Module Six...Diary of a Worm

Diary of a Worm by Dorren Cronin.  Illustrated by Harry Bliss.

Cronin, D.  (2003).  Diary of a worm.  New York, NY:  Jonna Cotler Books; An Imprint of Harper Collins Books.

Summary:
The title of this book tells the reader exactly what the books is about:  It is a diary of a worm.  We do not know the worm's name but the diary is an inside look at the life of a young worm.  We learn that the worm lives in the dirt, goes to school, is friends with a spider, goes to dances with his friends, where they do the "hokey pokey"..."but that is all we can do", he laments.  He is sad that he cannot chew gum  or get a dog as a pet.  He is also sad that he has too much homework.  The great thing about being a worm however, is the fact that he never has to go to the dentist, never gets "in trouble for tracking mud through the house", and never has "to take a bath."  In the end he says its not easy being a worm because they are small and often forgotten except by the earth that "never forgets we're here."

Impression:  I found this to be a very delightful book.  It was smart and funny.  It teaches children to see that everything has its job and place in the universe.  No animal is without person and by extension, no person is without a place in the universe.  The illustrations are bright and cheerful which is a great accomplishment since this is a book about brown worms that live in brown dirt.  I would recommend this to any children's librarian or homeschool parent.

Reviews:

Diary of a Worm (Book) (2004).  School Library, 5028.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2013).

A down-to-earth invertebrate comments on friendship, family life, school and his place in the universe.  An amusing worm's-eye view of the world with a tongue-in-check text and wry illustrations.

Oliff, G. (2007).  Diary of a Worm.  School Library Journal, 53(8), 44.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2013).

Cronin combines the silly (practicing manners by saying hello the first ant in line only to realize there are 600 more) and the information ("when we dig tunnels, we help the earth to breathe") in this clever glimpse into the daily life of a worm.  Comical cartoon illustrations with varying perspectives aptly convey a worm's-eye view and just might spark interest in a classroom worm farm.

Engelfried, S.  (2005).  Diary of a Worm.  School Journal, 51(6), 55.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2013). 

This worm's-eye view describes the dangers (hopscotch and fishing season) and pleasure (scaring kids and eating garbage) of life in earth.  The diary format provides deadpan explanations of worm school, worm play, and the worm version of the "Hokey Pokey."  Droll illustrations pack personality into each expression.  Scrapbook "photos" on the end pages complete the portrait of a very funny invertebrate.

Libary Use:  This is a great book to use in a unit of life science. 

Module Five...Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves AND The Blacker the Berry

Bad News for Outlaws:  The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.  Illustrated by R. Gregor Christie.

Nelson, M. N. (2009).  Bad News for Outlaws:  The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal.  Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books.

Summary: 
The book tells the story of Bass Reeves, who was the first African American U.S. Marshal in United States history.  He was born a slave, escaped to live in Indian Territory.  He was considered an honorable man who arrested over three thousand men and women during his career.  He was an excellent sharper shooter who was part of several series gun fights in his career.  When he retired from the Marshal service he moved to a small town and served on their small police force. 

Impression:  This is a well written and well illustrated book that tells the life story of an interesting and honorable man.  I found it interesting that he ever arrested his own son for murder.  His perception of right and wrong had no grey areas to it.  This book is one that is a great example of someone overcoming the limitations of a harsh childhood to excell in their adult life.  Reeves' story can be an example to everyone, no matter their ethnicity. 

Reviews:

B., C. C. (2009).  Bad News for Outlaws:  The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal.  Horn Book Magaine, 85 (6), 698-699.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2013).

Bass Reeves's life is the stuff from which legends are made.  Born a slave, he escaped to Indian Territory (now known as Oklahoma), captured over three thousand men and women as a deputy US Marshal, and spent his few years of retirement on a small-town police force.  Reeves, as a fellow sharpshooter once said, "could shoot the left hind leg off a contended fly sitting on a mule's ear at a hundred yards and never ruffle a hair," and was a man of such honor that he arrested his own son for murder.  This captivating biography, told in language as colorful as Reeve's career, grabs readers with an 1884 gunfight, then flashes back to Reeve's early life and continued until his death.  Section headings ("Slave Days, 1840s-1860s"; "Freedom and Family, Late 1860s-1874") underscore the chronology, while boldfaced subheadings provide a textbook lesson on how topic sentences work.  Typically, the subheadings offer an opinion ("Bass was respected, and he was hated") followed by a paragraph or two of supporting information.  Accentuated with a palette knife, Christie's sharply textured paintings create an impressionist background of an unformed land as well as a detailed portraits of this multi-dimensional individual, his bold black hat conveying unmistakable authority.  Includes documentation, a glossary, a timeline, recommended readings and bibliography, and historical author notes.  B.C.

Weber, J. (2010).  Bad News for Outlaws.  School Library Journal, 56(10), 62.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2013).

This picture-book biography (Carolrhoda, 2009), written by Vaunda M Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, recounts the life of Bass Reeves, the first African-America Deputy U.S. Marshal.  He was appointed by Judge Issac C. Parker and served as a peace officer in Indian Territory during the late 1800s.  Reeves grew up in slavery, became a runaway during the Civil War, and settled down in the Wild West.  Although Reeves was unable to read, he had the ability to memorize the charges against every criminal who had outstanding warrants.  He made thousands of arrests in over 30 years of serves, but killed only 14 men.  The plot is a straightforward retelling of Reeves's life.  This tale of a remarkable hero of the Old West is a Coretta Scott King Book Award winner and deserves a place in all library collections.

Library Use:
This book would be a great addition to any and could be included in various displays.  First, it could be used in a display of prosperous former slaves.  Another display could be a collection of African Americans in the Old West.  It could be part of a display on all areas of the Old West.  Also a story about law enforcement during the Old West days. 



The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas.  Illustrated by Floyd Cooper.

Thomas, J. C.  (2008).  The Blacker the Berry.  New York, NY:  Harper Collins.

Synposis:  This is a book of poetry geared to celebrate the beauty of African Americans.

Impression:  These are powerful poems written with love and to empower children to love who they are and to celebrate their beauty.

Reviews:

Pfeifer, T. (2008). The Blacker the Berry. School Library Journal, 54(8), 114.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2013).

Gr 1-4 --The varieties of African-American ethnic heritage are often rendered invisible by the rigid construction of racial identity that insists on polarities. This collection of 12 poems makes the complexities of a layered heritage visible and the many skin shades celebrated. Read-aloud-sized spreads offer luminous artwork that complements the verses in which children speak of their various hues: "I am midnight and berries…" a child says in the title poem. In another selection, a boy recalls his Seminole grandmother who has given him the color of "red raspberries stirred into blackberries." In "Cranberry Red," a child asserts that "it's my Irish ancestors/Who reddened the Africa in my face," understanding that "When we measure who we are/We don't leave anybody out." The large illustrations match the lyrical poetry's emotional range. Cooper's method includes "pulling" the drawing out from a background of oil paint and glazes. With his subtractive method, he captures the joy of these children-the sparkle of an eye, the width of a grin, the lovely depths of their skin, and the light that radiates from within. This book complements titles that explore identity, such as Katie Kissinger's All the Colors We Are (Redleaf, 1994).

THE BLACKER THE BERRY. (2008). Kirkus Reviews, 76(12), 147.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2013). 

"What shade is human?" Thomas's evocative, colorful poetry seeks to answer that question with this celebration of the diversity of African-American children across the spectrum. From "Raspberry Black" to "Golden Goodness," Cooper's soft and realistic illustrations almost leap from the page, incorporating natural images from the text in their depiction of a gallery of beautiful, self-confident children. Difficult intraracial social issues related to skin color are handled with truth and respect. For instance, in the poem "Snowberries," a fair-skinned child speaks back to those who would question her identity: "The words cut deep down / Beyond the bone / Beneath my snowy skin / Deep down where no one can see / I bleed the 'one drop of blood' / That makes Black me." On the page opposite, an auburn-haired girl smiles at the reader, eyes twinkling. An essential picture book that helps young children understand and appreciate differences in skin color. As the epigraph states so truthfully, "Colors, without black, / couldn't sparkle quite so bright." (Picture book/poetry. 5-10).

Library Use:  This is a great book for displays on poetry, African American history and books written by African American writers.

Module Four...Chester the Worldly Pig AND The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Chester the Worldly Pig written and illustrated by Bill Peet.

Peet, B.  (1965).  Chester the Worldly Pig.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Co.  

Summary:  Chester is pig who is unhappy with his lot in life.  He doesn't like being a pig, and doesn't like being one in a large group of pigs and wants to be something different.  He runs away to join the circus but not before master the trick of balancing on his snout.  He tries to get the attention of the circus train with this trick but fails to so he decides to follow the train tracks so he can obtain his dream of joining the circus.  He finally catches up with the circus and shows the leaders his tricks, and they make him part of the show.  He is dressed in a red ribbon and a feathery plume and given a place of honor on the back of a horse, but little does Chester know he is actually being led to the tiger's cage to be part of their act...or is it their lunch.  Chester faints and when he wakes up he finds himself dressed as a baby and paraded around in a stroller by a clown.  Chester is not happy because he thought this would be a big break.  Eventually be runs away from the circus and after many adventures in the forest, where is chased by a bear before being chased by hungry hobos.  The hobos have him for a while but he escapes again flees before finding himself at a farm again but this time he is alone.  The farmer feeds him making him fat and happy, which makes the spots on Chester's skin grow.  Once they grow they take the shape of a globe.  An old man buys the pig from the farmer and puts him on display as "The one and only worldly pig."  Chester is happy because he finally feels loved and admired.  

Impression:  This story is very cute and teaches the children to continue to look for their place in the world and not to settle with what they are told is their destiny.  Everyone should make their own destiny.  
While studying the origins of this book I discovered that Peet wrote this book as a slam on his years illustrating for Disney.  His critique of Disney and how he treated his employes are very evident through out this book.  Peet is very open about his love/hate relationship with Disney and this book is just another in a long of line of stories that are autobiographical in nature.

Reviews:

Cat B.  (2009).  Yet another kid's blog:  Chester the Worldly Pig.  
http://yetanotherchildrensbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/chester-worldly-pig.html

I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I love the animal stories of Bill Peet. Like a potato chip, I can’t just limit myself to one. I have already done a review of Huge Harold but Chester the Worldly Pig is just too good to pass up doing a review of. Like Wilbur, in Charlotte’s Web, this pig had me cheering for him as he attempted to make his own luck.

Like Wilbur, Chester decides that he doesn’t want to become bacon. He decides he doesn’t want to end up on anyone’s table. But instead of finding a helpful spider, Chester decides to make his own luck. He sees a poster for the circus and decides to learn a trick. He practices and practices and finally teaches himself how to balance on his snout on a fencepost. He runs away and joins the circus only to find out that they want to make him do his trick surrounded by hungry tigers. When he faints, he becomes a clown’s sidekick. But that’s not what Chester wanted either. So he runs away from the circus only to run straight into a bear. He is saved from the bear by three hobos, but they decide to eat the little pig. They stuff Chester into a sack and take him on the trains with him. He escapes from the hobos into the city. But danger lurks everywhere in the form of butchers. He leaves the city defeated and gives himself up to the next farmer he sees. The farmer starts to fatten the pig up for eating; but Chester is saved in the end by a passing carnival promoter. Chester didn’t even need his trick, his spots form a map of the world.

As always, I am enchanted by the characters in Bill Peet’s books. Through both the story and the illustrations, Peet is able to tell an exciting story with some very memorable animal characters. Unlike so many books for children, these are not animal characters acting like people. These are animals, who act like animals, who also happen to have great adventures. Chester is a determined little pig who ends up in a series of bad positions. He is not willing to just sit and wait to become dinner. Chester decides that he will solve his problem on his own. He works hard to improve at his trick and even though it doesn’t pan out, his determination just shows how he’s not afraid of hard work or a couple bruises. Even when things reach the point where he is resigned to being dinner, he decides to do it on his own terms. He plans to grow to as big as possible. He’s a pig who takes charge of his own situation. And a great character.

This book is drawn with Bill Peet’s typical style. Using only colored pencils and ink, Peet is able to create tons of emotions for his characters. We see Chester’s pride, his heartbreak, his determination, and his joy. The rest of the cast of characters is well done but it is the little pig that steals the show. The backgrounds in Peet’s books, often set in the forest or the country, are detailed without being overpowering. A couple of pen lines somehow become a field of wheat. The circus tent is a sea of faces, all done with a bit of colored pencil and excellent shading. Peet is a master when it comes to colored pencil. At a distance, a circus elephant seems grey, but get a bit closer and you can see all the colors that have been used to create the exact shade of grey. The books are filled with great scenes. Peet’s work always seems like he’s grabbed stills from an animated film. There is so much movement and color. Perhaps it is his film background. Another Peet masterpiece and a wonderful character.

Library use:  Like so many other books, this is an excellent book for story time.  It is also a great book because of the illustrations, done by a man who worked for Disney for nearly thirty years.  The story has a great lesson and moral to it.  



The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Speare, E.G.  (1958).  The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Boston, MA:  Houghton Mifflin.

Synopsis:  Kit Tyler travels from her childhood home in Barbados to travel to Connecticut when her parents die.  She is considered exotic and mysterious because she swim, something people in Connecticut can not do.  They think she might be a witch.  Things get complicated at various times with different friends that she makes and when it comes to Nat the man that she loves.  Can she rise above all of the suspicions.

Impression:  I enjoyed this book greatly.  I am always interested in books that take place in and around Colonial New England especially during the time of the witch hysteria and witch trials.

Reviews:

Mandell, P., & Moffet, M. (2003). The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Book).School Library Journal, 49(4), 88.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 10, 2013).

Gr 5-8 -Mary Beth Hurt gives an excellent performance in this reading of the Newbery Award-winning novel by Elizabeth George Speare (HM, 1958). The setting is the Colony of Connecticut in 1687 amid the political and religious conflicts of that day. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her. Having been raised by her grandfather in Barbados, she doesn't understand the conflict between those loyal to the king and those who defend the Connecticut Charter. Unprepared for the religious intolerance and rigidity of the Puritan community, she is constantly astounding her aunt, uncle, and cousins with her dress, behavior, and ideas. She takes comfort in her secret friendship with the widow, Hannah Tupper, who has been expelled from Massachusetts because she is a Quaker and suspected of being a witch. When a deathly sickness strikes the village, first Hannah and then Kit are accused of being witches. Through these conflicts and experiences, Kit comes to know and accept herself. She learns not to make hasty judgments about people, and that there are always two sides to every conflict. There are several minor plots as well, including three romances, which help to bring this time and place to life. Hurt's use of vocal inflection and expression make this an excellent choice for listening whether as an enrichment to the social studies curriculum or purely for pleasure.


Rich, A. (2002). The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Book). Booklist, 99(5), 518.   Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 10, 2013).

The Witch of Blackbird Pond. By Elizabeth George Speare. Read by Mary Beth Hurt. Listening Library. 2002. 6.5hr. unabr. 4 cassettes, $26 (0-8072-0748-9). 800-541-5525.
Gr. 6–8. Hurt masterfully reads this New- bery award winner, set in seventeenth-cen- tury Puritan New England. Orphan Kit Tyler sails to the Connecticut colony to live with her aunt and uncle, but despite earnest attempts to belong, her behavior is unac- ceptable by Puritan standards. Criticized by the community, Kit seeks solace with a kindly old Quaker woman. Hurt’s youthful voice and soft New England accent per- fectly match Kit’s buoyant personality and well-meaning antics. Hurt’s perception of the story enables her to shift seamlessly among characters, and she ably portrays everyone, including Kit’s soft-spoken aunt and her terse, unforgiving uncle. The vil- lager’s talk of heresy is thick with suspicion, and Hurt’s capable reading accentuates this sense of foreboding. —Anna Rich 

Library Use:  This is a great book for historical fiction, and books about strong young women.

Module Three...Saint George and the Dragon AND The Three Pigs...

Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges.  Illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman

Hodges, M. (1984) Saint George and the Dragon:  A golden legend adapted from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene.  London:  Little, Brown and Company

Summary:
This book is a retelling of Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene first published in 1590.  The original story was to honor the England's Queen Elizabeth I.  The story of Saint George (the patron saint of England) and the dragon is centuries old.  Hodges simplifies Spenser's poem making it easy for children to understand.
Her version of the story follows the Red Cross knight, George, who is sent on a quest by the Queen of the Fairies to kill the dragon while accompanying princess Una whose homeland is under attack by the dragon.  After many trials George defeats the dragon and marries Una.

Impressions:
I read the original poem as an undergraduate student and loved it.  I was excited when I saw this on the book list because I wanted to see how the topic was handled.  It is always exciting when writers take classics and rework them for a new generation.  This story has great adventure and love.  The illustrations are excellent.  I highly recommend the story.

Reviews:
Del Negro, J. M. (1985). Saint George and the Dragon (Book). School Library Journal, 31(5), 76.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2013).

Hodges capably retells the legend of St. George and the Dragon, a popular well-known fragment from Spenser's Faerie Queene.  She had made it a coherent, palatable story suitable for a wide range of ages.  The action is fast-paced and immediate-George, the Red Cross Knight, sent questing by the Queen of Fairies, accompanies the princess Una back to her father's kingdom to slay the dragon that besets it or to die in the attempt.  After the tradition three attempts he succeeds, and everyone lives happily ever after. This retelling is more than adequate, and Hyman's illustrations are uniquely suited to this outrageously romantic and appealing legends.  Fairies and unicorn intertwine with cross-emblazoned shields and red-winged angels in the borders.  The paintings are richly colored, lush, detailed and dramatic.  Hyman's dragon is appropriately brave; and her princess-bless her-is a redhead, not a blond.  This is beautifully crafted book, a fine combination of author and illustrator.

McConnell, R. M. (1990). Saint George and the Dragon (Book). School Library Journal, 36(3), 209.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2013).

Less literary than Spenser's adventure as retold by Hodges in Saint george and the Dragon, McCaughrean tells the kind of crusader tale popularly told about the wandering champion who became the patron saint of England.  Here, George of Lydda comes across Sabra, the king's daughter, staked out for a dragon that threatens their town.  A new British illustrator pictures the setting with a golden atmosphere and a romantic surrealism that includes stone ruins and windowed manors, and ends with visual reference to modern wars as well.  Townspeople wear frantic or grotesque expressions-and the dragon is seen as a huge lizard with pterodactyl-like clawed wings as forelimbs, taloned hind legs, and a lobed and spiked dorsal mane.  Once he subdues the dragon, this Red Cross knight does not settle down, but goes on to the other dragons and other times-which the reteller ties in with her afterword.  Hard to locate in print, this adventure makes a good addition to folk and dragon lore.

Library Use:
This book will be a great addition to any library for a number of reasons.  First it is a great book because of its illustrations.  It could be marketed that way.  Second it could be used as part of an exhibit detailing retellings of fairytales or cultural tales.  The library could do a display on stories of England.


The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Wiesner, D.  (2001).  The Three Pigs.  New York, NY:  Clarion Books.

Synopsis:  This book is a twist on the original story of The Three Little Pigs.  The pigs start the story the same way as the original:  Three little pigs go out in the world and build their homes.  The wolf comes a knockin' and threatens to blow their house down, which he does.  The twist comes when the pigs escape into the pages of the book and are not eaten by the wolf which confuses him.  The pigs fold the pages and fly off ending up into other fairy tale books.  They enlist the help of creatures in other books to help fight the wolf.

Impressions:  The book was very cute and well written.  The idea that the pigs do not die but change the story so they all live happily ever after, is such a nice turn of events.  I highly recommend this book.

Reviews:

Zaleski, J., Roback, D., Brown, J. M., & Britton, J. (2001). THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (Book Review). Publishers Weekly, 248(9), 86.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2013).

As readers have come to expect from the inventive works of Wiesner, nothing is ever quite as it seems in his picture books. This version of the pigs' tale starts off traditionally enough--warm, inviting watercolor panels show in succession the tiny houses, their owner-builders and their toothy visitor. But when the wolf begins to huff and puff, he blows the pigs right out of the illustrations. Though Wiesner briefly touched on this theme in his Free Fall (fans may note a strong resemblance between the dragon in that volume and the one featured in these pages), he takes the idea of 3-D characters operating independently of their storybooks to a new level here. The three pigs land in the margins, which open out onto a postmodern landscape hung with reams of pages made for climbing on, crawling under and folding up for paper airplane travel. Together the pigs visit a book of nursery rhymes and save the aforementioned dragon from death at the hands of a knight. When they get the dragon home, he returns their kindness by scaring the wolf off permanently.

Even the book's younger readers will understand the distinctive visual code. As the pigs enter the confines of a storybook page, they conform to that book's illustrative style, appearing as nursery-rhyme friezes or comic-book line drawings. When the pigs emerge from the storybook pages into the meta-landscape, they appear photographically clear and crisp, with shadows and three dimensions. Wiesner's (Tuesday) brilliant use of white space and perspective (as the pigs fly to the upper right-hand corner of a spread on their makeshift plane, or as one pig's snout dominates a full page) evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities--and that the range of story itself is limitless. Ages 5-up. (Apr.)

Flynn, K. (2001). The Three Pigs. Horn Book Magazine, 77(3), 341-342.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2013).  

David Wiesner's postmodern interpretation of this tale plays imaginatively with traditional picture book and story conventions and with readers' expectations of both. (Though with Wiesner, we should know by now to expect the unexpected.) Astute readers will notice the difference between the cover's realistic gouache portrait of the three pigs (who stare directly out at the viewer with sentient expressions) and the simple outlined watercolor artwork on the title page. In fact, the style of the illustrations and the way the characters are rendered shifts back and forth a few times before the book is done, as Wiesner explores the possibility of different realities within a book's pages. The text, set in a respectable serif typeface, begins by following the familiar pattern--pigs build houses, wolf huffs and puffs, wolf eats two pigs, etc. But while the text natters on obliviously, the pigs actually step (or are huffed and puffed) out of the muted-color panel illustrations without being eaten. Escaping their sepia holding lines and the frames of their predictable storybook world, they enter a stark white landscape where they are depicted realistically with more intricate shading. The now-3-D-looking pigs, released from the story's inevitability, explore this surrealistic realm. The perplexed wolf remains behind in the two-dimensional pages, which, when viewed from the pigs' new vantage point, stand vertically in space, looking altogether like paper dominoes waiting to be knocked down. And that's what the three pigs do, with glee. The pigs' informal banter appears in word balloons in a sans-serif font; a few striking wordless spreads feature the pigs flying (this is Wiesner, after all) across blank spreads on a paper airplane made from a page of their story. Obviously, there's a lot going on here, but once you get your bearings, this is a fantastic journey told with a light touch. The pigs encounter other free-standing story pages; they enter and exit a nursery rhyme and then a folktale, morphing into and out of each one's illustrative style. Saccharine, cotton-candy illustrations cloy "Hey Diddle Diddle" ("Let's get out of here!" one pig exclaims); precise black-and-white line drawings dignify a folktale about a dragon who guards a golden rose. The cat and its fiddle as well as the chivalrous dragon join the pigs in full-color, realistic definition, and eventually the five friends end up back at the pigs' story. After shaking the type off the pages, the animals re-enter the tale--but this time on the pigs' own terms. The last page shows them all happily ensconced in the full-page watercolor illustration, using letters of text to write their own happy ending while the wolf sits outside at a nonthreatening distance. Wiesner may not be the first to thumb his nose at picture-book design rules and storytelling techniques, but he puts his own distinct print on this ambitious endeavor. There are lots of teaching opportunities to be mined here--or you can just dig into the creative possibilities of unconventionality.

(*) indicates a book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or of the author's body of work.

(g) indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the general retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Age levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Library Use:  This can go on a display with variations of fairy tales.