Revisiting Old Favorites -- Goldilocks Again

Me and You
by Anthony Browne
Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2010 (originally published in 2009 in Great Britain)
review copy provided by the publisher

Did you ever wonder about Goldilocks' side of the story? In Anthony Browne's version, we get one possible answer to who she is and how she winds up in the three bears' house.

Goldilocks' story is told wordlessly, in sepia-colored panels on the left side of each double page spread. Her story looks modern -- a girl who goes out shopping with her mother, follows a balloon to try to catch it, and becomes lost.  Little Bear tells the story of his family going for a walk while they wait for their soup to cool. The Three Bears' story takes up the entire right-hand page of the spread, is in color, is drawn in a storybook style, and includes the text. When Goldilocks runs away from the Bears' house, she runs back through the modern, sepia-colored city scenes and is reunited with her mother. Little Bear is left at his window, wondering what becomes of the girl who had been asleep in his bed.

If you know Anthony Browne's work, you know this version isn't as simple as presenting us with two parallel stories. The cover holds a clue that the world of the Three Bears and Goldilocks' modern world might just be a little closer to one another than we might imagine. Go back to the illustrations of the bears taking their walk and think about what you see there.

Are we a part of the fairy tale story, or is the fairy tale a part of ours? As always, Anthony Browne makes us think and wonder.

I hope you've enjoyed this week of revisiting old favorites! I've certainly enjoyed sharing them with you!

Revisiting Old Favorites -- Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Rubia and the Three Osos
by Susan Middleton Elya
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Disney*Hyperion Books, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This rhyming version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is sure to be a hit with children who speak Spanish, children who are learning Spanish, readers who love new versions of old stories, and fans of Melissa Sweet's illustrations. Well, I guess that means that this book will be a hit with EVERYONE!

First, a bit about the rhymes. Who can't love a poet who rhymes "prepared" with "derriere'd"?

There once were three osos

who lived by themselves.

They stored their three platos

for soup on the shelves.

But one night at supper

--la sopa prepared,

the soup platos ladled,

the chairs derriere'd --

Sometimes the Spanish words rhyme with Spanish words, sometimes Spanish and English rhyme, and sometimes English rhymes with English. Sometimes the Spanish words are explained in the context of the poem, and sometimes by clues in the picture, and every now and then the reader might need to go to the glossary of Spanish words in the back of the book to make sure of the meaning of a word. But all in all, the Spanish and English go together like the soup, the bowls, the chairs and the beds.

You can tell by the cover that there's something a little different about the way this story turns out. What's new in this version is that Rubia regrets the damage she did at the Osos' house. She makes up a pot of soup and takes it, and some glue, to the Osos', where she says, "Lo siento."

Three cheers for Rubia and the Three Osos!!!

Tomorrow, another new version of Goldilocks...

Revisiting Old Favorites -- Three Little Kittens

Three Little Kittens
by Jerry Pinkney
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

It's autumn in Jerry Pinkney's version of the Three Little Kittens, and this mischievous trio can't wait to go outside and tumble in the leaves with their mousie toys, their ball of yarn, and the cardinal, blue jay and goldfinch who swoop outside their window.

True to form, they lose their mittens, find them again, eat pie with them on and dirty them, wash them clean and then ask to go outside and play again.

The delight of this traditional version is all in the details of the pictures. Anyone with cats will recognize how truly Pinkney has portrayed the way the kittens move, the things that catch their attention, even that wide-eyed wild look they get when they are engrossed in play.

There's lots to look at on every page, and be sure you don't miss the music and words to The Three Little Kittens printed on the inside of the book jacket.

This would be a fun story for children to read aloud and maybe even act out for Poetry Friday or readers' theater!

Tomorrow, a new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears...

Do You Know What This Is?

Can you read this?

If you need more info, see Jeff Utecht's post at The Thinking Stick.

Revisiting Old Favorites -- The Red Hen

The Red Hen
by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
Roaring Brook Press (A Neal Porter Book), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This father/daughter team, who recently re-imagined Chicken Little, are back at it with The Red Hen.

The Red Hen is boldly-colored and wacky-eyed, like her unwilling helpers, the cat, the rat and the frog (who says, "Bribbit" instead of "Not I").

In this version, the Red Hen finds a recipe for a cake, gathers the ingredients, makes it, decorates it, and, you guessed it, eats it all by herself.  BUT...she also gives the reader her recipe at the end of the book. Hopefully, readers will be able to find an adult who will help them bake and decorate their cake!

A fun addition to any collection of folk and fairy tale variants!

Tomorrow, a new version of Three Little Kittens...

Revisiting Old Favorites -- The 3 Little Pigs

The 3 Little Dassies
by Jan Brett
G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Jan Brett brings us a charming African version of The 3 Little Pigs set in Namibia. Dassies are critters that resemble a guinea pig-sized koala. They live in rocky areas with red-headed agama lizards nearby and black eagles overhead.

The style of this book is classic Jan Brett, with borders composed of a stunning variety of African prints and patterns, the illustrations filled with details of the plant and animal life of the region, the characters dressed in the traditional dress of the Herero women of Namibia, and foreshadowing found in decorated panels in the margins of each page.

Mimbi, Pimbi, and Timbi are the three dassie sisters who set off from the Namib Desert towards the mountains to make a new life now that they are all grown up. They meet Agama Man, a fancily-dressed redheaded lizard who watches over them as Mimbi weaves her home of grasses, Pimbi constructs her home of driftwood, and Timbi makes her home of mountain stones. The eagle in this version does not huff and puff, but she does grab Mimbi and Pimbi and take them to her nest to feed to her babies. Agama Man saves the two sisters, bringing them safely to Timbi's stone house.  When the eagle swoops down the chimney to grab Timbi, she lands in the fire and singes her feathers, which is why the eagles in that part of Africa are black to this very day.

Two thumbs up for this new version of The 3 Little Pigs!

Tomorrow, a new version of The Red Hen...

Revisiting Old Favorites

photo by GottShott, Flickr Creative Commons

I wound up with five different new versions of old favorite fairy tales in a pile on my kitchen table, so I'm going to be treating you to a week of "Revisiting Old Favorites" this coming week.

I'll start tomorrow by sharing a new take on the 3 Little Pigs...

Poetry Friday: Change of Seasons

Here are two parts of Linda Pastan's twelve-part poem, The Months:


October

How suddenly
the woods
have turned
again. I feel

like Daphne, standing
with my arms
outstretched
to the season,

overtaken
by color, crowned
with the hammered gold
of leaves.


November

These anonymous
leaves, their wet
bodies pressed
against the window

or falling past—
I count them
in my sleep,
absolving gravity,

absolving even death
who knows as I do
the imperatives
of the season.


Pastan has perfectly captured the changes that have taken place between the glowing, sunny October images in my mosaic, and the chilly, dark dampness we now have. Her whole twelve-part poem describes an entire year just as effectively. It's sometimes hard to remember the oppressive heat of summer or the delights of the first buds of spring at this point in the swing of the seasons, but her poem takes you right back. Poetry is good for that -- holding onto what is fleeting.

JoAnn at Teaching Authors has the roundup today.  Go over and see what other poems this fall day has in store for you!

Blogging with Ana

Ana, shopping at one of her favorite places-
Jo-Ann Fabrics!

(I have always learned most when watching my own children grow and learn. As parents, we have the luxury of watching one child over a period of time and see how they grow as learners.  When Ana was a beginning reader, her book choice helped me rethink what I understood about "just right books" and I wrote about that experience in an article, "Shopping With Ana".   When Angela asked me to write on the topic of passion in learning, what I've learned from Ana came to mind again. This post will be cross-posted on Angela Maiers' site as part of her amazing #PassionDriven Conversation!)


Blogging With Ana: What I Learned About Learning From Watching My Daughter Become a Blogger


Ana, my youngest daughter, is an artist.  A creator.  Since she was very little, she loved to make things.  She is a collector of stuff. She sees possibility in every little thing that I attempt to throw away--old jars, empty boxes, buttons, and scraps of paper. In her eyes, everything can become something. Ana lives her life envisioning what she can make.


Ana has an amazing art teacher, one who gives students choice and ownership and who teaches her how to live her life as an artist. Ana has thrived in that environment in art class each week. Her art classroom is the perfect example of what Carol Dweck describes in her article, "Even Geniuses Work Hard":
"Meaningful work not only promotes learning in the immediate situation, but also promotes a love of learning and resilience in the face of obstacles. This kind of meaningful work takes place in classrooms in which teachers praise the learning process rather than the students' ability, convey the joy of tackling challenging learning tasks, and highlight progress and effort. Students who are nurtured in such classrooms will have the values and tools that breed lifelong success."


However, up until this year, Ana was also what I would consider a reluctant writer. She worked hard to avoid writing.  Some years, during writing time, Ana would produce a few lines of text in an hour's time.  She became quite skilled at avoiding writing.


But, Ana is part of a family of bloggers.  I have blogged about books at A Year of Reading for almost 5 years. My husband recently started a blog about his work in Tech Education (Scott Sibberson's blog). And our older daughter writes often and has started a variety of blogs over the past few years. One day, when Ana and I were chatting about blogs, I suggested she start a blog about the things she makes. I thought a blog like that would be great for others who liked to make things. Her eyes got wide and she said, "I can do that?"  And off she went to become a writer.


Almost the minute I suggested it, Ana started her blog, Fun Things to Make.  Within a few hours of that first conversation, Ana nagged at us until she had a blog, an avatar and a profile. Up until that point, she had no idea that she could write about the thing she loved best.  She had no idea that anyone would be interested in reading about the things she created. She couldn't wait to get started.


I watched Ana blog all summer.  She blogged once or twice a week all summer and she wrote more in each post than she had written in the entire year.  She came to care about her audience and she became fascinated in the world when she discovered the "stats" button on her blog.  She checked her email for comments and found countries on the map that she had never heard of.   I often found her thinking aloud about her readers, wondering if they would be interested in certain things she was making.


Not only did she write, but she learned so much about Web 2.0 tools. She became interested in iMovie and Keynote. She even pulled out her Flip Video camera to capture what she was doing.  She learned to find copyright free images on Flickr and she learned to take her own photos that told a story.  She learned to link and she began to read other kids' blogs.  Last month, after discovering a great new store that sells unique crafts, she ran home to blog about it, knowing her readers would want to know about this great place, Wholly Craft.  Later that day, she asked if she could do a video interview of the owner for her blog and emailed the owner telling her how much she loved her store and asking if she'd be willing to do an interview.  Ana was thinking like a writer.


She also began to realize the impact her work had on others.  Family members and friends asked her to make them clipboards. She is starting to give handmade gifts and began to see the good she can do with the things she makes. She took the opportunity to bake with my mother and learn to make a few fun family recipes.


This year, Ana is in 5th grade and she is writing more than ever.  She is writing poetry and narrative. She is adding music to her writing and collecting words she loves in the back of her notebook. This week, I was telling my husband about a post we had done on our blog called "100 Things About Me as a Reader". Ana overheard, pulled out the computer and asked if she could create one.  Of course, I said yes. I assumed she was taking our idea, as other bloggers had, and started her own list about herself as a reader. But Ana surprised me again.  Instead she started her list entitled, "100 Things About Me as an Artist".


She has had less time to work on her blog since school (and dance and other commitments) started up again. But the blog is not what is important.  More importantly, Ana now sees herself as not only an artist, but an artist and a writer.


Ana learned so much from starting with something she was passionate about.   Ana has a new confidence this year and I attribute so much of that to her blog. She knows herself in a way that she didn't before. She knows that she can work through challenges. She knows that she loves to make things but that the work that goes along with that is often hard.  She knows that she can work through challenges and she knows that it will be worth it.  Most importantly, she's found work that she loves and a community who cares about the work she does.

As her mother, I am thrilled that Ana has found something she cares enough about to work so hard. Isn't that what we all want for our children? For them to find something that matters? For them to find something that inspires them to be who they are meant to be?  

As a teacher, reflecting on Ana's blogging, I keep going back to a quote I heard from Christian Long this summer. He said, “"While there is often talk about making school 'fun', the real trick is to challenge our students with work that they can deeply believe in, work that matters and gives them a chance to make an impact on the world around them.  When school is merely about keeping kids 'busy', then kids often ask for 'fun'.  On the other hand, when the work is authentic and powerful, kids rise to the challenge.  Every time."

Watching Ana this summer has been a reminder to me about how important it is to give kids choice in their learning lives-to find what they love and to build on that.  So much about this era of testing has compromised that one thing that is so important to a child's learning. If children are to find their passions, giving students choice and finding the things they love is key.  And I think we need to be true to the idea of choice and not just give our students "fake choices".   In a recent #TitleTalk Chat on Twitter this year, @PaulWHankins hit the mark when he said this about choice, “Offering one or two choices is what you do with toddlers at breakfast with cereal, not with budding readers in a ELA classroom."  Our students need real choices if we want them to own their own learning.


Ana says her blog doesn't feel like work.  "It feels more like having fun. I never get bored and I get to share my things. I was surprised that I wrote so much at first because I never really wrote so much. I never thought I'd be able to do that much writing and I did. Even though sometimes it's really hard, I know I have to get over it and remember how happy I feel when I publish a post."

ONLY ONE YEAR by Andrea Chen

I saw this book, ONLY ONE YEAR, at Cover to Cover last week and recognized the author, Andrea Cheng, from another book, WHERE THE STEPS WERE. I had read that book and loved it so I picked this one up based on my history with the author.

I am always looking for short novels with lots to think about. When I think about a perfect read aloud book, often I am looking for one that is short with lots to think and talk about.  I find that it is difficult to find read alouds for 2nd and 3rd grade.  If teachers want to read a chapter book, I often have trouble recommending one that does what I want a read aloud to do--provide for great conversations and learning.  ONLY ONE YEAR is a great one and perfect for children newer to chapter books as well as more sophisticated readers.  It is 96 pages long and is a great story of family and challenges.

This story is about a little girl whose grandparents live in China.  Her parents decide to send her two year-old brother to China for a year because they believe it will be better for him to be with family than in a daycare.  This is a hard decision for the family and this story tells about the year Di Di is away as well as his homecoming.  Each family member deals with DiDi's absence in a different way.

The author's note at the end talks about how common it is for parents to make a decision like this and why they do. This book would provide for great conversations around so many things.