelve sisters that were all princesses that would go out dancing every night after their father, the king, would lock them in their bedroom.

I chose the Mulberry Books' version of this classic story, written by Marianna Mayer and illustrated by K.Y. Craft, in 1989.  In this version of the story, a gardener discovers the girls are sneaking out to a secret castle at night to dance with princes, as they and the princesses are all enchanted.  The gardener has a magic flower, that when worn as a boutonniere, makes him invisible.  This is how he is able to follow and discover why the princesses slippers are so worn out each morning.  The gardener falls in love with the youngest princess in this version, as the male hero does in each version of this story.

One of the main reasons I chose this story was because of the ending.  In this version of the story, the youngest princess, name Elisa is the hero.  She saves the gardener from falling under the trance that all the princesses and princes at the secret castle are under by taking his poisoned drink and throwing it on the floor.  This act of love, saving the gardener, also breaks the spell and saves everyone else in the kingdom.  I think that it has a very positive message, showing the princess as the heroine, instead of the damsel in distress.

The other main reason that I selected this version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses was due to the quality of the writing and illustrations.  Each illustration looks like a mural from a museum and help evoke the essence of the time the story took place, centuries ago when kings and queens ruled over kingdoms. 

The illustrations matched the text very well.  In fact, the illustrations were done so well that without any text you are able to follow the events that are taking place.  I truly enjoyed the detail of the illustrations in this book.  The text of this story is well written and although it is quite lengthy, I found it to be engaging and an enjoyable read, that I would want to share with my future classes. 

There was an additional version of this story that I considered using, written by Susanna Davidson and illustrated by Anna Luraschi in 2007.  There were a few notable differences with this version.  Firstly, this story was clearly written for a younger audience.  While the Mulberry version had paragraphs of text on each page, this version had a line or two, making it an acceptable selection for younger students to read independently.  Also, the illustrations are much cleaner and basic, using brighter colors; also it seems to appeal to a younger audience. 

The final difference in this version was that the story seemed truer to the Brothers Grimm version in the sense that there were many "heroes" that tried to discover the princesses secret, and all failed and were beheaded.  I was surprised to find this part of the story translated for children in this book, because it seemed as though the author and illustrator had made many adjustments to allow this book to be accessible to children and yet kept the idea of having people suffer a penalty of death as something that was not altered.  For this reason, I did not select the Davidson/Luraschi version of Twelve Dancing Princesses.  With that said, I think comparing and contrasting various versions of this fairytale is something I would definitely want to do with a class.  I think that modeling comparing the two, and other versions, could lead to an entire unit looking at folktales and fairytales and making connections and assessments. 

One of my favorite part of reading is discovering new, old and retold stories, and for this reason I am very glad to have been introduced to The Twelve Dancing Princesses!



Merci Madeline

Madeline
By Ludwig Bemelmans
Published by Puffin Books

     I believe that when a teacher loves a book, that admiration will be evident to their students, and that will in turn spark an interest (and hopefully an equally deep fondness) for the book as well.
For myself, the picture book Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelman, is one such book. This book is the cream of the crop for me, and I greatly look forward to the day that I have my own classroom and my own class to share it with.
     Caldecott honor recipient Madeline, originally published in 1939 tells the story of a self assured girl named Madeline who lives in a boarding house with her fellow students under the supervision of their teacher, Miss Clavel. The girls visit many places in Paris and do everything together from breaking their bread to brushing their teeth to going to bed. That is of course until young Madeline has to be taken to the hospital late one night to have her appendix removed. Madeline is brave throughout the entire ordeal and her classmates miss her terribly. In fact, after visiting Madeline and seeing how brave she was, and that the hospital she was in was filled with toys and candy, all of the girls want to have their appendixes removed as well so they too can be as brave and cool as Madeline.
     This picture book is just the first in a series of Madeline books, so any student that enjoys this will have a vast selection of other picture books to select from for further reading. The illustrations, story, and of course the main character, Madeline herself, have a certain appeal similar in my opinion to that of Hans Augusto’s character Curious George. People want to read about Madeline’s next adventure, in the same way that they want to read about Curious George’s. Both series began with their first stories published within two years of one another, around 1940, and have similarly colored illustration to paint a picture of their European adventures, with a lot of yellow backgrounds. The main difference between the two is that one has a young girl as its main character and the other has a monkey. Still, both series have the same tone and both have been engaging young readers (and readers that are young at heart) for decades, and I believe that to be the most important similarity between the two.
     I will be honest in telling you that I had never read Madeline as a child. I was first introduced to Madeline as an adult. Paris is my favorite city in the entire world and knowing that this story takes place there was engaging for me. I fell instantly in love with every page of this picture book the first time I read it. Between its well written story and amazing illustration I understand now why it is a classic. Plus, the illustrations include pictures of various Parisian scenes including those of the Eifel Tower, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Sacre Coeur and the Louvre, which to me is the icing on the cake.
     Madeline is a prime example of a great picture most importantly because the illustrations match the text of the pages. Some of the vocabulary and phrasing may be slightly unfamiliar for a beginner reader and having the illustrations there to match the words is very helpful in following the story and reinforcing the ideas of the book.
     This book is written in rhyme, as if one long poem. I especially like the ending of the story when Miss Clavel is tucking the rest of Madeline’s classmates into bed and the font size gets smaller and smaller as she speaks; you, as the reader have to you use a smaller and smaller voice to read those last few lines as well, as if you are putting the story to bed.

“Good night, little girls!

Thank the Lord you are well!

And now go to sleep!”

Said Miss Clavel.

And she turned out the light-

And she closed the door-

And that’s all there is-

There isn’t any more.

The Little Caldecott Winner That Could... 1947 Caldecott Winner The Little Island

The Little Island

Written by Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard

Published by Dragonfly Books

ISBN: 9780440408307

When presented with the task of selecting a Caldecott-winning book to read and share I experienced a sudden overwhelming feeling. I thought selecting one Caldecott winner would be tedious. I thought many of the books that had previously won the prestigious honor would be unfamiliar to me. I thought that finding copies the older titles would present a challenge… I thought wrong on all accounts.

Now do not get me wrong, clearly the choices were all extraordinary, or they would never have won or been honored by the ALA. I was just surprised by how many winners I was already familiar with. My first thought was to select the one book I was certain was a Caldecott winner, Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are (1964); a favorite amongst many avid readers as well those who have not read a picture book since they were children themselves. I decided to dig a little deeper and explore less common titles, ones that aren’t as frequently mentioned in individual’s social network profiles “favorite books” category, as I have found Where The Wild Things Are numerous times.

Caldecott Honor Book No David by David Shannon was the next book to catch my eye and was most certainly a departure from Sendak’s infamous adventure. No David is much simpler; there are no dreamt up forest and monsters, only a mischievous little boy, David, and the adverse responses he receives while attempting to test his boundaries. I enjoyed this story and the illustrations that went along with it and appreciated the ending a great deal. At the end of the book, the parent who all along as been responding negatively toward things David does, says to their son, “Yes David, I love you!” It is a simple phrase that reminds all of us, young and old, sons and daughters as well as mother and fathers, that despite our shortcomings and missteps, that we are still loved. Sometimes we need simple reminders of that fact, and No David is a shining example.

My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann is another Caldecott winner (2003) with a similar message. As we grow, both during childhood as well as when we are adults, at one point or another "trouble will follow" us, as it does Rabbit. It is during those times we are reminded how fortunate to have people who care about us the way Mouse cares for his friend Rabbit. This message is why I considered My Friend Rabbit as a contender to be my selection.

While all of the picture books I looked through were unique and varied, I still didn’t feel like I had found “the one”, the one that truly spoke to me in a way in which I was so excited I just had to bring it in for show and tell. So I kept flipping through and perusing various books looking for the perfect selection. Then, I saw it. A book that I hadn’t read or thought about in years. A book that I had in my own collection as a child, but did not remember as a Caldecott winner, 1947’s winner in fact. Yes, The Little Island written, by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, was my selection, and it surprised even myself. The moment I picked up the book and flipped through the pages, it was as though 10 days had gone by since I read it last, certainly not 10 plus years. Every image and every line was familiar and had me transfixed, as if by magic. I suppose that is how some feel when they read Where The Wild Things Are, or The Polar Express or Jumanji; I suppose that is how any Caldecott winner should move a reader.

The Little Island is a story about, you guessed it, a tiny island out in the great blue sea. The book describes numerous components and inhabitants of the island including various trees, flowers and vegetation, as well as creatures such as lobsters, seagulls, seals and fireflies. You experience the transitions of seasons on the island and the occurrences that take place on the island, weathering the storms along with the island both literally and figuratively. While the description of each item and condition on The Little Island is not written with great dpeth of detail, the shear abundance of objects, plants and atmospheres described paint such a realistic and vivid picture of the story that actual illustrations are almost not necessary. The story reads like a beautiful poem that can stand on its own.

But of course the book is illustrated, and what illustrations they are; beautiful, dream-like illustrations that accompany the words of the story and bring the images from the dark depths of the readers mind into the light of day. The crisp blues and whites used to create the ocean, waves and sky paired with the bold greens, reds, yellows and even black that create the island and all the interesting and unique inhabitants that have made a home on the land create images that transfix me.  Infact on a few occasion I momentarily forget to turn the page as I get lost in the pictures. There is a tranquility about many of the images that I find comforting.

The images in The Little Island are so lovely that I almost want to frame them and hang each one. Considering I live in a small apartment with limited wall space, I may have to choose just one image. Perhaps I’ll pick the image of the kingfishers that came from the south to build their nests on The Little Island, as I have always loved the illustration of those two beautiful teal birds. Or perhaps I should select an image of the small kitten that visit’s the island, or the owl in the night image of the island, or the one of the butterflies in the wild strawberry fields, or the one… you see my dilemma in trying to choose just one favorite image? I truly love every illustration in the book!

The Little Island may not be as popular as other Caldecott winners such as Rapunzel or Little Red Riding Hood, but it is surely just as deserving of the title of “classic”. I felt extremely lucky to have been reintroduced to this story and to glad to once again have the book in my library.  I highly recommend taking the time to pick up this book and escape to The Little Island yourself.