Thursday, September 30, 2010

Picture Book: Let the Ilustration's Tell the Story!
















Title: Good Dog, Carl
Author and Illustrator:  Alexandra Day
ISBN: 9780689807480
Publisher: Little Simon      
Genre: Wordless Picture Book   
Guided Reading Level: Ages 3-8
A wordless picture book since 1985
*I was first introduced to this book while student teaching and it has been a favorite of mine ever since!

Alexandra Day is the pseudonym of Sandra Louise Woodward Darling.  For Sandra, art was a part of her everyday life growing up.  There were many artists in her family. She learned of her own love for art at a young age, while watching her father’s drawings come to life.  It is of no wonder that Sandra would create a picture book where the illustrations tell the story.  Sandra illustrated Good Dog, Carl, which was published in 1985.  She used her Rottweiler named Toby to paint Carl.   Her own granddaughter Madeleine was the inspiration for the baby in the story.  The characters are not given names in this picture book, but it is understood that the three characters in the story are Carl, Madeleine and Big Mistress.  While Big Mistress runs errands, Carl watches over Madeleine.  The two have a ball of a time. When their fun comes to an end, Carl gets Madeleine all washed up and ready for bed.  The task is completed just in time for Big Mistress to return to a peaceful and quiet home.
I know that the story lends itself to many fantastical ideas, but this is partially why it has become a favorite of mine.  Alexandra Day created a story as imaginative and creative as those who are intended to view this lovely picture book.  Lesson upon lesson can be taught through this book; reality verses fantasy (dog safety and dogs are not babysitters); sequencing; how important detailed illustrations are in telling a story (writer’s workshop).  This picture book can be used prior to reading a picture book with a higher level of reading difficulty to facilitate the idea that since the illustrations tell a story that the illustrations can be used to assist in decoding unfamiliar words.  This picture book is nearly wordless, but it takes you on an adventure that is absolutely hysterical to the little eyes that view its’ wonderful watercolor illustrations. 
 I chose this wordless picture book because I have found it to be very useful in a classroom with emergent readers and new writers/illustrators.  It is nice to watch the children laugh and tell the story in their own words.  I find it amusing myself!  This story came out of a daydream that Sandra once had.  I wonder how many mothers closed their eyes for a few seconds and imagined someone else taking care of everything around the house while they attended to adult-things. I have one final comment before this entry comes to a close.  If you choose to bring this picture book into the classroom you might want to have a reminder talk with your class about the appropriate noise level for your classroom because Good Dog, Carl is sure to unleash a barrel of laughs out of the little ones! 


Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Caldecott Folk Tale













Title:  Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China
Author and Illustrator:  Ed Young
ISBN:  9780590440691 
Publisher:  Philomel
Genre:  Folk Tale
Guided Reading Level:  S
1990 Caldecott Medal Winner
* I have just added Lon Po Po to my long list of favorites and I hope you will too!

     Lon Po Po is a Chinese folk tale that was translated and illustrated by Ed Young.  The name Lon Po Po translates to grandma wolf and is a similar tale to the European folklore of Little Red Riding Hood.  Although the sequence of events in Lon Po Po has similarities to those in Little Red Riding Hood there are significant differences in each story, but the lesson to be learned from each story remains clear, “We must be careful when dealing with strangers”.  In the classroom one can use both pieces of literature to compare and contrast each story.  There are folk tales from many different places around the world that hold similarities to some of our favorites in the United States (i.e. Cinderella, sleeping Beauty or Snow White).   When considering the lesson in each of these pieces of literature one can understand why the original oral stories were created: to make their children aware of the presence of evil in the world.  In this folk tale our trickster is a wolf and Shang is the equivalent of the heroine.  In the story it is her clever and quick thinking that gets her and her sister’s, Toa and Paotze, safely away from the devious wolf.  Lon Po Po can also be used to learn more about Chinese culture as well as art.  
     Ed Young is from China, and has studied art in the United States.  The media used to create the illustrations in Lon Po Po are water colors and pastels and the style is Chinese panel art.  The illustrations are vibrant with color and bring the emotions of the story to life.  The colors turn darker as the danger draws near and then switches to bright and calming when the children are safe from danger.  I found the illustrations to be chilling, yet fantastic.  I grew fearful of the wolf as I looked at glimpses of his shape from page to page in the darkness.  I realized how powerful the children became when they were high in the bright green tree looking down at the small wolf pacing back and forth.  Looking at the illustrations made me feel as though I were looking at the scary wolf through the children’s point of view.  The trickster himself was fooled into becoming so obsessed with his own wants that he did not realize what was actually going on until it was too late.  It is no wonder that this children’s picture book was chosen for the Caldecott medal in 1990.
     The Caldecott awards are given annually to up to five children’s picture books published in America that display the power of their words though their illustrations.  Only one picture book receives the bronze medal, which signifies the winner.  All the rest are marked with an honorary silver medal.  Lon Po Po was published in 1989, and won the bronze medal in 1990 and over two decades later is still sending shivers down the spines of its readers!