MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: WORLD FOLKTALES FOR STRONG BOYS

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yolen, Jane. 2003. MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: WORLD FOLKTALES FOR STRONG BOYS. Ill. by Raul Colon. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152163913

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Starting this collection of fourteen stories is a letter from Jane Yolen to her sons and grandsons. In it she gives many reasons for retelling these tales of the world including “hero is about being clever, learning from your mistakes, being kind and compassionate, and finding good friends. Picking up a sword doesn’t make you a hero—sticking to you word does”.
The stories are from China, Angola, Germany, Norway, America(one African American and the other Native American), Russia, Burma, Ireland, Hungary, Israel, England, Afghanistan, and Finland.

In all of the stories, the hero overcomes the obstacles before him by using his brain. This was true if it was a peasant marrying the princess instead of being killed by her father(“The Devil with Three Golden Hairs” from Germany), a youngest child helping his mother realize her dream (“The Magic Brocade” from China) or a young boy out witting a “devilish “stranger with answers to riddles(“The False Knight on the Road”).

Ms. Yolen’s sons and grandsons respond to her stories by telling her that this book was needed because they needed to be reminded that “there are other ways to be heroes” and because “great stories have to be shaken out every so often, like some old camp blanket that’s been stored away all year. If they are not told, they will die”.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This anthology proves that “one should never have to fight, but because I think the true heroes are the ones who solve their problems –and the problems of the world—without ever having to resort to force. The tongue is mightier than the sword. As is the pen”. Before going into the tales themselves, Ms. Yolen gives examples of real life heroes not resorting to force including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, John Chapman, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Jacques Cousteau, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and the firefighters, police, and paramedics who responded to the chaos on September 11, 2001.

The author kept the stories true to their countries by using appropriate names and items associated with that culture. In “Thick-Head”, an Abenaki/Native American folktale, there were wigwams, a longhouse, and a sagamore(chief of the village). In the Afghanistan tale “Hired Hands” the brothers were named Abdul and Abdullah and they tried to earn rubles. In Hungary there was a king named Matyas and he appeared in the Hungarian tale “The Truthful Shepherd”.

Included in this book were notes about each of the stories. The origin and tidbits about the tale were included. In “The Might Mikko” Ms. Yolen shares that this Finnish tale is the fox version of “Puss in Boots”. She ended the Angolan tale “The Young Man Protected by the River” with “He, who has cut wood, binds; he, who has done hoeing, leaves work. He who is ready to go, says, I am going. Finished.” The end notes tell that storytellers in this country recite three sayings which mean the story is finished.

Raul Colon’s illustrations are done in black and white, one illustration per story. Mr. Colon stays true to the cultural nature of each story. In “The Magic Brocade” the Chinese main character is drawn with the long braid of old China and has slanted eyes. “And Who Cured the Princess” has the Israeli characters drawn with dark, abundant hair, prominent noses, beards on the adult males, and thick eyebrows. The knight in the English Tale “The False Knight on the Road” is dressed in English styled black armor while Jack, a young boy, is dressed in short pants and sturdy shoes.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Winner of the Aesop Prize
Booklist: “This collection of 14 folktales from around the world, retold by Jane Yolen, feature male protagonists using cleverness, imagination, and intelligence to solve problems, conveying the message that strength does not have to be synonymous with force: there is strength in compassion, kindness, and wisdom. Each story is accompanied by a full-page illustration depicting a scene in the tale. Yolen explains the background of each story and how she went about adapting it for the collection. Free of didacticism, these diverse stories give readers something to think about.”

Kirkus Reviews: “Yolen introduces a grand collection of 14 tales with a letter to her sons and grandsons. Each features clever males as heroes who stick to their word and never resort to force. Yolen, an indisputable queen of storytelling, shines with these retellings. Colon’s black-and-white scratchboard drawings are scattered throughout, presenting a troll just menacing enough, a shepherd just confident enough, and a princess just-well, just demure. A stellar read-aloud volume as well as just right for independent readers. "

Horn Book: “In each of the fourteen folktales in this well-rounded, well-told collection, boys solve their seemingly impossible problems not with force but with wit, trust, kindness, and other feminine virtues. Enhanced by Colon’s dignified and boy-friendly crosshatched drawings (one per story), the tales come from many places including Afghanistan, Hungary, and Angola."

5. CONNECTIONS
The stories in the anthology could be performed as a reader’s theatre.

Students could use the themes given under each title and respond with how the author came to that conclusion about the tale. There could also be a discussion about the results of the tales if the heroes had used brawn instead of brains.

Students could search for other traditional tales that are similar to the tales in the anthology.

Other heroic tales which emphasize brains over brawn include:
Yolen, Jane. FEARLESS GIRLS, WISE WOMEN, AND BELOVED SISTERS: HEROINES IN FOLKTALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. ISBN 0152163914
Sherman, Josepha. TRICKSTER TALES. ISBN 9780874834505

THE RETURN OF THE BUFFALOES: A PLAINS INDIAN STORY ABOUT FAMINE AND RENEWAL OF THE EARTH

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Goble, Paul. 1996. THE RETURN OF THE BUFFALOES: A PLAINS INDIAN STORY ABOUT FAMINE AND RENEWAL OF THE EARTH. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0792265548

2. PLOT SUMMARY
It is the beginning of spring and the people are waiting for the buffalo to return since their parfleches (rawhide pouches used to store dried meat) are empty and they are starving. After “everyone was weak and without enough hope to take down the tipis and walk farther” two strong young men were chosen by the village leaders. Only when they found some buffalo were they to come back to their village.

As they “looked to the four corners of the world” they saw no buffalo so they prepared themselves to die. They begin to smell the buffalo and see hoof prints at the entrance of a cave. Then a voice tells them that their people will be fed. They see a woman “mysterious and wonderful to look at” standing before a tipi whose door was the cave. The young men are brought inside and, after telling of the starvation of their people, the woman tells them that she will feed the people by sending her Buffalo People.

They run to tell the village and it is decided by the wise men that all will go see her, taking her gifts. . “Those who were strong carried the children and helped those who were weak”. When they arrive at the entrance, they spread out buffalo skins and present their gifts. The woman did not appear, so they eventually left, going to bed hungry again.

During the night they hear sounds that make them prepare for a severe rainstorm, but soon they realize that it is the buffalo returning. In the morning, the people come out, praising the woman who sent the buffalo, and begin to hunt. After “there was laughter again” and the food was given thanks for, the people ate and then prepared to fill their parfleches again. “That is the story the old people used to tell about those long- ago days”.

4. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This tale is based on a Lakota legend and is stays true to the culture of the Lakota. The language is very simple “Even the children gave their dolls and toys, and those who had none gave pretty stones or flowers" while the illustrations show Indians with features true to their heritage such as long hair on males and strong, somewhat flat, noses. Mr. Goble’s notes at the beginning of the book give his reasons for choosing to retell this tale (“I have taken this Lakota myth as the basis for this book because I have lived for many years in the Black Hills, and have heard Lakota people refer to it”).

A present day note at the end of the story tells about the Wind Cave in the Black Hills having an “extraordinary” wind inside it that is said to be the “breath of the buffaloes, still somewhere down there, waiting for the mysterious and wonderful woman to let them out”. The author asks the readers to think of the story using a well-known hill or mountain, spring or cave that they “sense is right”, and since “renewal of the Earth starts in our hearts, it can take place anywhere”.

The illustrations are done in ink and watercolor with strong lines and bold colors. The attention to detail is amazing with a spider spinning a web on a page showing the Buffalo Dreamers performing their ceremony while butterflies float on the page in which the villagers await the arrival of the two young men.

Parfleches of different designs come before and/or after the text on each page. The parfleches are explained at the beginning of the book, and there is even a sample to be copied and designed by the reader. The author carries out the parfleche theme throughout the book, even choosing to illustrate his end notes about buffalo use with a woman creating a design for a parfleche on stretched-out rawhide.

5. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist: “Goble retells another tale about the mysterious woman whose people are the buffalo. Goble’s artwork shows his delight in color, pattern, silhouette, and Native American motifs. Besides the large paintings on the double-page spreads, he includes small geometric designs copied from traditional parfleches (rawhide pouches) of the Lakota, the Arapaho, and the Cheyenne. Two introductory pages concern parfleches (which appear in the story), including a page to photocopy, paint, cut, and fold into a model parfleche, a project that children and teachers may find worthwhile.”

Kirkus Reviews: “Goble retells and illustrates an extraordinary story central to the spiritual and cultural life of the Lakota people. The story recalls a time of famine when the people suffered from the absence of wandering buffalo herds. Goble is customarily generous with supporting information on the Plains Indians: Children can discover the Lakota design elements he incorporates into the art, learn how to make parfleche (an intricately decorated rawhide container for dried meat) and appreciate the use these native people made of every part of the buffalo. Attractive, absorbing fare.”

6. CONNECTIONS
The author’s notes at the beginning of the book discuss the designs of the rawhide pouches (parfleches) and even have a paper pouch to make and design. The end of book notes discuss how all parts of the buffalo were used, even the dung of the animal. After reading other Indian tales, a trunk containing Indian artifacts can be brought from a museum, and the culture and artifacts of the Indians from the area can be shared with the students, especially about those tribes who followed the buffalo.

For more information on Paul Goble use the following link:
http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/09sep/9-27goble.html .
Students could also read Mr. Goble’s autobiography.
Goble, Paul. HAU KOLA HELLO FRIEND. ISBN 1878450441

Other Indian Tales:
dePaola, Tomie. THE LEGEND OF THE BLUEBONNET. ISBN 0698113594
Goble, Paul. BUFFALO WOMAN. ISBN 9780689711091
Goble, Paul. THE GIRL WHO LOVED WILD HORSES. ISBN 9780689716966
Goble, Paul. THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE BUFFALO WOMAN. ISBN 9780792265528

The following book is a fictional chapter book about a plastic toy Indian that becomes real. It uses some of the historical facts about Indians and would be a recommendation for those children ready for chapter books.
Banks, Lynn Reid. THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD. ISBN 9780385170512

CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowell, Susan. 2000. CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA . Ill. by Jane Manning. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 9780064438643

2. PLOT SUMMARY
From the time we are introduced to the sweet and gentle Cindy Ellen on her daddy’s ranch, we know that this is no ordinary Cinderella. Cindy is mistreated by her stepmother (who wears the pants in the family) and her stepsisters, who are meaner than rattlesnakes. Cindy Ellen is treated as a cowhand and longs for the day she can ride at Joe Prince’s Rodeo.

Her gun toting, spirited fairy godmother decks her out as a rodeo princess and she out rides her stepsisters with her diamond spurs and new founded gumption. She wins over the “Prince”, but gallops home before midnight. The lovelorn Prince has a square dance in hopes of meeting his cowgirl. Cindy Ellen arrives in her enchanted stagecoach, and do-si-does her way right into Joe’s heart, only to leave him at midnight with her diamond spur.

Joe Prince searches the territory, making Cindy Ellen a wanted woman. He arrives at her ranch, the stepsisters try to make the spur fit, but Cindy Ellen is the true owner. Her cotton dress is turned into satin as her fairy godmother returns to shoot her magic pistol. Cindy Ellen and Joe Prince get hitched, the stepsisters marry city slickers, and all is well as the main two characters ride into the sunset.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The western flare of this tales makes it. The author uses all kinds of western expressions such as “meaner than a rattlesnake”, “pretty as a peach””, “gravel in your gizzard”, “rustle me up”, “Let her rip”, and “yee-haw”. This story must be read with a southern twang! At the end of the book are notes explaining rodeos, cowgirls (especially Annie Oakley), and western dancing.

Jane Manning captures the comic expression of this Cinderella version in her illustrations while remaining true to the elements of the west. The backgrounds have cacti, brush, lizards, barbed wire fences, and jackrabbits. The rodeo pictures include a thrown sister with a face full of sand. The twinkling lights of the square dance are reminiscent of western dances. From Cindy Ellen mending a barbed wire fence to the Just Hitched sign on the horse drawn wagon riding into the sunset (literally) these images compliment the witty story by Susan Lowell.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Winner of the Western Writers of American Spur Award

The Horn Book: "Expressive regional turns of phrase and exuberant full-color comic illustrations in skewed perspectives place the action squarely in the dry desert of the West.”

Kirkus Reviews: “Bright, stylish…Manning tricks out her characters in dazzling modern cowboy dress.”

5. CONNECTIONS
Since Susan Lowell has written several fractured tales with a western theme, an author study could be done while visiting the tales. Students could decide which traditional tale went with each version. There is even a version of a fable. Students could discuss the common settings, character types, and western flair. Then each tale could be written into a reader’s theatre to perform with props and/or costumes representing the Western theme.

Lowell, Susan. THE BOOTMAKER AND THE ELVES. ISBN 9780531071380
Lowell, Susan. DUSTY LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. ISBN 9780805075342
Lowell, Susan. LITTLE RED COWBOY HAT. ISBN 9780805064834
Lowell, Susan. THE THREE LITTLE JAVELINAS: LOS TRES PENQUENOS JABALIES. ISBN 9780873585422

Fable
Lowell, Susan. THE TORTOISE AND THE JACK RABBIT. ISBN 9780873585866

JOSEFINA JAVELINA: A HAIRY TALE takes one the characters from THE THREE LITTLE JAVELINAS: LOS TRE PENQUENOS JABALIES and continues her story. After reading this book, students could be encouraged to write a continuation of one of the other stories they have read.

Lowell, Susan. JOSEFINA JAVELINA: A HAIRY TALE. ISBN 9780873587907

ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 2007. ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers Group. ISBN 9780399246005

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Twenty-two artists who illustrate children’s books (Mitsumasa Anno, Quentin Blake, Ashley Bryan, Nancy Ekholm Burkert, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Jane Dyer, Mordical Gerstein, Robert Ingpen, Steven Kellogg, Petra Mathers, Wendell Minor, Barry Moser, Jerry Pinkney, Alice Provensen, Marice Sendak, Gennady Spirin, Chris Van Allsburg, Rosemary Wells, Paul O. Zelinsky, Robert Sabuda, and Matthew Reinhart )share with children their art secrets.

One artist, Leo Lionni, has his secrets shared by his granddaughter since he was no longer living when this anthology was put together. This book includes pictures of the artists in their youth, their studios, samples of their work, and a self portrait of each artist.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This captivating book blends the advice of authors with pictures of their work from the beginning of their careers to pictures of their most visible mediums. Each author has a page filled with his/her words about their work, whether it be how they started, how they create their illustrations, or what inspires them, and a picture or two of them as children.

The opposite page has a full sized self portrait of the artist as an adult. This page them folds out to show sketches, book illustrations, photographs of their studios, and examples of their beginning works and their most famous works or examples of the medium they enjoy creating with.

Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart share an author’s page together since they created their works together. Their self portrait is a pop-out space robot with their faces showing through the window as the pilots.

Leo Lionni’s self portrait is inside his foldout page. His full page picture is his photograph. Since his granddaughter is in charge of his literature, she wrote about him. “All of his characters were part of his own self, and he thought that was probably true for every children’s book author.”—Annie Lionni

The proceeds from the sale of this extraordinary book go to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL-“…a gorgeous, browsable gallery of international treasures.”
KIRKUS starred review-“Fun to read and view, this anthology is a treasure trove of creative insight and inspiration.”

5. CONNECTIONS
Reading about how these artists realized their dreams helps start a discussion on dreams of the future for our students.

Here are other books to promote these dreams and their discussion:
Humphrey, Sandra McLeod. DARE TO DREAM! : 25 EXTRAORDINARY LIVES. ISBN 9781591022800
Bosak, Susan V. DREAM: A TALE OF WONDER, WISDOM, & WISHES. ISBN 9781896232041
McGhee, Allison. SOMEDAY. ISBN 1416928111

Here is an autobiographical children’s book that shows how Tomie dePaola realized his dream:
dePaola, Tomie. THE ART LESSON. ISBN 9780698115729

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Willems, Mo. 2003. DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 078681988X

2. PLOT SUMMARY
On the title page, a bus driver leaves the reader with a pigeon and the instructions not to let the pigeon drive the bus. Throughout the rest of the book the pigeon tries to persuade the reader to let him drive from the assurance that his cousin Herb drives a bus daily to the offer of a five dollar bribe. The story ends when the driver returns, the pigeon realizes that he won’t get to drive the bus, and then the pigeon sees a semi-truck.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The illustrations of the book are very simple with the element of line being obvious. The illustrations give the illusion of being drawn with a crayon. The colors are minimal with the background being nothing but a mute color on the page. The pigeon is drawn without much detail and much of the focus being on his large eye. Most of the pages are of the pigeon alone.

Cartoon bubbles are what the text appears in because the whole book only uses dialogue. The author uses the simplicity of the text and pictures to appeal to young readers. Older readers will be able to appreciate the persuasive nature of the pigeon.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
A Caldecott Honor Book
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL-“The genius of this book is that the very young will actually recognize themselves in it.”
BOOKLIST-“Each page has the feel of a perfectly frozen frame of cartoon footage—action, remarkable expression, and wild humor captured with just a few lines.”

5. CONNECTIONS
This book is perfect to use with children in showing them the power of persuasion.
Other book titles include:
Hoose, Phillip M. HEY, LITTLE ANT. ISBN 9781883672546
Orloff, Karen. I WANNA IGUANA. ISBN 9780399237171
Viorst, Judith. EARRINGS! ISBN 9780689867842

THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Norton, Juster. 2005. THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW. Ill. By Chris Raschka. New York, NY: Scholastic. ISBN 9780439897501

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This story, written in the first person, tells about a little girl’s relationship with her grandparents and how the kitchen and its window are woven into this child’s life. Nanny and Poppy (the grandparents) give this little girl a sense of security from Poppy’s playing of “Oh, Susannah” on his harmonica to Nanny’s memory of washing the little girl in the kitchen sink when she was an infant.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The illustrations in this story play such an important part. Without them you would not know that the family is interracial or that the child is a little girl. The bright colors and simple drawings appeal to young readers.

The simplicity of the artwork gives strength to the author’s words. This is probably why the book won the Caldecott Medal. This book's major strength lies within the reliance of the words and the illustrations on each other.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Winner of the Caldecott Medal
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL- “The artwork is at once lively and energetic, without crowding the story or the words on the page.”
BOOKLIST- “More intrinsic is Juster’s honest portrayal of a child’s perceptions (a striped cat in the yard is a tiger) and emotions (being happy and sad at the same time “just happens that way sometimes”).

5. CONNECTIONS
This book would lend well with talking to students about emotions.

Other books that will help children explore their emotions are:
Curtis, Jamie Lee. TODAY I FEEL SILLY AND OTHER MOODS THAT MAKE MY DAY. ISBN 9780060245603
Freyman, Saxton and Joost Elffers. HOW ARE YOU PEELING? ISBN 9780439104319
Seegerm, Laura. WALTER WAS WORRIED. ISBN 9781596431966
Suess, Dr. MY MANY COLORED DAYS. ISBN 9780679875970