Fairy Tale Read-Together

Best Loved Stories (Read-Together Treasury)

                This collection of fairy tales is unique in both the material, and the presentation of the stories.  It includes many well known fairy tales such as “The Three Little Pigs”, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, and “Little Red Riding Hood” just to name a few.  One of the most unique aspects of this collection is that it is a Read-Together.  There is an introduction in the collection that describes how the book is intentionally set up so that the left pages have smaller print with more words overall and more challenging words, while the right side has large print with fewer words that are easier for beginning readers.  The unique set up of this book allows it to be used for a partner reading either in class among different ability levels, among different grade levels with reading buddies, or even at home with a parent.  The possibilities of ways to use this collection to intrigue children and encourage their reading ability, all the while giving them the important details of the story are endless.

                The material of this collection is also interesting in that it is very detailed.  Having it be a partner read allows there to be much detail on the left pages so that readers of all abilities can still get the details of the story.  These details could be controversial depending on the version of the fairytale one has previously heard.  Many of the details in the fairy tales I did not remember hearing in any versions I read when I was younger, however they do not detract from the overall message so I was okay with them.  Readers should know that they if they do not have an open mind when it comes to some of these smaller details, this book may frustrate them.  The same could be true of younger readers who have heard other versions of these stories, they will either embrace the new ideas, or feel betrayed by the older stories they have read.  The details will not throw the reader off, but one would have to read a story to get a glimpse of this.

                The illustrations in this collection are not the best, but they suffice for their purpose.  The illustrations on each page are fairly small so that the focus is on the text.  It seems a main reason for doing this is so that beginning readers can focus more on listening to their partner read the left pages, and then focus when it is their turn to read the right pages instead of getting distracted by the illustrations.  However, while this may work, it seems illustrations which extend the text would also grab young readers’ attention and give them a better understanding of what is going on in the story.  I would not recommend this collection for its illustrations, but the uniqueness of the text is such that in most cases it will still work even without great illustrations.

                I would use this collection for primary students who already have a basic understanding of the fairy tales prior to reading this particular collection.  Some of the details may throw them off if they have not previously read at least one version of the fairytale.  This will also benefit them when they are reading their own pages so they have a basic understanding of the plot.  Overall, this is a great book with great potential for many different uses.  While the illustrations may be sub-par and the details potentially overwhelming, the setup of the stories with partner reading is a great feature.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Joseph is a man who is very creative.  He has an overcoat that is very special to him.  Instead of getting rid of it, he continues to make use of it learning to make new things out what good he has left.  He goes from an overcoat to a jacket, vest, scarf, necktie, handkerchief, and finally a button.  After all Joseph has done to save this precious overcoat and reuse it, he loses the button.  However, instead of letting all of his efforts go to waste once he loses the button he writes a book about the whole process to show that “you can always make something out of nothing”.

                Simms Taback writes and illustrates Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, which won the Caldecott Award in 2000.  This award distinguishes books in which the illustrations go above and beyond to greatly extend the meaning of the text.  Taback absolutely accomplishes that in this book through the cutouts in each page.  Not only does the text tell the story about making something new out of something old, but so do the actual pages.  From the original page of the large overcoat, each page after that has a little cutout showing his new product but what is behind the cutout is the original overcoat.  So that when the reader looks at the page showing the vest, they see the vest out of the same material as the overcoat, but if they flip back they will realize it is the actual page behind it showing the overcoat coming through.  This unique way of illustrating allows readers to physically see and understand the concept of making something new out of something old.  It is also encouraging to readers to see that the author/illustrator is practicing this in a very practical way.

                While the illustrations are excellent and definitely extend the text, the text is more at a younger elementary level.  The overall idea of the book to always make something new out of what you have is an excellent message for all students, but this book would be more appropriate for younger grades.  It would be an excellent book to read prior to doing an art project.  I remember the first time my art teacher in elementary school told me when I was upset that I “messed up” my project, that in art you can never mess up, you use your “mess up” to make a new creation.  This has forever stuck with me and I think the message of this book can do the same, not only for an art classroom but also for projects in a regular classroom.  This not only relates to art but also writing and anything a student can create.  It is never too early to learn how great it is to make something new out of something old.

Listen Buddy

Buddy has a unique family.  Each person in Buddy’s family has a unique characteristic about him/her.  For Buddy, his unique characteristic is his big ears.  While Buddy has big ears, the irony is that Buddy does not listen.  While he can hear very well, he does not pay attention and listen well enough to follow directions.  He mixes up squash and wash, tomatoes and potatoes, pen and hen, and bread and bed.  One day Buddy’s parents send him farther than he has ever gone from home before.  They give him very clear directions telling him several times to make sure he is listening because if he chooses the wrong path he will end up at the Scruffy Varmint’s cave.  Buddy hears the directions, but does not listen to them and goes on hopping about his way ending up meeting Scruffy Varmint.  Even when he is with Scruffy Varmint, he does not listen and follow directions.  Here he confuses firewood and briarwood, flour and flowers, pinches an inches, and finally on the fire and in the fire.  This last mix up infuriates Scruffy Varmint.  Buddy runs as fast as he can back home vowing always to listen to his parents.

                The illustrations in this book are okay but not excellent.  They enable children to see what the teacher is reading, but they do not take the reader beyond the text.  They add some humor showing how ridiculous his mix ups are, but other than the humor they do not extend the text.

                This would be an excellent book to read to students at the beginning of the year to encourage attentive listening not only at reading time, but throughout the school day.  It shows how important it is not only to hear directions but to listen and comprehend directions.  Buddy’s mistakes seem pretty funny for the most part, except his encounter with Scruffy Varmint, but the book can launch a discussion about how some directions are really important and how students need to make sure they are always listening and following directions, never knowing when the teacher might give extra important directions.  The discussion could lead into a discussion about listening with respect to the teacher and other students and how important that is, but also about how sometimes things could happen like fire drills where it is really important to be listening and we never know when those moments may happen.

                While the illustrations may not be the best, the overall idea of the book, the importance of good listening, is important for all students to understand.  The humor in which this book presents that message gives students a laugh but also reminds them of the importance of good listening.

Something Beautiful

The main character gives a memoir of her life in an urban area and what it is like to live in a place that she thinks is not beautiful.  The main character’s name is never given; perhaps this is so that many students, especially those in urban areas can see themselves in the story.  She describes the degrading scene around her without any plants instead with broken glass and the graffiti on the door to her home that reads, “DIE” in big red letters.  She describes the agony of walking past homeless people, and walking through unsafe places at night.  She then learns the beautiful at school and comes up with her own definition of beautiful.  She goes back through her town asking people in her town to help her find something beautiful to share about at school.  She finds many things surprisingly beautiful, the good homemade food from the diner, things her friends play with, a store, playing with friends, and her baby cousin’s laugh.  Seeing all the beauty surrounding her despite her circumstances, she is inspired to wash off the nasty letters on her door and plant flowers in her neighborhood.  Finally when she asks her mom if she knows of anything beautiful she responds by telling her that she is beautiful.

                Something Beautiful, by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, has very realistic illustrations.  Illustrator Chris Soentpiet creates a world that is realistic to many students, but to others seems unreal.  Through the illustrations, even students who live in rural communities can relate to what it might look like and feel like to live in an urban community similar to the one in the book.  While the illustrations have detailed scenery of the urban areas, the focus seems to be on the people.  The focus on the people connects back to the meaning of the book, Something Beautiful.  She learns that while she can do things to beautify her community, the true meaning of beauty lies in the people surrounding her that make up her community.

                This book would be an excellent read for both rural and urban students.  For rural students it can give them a glimpse into what another person’s life across the county, state, or nation may look like that they would not otherwise see.  Many rural students will not in their elementary years be exposed to such a community as this, but seeing this community may make them realize what they maybe are missing in their own community, or appreciate the aspects of their community even more.  For urban students, this unnamed character gives them someone they can relate to.  They can see themselves in her, and through the text and pictures began to think of some of the beautiful things about their own communities that outsiders may not always see.  Finally, this book would be perfect for a community that has some urban areas similar to those pictured in the book, but also students who are from other areas who may not be familiar with such urban areas.  This book can create common ground on which to discuss how different people come from different places and how everyone lives life differently.

                While this book may not be appropriate for early elementary grades discussing issues of homelessness and graffiti with the word die, it could be an excellent launching point for a discussion on different types of communities for older students.

WOLF!

Wolf lives outside of a town where he often gets tired and hungry.  He remembers that there is a farm nearby so he decides to go check it out.  He runs howling at the animals on the farm expecting them to all run away from him.  Several animals do run, but three brave animals do not budge.  They are so busy reading they are ignoring the Wolf.  Wolf is confused as to why these three animals are not afraid of him.  He is so intrigued that he goes to school with them that day.  He decides he is going to learn how to read.  He starts off slow reading small sentences and the pig, duck, and cow mock him telling him how much more he has to learn.  This makes Wolf even more determined to study harder so he can improve his reading.  He continues improving a little at a time, but this does not impress Pig, Cow, or Duck.  He read with the other animals and this time finally could read so well that the other animals listened to every word without budging.  Wolf realized how much fun it is to tell stories so he kept reading story after story.

                WOLF! By Becky Bloom is an excellent book to read aloud to all students.  It enables students to understand that everyone learns reading at a different pace, and some who are slow to learn reading may end up being some of the best story tellers and readers later.  It encourages children not to judge other students who may be struggling readers.  It also emphasizes that no matter how big or small, a child is, they can learn with confidence without being afraid.  Just as Cow, Duck, and Pig continued reading not afraid of Wolf, students can get that same courage to continue learning and studying without fear of being bullied. 

                This book has interesting illustrations that take up the full pages.  The text is over the illustrations so that when students look at the illustrations they see one large picture on each spread.  The illustrator, Pascal Biet, shows Wolf much larger in the first few pages when is trying to scare the other animals, and much smaller as the book goes on as he starts to fit in with them.  This enables children’s view of Wolf to change from a scary bully, into empathizing and rooting for him to become a better reader.

                It seems an appropriate time to read this book might be towards the beginning of the year when students are not as familiar with each other and before they start to stereotype their classmates based on reading ability or ability in any subject area.  This book would encourage them to keep an open mind and even encourage each other to improve, never knowing who the best readers and story tellers may be in the end.  While this book can seem cheesy, or too moral, I think children can relate to it because of its humor.  After all, it is a Wolf who goes to school on a farm and learns how to read!