The Kingfisher Book of Fairy Tales

 

The Kingfisher Book of Fairy Tales

Retold by: Vivian French

Illustrated by: Peter Malone

This book of fairy tales is all about the magic. In the forward by Vivian French she explains how fairy tales should show children that anything is possible and let their imagination fly with stories of magic. Every story was chosen specifically for its magical element, and then the magic that was there was enhanced. This anthology includes the fairy tale favorites: Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, The Fisherman and His Wife, Beauty and the Beast, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Rumpelstiltskin, and Cinderella.  This book of stories is for the child in everyone who wants to see good triumph and to pretend for just a little while that they live in a magical place with fairy godmothers, magic castles, and bit of gold.

In Jack and the Beanstalk, Vivian French tells of a mischievous little boy who believed in magic more than money. French doesn't shy away from the truth, though. Jack severely worried his mother. She had a house to pay for and food to buy, and the money she had been counting on would no longer be coming in. French shows the mother's worry by her words and Peter Malone illustrated it beautifully. By doing this, they transform Jack form just an adventurous kid looking for trouble and climbing the beanstalk to a kid who is trying to right a wrong, his wrong. He climbed once, found a solution for their problems, and, even though his mother worried even more, climbed back up two more times to retrieve all of his father's stolen possessions. That was the other aspect that was new for me. I thought Jack stole the gold from the terrifying giant, but in this version, everything had been his father's, but had been stolen years ago. French tells how Jack simply repossessed his father's prized possessions. Peter Malone is not without credit for this story. His illustrations make the giants come to life, and Jack's escape from the giant in the end is nerve-racking and hair-raising, just as it should be. The text supports this fear and the fear of the giants by increasing the font for the giant's roar and reverting short choppy bits for Jack's perilous descent. However, the first two times Jack climbed down the beanstalk were quite fun, as any good slide is, and again the text showcased this with a winding downward "WEEEEEE!" 

Magic and love are the focus of this telling of Beauty and the Beast. From a magic castle that gives Beauty her every desire to a magic ring that can transport people in their sleep, this telling brings the magic of the story to the forefront. The place of crimson roses in this story creates a beautiful picture. All Beauty wants from her father on his travels is a crimson rose, as he is recently broke, and this is something he might actually be able to get. He sees a garden blooming with roses in the magic castle in which he has sought refuge and picks one for his daughter. However, as soon as he does so, the beast appears and accuses him of stealing. And the story moves into the traditional plot of Beauty staying with Beast to pay for her father's crimes. Throughout the story she spends much of her days in the garden, and then at the end when the beast changes to the prince and they declare their love for each other the "stars burst into glittering showers of gold, and rose petals cascaded out of the sky until the ground was covered in scented crimson petals." These words together with the illustration of the event (stars bursting into golden trumpets playing and petals shooting from the trumpets like a visual element of sound) truly make the reader feel the magic coming right off of the page.

The final story in the anthology, "Cinderella", encompasses it all. It's such a wonderful way to end the anthology. There is a rags-to-riches story, magic, and true love; how could a fairy tale be any better? My favorite quote from the entire book came from this story. After the fairy godmother performs her first trick and Cinderella looks shocked, the fairy godmother responds, "Tut tut...Don't tell me you've never seen magic before." I think this quote sums up the point of fairy tales; in some way or other we've all seen magic, even if it was just in our dreams. Another theme throughout this story is time. The clock that hangs over the town plays a huge part in the plot line and often interrupts the text with a "TICK TOCK- TICK TOCK- TICK TOCK..." I love that this is the last story because times up for the book, and those who read it will get older, but the magic continues as permanent as that clock; it ticks on, and those of us who grow with it, won't lose it. 

Magic is a lovely thing. I remember dreaming as a child that I was Beauty and one day I'd meet my beast, fall in love, and then he'd turn into the most handsome prince. Magic like in the fairy tales wasn't something I had seen, but it wasn't beyond the realm of reality. When I got a little older, I would dream of exploring far away places, and the trees I'd climb would take me into the heavens to hide from giants or across the monkey to bars and over the sea to a lost island. And who didn't imagine when they were forced to clean their room that a fairy godmother would show up, do all the work for them, and send them off to a party in a carriage wearing a fancy dress?! Fairy tales were something we were raised hearing, and along the way that belief in magic that we had faded. But I wouldn't say it disappeared. At least not for me. I read these stories, looked at the pictures, and dreamed. 

For those who need a little reminder of the magic in this world: Click Here

Happy Endings: A Story About Suffixes

Happy Endings: A Story About Suffixes
Written by: Robin Pulver
Illustrated by: Lynn Rowe Reed
Published: February 2011


With summer almost upon them, a class learns about suffixes. However, it is a struggle to get them motivated for the lesson. At one point, the students' teacher says that they will "tackle" suffixes. The suffixes (which are characters in the story) are scared of being tackled, and they run away to the gymnasium to pump weights to bulk up to protect themselves. When the students realize the suffixes are missing, they create posters to put around the school to find the suffixes. The suffixes see the posters and feel happy to be wanted so they go back to the classroom, leave clues for the students to find and then hide in a student's desk until they are found and the students learn the value of suffixes by the end of the day.


I thought the idea of this book was great; an entire book to teach about suffixes. However, I found the story rather disturbing, and thought that the macabre element to the story was only furthered by the illustrations. First, the suffixes become convinced that the students want to hurt them. This prompts the comment from the -ing suffix, "we should get in shape for tackling them back."After the gymnasium, they feel brave and head back to the classroom for a fight with the students before they see the posters the children have put up. It is only then that the suffixes decide to return to the classroom peacefully. The children in the book are portrayed as fussy, bad-mannered delinquents for the first half of the book. And their teacher, described as "exasperated," decides to skip read-aloud and deal straight with word endings, so that the students, who are already reluctant to learn about suffixes, are punished by skipping right ahead past the reading which they really seemed to be enjoying. This aspect of punishment by word endings lesson astounds me in a book that is supposed to encourage children to learn about suffixes.


The illustrations are fitting for the text, but as such they are equally disturbing. The teacher seldom looks happy and each person and even some letters have very defined teeth which make smiles look less than friendly. For words such as joking and suffocating, the "e" has been drawn to the side with dotted lines connecting the letter to where it belongs at the end of the root word. But on suffocating, the "e" that is drawn almost appears to be hanged,  due to the eyes and the direction of the line.


However, there are some interesting illustrative aspects. For example, there is an well-drawn change of perspective. On one page there is a close-up of the suffixes on a black background (most of the drawings are on a colored background), but the next page pans out and it becomes apparent that the background wasn't simply black, but  a blackboard.  Additionally, the posters seeking the suffixes are quite fun. They show blank lines where the suffixes should be in the words. For example, one poster reads: "Want__:  The bad guy_ who kidnapp_our word end____ aka suffix__." The clues written by the suffixes were equally fun. The suffixes were tired of being last and they used the clues as their chance to be first. Therefore, one clue reads, "Try ingclean out your sdesk!"


Another element of this book is the interaction between the story text and the illustrations. The people and suffixes both communicate through speech bubbles, and often the printed text will stop with an incomplete thought and the story will continue in these illustrated bubbles. For both the illustrated and the printed words, the suffixes all appear in a different color, making one take notice of each occurrence of suffixes. This actually is pretty cool because it becomes apparent just how often we use suffixes every day.


There was one part of the book I found rather cute. The final page does have one fun joke, though. The students' teacher for next year is Mrs. Edinger and the suffixes -ed, -ing, and -er point at her and say "Look! She is us!" The text by the new teacher reads "Every ending leads to a new beginning!" On the next page there are some rules and hints for adding suffixes to words and understanding what they mean.


Personally, this is not my favorite book, but one of my main reactions was that a suffix scavenger hunt, complete with mixed-up clues, would be fun for a lesson on suffixes. So in summation, I found the book helpful, but not terribly enjoyable as a story.


Test your own suffix knowledge! Here's a fun game site for the kid in everyone.

I'm Here

I'm Here
Written and Illustrated by: Peter H. Reynolds
Published: August 2011


At recess a boy sat by himself, watching the other kids as they ran and play. They were too loud for him so he sat off by himself. While he is sitting there a piece of paper is carried by the wind and lands in front of him. He folds the paper into a paper airplane and throws it, imagining he is sitting on the airplane and flying high into the clouds and stars. He imagines it almost landing and all the children at recess catching him and sending him back up. The paper airplane eventually lands; ending the boy's pretend flight. When a little girl brings the airplane to the boy, they become friends.


This book is really interesting because it was inspired by the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center.  The little boy in the story, while not explicitly recognized as autistic, definitely demonstrates some autistic traits. He sits by himself at recess, and views himself as separate from the other students, claiming "They are there. I am here." In his solitude he notices the feel of the wind and a leaf that lands beside him "for a visit." But the laughing and playing of the students is just "one big noise. A big drum." The boy's reaction to the piece of paper is interesting. He's excited the paper landed by him and ask it, "White rectangle. How did you find me?" However, on the next page, he knows that the paper doesn't want to be there, but he tells it "No worries, friend. I'm here." He then folds it into a paper airplane and sends it for its flight, imagining a higher, longer journey where the paper takes him with it through the sky.


The attitude the boy exhibits is exceptional. The paper is his friends, and is not just a paper, but a white rectangle. However, his view of what most would deem normal paper doesn't end there. His first reaction is to fold the paper and create a plane. He uses the plane to imagine bridging the gap between himself and his classmates. The wording of the story reflects this idea as the story starts by describing the playground noise as "splashes upon splashes of sound." He later claims that the stars that he flies by in his imagination "sparkle loudly, like voices on a playground. Splashes upon splashes of sound." The use of this repetition seems to highlight the boy's desire to be a part of the group at recess, but his inability to do so. This desire is furthered by his proclamation as he flies by the clouds, "I'm here!" His imagination seems to foreshadow the little girl bringing his plane to him, as the plane really did bridge the gap between here and there.


The illustrations serve only to enhance the insightful story. The boy looks the happiest- mouth gaping open, smile wide, arms extended in joy- when he states his presence among the stars. He's free and a part of those around him then. Additionally, he looks similarly content when the little girl sits with him at the end of the book. The illustrations also enhance the idea of the boy's solitude. On most pages, the drawing of the boy is rather small and surrounded by white space. An exceptional example of the illustrations enhancing and almost telling the story on their own is found on the first four pages. The book starts with two double-page spreads. In the first, there is a picture of many kids laughing a playing. On the second spread, the view pans out and we see our first view of the little boy, sitting so far away, hands over his ears, all by himself. At the end, the boy is still sitting in the same position, but the little girl has sat down in the exact same position, right across from him. The word at the top simply says, "Friends."


The physical text serves to enhance the illustrations and the story, as well. The author portrays excitement or emphasis with larger letters. He also uses letter size and placement to  portray the imaginary flight through the clouds and stars, writing the word "higher" in larger font going up the page in an arch. He continues the arch with the text, and as the plane descends, the words do, too. The font style is also reflective of the story. When the speaker imagines his classmates catching him, their assurance "We've got you!" is boldly written in a Times New Roman, whereas the majority of the text uses a font that appears more handwritten. The only other font change is the dialogue, the only dialogue of the story, between the little boy and the little girl at the end. For this bit of text the font, Arial, is fair compromise between the handwritten and the Times New Roman.


This book is an inspiration for all, both for those children who see the world a little differently and for everyone else. These two friends found each other, and the book serves to encourage others to reach out and find a friend.


Related Links: 
Peter Reynolds worked with FableVision to produce a pretty interesting animated clip based on this book. 
How to Make a Paper Airplane
Autism Speaks- another site for autism awareness and research

Black and White

Black and White
Written and Illustrated by: David Macaulay
Copyright: 1990
Caldecott Award Winner


This book tells the story of a herd of Holstein cows crossing a railroad track and holding up a train and of the lives this delay impacted. However, it does so in four separate stories. The first story, "Seeing Thing," is about a boy riding on a train by himself that encounters an odd an unexpected delay, a mysterious old woman, and a train stop full of odd, singing people wearing newspapers, before finally reaching his destination and being greeted by his parents. The second story, "Problem Parents" is that of two children who are confused by their parents' behavior when their parents came home wearing newspapers and singing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain." The third story, "A Waiting Game," tells of a crowd of adults all waiting for a train that is very late and eventually finding entertainment and joy in making costumes out of the newspapers they have already read in their wait. Finally, the fourth story, "Udder Chaos," is about a thief trying to steal a herd of cattle, only to realize that they're not quite as easy to steal as he thought and giving up on his nefarious idea when the cattle return home to be milked.


This book is challenging because of how the story is told and the fact the pages are divided into halves, but this challenge really makes the book. The title page contains a warning that offers a hint as to how to approach the book:

 Warning: This book appears to contain a number of stories taht do not necessarily occur at the same time. Then again, it may contain only one story. In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended.

When the reader turns the page, they see that in fact, page one and two appear to showcase the covers of four different stories, with four equally divided squares. These four panels are then consistent throughout the rest of the book. Each story is told in its respective square. Individually each square can tell its own quite interesting story. But, when each story is read in sequential order (top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right) a portion of a larger story seems to be made clear. Of course, like the warning said, the stories may be completely separate from each other, at least of course, if only the text is referenced.


However, upon significant further reflection of both the stories and the pictures, it becomes apparent that really the book is telling one story, just from multiple perspectives. The pictures on one page for one story will often reflect what another story is talking about. For example, in "Seeing Things" the little boy sees what he describes as a cloud outside his window. Then, a few pages later, the train stop with the singing, newspaper clad adults is almost completely obscured by fog. Another example is that of the thief throughout the book. In "Udder Chaos" the thief seems to disappear after the cows block the path of the train. However, if one looks closely at the illustrations, it is discovered that the thief is, in fact, the old woman who mysteriously appears on the train, right about the time that the train has stopped for weirdly movable "boulders." Further, the mysterious "old woman" disappears in "Seeing Things," but then at the end of "A Waiting Game," the thief appears at the now deserted station.


The illustrations further develop the idea of interrelated stories by having certain aspects of a picture in one frame feed into a picture in another. For example, in "Problem Parents," the dad rips the mail into tiny pieces. In the frame above that, "Seeing Things" has described the boy's amazement at finding little pieces of newspaper floating through the air. The newspaper pieces fall from the top frame to the bottom where they become pieces of mail. Another example is found when a close-up of a cow in "Udder Chaos" fades into the dog's head in "Problem Parents."


Three of the four stories are illustrated in a cartoon manner, but the first story is illustrated by less defined watercolors. Not coincidentally, I think, the first story is also the most mysterious and the least clear. It tells of boulders moving due to shouting, of a vanishing old woman, and of snow made of newspapers. Each story after that is significantly clearer, even if some questions still remain. Therefore, the least clear illustrations are found in the least clear story. This is just another example that the illustrations really help define what is happening in this rather confusing story.


All in all, the story is backwards. Had the reader started from the bottom right story, every aspect of each individual story would make sense when it was read. However, the story progresses so that with each mini-story read, the mysteries found within each become clearer. This backward telling is made even more apparent by the fact that the copyright page and the dedication occur on the last page of the book, not the first where it is more traditional.


This book is not easy. It takes time and analysis to really understand what story it is trying to tell. However, it provides such a unique perspective of telling stories. Most often picture books are told from one perspective. Black and White takes one story and tells it from four different perspectives. The book is not to be read quickly or effortlessly, but I think it is worth the effort just to experience a completely different type of children's literature.


Personally, I just wonder as to how movies like Love Actually and Valentine's Day can be critically acclaimed for being so creative in their presentation of interrelated stories when a children's book author/illustrator did so more than ten years prior to both.


Related links:
So I just really want to make a newspaper hat now. Here's a great site for newspaper hat instruction.


Also if you are interested in finding out more about this author, this is not his only book by any means. He's a pretty interesting guy, actually. Check out David Macaulay's web site here. In the Articles and Speeches section of the site there is actually a transcript of his Caldecott acceptance speech for Black and White


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-and-white-david-macaulay/1000310904?ean=9780618636877&itm=5&usri=black%2band%2bwhite#Details

Magic Box

Magic Box
Written and Illustrated by: Katie Cleminson
Published: 2009


Eva was given a cardboard box for her birthday, but this was a special box. When she hopped in, Eva emerged as a magician who with each wave of her magic wand brought a new wonderful surprise for her birthday (including delicious food, rabbits from hats, and very large friend named Monty. Through her imagination, Eva made a simple box a thing of wonder and magic.


The wonderful thing about this book is it all about the importance of using one's imagination. Most children probably would not appreciate a box for their birthday, but in this story a box made it possible for Eva to have the birthday of her dream. I think this is lovely message not to focus only on the material things, but to value a gift, to value a day by the experiences and the memories made on it. It is important to note that while Eva creates all sorts of wonderful things with her magical ability, at the end of the day, she snaps her fingers and everything disappears. Or seems to. On the last page, the reader sees Eva sitting on her new polar bear Morty's head. The existence of Morty, even when the rest of the "magic" has gone back into the box serves to show that even at the end of the day, some part our creative imaginings stays with us.


What I truly loved about the illustrations is that everything is in black and white except the spots of color to represent magic and Eva's shirt and cheeks. To me, the very specific placement of color shows that the magic comes from Eva. The color splotches might appear to be coming from the box (which is shown as a magician's hat throughout most of the story), but  the only drawing consistent color on every page is Eva.


Another interesting note about illustration is that the text layout is inspired by the story. For example, when it says Monty is large, the word large is written  twice as big as the rest of the sentence. Additionally, when, using the magic wand, "Eva threw a huge party," the text seems to fly in arch through the air, as though she really did throw the party. Similarly, when "with a flick of her wand, she made things float in the air," the text waves as though it is likewise floating. On this same page, the illustration changes perspective so as to appear to look down on Eva while she looks up at Monty and the rabbits all floating high above her head.


On a personal note, while I was never given a cardboard box for my birthday, I do remember that my favorite childhood games, my favorite memories of playtime, were not when I was playing with some of my surely too expensive dress-up toys or the trampoline in the yard. Instead the best times were when the trampoline was the moon, the dress-up toys were the Queen's jewels, and my backyard was not a backyard but a foreign land complete with traps set to keep me from completing my secret spy mission (most likely to rescue the Queen's jewels from their hidden location on the moon). This book serves to remind kids and adults alike that the development of an imagination is really the best gift a child can be given. Or at least, that's the reminder it gave me.


Related links:
Cardboard Box Crafts
Magic Tricks For Kids






http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/magic-box-katie-cleminson/1100559595? ean=9781423121091&itm=2&usri=magic%2bbox%2bkatie%2bcleminson

Slow Loris

Slow Loris
Written and Illustrated by: Alexis Deacon
Published: April 2002
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slow-loris-alexis-deacon/1005179359

Slow Loris is a book about a slow loris. Every day people come to the zoo to see all the animals, and every day everyone is bored by the loris because he is so very slow. So slow that they've named him Slow Loris. But Slow Loris had a secret. At night, when no one else is around, he is fast. One night, someone sees Slow Loris not being slow; the gossip soon spreads throughout the whole zoo, and the next night every animal came to see Slow Loris be fast. That night a party was had by all, and the next day, all the animals were too slow to entertain the zoo's visitors, but they had a secret of their own.

This is sweet book about something not always being what it appears on the surface. Slow Loris isn't slow, but because he is a little different (he's nocturnal), everyone assumes he is, and as a result, the people visiting the zoo and the animals all judged him: "The visitors all thought Loris was boring. The other animals thought so too." However, once word spread that he really just waited until night to be his wild self, all the other animals wanted to join in on the fun and they celebrated all night, only to be as boring as Slow Loris in the morning.

Another theme present in this book is the importance of being true to yourself and forgiveness. After it is revealed that everyone thinks Slow Loris is boring, the reader learns that Slow Loris does not care what they think because he can have fun all by himself at night. Additionally, when all the other animals want to join in the fun, he welcomes them whole-heartedly.

As great as these themes are for a picture book to have, what I think makes this book really special are how the illustrations and text not only reflect, but seem to create the story. For example, the second and third pages of the book are both broken down to display three pictures with text in between. In each picture the people come and go, but Slow Loris only moves him arm about 2 inches. The multiple images really display the lethargy of his movements, but the text in truly adds to this idea. On the third page, when the reader has realized just how little the loris appears to be moving, one sentence is broken down underneath all three pictures. "He really was....very...slow." Page four and five are illustrated with one picture of the loris climbing down a branch. The sentence stretches along the length of the entire branch, supporting the text's claim that it took Slow Loris "twenty minutes to get from one....end of his branch...to the other." The text continues to work with the illustrations to provide a truly listless feeling. Until it is revealed that Slow Loris really moves at night. This shift in the story is reflected in a completely new type of illustration. Whereas the rest of the book is illustrated with drawings, one page, with one word (FAST...) is illustrated with a very blurry, close-up photograph of loris. The next 2 pages are technically one picture, but unlike the beginning where the double-page spread is broken into six illustrations with the Slow Loris barely moving. This page has one large picture that shows the Slow Loris in ten different positions that move from left to right.

Another interesting way that the illustrations highlight the story is a fold-out page when Slow Loris is discovered by the first group of animals. The outside of the fold-out displays the group looking through a square cut out that just reveals black with lots of white markings. The fold-out opens up to reveal Slow Loris banging on pots with the animals looking down at him through the square cut-out. The next night when all the animals were watching him, the page is almost completely black, until a flap is opened like a door and Slow Loris is crawling through with a hat on his head and bright tie around his neck.

Finally, the illustrations also utilize color to reflect the story. When it is daylight and Slow Loris is lounging, the walls are all light and the framing present on some pages is cream. However, when it is night and Slow Loris is his true crazy self, the walls are dark and the framing is black to reflect that darkness outside. Additionally, there is little bright color on any page, with the sole exception the double-page spread that illustrates the party had by all the animals. On this page there are multi-colored paint splatters that really add to the wild and crazy feeling.

Overall, I truly loved this book. The story was quite cute, but it was the illustrations and the text layout really sold me on it.