Book Review: Chicken Little

Chicken Little By Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley. Illus. the authors.

2009.32 pg. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter, $16.95 (9781596434646)

Format: Hardcover

Age Group:PreS-K

Genre: Fiction 

Awards: Booklist Editors' Choice: Media, 2011

Subjects/Themes: Folklore, Chickens, Animals

Early Literacy Skills Promoted: Print motivation, phonological awareness, print awareness,

 

Annotation: 

A retelling of Chicken Little. An acorn falls upon Chicken Little's head and she claims the sky is falling. Mass panic ensues.

Reactions/Observations:

Rebecca and Ed Emberley retell the tale of Chicken Little in a more modern but equally entertaining way. Like in the classic, Chicken Little, who is not to clever, mistakes an acorn falling on her head as a piece of the falling sky. She encounters different animals on her panicked retreat, recruiting other panicked animals on the way. Finally they meet a Wolf who promises to keep them “safe”. Little do they know, they’ve been tricked into hiding in the darkness of his tummy! A pitter patter of feet and a great big sneeze change the classic ending to this yarn.

The Emberleys weave an amusing retelling of the classic folktale, Chicken Little. Their illustrations are constructed of collaged textured paper in bright colors which creates a more modern feel to the story. Although based on the original, the new artwork and added bits redefine this story so that it’s entirely new. The revised ending also provides a fresh and friendlier ending especially for the younger audience.

Book Review: The Lion & the Mouse

Book # 12

Book Image:

Bibliographic Citation:

The Lion & the Mouse

By Jerry Pinkney. Illus. by author.

2009. 40p. Little Brown Books, $16.99. (9780316013567)

Age Group:

PreS-K

Genre:
Juvenile Fiction

Awards:
2010 Caldecott Award

Topics/Issues:  
Folklore, Cooperation, Mice, Lions, Fables

ELS promoted: 
Print motivation, narrative skills, print awareness, 

Format: 
Hardcover

Author/Illustrator sites:
http://jerrypinkneystudio.com/

Categorization Tags:
E Pinkney

Annotation:
In this wordless rendition of an Aesop’s fable, a mouse proves that a small creature can be capable of great deeds as she rescues the Lion.

Reactions/Observations:

The book retells a classic tale about a mouse that saves the King of the Jungle: Lion. She proves that anyone is capable (even someone as small as the mouse) of accomplishing great deeds.  The illustrations are warm and expressive. The only use of text is used to depict the sounds effects of the actions or for the animals. The story is told through the facial expressions and actions on each page. The compositions of the characters direct the reader’s eyes, allowing for a narrative to be formed even without words. 

I read The Lion and The Mouse in response to a fellow classmate’s discussion post.  It was shelved among the picture books by last name of the author. I agree that this book is great for the 0-4 audience.  Because the story is wordless, it allows for those who cannot read yet to retell the fable through the pictures. I’m not sure if this would be a good book for story time, but as a one on one book, it’s perfect.  The illustrations are beautiful. Parents can use the books lack of words as an opportunity to talk to their children about it.  I especially liked how what little text was used to create motion and give personality to the interaction between the characters. The words are part of the illustration rather than being used to narrate the happenings on each page.  It’s easy to see why this book won the 2010 Caldecott award.

Book Review: Just a Minute

Book # 11

Book Image:

Bibliographic Citation: 

Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book

By Yuyi Morales. Illus. by author.

2003. 28p. Chronicle Kids, $15.95.(9780811837583)

 

Age Group:

PreS-2

Genre:

Nonfiction

Awards:

2004 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Winner

Topics/Issues:  

Folklore, Mexico, Death

ELS promoted: 

Print motivation, narrative skills, print awareness, vocabulary

Format: 
Hardcover

Author/Illustrator sites:

http://www.yuyimorales.com/

Categorization Tags:

PZ8.1.M7955 Ju 2003

Annotation:

In this version of a traditional tale, Señor Calabera arrives at Grandma Beetle’s door, ready to take her to the next life, but after helping her count, in English and Spanish, as she makes her birthday preparations, he changes his mind.

Reactions/Observations:
Señor Calabera comes knocking on Grandma Beetle's door to take her with him to the afterlife. But Grandma Beetle persuades him to stay and help her do one more thing and then another, slowly counting each task in both english and spanish. Señor Calabera becomes increasingly impatient until her long list of tasks result in a party where he is also invited!  He has so much fun that he bids Grandma Beetle farewell, giving her another year.


I was lucky enough to find this book on our story time reference shelf.  The illustrations are bright and playful, depicting various symbols of Hispanic culture like the papel picados and the piñatas. From your description I expected a darker and maybe a little sinister story when I read Death had come to take Grandma Beetle, but it was nothing of the sort. In fact, a child may miss that Grandma Beetle had cheated Death out of another year.  The dialogue is playful and smoothly integrates the Spanish language between bits of story and dialogue.  I think this book would especially work well for Día de los niños/de los libros story time

Book Review: The Three Bears

Book # 10

Book Image:

Bibliographic Citation: 

The Three Bears

By Byron Barton. Illus. by author.

1991. 31p. HarperCollins. $16.89. (9780060204242)

Age Group:

PreS

Genre:

Folklore, Juvenile fiction

Awards:

None listed.

Topics/Issues:  

Bears, Folklore

ELS promoted: 

Print motivation, print awareness, narrative skills, vocabulary

Format: 

Hardcover

Author/Illustrator sites:

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/kids/authorsandillustrators/contributordetail.aspx?cid=11779

Categorization Tags:

E Barton

Annotation:

While three bears are away from home, Goldilocks ventures inside their house, tastes their porridge, tries their chairs, and finally falls asleep in Baby Bear’s bed.

Reactions/Observations:

The three bears make some porridge but decide to go for a walk to let their meal cool down. Lurking in the nearby wood, Goldilocks spies some tasty porridge and invites herself into their house.  She tries each bear’s porridge, only to discover that Little Bear’s is “just right”! The same story repeats when she decides to sit upon their chairs and snooze upon their bed except that she dozes off before she can make her escape. The three bears find her in bed. When Goldilocks sees the three bears, she runs away.

Barton retells the classic story of Goldilocks and the three bears in a very simplistic way.  Rhythmic text and striking pictures allow for simple words and bold images to keep this fairy tale charming even in its most basic form. There were images showing Goldilocks trying each porridge, sitting in each chair, and trying each bed.  The step by step imagery and patterns in dialogue allow for easy retelling.  I especially appreciated the use of color in each of the illustrations.  The colors are bright but basic, staying close to the primary color palette.  The drawings mimic a children’s drawing style. None of the images are outlined in black which creates a bright atmosphere amidst the story of oatmeal theft in what used to be a quiet neighborhood. 

This book was shelved in our picture book fiction section by author.  Other retellings of this story were shelved either in nonfiction PZ8.1 area or in the picture book fiction area. I considered these other renditions when selecting my book for this post.  Jan Brett’s version (Putnam, 1987; shelved in nonfiction) and James Marshall’s rendition (Dial, 1988; shelved in fiction) were both in the running, but Barton’s simple retelling serves the 0-4 audience best.