Mod 12: The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Amanda Hall

Summary:

This book tell the story of artist Henri Rousseau in his later years as he begins his career as a painter. Henri takes no formal lessons, but that doesn't stop him from painting what he loves, esp. jungle scenes. He takes his artwork to an artshow where critics are harsh and say nothing good about his work, but this doesn't stop Rousseau from practicing his craft and continuing to make art. He lives on very little money and teaches violin lessons to make ends meet. Every year he returns to the art show and every year he is mocked, until a bunch of up and coming artist find they really enjoy Henri's work and style and celebrate it with him. He finds success towards the end of his career, and his happy to continue painting what he loves in his self taught style.

Markell, M. (2012). The fantastic jungles of Henri Rousseau. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books.

My Impressions:

A very fun and informative read about an artist who was shot down repeatedly at first but continued to do what he was passionate about and eventually became known as a master artist of his time. This is a great story for showing kids (esp. fledgling artist). That not everything is going to come easy and you will need to work at your craft despite what naysayers might say to deter you. The artwork is very well done and looks a lot like a Rousseau style paintings!

Reviews:

The career of Henri Rousseau, one of the great self-taught modern artists, began at age forty, when he was an impoverished Parisian toll collector. Markel starts her story here and goes on to present Rousseau as a lover of nature, a dreamer, a painter relentless in the pursuit of his art, and, above all, underappreciated during his lifetime. The sometimes straightforward, sometimes flowery text (“the trees spread their arms, and the sun is a blushing ruby, all for him”) is consistently informative, conveying his groundbreaking flat perspective, his inspiration by the plants and animals of faraway lands, and his determined personality, as well as interesting details of his life, such as his eventual place in a circle of Modernist artists and writers. Appended are an author’s note and an illustrator’s note, which includes keys to two of the book’s illustrations that will assist readers in identifying some of Rousseau’s contemporaries (Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque). Though she takes many liberties in scale and perspective, Hall’s lush watercolor and acrylic art bears a clear resemblance to Rousseau’s, especially his characteristic jungle scenes—as she explains in her illustrator’s note, she sometimes literally worked atop reproductions of his paintings, “altering them playfully.” This successful tribute makes Rousseau—an artist so visionary that he was sometimes “startled by what he paints”—accessible, and inspirational, to a young audience.

Hedeen, K. (2012). [A review of the book The fantastic jungles of Henri Rousseau by A. Hall]. Horn Book Magazine, 88(6), 122-123. Retrived from: https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=82581575&scope=site

Usage in a Library Setting:

This would be a great book to start and art lesson program where we draw or paint our own jungles in the style of Henri Rousseau. You could also do a cut out jungle with construction paper since his style was kind of simplistic and full of organic shapes that could easily be recreated with paper. 

Mod 11: What If You Met a Pirate? by Jan Adkins

Summary:

Jan Adkin's What If You Met a Pirate is an informational book about what pirates were and are really like. Each two page spread of the book begins by asking a question like “What did a pirate ship look like?” There is then a paragraph where they not only discuss facts about the topic presented, but also points out any movie pirate tropes that appear about the topic and explains why these are simply not true. The book covers a wide range of pirate facts, from what real pirates looked (and smelled) like to their ships, how they plundered, what they did with their booty, and where pirates are now. Each two page spread is accompanied by several colorful illustrations to further the points and show the reader what the text is talking about as well as several bullet point facts accompanying each image.

Adkins, J. (2004). What if you met a pirate? Bookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press.

My Impressions:

I feel this was a very fun read, and would be very appealing to younger boys in elementary school. I know when I was a younger boy I would have loved this book for sure, especially if the pirates of the Caribbean movies had been out. I also very much enjoyed that they author took the time to explain the false movie stereotypes as well.

Reviews:

Laurie Edwards
PreS-Gr 4--Adkins begins with a stereotypical picture and description of a pirate, then proceeds to debunk the myths that surround these mysterious figures. Contrary to popular belief, pirates did not command large ships with guns and cannons, but preferred smaller, more nimble vessels so they could take victims by surprise and make a quick escape. Real pirates were as skillful with a needle as they were with a cutlass; most sewed their own clothes and mended sails. Packed with interesting but little-known facts, the text illuminates life on the high seas and answers many questions children may have: Did pirates force captives to walk the plank (no) or bury treasure (rarely)? Do pirates still operate today? Each of these questions and more are answered in spreads that include full-color spot illustrations, diagrams, and cross-sections. Adkins's detailed renderings will be as familiar to fans of his other nonfiction books as his tongue-in-cheek humor, both of which appeal to a broad range of ages. A fun and informative read.

Edwards, L. (2004). [A Review of the book What if you met a pirate? By J. Adkins]. School Library Journal, 50(12), 125. Retrived from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=518465322&scope=site

Usage in a Library Setting:

This book could be used as part of a program for younger children where we learn a little about real pirates using the book then either make up stories about ourselves as pirates or draw images of what we might have looked like as a pirate. We could also create drawings of our ships as well, and come up with a pirate allias.

Mod 10: Light in the Darkness by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome

Summary:

Light in the Darkness tells the story of a young slave girl named Rosa and her mother as they attempt to learn how to read in a secret pit school. The story begins in the dead of night with Rosa and her mother sneaking away from their slave quarters. They come to a pit where they are lowered in by other slaves and a literate slave named Morris teaches Rosa, her mother and the other slaves gathered the first few letters of the alphabet.

Learning to read is very dangerous for the slaves as Rosa recalls an incident where their master whipped another slave once for each letter she learned to read. Rosa is very excited about learning, and is good about keeping what she knows very quiet. Rosa and her mother sneak off a few times with out incident, but on one evening the group is almost spotted by the slave patrols. It is decided that the school must stop temporarily until it is safe again. Rosa waits several days but grows more and more impatient as she is read to start making words with all the letters she has learned. One night she wakes her mother up instead fo her mother waking her and they return to Morris in the pit school. It seems as though no one else will show up, until they hear footsteps near by. They think it may be the patrol again, but a friendly bird whistle reveals it it is more slaves to join the school. They help the newcomers into the pit and Rosa teaches a new girl how to spell her name.

Cline-Ransome, L. (2013). Light in the darkness. New York, NW: Disney Jump at the Sun Books.

My Impressions:

This is a great book and the watercolor illustrations are really impressive. Even though it is a short and simple read the subject mater and first person narrative along with the visuals really builds tension and illustrates one of the darker periods of US history. The story makes me want to research more on the slave pit schools as well.

Reviews:

A slave mother and her daughter learn to read in spite of the great danger inherent in their enterprise. Rosa's mother awakens her at night to walk to a "pit school," a hole dug in the ground and covered over where slaves gather to learn their ABC's. Their teacher is a fellow slave who had been taught to read. The patrollers make their journey perilous. Still, the men, women and children gather as often as they can. Cline-Ransome sensitively tells the story from Rosa's viewpoint, endowing her with a yearning and determination that overcome her mother's weariness and fear. The author learned of these schools while researching her book on Frederick Douglass, Words Set Me Free (2012). In this tale, she makes the point that learning was not just a dream of a few famous and accomplished men and women, but one that belonged to ordinary folk willing to risk their lives. Ransome's full-page watercolor paintings—in beautiful shades of blue for the night and yellow for theday--are a window, albeit somewhat gentle, into a slave's life for younger readers. A compelling story about those willing to risk "[a] lash for each letter." (author's note, further reading) (Picture book. 5-8)

[Review of the book Light in the Darkness by L. Cline-Ransome]. (2012). Kirkus Reviews, 80(23), 57. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:9443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=83766992&scope=site

Usage in a Library Setting:

This story could easily be used as part of a program on the history of slavery in the US. One of the social studies teachers at my school plays an underground railroad game with his students every year while teaching his slavery section. A game such as that or a modified pit school version could be created to go along with this book to educate and interact with patrons.

Mod 9: Where's the Big Bad Wolf by Eileen Christelow

Summary:

Officer Doggity is constantly having to stop the Big Bad Wolf (BBW) from trying to eat the other animals. Every time he catches BBW in the act BBW promises he will be good from now on. One Night Doggity hears a puffing and huffing and the air is filled with straw, and the sounds of squealing pigs can be heard. When doggity investigates a strange sheep calling herself Esmeralda is pulling the pigs from the straw. She claims to have saved them. The old cows next door say they warned to pigs not to use straw and doggity searches for the wolf. He finds BBW at home sick, but doggity knows somethings is up!

The next day Esmeralda instructs the pigs to build a new house of sticks. The cows warn that it is still too flimsey but the Pigs don’t listen. That night Doggity stakes out the pigs new house to watch for the wolf, only Esmeralda is seen walking about, and Doggity falls asleep. A huffing wakes him up and Doggity finds the pigs again in their destroyed house and Esmeralda helping them up. The cows take the pigs in that night and read them the story of the 3 little pigs.

Doggity finds the wolf at the hospital, but still knows this is not right. The next house the pigs build from bricks, which Esmeralda is not happy about. The cows and Doggity stake out the new house when it is done and they hear a huffing a puffing, but the house stands strong. Doggity spots Esmeralda running away and followers her until she climbs into the hospital window, and Doggity realizes it was the wolf in sheep’s clothing. The wolf is arrested and promises to be good again. The next day a strange horse is in town giving the pigs bad gardening advice.

Christelow, E. (2002). Where's the big bad wolf? New York, NY: Clarion Books.

My Impressions:

A fun little story with a mystery that I solved with the first picture of the “sheep” who looked like a wolf with a wool around his head. I am unsure as to whether or not small children would be able to figure it out so quickly, but I have a feeling that some would. It could add to the fun though if reading to a group of children and some of them try to identify the wolf but a clever reader could downplay it maybe.

Reviews:

“Gr 1-2-A determined Detective Doggedly pursues the elusive BBW (Big Bad Wolf) in a delicious parody of the traditional tale. Three dim-witted and naive pigs, a wolf with a taste for unusual costuming, and three sharp-eyed residents of the nearby "Home for Elderly Cows" create a mystery worthy of the slightly befuddled detective: who is destroying the pigs' houses, when the wolf is currently hospitalized with mysterious flulike symptoms? Doggedly catches the culprit, but one doubts that this "egg-snatching, pie-pinching, chicken-chasing, pig-poaching" villain is ready to change his habits when released. Christelow's pen-and-ink and gouache cartoons show sticks and straw flying across pages, the not-too-bright protagonist, and a hilarious wolf in sheep's clothing. Characters comment on all the goings-on in dialogue balloons that add to the fun and humor. Pair this book with Jon Scieszka's True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Viking, 1989), another choice for lovers of fractured tales.-Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.”

[Review of Where's the big bad wolf? by E. Christelow] (2002). School library journal. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2929/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|10737822|7528314&mc=USA#

Usage in a Library Setting:

This could be used to spark ideas in children to come up with other common fairytales they know and think of different ways to tell the story which they could ten draw or maybe go around telling their stories.