I finally saw this book I had heard about when I was at Cover to Cover yesterday. A large book--one that I think kids may have trouble fitting in their book bags when they decide to check it our from the library. But, after reading it, I decided it would be well worth it--carrying this large book around!
THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR: FIVE CLASSIC TALES retold by Zoe B. Alley is quite amusing. You know I love new versions of old tales and this book has 5 classic tales--The Three Little Pigs, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, and The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings--all starring The Wolf.
The illustrations are done in comic book/graphic novel form. The stories follow the traditional tales but add quite a bit of humor throughout. My 9 year old was reading the book last night and I overheard her reading it aloud and then cracking up-all by herself with the book. This book is on several Mock Caldecott sites.
I also think it is a great model for kids--a new way to think about writing a story they know. Since the kids at our school have access to Comic Life, I can see something like this as another possibility for them--putting stories they know into comic form. It does change things, just a bit.
So, I a fun book. One that I am glad I purchased. My 3rd grader loved it and I am pretty sure that it will be quite popular in the library with all grades.
Slightly off your main topic, but I highly, highly recommend Comic Life. I especially urge elementary teachers to have the kids do their own art, scan it in, and then do the comics. (I mostly see it used in my school with photos.) My fourth graders used it last year for our Alice project and it was fantastic! Here's my post about it: http://medinger.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/in-the-classroom-alice-in-comic-land/
ReplyDeleteLove this book! I interviewed Zoe here:
ReplyDeletehttp://jamarattigan.livejournal.com/196990.html.