"The Three Little Dassies" by Jan Brett

Citation:
Brett, Jan. The Three Little Dassies. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2010.
ISBN: 9780399254994

Plot Summary:
The three little dassies lived in the desert with their parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  They set out to live on their own in the distant mountains.  When the dassies get to the mountains they meet an Agama Man.  He tells them that he and the family of eagles on top of the mountain are the only ones living there.  The three dassies begin to search for materials to make houses.  One dassie makes a house of grass.  Another dassie makes a house of driftwood.  The third dassie makes a house of stone.  The big old eagle spots the dassies one morning and decides to catch them for a meal.  The big old eagle manages to flap his wings and blow down the first house made of grass.  He takes the first dassie into his nest.  Then he goes after the second dassie and also manages to flap his wings and blow down the house made of driftwood.  He also takes the second dassie to his nest!  The big old eagle goes after the third dassie's house but is unable to blow down her house.  All he manages to do is whip up a cloud of dust which makes him cough and sneeze so much that he gives up and returns to his nest.  When he gets back to the nest the two dassies are no longer there!  He spots them back down below near the stone house!  The big old eagle attempts to get into the stone house through the chimney but is scorched by the smoke and forever blackened.  The dassies are safe from the eagle and live happily and safely together in the stone house.

Critical Analysis:
Jan Brett did an excellent job creating a variant on The Three Little Pigs.  Her variant also serves as a myth.  The story takes place in Namibia, South Africa.  Dassies, Agama lizards, and eagles are animals that live in the mountains together in that region.  The last page of the story is illustrated realistically with several dassies on a mountain side with a black eagle overhead and an Agama lizard nearby.  This last page is the summation of the myth. It explains why the dassies can live in stone caves on the mountainside and why the eagles are black.

Jan Brett has a unique style for her illustrations and once again she creates a beautiful storybook whose illustrations tell a side story of their own.  Each page is framed with side illustrations which show what is happening elsewhere in the story.  The storyline does not explain how the two dassies escape from the eagle's nest.  However, side illustrations depict how the Agama Man helps the two dassies climb out of the nest to safety.

Review Excerpts:
Publishers Weekly: "This offering is classic Brett: meticulously rendered animal characters, an authentically depicted setting, ornate borders, action-filled side panels, and lively storytelling...A buoyant and original reimagining."
School Library Journal: " Children will enjoy following both stories and will linger on each page following the exacting detail of the setting: the desert, the characters, the decorative borders, and all the small touches in between. This tale will captivate children and introduce a setting and animals unfamiliar to most of them."

Connections:
*If you're teaching fairy tale variants to children this title would make a perfect example.  It manages to mirror the classic storyline (even dialogue) with an entirely unique look and feel specific to South Africa.
*Love the illustrations?  Check out other titles by Jan Brett:
Gingerbread Baby
ISBN: 9780399234446
The Mitten: a Ukranian Folktale
ISBN: 9780399231094
Town Mouse, Country Mouse
ISBN: 9780399226229 

"Rapunzel" retold by Paul O. Zelinsky

Citation:
Zelinsky, Paul O. Rapunzel. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 1997.
ISBN: 9780525456070

Plot Summary:
A man and a woman were very happy except that they could not have a child.  One day the woman becomes pregnant and begins to grow severe cravings for rapunzel growing in the garden which belongs to the sorceress.  The man is caught stealing the rapunzel for his wife and the sorceress makes a deal with him that he may take the rapunzel only if the couple gives their child to her.  The sorceress hides the girl she names Rapunzel away in a high tower in the woods.  A young prince happens upon her in the forest and learns how to scale the tower and visit her.  The two marry secretly and the prince visits her every evening.  Rapunzel becomes pregnant and the sorceress casts her out alone into the forest.  The prince is met by the sorceress in the tower when he comes to visit Rapunzel.  The sorceress causes the prince to fall from the tower and he is blinded.  He wanders the forest where he finds Rapunzel.  The prince recognizes his wife by her voice and is surprised to find that she has had twins.  The family emerges from the woods and lives together happily.

Critical Analysis:
Zelinsky's version of this tale is beautifully told and illustrated.  The illustrations are elaborate and rich.  It feels as if you are walking through a museum and being told a story through paintings.

The story itself has a long history and is loved by many.  The story is balanced.  It begins with a couple who is happy but wishes to create a family, unfortunately, the pair does not achieve the family they dream of in the eyes of the reader.  Luckily, the story ends with the pair's true daughter having a happy family.  The characters feel emotions deeply.  The woman's cravings for rapunzel from the garden are so intense that she feels she might die if she does not get to eat any.  Similarly, the prince feels as though he will die if he does not meet the beautiful voice in the tower (Rapunzel).  These exaggerations are a common thread throughout the tale, including Rapunzel's hair which is long enough to reach the bottom of the tower and strong enough to be climbed.

Magic is a subtly implied element in the story.  The sorceress is defined as such although her most magical act is appearing when least expected.  The prince is stricken blind by a fall and the tears of Rapunzel restore his vision.  This is stated simply in the story, as if tears are the natural cure for blindness!

Review Excerpts:
Publisher's Weekly: "Zelinsky (Swamp Angel) does a star turn with this breathtaking interpretation of a favorite fairy tale. Daringly and effectively mimicking the masters of Italian Renaissance painting, he creates a primarily Tuscan setting...The text, like the art, has a rare complexity."
BookList: "Children--and adults--will pore over the intricate detail and glowing colors; they will also be moved by the mysterious tale of nurture and passion and terror."

Connections:
*Other folktales retold by Paul O. Zelinsky
Rumpelstiltskin: From the German of the Brothers Grimm
ISBN: 9780140558647
Hansel and Gretel
ISBN: 9780525461524
 

"The Gingerbread Man" retold by Eric A. Kimmel

Citation:
Kimmel, Eric A. The Gingerbread Man. New York: Holiday House, 1993.
ISBN: 9780823408245

Plot Summary:
An old woman and an old man decide to make some gingerbread.  From the gingerbread, they fashion the Gingerbread Man with licorice eyes and peppermint buttons!  Once the Gingerbread Man is complete, he instantly runs away from the old woman and old man.  He runs down the street past a variety of animals.  Each animal he passes attempts to stop the Gingerbread Man to talk to him and run after him!  Finally, the Gingerbread Man meets a sly fox who tricks the Gingerbread Man into the river with him.  The fox convinces the Gingerbread Man to get closer and closer to his mouth, where the Gingerbread Man meets his end!

Critical Analysis:
The story has a repetitive phrase which young readers are sure to catch on to "I'll run and run as fast as I can.  You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!  I ran from the woman, I ran from the man, I'll run from you.  See if I can!"  This particular folktale has little magical elements.  The Gingerbread Man is baked by the old woman and old man traditionally and unexpectedly comes to life and runs away!  The Gingerbread Man and all the animals encountered in the tale are personified.  The story keeps with the traditional characterization of foxes as sly, cunning manipulators.  All the other animals state that they want to "talk" to the Gingerbread Man and he gives them no chance at all!  Somehow the fox manages to converse with the Gingerbread Man and tricks him into the water.

Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal: "Kimmel brings humor and warmth to the retelling of this spicy classic. His text has a fast-paced rhythm that is perfect for read-alouds or storytelling. The deft prose has a strong narrative, good dialogue, and a fine chorus from the Gingerbread Man himself."

Connections:
*The Gingerbread Man is a classic tale that children of all ages love!  The story would make a great interactive reading where children pretend to be the different animals the Gingerbread Man outruns.
*Variants/Versions of "The Gingerbread Man"
The Runaway Tortilla by Eric A. Kimmel
ISBN: 9781588370228
The Matzo Ball Boy by Lisa Shulman
ISBN: 9780525471691

"Cat Count" by Betsy Lewin

Citation:
Lewin, Betsy. Cat Count. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2003.
ISBN: 9780805067477

Plot Summary:
Cat Count is a counting book which incorporates addition.  The book counts to ten by ones and adds all numbers together at five and ten. Each group of cats representing a number is unique and described by a short rhyme.  The illustrations are fun depictions of each groups characterized by the accompanying rhyme.  The sweet counting book goes full circle by returning to the first cat "one" who has five kittens!

Critical Analysis:
The copy of the book I was able to check out from the library was the edition with color illustrations.  The book was originally published in black and white.  The coloring adds color and life to the book.

Some of the rhymes in the book are stereotypes of the "person" mentioned with the group of cats.  "Gram"'s cats have knitting needles.  "Teacher"'s cats are observed with proper classroom behavior.  Children will understand these connections being made as they are familiar with these common stereotypes.

 Personal:
This book is not my favorite.  I haven't read many "counting" books but I didn't feel that this one was terribly effective as its addition went to incredibly high numbers near the end.  I thought the end was cute with "Too many cats!", mostly because I was tired and bored by the end.

Review Excerpts:
Kirkus Review: "The bouncy rhyme makes a fine and funny read-aloud, and both cat-lovers and compulsive young counters will linger happily over the ever-more-populous pictures."
Book List Review: "Cat lovers and children just learning how to count will be entranced by this colorful, energetic book."

Connections:
*If you need a counting book that goes beyond 1-10 for an emerging reader and counter this one is perfect.  Cat Count offers a good deal of practice!
 
 

"Millions of Cats" by Wanda Ga'g

Citation:
Ga'g, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1928.
ISBN: 9780399233159

Plot Summary:
Millions of Cats is the story of how an old couple find a cat as a companion.  The very old woman wishes to have a beautiful cat to keep the couple company.  The old very old man seeks to find her the prettiest cat!  He comes upon a hill filled with cats and he is not able to choose, trouble ensues as the very old man brings all of the cats home to his wife.  How ever will they choose?  The story ends happily as the couple ultimately finds the perfect pet!

Critical Analysis:
Ga'g's storyline is definitely memorable.  The text looks wordy on the page but reads easily.  Readers are sure to join in on the repeated line: "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats!"  This is a helpful hook for emerging readers.

The reader should also enjoy the subtle humor that Ga'g employs.  While walking home with the cats, they drink up a whole pond and eat an entire hill of grass but once the very old man gets home and the very old woman exclaims "But we can never feed them all."  The very old man replies, "I never thought of that."

The very old man is concerned with finding the prettiest cat.  He is unable to do so because each cat looks as pretty as the last.  When the very old couple asks the cats to decide amongst themselves who is the prettiest, each cat believes she is the prettiest and the cats end up destroying each other because of their vanity.  Only one remains, a humble, "homely cat."  A take away moral of the story is that vanity is destructive and beauty is fleeting.  The cat that didn't declare herself most beautiful is the cat that becomes the very old couple's beloved pet.

Review Excerpts:
One Minute Book Review (Janice Harayda): "Millions of Cats was the first American picture book that had both popular and literary success, and it’s still one of the worthiest of its honors."
School Library Journal Top 1000 Picture Books #21 (Elizabeth Bird): "Who would have thought that a tale of cannibalistic felines would turn out to be one of the greatest story time classics of all time?"
Newberry Honor Book

Connections:
*Perhaps reading the story a child could be asked how he or she would choose a pet cat and why.  Is the child driven to choose the same way as the very old man?  Will the child understand that love makes things beautiful?
*Other books by Wanda Ga'g:
Snippy and Snappy ISBN: 9780816642458

"This Is Not My Hat" by Jon Klassen

Citation:
Klassen, Jon. This Is Not My Hat. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2012.
ISBN: 9780763655990

Plot Summary:
This Is Not My Hat follows a small fish as he attempts to steal a bigger fish's hat-- and get away with it!  The small fish attempts to convince the reader that taking that hat is okay and he won't be caught.  The small fish uses a variety of justifications for why he will get away with his thievery!  The illustrations in the book are used to tell another story.  The reader must pay special attention to find out what really happens.

Critical Analysis:
Klassen's writing is simple and direct.  The repetition of "even if..." throughout the book mimics the arguments a child might make to get away with something that he or she knows is wrong.  Imagine: It's okay that I ate that cookie because mom wasn't around.  Even when mom gets here, she won't notice.  Even if she notices, she won't know it was me!

The arguments that the small fish makes are disproved by the accompanying illustrations.  When the reader reads "And he probably won't wake up for a long time."  The big fish is shown with his eyes wide open!  The text ends with "No one will ever find me."  By reading the text alone, the reader will not know the whole story as the illustrations make it known that the small fish is in fact found!

For this reason, the book is probably not the best choice for a read aloud to a large group.  Readers should be able to see the pictures up close in order to decipher the whole story Klassen wished to communicate.

The story is a great introduction to irony for the young reader.  The audience knows that the small fish is being followed by the owner of the hat-- but the small fish does not!  This builds suspense and interest as the story unfolds.

Review Excerpts:
Notable Children's Book 2013
Caldecott Medal Winner 2013
Starred BOOKLIST review (Ian Chipman): "Once again, the simple, dramatic tension and macabre humor mesh splendidly with Klassen’s knack for tiny, telling details and knockout page turns."

Connections:
*This is a good one on one read, that way you can observe and discuss the illustrations and what is implied in each. 
*Other books by Jon Klassen:
I Want My Hat Back ISBN: 9780763655983