Rapunzel

Bibliography
Zelinsky, Paul O. Rapunzel. Ill by Paul O. Zelinksy. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 9780525456070


Plot Summary
Rapunzel is a traditional retelling of the fairy tale many know as Rapunzel. Zelinsky not only borrowed from the Grimms version, but also from versions found as far back as 1643. In this retelling, a pregnant woman developed a craving for the rare herb rapunzel. Her neighbor, a sorceress, grew the herb next door so the wife could see it every day. The craving affected the woman physically. Her body began to deteriorate until her husband climbed over the wall and stole as much rapunzel as he could. His wife was satisfied, but not for long.

The wife began to crave the herb soon after. This time when the husband climbed over the wall, the sorceress was waiting. He explained the situation to her. When she demanded that he give her the child when it is born, he agreed.

The sorceress named the baby girl Rapunzel. When the girl turned twelve, the sorceress took to live in a high tower. Rapunzel's only visitor was the sorceress because the tower was too high for anyone to enter. The sorceress must climb up Rapunzel’s long, beautiful hair to call on her.

One day a prince hears Rapunzel’s singing. He trails the voice to the tower and soon learns how the sorceress enters the tower. He tricks Rapunzel into dropping her hair for him to climb. The two fall and love and marry in secret. Soon, Rapunzel is with child. The sorceress is furious. She chops off Rapunzel’s hair and casts her off into the wilderness with no one to care for her. When the prince arrives, the sorceress tricks him into climbing up the braids she has severed from Rapunzel’s head. At the realization it is not his beloved, he lets go of the braids. He does not die but becomes blind.

Through his blindness, he makes his way to the wilderness. He stumbles upon the singing that attracted him to Rapunzel in the first place. She has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Rapunzel’s tears cure the prince of his blindness. The family finds their way out of the wilderness and to the prince’s kingdom where they live out their days in happiness.


Critical Analysis

At the end of the book, Zelinsky goes into detail about the history of the story of Rapunzel. This serves as an explanation for why he structured the story the way he did. He also explains why he chose to illustrate the tale in the style of Italian Renaissance. “The form beauty of Italian Renaissance art seemed to fit well with a tale centered on the beauty of a young girl and a mother figure whose own youth is gone.” The pairing of this tale and art style have a harmonious rhythm.

The exquisite illustrations convey the story without words. It would not be hard to imagine this book to follow in the style of Pinkey’s Aesop series as a wordless picture book. The passage of time is evident with the aging cat that appears in several of the pictures with Rapunzel. One confusing illustration is that of the father when the sorceress is taking away the newborn girl. He is sitting on a chair, his legs spread apart and his hand to his neck. Why is this?

Zelinsky follows the darker path this tale can turn. The sorceress casts Rapunzel into the wilderness with no protection. The prince attempts suicide. In his attempt, the prince only becomes blind. He travels the wildness until he finds his family. Older audiences will enjoy this darker take on the tale popularized by Disney. Younger audiences may balk at the length of the story, but the pictures provide as much storytelling as the text does.


Review Excerpt(s)
Caldecott Medal Winner 1998

KIRKUS Reviews: “Suffused with golden light, Zelinsky's landscapes and indoor scenes are grandly evocative, composed and executed with superb technical and emotional command.”

THE HORN BOOK: "Simply put, this is a gorgeous book; it demonstrates respect for the traditions of painting and the fairy tale while at the same time adhering to a singular, wholly original, artistic vision.”

Connections

Only show students the images from the story. Have them write out the story based only on the images that are provided. Then read the story and see how close students were. This can be done individually or students can be put into small groups.

Discuss setting: How can you tell that this story took place long ago? Does the story look like it took place in our country or in another country? How are the houses and buildings different from the ones in your neighborhood?

This book could be used in art classes to study the Italian Renaissance. A focus could be on people and how they are drawn or positioned. How the illustrator conveyed the passage of time.

This can be used in a sentence structure activity. There are many simple, compound, and complex sentences students can do a scavenger hunt for. Students could also change any original sentences into a different type of sentence.

Swamp Angel

Bibliography

Isaacs, Anne. 1994. Swamp Angel. Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 9780525452713


Plot Summary
Angelica Longrider was born on August 1, 1815 in Tennessee. When she was twelve years old, she earned the nickname Swamp Angel. The nickname came about when she appeared out of the mist to save a group of settlers stuck in Dejection Swamp.

This particular story revolves around Swamp Angel and her battle with Thundering Tarnation, a fearsome bear no one could capture. The townspeople were getting desperate for help. Thundering Tarnation kept stealing their food and winter was fast approaching. After several men attempt various strategies to catch the bear, it is Swamp Angels turn. The two fight for five days straight. They even fight in their sleep! Part of their fight is rumored to have created the Great Smoky Mountains!

The battle ends when the two are sleeping and Swamp Angel snores down the largest pine tree in Tennessee. The pine tree falls on Thundering Tarnation, killing and flattening him. After the town celebrates with food made from the bear, they still have leftovers to get them through the winter. And Swamp Angel decides to keep his pelt as a rug and lays it out in Montana. People today call Thundering Tarnations pelt Shortgrass Prairie.

Critical Analysis

This book is a tall tale that explains the creation of some of America’s midwestern landscapes. Angelica Longrider, or Swamp Angel, is drawn to reflect the tall tale she represents. The first page shows her as a baby held by her mother. Angelica Longrider’s head is rather large, and it looks as though her mother can barely hold her upright. The following pages depict Swamp Angel as well above scale from the men and creatures in the town. It is also no accident that Swamp Angel is drawn with fiery red hair.

The beautiful illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky were painted in oils on cherry, maple, and birch veneers. This medium pairs well with the setting of the book, and it gives the story a nice earthy type feel. The illustrator uses the wood background to enhance the pictures inside the shape of an oval or rectangle. There is also a fine attention to detail within the pages. One of the final pages shows the progression of a bear claw turning into a boat. The people are so tiny the reader could almost miss the fact that they are Native Americans.

This is an exciting book for readers of all ages. Emergent readers will enjoy the wacky fight Thundering Tarnation and Swamp Angel. Older readers may become interested in other tall tales such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. Everyone will enjoy the breathtaking illustrations of American frontier life.


Review Excerpt(s)

Caldecott Honor Book - 1995

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: “Zelinsky's (Rumpelstiltskin) stunning American-primitive oil paintings, set against an unusual background of cherry, maple, and birch veneers, frankly steal the show here. Their success, however, does not diminish the accomplishment of Isaacs, whose feisty tall tale marks an impressive picture-book debut.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS: “It is impossible to convey the sheer pleasure, the exaggerated loopiness, of newcomer Isaacs's wonderful story. Matching the superb text stride for stride are Zelinsky's (The Wheels on the Bus, 1990) altered-state, American primitive paintings--gems that provide new pleasures, reading after reading.”

THE HORN BOOK: “Move over Paul Bunyan, you are about to meet Swamp Angel. . . . Visually exciting, wonderful to read aloud, this is a picture book to remember".


Connections

This book is rich in figurative language. “She roped that bristled bandit and brought him crashing back to earth” is a great example of alliteration. “...performing eye-popping wonders…” for the idiom. “...stories about Swamp Angel spring up like sunflowers along wagon trails.” “...his fur so thick the gunshot never reached his skin.” There can be many activities connected to figurative language with this book.

There is a lot of high-end vocabulary in this book. A vocabulary lesson prior to reading this book would be beneficial, especially for ELL students. EX: “mired” “homespun” “tramped” “pelts” “wily” Students could match images to the vocabulary term. They could write their own tall tale with some of the same vocabulary terms.

This book could also serve as an introduction to the American frontier or the geography of the Midwest. Students could investigate the real origins of Shortgrass Prairie and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Some math problems could be incorporated with distance. A question about the length of the Rocky Mountains, or the distance from Tennessee to Montana.

Cactus Soup

Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric A. 2004. Cactus soup. Ill. by Phil Huling New York: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 0761451552

Plot SummaryBased off the folktale “Stone Soup” or “Nail Soup”, this story is set in the town of San Miguel. A troop of soldiers is riding toward the town and the people are not pleased with the idea of them eating their food. An army travels on its stomach, after all. The townspeople decide to hide their food, change into torn, dirty clothing, and smear their faces with mud to appear poor to the soldiers. The captain of the army is not deterred when the mayor claims that the town is poor. His solution is to make cactus soup.

What is cactus soup? Well, it is quite simple. All one needs is a kettle of water, a stirring spoon, plenty of firewood, and one cactus thorn. One cactus thorn will make plenty of cactus soup! Every time the captain checks the soup, he mentions how spices or food would improve the flavor. “Why ask for what you don’t have?” But the town provides everything the captain mentions. The townspeople go as far as to say that the food was rotten, spoiled, or moldy. In the end, the entire town and soldiers dine on cactus soup and celebrate with a fiesta.

Critical Analysis
The author chose to write this version of the folktale during the Mexican Revolution. This fact is not stated in the book, but in the author’s note at the end. “...the common people of Mexico struggled to take back political and economic power from the wealthy classes…” In this book, soldiers approach a wealthy town with empty stomachs. The townspeople, led by the mayor, agree to shun the soldiers by pretending to be poor and without food. In theory, these soldiers are fighting for equality from the sort of people that live in the small town. When they are denied sustenance, the captain of the soldiers tricks the townspeople by making cactus soup. By repeating the simple refrain, “But it’s fine the way it is. Why ask for what you don’t have?” the captain tricks the townspeople into revealing hidden spices and food. A fiesta ensues soon after. The soldiers are like “the common people of Mexico” that struggle to eat as they fight for their people. They have to take back power from the wealthy by making cactus soup and tricking the townspeople into providing flavor to the soup.

Since Cactus Soup takes place during the Mexican Revolution, it is fitting that many Spanish terms are sprinkled throughout the book. Unlike The Three Little Tamales, also by Kimmel, when the terms are used in the book a definition is not provided nearby. Instead, a glossary is provided for readers at the end of the book.

The illustrations were rendered in watercolor and inks on watercolor paper. The colors are rich and heavy in hues of oranges, yellows, and reds. The people and animals are drawn with much exaggeration. The first page, for example, displays a horse with very long legs but not much in the way of a midsection. Later in the book, when the captain has learned that the town is poor and they are going to have to make cactus soup again, the captain is pictured as bow-legged. His knees and calves appear to go in different directions from each other. The mayor of the town is comical looking with thin hair, bushy eyebrows, a luscious mustache, and pointy nose.

While most of the exaggerated illustrations go well with this story of deception, there is one disturbing image. The townspeople are putting on “torn, dirty clothes, smeared mud on their faces, and tried their best to look like poor, hungry people.” The page on the left is red with a window into the home of a family changing. The next page has a yellow background with a father and son putting the mud on their face. The stone pavement is beneath their bare feet. The entire page has red splatters over the drawings. Since this was set during the Mexican Revolution, are these pages supposed to represent the millions of people that lost their lives during this time? Is this single page with splatters supposed to hint to a more mature reader that this time was more than fun and cactus soup?

Review Excerpt(s)
PUBLISHER”S WEEKLY: “Kimmel, ever the master storyteller, incorporates especially vivid cadences in the words of the wily, world-weary captain; but it's Huling who makes the story sing. His comically exaggerated characters garner laughs without shedding their humanity, while his swooping, elongated lines and radiant colors recall the sun-drenched earthiness and high spirits of early 20th- century Mexican art.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS: “A good choice for those seeking variants of Stone Soup, or books with Mexican themes.”

Connections
This could be used for a procedural text activity. Students can write a how-to on creating their own version of cactus soup.
Students can study cacti. Do all cactus have thorns? Where are the cactus with thorns found? The teacher can bring in different kind of cactus to study.
Lower grade levels can have a cactus theme and read these during that time.
Writing prompt: How have the townspeople of San Miguel changed since the visit from the soldiers?
This book can be an introduction to a unit on the Mexican Revolution. Students can study the clothing, the colors, and the events happening in Cactus Soup. More research can be done on Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, who are mentioned at the end of this book.
Provide different versions of Stone Soup or Nail Soup for students to compare and contrast. This also helps students see how stories are similar over different cultures.

The Three Little Tamales

Bibliography

Kimmel, Eric A. 2009. The three little tamales. Ill. by Valeria Docampo. New York: Marshall Cavendish Children, Print. ISBN: 9780761455196


Plot Summary
The Three Little Tamales is a retelling of The Three Little Pigs with a spicy twist. Instead of three little pigs looking to strike out on their own, three little tamales wish to escape their fate of being eaten. The first tamale finds a field of sagebrush to build her home. The second builds his home out of cornstalks. The final tamale decides that a cactus with bristling thorns would be the best option for her home. Soon after they have settled into their new homes, Senor Lobo, the Big Bad Wolf comes a knocking. The phrases most children associate with this tale are altered to fit this version. Instead of “Little pig, little pig, let me come in,” Senor Lobo chants “Senorita Tamale, por favor, I want to come in, so open the door.” Each tamale replies, “Senor Lobo, muy lindo, I’m sorry to say, I won’t let you in, so please go away,” instead of the usual “Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin!” So Senor Lobo answers this with “I’ll huff and I’ll puff like a Texas tornado and blow your casita from here to Laredo!” Senor Lobo has no trouble with the first two houses, but when he comes to the third he has some trouble. When he decides to climb the cactus house, the thorns prick his paws, but that doesn’t stop him from attempting to come down the chimney for the tamales. In true fashion, the third tamale hatches a plan to fill a pot with water to boil in the chimney for the wolf to drop into. The wolf gives up and decides that he no longer craves tamales.

Critical Analysis
One of the most interesting qualities of The Three Little Tamales is the glossary at the very front of the book. The author peppers Spanish terms throughout the story along with a definition of the word. The first page, for example, states “Tio Jose and Tia Lupe owned a taqueria, a little restaurant.” This helps authenticate the Hispanic “flavor” the author is trying to get across to his readers. There is also a short author’s note at the very beginning where the author explains his reasoning for writing this version of The Three Little Pigs with tamales.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Three Little Tamales is the glossary at the very front of the book. The author peppers Spanish terms throughout the story along with a definition of the word. The first page, for example, states “Tio Jose and Tia Lupe owned a taqueria, a little restaurant.” This helps authenticate the Hispanic “flavor” the author is trying to get across to his readers. There is also a short author’s note at the very beginning. In it, the author explains his reasoning for writing this version of The Three Little Pigs.

The illustrator used a medium of oil on paper. This medium contributes colorful and bright images to go along with this tale. The tamales each have a unique feature. The females have rosy cheeks, and the male has a long curly mustache. The sister tamale that builds her home from the cactus wears glasses, cluing the reader into her intelligence.

The colors used at the beginning of the story are vibrant. The bright shades reflect that of southwestern Texas. The colors then move into a dark blue color for the next couple of pages when the tamales move into their new homes. The rest of the book features the color green. This is possibly to contrast against the yellow of the tamales, but it is more than likely used to allude to the cactus home and the fields the tamales of chosen to build their homes in.


Review Excerpt(s)
KIRKUS Review: “A flavorful addition to the folktale shelf that begs to be shared with a group.”

Connections
A compare/contrast activity can be done with The Three Little Tamales and The Three Pigs to introduce difference and similarities and how to use a Venn Diagram.

If you teach in a popular with a high Hispanic population, this could be an excellent book to incorporate for vocabulary purposes. These students could teach the class the terms used in the story (taqueria, muy, lindo, etc) to help them better understand the text. This would also give them confidence.

Students can practice writing and point of view by writing in the point of view of one or more of the characters in first person.

Classes that are studying geography, especially the geography of Texas, can read this book after learning about the South Texas Plains. They can discuss if the cactus and the sagebrush would actually be found there or not.

Rosa

Bibliography

Giovanni, N. & Collier, B. (2006). Rosa. Ill. by Bryan Collier. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0439898838

Plot Summary
On the first of December, Rosa Parks takes the bus home early from work. The bus is full, but she manages to find a seat in the neutral section of the bus. The section where blacks and whites are allowed to sit. But what happens when she is ordered to move and says no? Learn about the powerful effect one simple word had over a movement.


Critical Analysis
Author Nikki Giovanni takes the reader back in time to experience that fateful day when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on public transportation. Illustrator Bryan Collier contributed beautiful watercolor and collage inspired images to enhance the information in this book. At the beginning of the book, Collier notes his visit to Selma and Montgomery for research. After his visit, he decided to use shades of yellow in the book to represent the humidity in Alabama.


The images in this book are hauntingly beautiful. Everyone is a different shape and shade. Rosa Parks emits a sort of glow so she is easy to find. The clouds in the sky are heavy from the beginning to the end of the novel, with a little bit more blue peaking out at the end. Whenever there is a newspaper nearby, the headline with Emmett Till’s name is not easy to miss. Collier also takes the time to give the reader an adequate background to the story. When Rosa is about to get onto the bus, for example, the capital building peaks out behind the people waiting in line.


Giovanni humanizes Rosa Parks by describing her life before that fateful event. Rosa was the best seamstress at the department store where she worked. When she is able to leave work early, she can’t help but smile in anticipation of surprising her husband with his favorite meal.


The background on Rosa Parks is a little lengthy, and leaves the reader wondering what the point is. Some of the wording in the book feels a little off. “As was the evil custom, she then got off the bus and went to the back door to enter the bus from the rear.” This sentence was jarring to read and didn’t seem to flow with the text before this line. Later, the bus driver is bellowing in Rosa’s ear. This is believable as she had been daydreaming on the previous page, but on the next page he yells and threatens her. It could have been written this way to express the randomness of being shook out of a daydream into the real world.


Giovanni later goes on to describe the court case of Brown versus Board of Education, Women's Political Council, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King Jr., and the marches people went on for equality. The book ends almost a year after Rosa Parks was arrested. There is no real mention of Rosa Parks or drawings of her and her plight after she is asked by an African American boy on the bus if she is going to move. This leaves the reader with a lot of information about the civil rights movement and the outcome of that fateful day in December, but not about Rosa Parks. The book begins as a biography about Rosa Parks but then ends with a brief history of the civil rights movement. This knocks the story off the tracks, so to speak


Review Excerpt(s)

2006 Caldecott Honor Book
Winner of the 2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

From PUBLISHER”S WEEKLY: “A fresh take on a remarkable historic event and on Mrs. Parks's extraordinary integrity and resolve.”

From KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Giovanni’s lyrical text and Collier’s watercolor-and-collage illustrations combine for a powerful portrayal of a pivotal moment in the civil-rights movement.”


Connections

Students could do a research project on important events or people in the history of the civil rights movement. This book could be used to introduce one of the most well known people and events. Students could also choose from Ruby Bridges, Brown vs. Board of Education, Little Rock Nine, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King Jr., the Selma to Montgomery march, the Women’s Political Council, the NAACP, sit-in protests, Jim Crow laws, etc.

*other books for biographies on important civil rights figures or events
Bridges, R. (1999). Through my eyes. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0590189239
Rappaport, D. & Collier, B. (2001). Martin's big words : the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN: 0786807148
Tonatiuh, D. (2014). Separate is never equal : Sylvia Mendez & her family's fight for desegregation. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 1419710540
Levinson, C. & Newton, V. (2017). The youngest marcher : the story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a young civil rights activist. New York London Toronto: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. ISBN: 1481400703

Millions of Cats

Bibliography

Gág, Wanda. (1928). Millions of Cats. Ill by Wanda Gág. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.,Jersey City Print. Co. ISBN: 0142407089

Plot Summary

An elderly peasant couple are lonely in their small home. The wife wishes for a sweet little cat, and the husband travels over a variety of hills to fulfill her wish. The only problem? He comes home with millions, and billions, and trillions of cats!

Critical Analysis

Millions of Cats was published during a time when colored pages would have cost too much money to reproduce. Though the drawings in this book are ink and paper, they are anything but simple. Each illustration is intricate in design.  The author and illustrators' signature is on some larger pieces. It is obvious that a lot of time and dedication went into each drawing. The cats have some individual markers while the majority of them are duplicates .

The use of dialogue propels the story forward. The conversation between the elderly couple acts as a catalyst for the rest of the book. The question the old woman poses “Which one of you is the prettiest?” incites an all-out war between the felines. All that remains is a scrawny kitten that has one characteristic none of the other cats had: modesty. The elderly couple take care of the kitten until it grew nice and plump. The end of the book depicts a happy family.

The use of repetition of the “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats” will engage emergent readers. The simple black and white drawings may not catch a younger readers attention, but older readers with an interest in art may appreciate the work that went into the illustrations. The husband gets into a ridiculous yet adorable predicament when he can’t decide which cat to take home. His wife did not request the prettiest cat; he decides that he must chose the prettiest cat. Many readers, young and old, will identify with this feeling of indecision. One complaint about the book would be the thought of the cats eating each other. There is no evidence in the illustration to support the idea that the cats ate each other. It’s easier to think they fought with each other down the hill rather than feline cannibalism. Other than that Millions of Cats is a whimsical romp to a field of cats and the cost of indecision.

Review Excerpt(s)

1929 NEWBERY MEDAL

Inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame in 2017 by the Indies Choice Book Awards

One of SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL’S “One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century”

From HORN BOOK: “Gag’s woodcut art snowballs lyrically through the book, stealing your eye and telling it just where to go…”

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Considered by many to have ushered in the age of the modern picture book, this Newbery Honor winner is characterized by innovative design and a strong storyteller’s cadence.”

Connections

This could be used for an inferencing activity. What are some reasons the elderly couple are lonely? What happened to the millions and trillions of cats?

This could be used to model dialogue for writing classes. It could also be used for vocabulary terms such as “sighed”, “trudged”, “valley”, “quarrel”, “peeped”, and “scraggly”.

This could be used for sequencing with the plot diagram. Students can trace the five plot diagrams and the inciting incident. It can also be used for a writing prompt. Describe a time when you couldn’t make a decision. What happened because of it?

In math classes, students can work on their place values. Explain the differences between hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, and trillions. Practice comma placement for the different numbers. It can also be used to teach the greater than and smaller than symbols.

*Related Math books

Schwartz, D. & Kellogg, S. (1985). How much is a million. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN: 0688099335

Adler, D. & Miller, E. (2013). Millions, billions & trillions : understanding big numbers. New York: Holiday House. ISBN: 0823430499

The Snowy Day

Bibliography

Keats, E. (1962). The snowy day. Ill. by Ezra Jack Keats, New York: Viking Press. ISBN: 978-0-670-65400-0

   

Plot Summary

One day young Peter awakens to a blanket of snow outside a normally bustling city. Peter’s day in the snow is chronicled as he climbs snow mountains, builds snowmen, and attempts to join the big kids in an epic snowball fight. At the end of the day, Peter keeps some snow in his pocket to remember the day. When he finds the snow melted, Peter is propelled into sadness until the next day when he sees a new blanket of snow outside his window.

Critical Analysis

Ezra Jack Keats was inspired to write The Snowy Day by photographs released of a young African American boy in Life magazine in the 1940s. Over the next twenty years, Keats would take down and put up the pictures. When Keats finally decided to write Peter’s tale, he wanted to focus on the simple joy of being a boy alive on a certain day.

The first page is one of the most intricate illustrations in the book. Patterns adorn the wallpaper and Peter’s pajamas. Simple blocks of green and yellow represent a city outside his bedroom walls. Other than this first page, and the bathtub with the patterned tile floor, the images in The Snowy Day are simple. Most of the pages are a singular block color with snow. The snow has shades of purple and blue. Peter’s outfit is a large red snowsuit that immediately draws the eye. The majority of the images of Peter playing the snow only show his eyes with little to no sign of a mouth.

The text is short and simple. Keats combines the text and images so they work together. For example, once Peter makes it outside he begins walking certain ways. “He walked with his toes pointing out, like this:” and the reader’s eyes immediately follow the direction of Peter’s feet in the snow. The next page follows the same format “He walked with his toes pointing in, like that”. Keats also uses dashes to describe the slowness of Peter’s walking and the quickness of snow falling on one’s head.

This was the first book written and illustrated by the Keats, who was white. Peter's ethnicity is not a factor in The Snowy Day, despite the fact that it was published during the height of the civil rights movement in 1962. In fact, other than the color of his skin, Peter's race is never mentioned as a plot point in the book. The Snowy Day was the first book with an African American protagonist to win the Caldecott Medal in 1963. It is also only one of three books with an African American protagonist to win a Caldecott Medal.

Horning, Kathleen T. “The Enduring Footprints of Peter, Ezra Jack Keats, and The Snowy Day.” The Horn Book, 7 July 2016, www.hbook.com/2016/07/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/the-enduring-footprints-of-peter-ezra-jack-keats-and-the-snowy-day/.

Review Excerpt(s)

1963 Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner
“Keats’s sparse collage illustrations capture the wonder and beauty a snowy day can bring to a small child.”—Barnes & Noble

“Ezra Jack Keats’s classic The Snowy Day, winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, pays homage to the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow.”—Publisher’s Weekly

Connections

In the book Peter attempts to save a snowball as a keepsake for the day. A science lesson can be done during the winter months in states that receive snow. Take students outside to play and then have them each bring a snowball inside. Place them inside a styrofoam cup. Towards the end of the day, check on the snowballs. Discuss why the snow may have melted. A lesson in matter can be brought in as well, since the snowball was solid and has turned into a liquid. Warmer states could use snow cones, crushed ice, or ice cubes for the lesson.

Use the first picture as a writing prompt. “One day you wake up to snow outside your window. How do you spend your day?” Or use the last page to continue writing the story of Peter and his friend.  

Research Ezra Jack Keats and the Civil Rights Era and the influence this novel had during the time period.  

*Other books related to Ezra Jack Keats and The Snowy Day

Pinkney, A., Johnson, S. & Fancher, L. (2016). A poem for Peter : the story of Ezra Jack Keats and the creation of The snowy day.  ill. by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson New York: Viking / Penguin Young Readers Group. ISBN:0425287688

Keats, E. (1964). Whistle for Willie. New York: Viking Press. ISBN:0140502025

A Ball for Daisy

Bibliography
Raschka, Christopher. A ball for Daisy. Ill. by Chris Raschka. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-375-85861-1

Plot Summary
Chris Raschka successfully portrays a variety of emotions relating to loss with this wordless picture book. Quite simply, “This is the story of a dog and her ball”. Daisy and her red ball are the best of friends until a tragic event separate the two. But what Daisy doesn’t know is that an unexpected loss can come with an unexpected gain.

Critical Analysis
Author and illustrator Chris Raschka expresses the story of Daisy and her ball through the use of illustrations. Many of the illustrations focus on Daisy and her facial expressions. The action sequences, such as Daisy playing with her ball, zoom out for a wider view. The reader can emphasize with Daisy's emotions from the illustrations. For example, towards the beginning of the story Raschka has drawn four panels. The first panel shows a sleeping Dasiy, the second a yawning Daisy, and the third shows a panicked Daisy until she sees her ball beside her in the fourth panel.

Raschka’s illustrations are simple with a use of watercolor paints, but also ink and gouache. Primary colors adorn the cover of the book which are also prevalent throughout the book. The use of primary colors could be to exhibit the innocence of childhood. Daisy herself is a simple outline of gray, brown, and black ears with a smidge of blue in her nose and pink for her tongue. The other dog is a deep brown color, to represent the sadness Daisy is about to face. After her ball deflates, Daisy experiences a variety of heartbreaking emotions. The colors within the panels darken to represent her mood. When Daisy and her owner leave the dog park, Daisy's footsteps are heavy in the snow. Earlier scenes before the ball deflated portrayed light and airy steps. Daisy's sadness is also exhibited in later pages when she appears to sink into the couch.

Emergent readers will experience an emotional journey of loss through Daisy's facial expressions. Readers will also experience forgiveness. The brown dog and its owner present Daisy with a new blue ball at the dog park the next day. The blue of the new ball could represent Daisy’s past sadness. The color of the new ball could have also been another primary color Raschka chose to use. In any case, Daisy leaves the dog park with a new ball and a new friend.

Review Excerpts
2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner
Starred Review, School Library Journal, August 2011: "Raschka’s genius lies in capturing the essence of situations that are deeply felt by children."
Starred Review, Horn Book, September/October 2011: "a story that is noteworthy for both its artistry and its child appeal."
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2011: “Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity.”

Connections
This could be an inference activity using facial expressions to determine how Daisy is feeling in certain scenes.
For students in grades K-2, the teacher can hold up the book and have the students narrate what is happening verbally. The teacher could have sentence strips and students can decide which page the sentence could go for sequencing. For older students, they can work together or alone to compose their own narrative to go with the pictures.
In order to hook the reader before beginning the book, the teacher could lead a discussion on the students favorite toys. The teacher could ask “what would happen if someone broke your favorite toy? How would that make you feel?” A red ball could be the talking piece. Whoever holds the red ball can talk.
The teacher can introduce cause and effect with this book. Because the brown dog broke the red ball, Daisy is sad. Because Daisy is sad, she doesn’t want to play with her own, etc.