Rapunzel's Revenge

Author: Shannon and Dean Hale

 

Illustrator: Nathan Hale

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 2008

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books

ISBN: 978-1-59990-070-4

Author website: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books.html

Illustrator website: http://spacestationnathan.blogspot.com/

Media used for illustrations: pencil and ink, digitally colored

Annotation: Graphic novel that fractures the Rapunzel tale. In this cheeky adaptation, a self sufficient young woman breaks free from the tower where she is imprisoned and goes in search of her mother.

Personal reaction to the book: This fractured fairy tale is full of humor and sight gags. It begins with the same premise as the traditional tale, a pregnant woman craves greens. Her husband steals them from an evil witch’s garden. Alas, they must pay dearly for this theft by giving the witch their baby daughter upon birth. The witch names the baby Rapunzel. Now the story fractures and takes its own road. Rapunzel meets Jack and there is no end to the calamities and quandaries they encounter. Of course, as in any good fairy tale, the story ends happily ever after. The authors have included aspects of a tall tale. For example on page 39 Rapunzel lassoes a wild boar and rides it and on page 106 she does the same with a sea serpent.  The text has an easy conversational style blending Western twang with modern day teen intonation. I enjoyed the play on well known fairy tale symbols: the goose that lays the golden egg, the beanstalk, and dwarfs. The author and illustrator throw in some American folklore for good measure when they introduce the jackalope on page 84. There is even a reference to the Wizard of Oz when Gothel withers and disappears. This book has everything to make it a modern fractured fairy tale from magic to romance. It is lots of fun and best of all; it has a strong heroine who takes care of business by defeating her nemesis. The text and illustrations work together to move the story along at a rapid pace. The reader is encouraged to carefully read the pictures to get the full understanding of the story and enjoy the sight gags. The dialogue is placed in balloons with a white background. The narration is placed in rectangular panels with yellow background. The panels are laid out horizontally throughout the book. Each page is bordered in white. The book is paginated for easy reference. This book design makes the story easy to read. The color palette is predominately earthy tones with blues and purples used as accents and highlights. Readers interested in Shannon and Dean Hale’s creative process will enjoy reading information found at http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_rap.html ----warning spoiler alert. Do not read this until you have read the book. Have a good time with this book and enjoy the wild ride reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies.

General curricular connections:

• Graphic novels
• Reading for pleasure
• Study of fairy and folk tales
• Use in conjunction with Calamity Jack by Sarah Hale

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades 5 and up

Booklist recommends this book for use with grades 5-8

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades 5 and up

Awards/Recognitions:

ALA Notable Children’s Books, 2009
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, Fiction, 2009

Junior Library Guild Selection

Cybil Award Winner, Graphic Novels for Elementary/Middle Grades, 2008

Horn Book starred review

Library Media Connection starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal starred review

Note: This book was selected from " Other books receiving Top Ten votes, Summer Session 2009", San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science, LIBR 271A, Genres & Topics in Youth Literature, Professor Partington. This book applies to the assignment criteria – fiction graphic novel.

Onomatopoeia: Page 57; “FWUMP!”

Onomatopoeia: Page 62; “SMACK!”

Onomatopoeia: Page 93; “Yank”

Symbolism: Page 144; The golden egg symbolizes wealth and prosperity

Repetition: Chase scenes throughout the book, villains chase the Rapunzel and Jack

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.bloomsbury.com/children/Rapunzels-Revenge/Shannon-Hale-Dean-Hale/books/details/9780747587439

It's a Book

Author: Lane Smith

Illustrator: Lane Smith

Peach’s Picks Rating:

Year of publication: 2010

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

ISBN: 978-1-59643-606-0

Author website: http://www.lanesmithbooks.com/LaneSmithBooks/Lane_Smith_Books.html

Illustrator website: See “Author website” entry

Media used for illustrations: Brush and ink – more information about Smith’s creative process may be found at http://curiouspages.blogspot.com/2010/07/lane-smith-on-its-book.html

Annotation: Two friends, jackass and monkey, discuss and compare print and digital media. Jackass is unfamiliar with books, but soon comes to realize their value.

Personal reaction to the book: This book is laugh out loud funny, especially for adults. The reader is introduced to three characters, a mouse, a jackass, and a monkey on the title page. The jackass carries a laptop computer. The monkey sits in a red chair reading a book. The mouse observes their actions. At first the jackass cannot understand how the monkey can enjoy the book. After all, a book cannot do all the things a computer can do; scroll, blog, text, tweet, or be used for game playing. However, the jackass’ interest is piqued. He continues to ask the monkey questions about using a book. Finally, putting his computer aside he becomes engrossed in the book. Monkey must go to the library to get another.  The final sentence is an excellent punch line that will take readers by surprise as it is considered a naughty, inappropriate word by most parents. Depending on the community a librarian serves, there may be a challenge against the book due to the last sentence. I considered it hilarious, but snarky.  The text is brief, simple, and to the point. The story is told through dialogue. Another illustrator might have used balloons for the dialogue, but Smith chose to convey which character is speaking by assigning each a color and a font style. The characters are cartoon-like with the action taking place in a living room with two red chairs. The jackass and the donkey face one another throughout their discussions. The eyes are very expressive showing a range of emotions including disbelief, irritation, and anger. Lane Smith’s body of work contains many humorous and clever picturebooks. I especially enjoy the fable “Grasshopper Logic” found in Squids Will Be Squids by Scieszka and Smith (Viking, 1998).

General curricular connections:

• Humorous stories
• Use in school library classes when discussing technology and print resources and their uses
• Use in health and human development classes when discussing technology and print resources and their uses

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades 3-5

Booklist recommends this book for use with grades 1-3

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades 4 and up

Awards/Recognitions:

Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal starred review

Note: This book applies to the assignment criteria - books published in 2010-2011

Repetition:  “It’s a book.” found throughout the text

Repetition:  Page 21-33; the wall clock

Onomatopoeia: Page 10; “Toot”

Symbolism: Page 9; the firework-like drawings that float above the jackass’ head symbolizing the noise of characters fighting in a computer game

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.lanesmithbooks.com/LaneSmithBooks/Books.html

Mary Howitt's The Spider and The Fly

Author: Mary Howitt

Illustrator: Tony DiTerlizzi

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 2002

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 0-689-85289-4

Author website: No personal website available. Information about the author may be obtained from Oxford Reference Online Premium, an online subscription database

Illustrator website: http://diterlizzi.com/home/books/

Media used for illustrations: "Lamp Black and Titanium White Holbein Acryla Gouache and Berol Primsmacolor Pencil on Strathmore 5-Ply, Plate Bristol board and reproduced in silver and black duotone. Ghosts were created using “graphite and then added as a transparent layer using Adobe Photoshop"(illustrator’s note).

Annotation: This familiar poem about a crafty spider preying on an innocence fly is given a fresh interpretation through Tony DiTerlizzi’s imaginative black-and-white illustrations echoing a 1920s era silent film.

Personal reaction to the book: This book is great fun to read aloud and to pour over the pictures. We all know the story of the wily spider that successfully lures the fly to his web, but here the poem comes to life through illustrations of a fly who is an innocent, naïve flapper wooed by a smarmy, nattily dressed, “gentleman” spider.  The story can be interpreted as a cautionary tale and indeed, at the end of the book, the spider has written a letter warning readers not to become trapped “in some schemer’s web” (page 29). The black-and-white drawings in this book steal the show. The expressions and body language of the characters lend to the melodramatic mood. The bug ghosts foreshadow what will become of the flapper. The spider is shown gloating as he knows she will succumb to his ways. The fly’s large eyes convey expression as do the spider’s heavily lidded, creepy eyes. The book gives the impression of a 1920s silent film. The illustrations can be seen by a large group, but are best appreciated when viewing them individually. The reader is able to discover details, for example; on pages 7-8 the bed is fashioned from a soap box with the foot of the bed made from a comb, the decorative picture is a postage stamp, and the wallpaper border is end-to-end bugs. Those who enjoy Joan Steiner’s Look-Alike books will enjoy examining the backgrounds found in this book. The book can easily be read aloud to a large group and lends itself to adding the characters’ voices. For those who like humorous and sinister picturebooks, pair this with The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. Back matter includes biographical information about Mary Howitt, author, and Tony DiTerlizzi, illustrator.

Further discussion of artwork:

In her book Picture This: How Pictures Work author/illustrator Molly Bang says “Wide space can create tension between the divided objects” (page 89). Tony DiTerlizzi uses this technique in an illustration he created for The Spider and the Fly. Examine the full page spread showing the spider and the fly at dinner. The small fly is seated to the far left and the large spider leans toward her from the far right. Bang further explains tension created by distance saying, “When the attacker and the victim are spaced far apart, I, as the victim, have more time to be scared. There are at least two seconds now before I’ll be cornered in this picture, but there is more possibility of escape with the larger amount of space-time between victim and attacker” (page 89). The reader feels the tension in the illustration of the spider and the fly at dinner. The reader wants to warn the fly to flee. Later in the book, Bang uses space to imply time. The fly has returned to the spider. He is kissing her hand. Not only are they close, but they are touching and she is smiling coyly at the spider. Now the reader feels that there is no time left for the fly to escape. Molly Bang describes a picture created in this style saying “[the] picture feels frightening to me, but part of me also wonders whether these two figures aren’t just having a jolly old chat” (page 88).

DiTerlizzi set his rendition of Mary Howitt’s poem in a gothic-like mansion reminiscent of a silent horror movie starring a smarmy spider that looks like Vincent Price. The spider is bent on capturing the hapless, beautiful, and naïve fly that looks like Louise Brooks. To further capture the feeling of a silent movie, DiTerlizzi created artwork using black and white illustrations with silvery accents making the reader feel as they are watching a silent film flickering across the screen. In DiTerlizzi’s endnote he mentions that his artwork is influenced by the artwork of Edward Gorey, Charles Addams, and Arthur Rackham. The influence of Charles Addams is noticeable through DiTerlizzi’s use of black humor and macabre characters. While these illustrations can be viewed by a large group, they are ideally suited for individual readers who enjoy looking at artwork for detail.

Reference

Bang, M. (2000). Picture this: How picture work. New York: SeaStar Books.

  
General curricular connections:

• Poetry
• Creative writing
• Art
• Reading for pleasure

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends this book for use with grades 1-6

Booklist recommends this book for use with grades 2-5

Peach’s Picks recommends this book for use with grades 3 and up

Awards/Recognitions:

Kirkus Review starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal starred review

Caldecott Honor Award, 2003

ALA Notable Children’s Books, All ages, 2003

Note: This entry meets the assignment criteria to review books that contain single book-length poems.

Rhyme: Poetic rhyme scheme of AA, BB, CC using limbic pentameter style of poetry construction

Simile: Page 19; “Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”

Allusion: Page 10: The large clock in the background showing 11:30 p.m. indicates that time is running out for the fly. This alludes to the significance of the clock string midnight in the classic fairytale, Cinderella.

Allusion: The fly is depicted as a flapper, alluding to a frivolous young woman from the 1920s jazz age

Book cover picture retrieved from http://books.simonandschuster.com/Spider-and-the-Fly/Mary-Howitt/9780689852893

American Born Chinese

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Recipient of Peach’s Picks Award

Top Ten Favorite Books

Summer 2011

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Illustrator: Gene Luen Yang (colored by Lark Pien)

Peach’s Picks Rating:

Year of publication: 2006

City of publication: New York

Publisher: First Second

ISBN: 978-1-59643-373-1

Author website: http://www.humblecomics.com/

Illustrator website: http://www.humblecomics.com/

Media used for illustrations: Simple/direct drawings with detailed backgrounds, muted colors, panel style comics, stereotypes of characters

Annotation: Three humorous and poignant stories tell the problems of Jin, who deals with racism; Danny, who is ashamed of his stereotypical Chinese cousin; and the Monkey King, a traditional Chinese folklore character.

Personal reaction to the book: Readers who page through the book and believe they are picking up a funny comic are in for a surprise. While the book is funny, even hilarious, it presents serious discussions about self-acceptance, racism, stereotyping, and bigotry. The three interwoven stories draw on popular culture as well as Chinese folklore to create the tales. The story is told in words and pictures, each complementing the other. The story can be read on the surface and then re-read to find clever references and devices such as Chin-Kee’s name. (Say it quickly; it is the ethnic slur “chinky”.) The book seems to be three short stories, but the author ties them together in an ending that will take most readers by surprise and leave them smiling and nodding their heads in delight and agreement. Even though the subject is racism targeting Chinese Americans, the feelings of not fitting into a group and being an outcast are universal. The artwork and layout are striking. The cartoon drawings are clear. The layout is not busy and crowded which can be the case with graphic novels. Each page includes from one to six panels. The panel sets are surrounded by white and are easy to follow. They are not crowded by too much text. The color is rich and helps focus the eye enabling the reader to easily move through the panels. The book is sure to capture the readers and attention and be recommended to friends. 

General curricular connections:

• Health and Human Development Class / Discussion about racism
• Health and Human Development Class / Discussion about friendship
• Reading for pleasure / Graphic novels

Recommended grade levels:
School Library Journal recommends the book for grade 7- up

Booklist recommends the book for grades 10-12

Peach’s Picks recommends the book for grades 9-12

Awards/Recognitions:
School Library Journal starred review

Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2007

Eisner Award Winner 2007 (Best Graphic Album-New)

National Book Award Nominee 2006

Notes: This book was selected from "The Top Ten Favorites List / Summer Session 2009", San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science, LIBR 271A, Genres & Topics in Youth Literature, Professor Partington. This entry meets the assignment criteria to review graphic novels/fiction.

Onomatopoeia: Page 10; “Bonk!” when the Monkey King hits a monkey on the head

Onomatopoeia: Page 10; “Krak!” when the Monkey King punches the air

Onomatopoeia: Page 10; “Boom!” when the Monkey King kicks

Simile: Page 10; “fist-like-lightning”

Symbolism: Chin-Kee symbolizes the racist stereotype of a Chinese male

Book cover picture retrieved from: http://geneyang.com/american-born-chinese