Cinderella I POEM

Almost every culture in the world has a Cinderella tale. Did you know that? Each tale brings its unique culture and people into the story, which makes each one fascinating and very informative. I recenlty finished reading The Egyptian Cinderella, which is Egypt's version of Cinderella, and Yeh-Shen, which is China's verson. Yeh-Shen is also said to be the very first written Cinderella story.

To highlight the commonalities and differnces of these two tales I constructed an I POEM for two voices. An I-Poem is constructed using a pre-established format or by creatively comparing two points of view. For this assignment we used a pre-established format to "fill in the blanks" with deatils from the story and research about each story's culture. This poem is told from two different points of view. When differnces occur they speak alone and when similarities occur they speak together. I think I-Poems are a great way to teach students about different cultures and people. When you construct an I-Poem you have to completely immerse yourself in the story.This would be great for students because it would help them focus on each text and think critically about both.

I-Poems can be written about anything! I would love to use I-Poems in my future classroom to do any kind of compare and contrast activity.I think they are extremely beneficial and creative!

check out my I POEM click on the link next to my name, Kerry Smith.

Also check out these student friendly websites about EGYPT and CHINA to learn more about these great places!

Venn Diagram

I created a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Little Red Riding Hood and Lon Po Po. I used a symbol from each book as part of the background design. Lon Po Po's background was gingko nuts, while Little Red Riding Hood's background was wheat berry muffins. The symbol for the "both" page was a basket since it was represented in both stories. The five similarities and differences as well as the names of the stories are not attached to the background. Students will have to decide for themsleves which pieces fit where. This kind of activiyty is a fun and creative way to introduce Venn Diagrams; it can be done with any two similar yet different stories. Just have fun with it and be creative! Enjoy!

Here is a list of the similarities and differences because I know they are hard to read in the photographs. :-)

Both:

1. In this story the characters did not follow directions and got into trouble as a result.

2. In this story the wolf wanted something to eat.

3. This story used a basket.

4. This story contained a wolf, a grandmother, and a mother as characters.

5. In this story the wolf tris to trick others.

Lon Po Po:

1. In this book the mother travels to the Grandmother's house while the children stay at home.

2. In this book the wolf's downfall was his craving for tasty gingko nuts.

3. This book contains four main characters: the wolf, Shang, Tao, and Paotze.

4. In this book the children outsmart their enemy the wolf.

5. In this book the wolf pays for his actions with his life.

Little Red Riding Hood:

1. In this book a child travels to her Grandmother's house while her mother stays at home.

2. In this book the wolf's downfall was his cravings for yummy wheat berry muffins.

3. This book contains three main characters: the wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Grandmother.

4. In this book the sly wolf is outsmarted by the Grandmother.

5. In this book the wolf pays for his actions by working in the Grandmother's muffin shop.

The Tale of Despereaux

Title: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator: Ering, Timothy Basil
Publisher and Date: Candlewick Press, 2003
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Age Range: 3rd-5th

Summary:
This is “the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.” The main character in the story is a loveable mouse named Despereaux. Despereaux doesn’t exactly fit in with his family or the rest of the mouse community. His body is too small, his ears are too large, and he was born with his eyes open. And if that isn’t enough he doesn’t scamper, he reads books (instead of eating them), and he falls in love with a princess! His differences eventually get him into trouble, and he is thrown into the dungeon to be eaten by the rats! Meanwhile everything else in the land is going wrong as well. The Queen has died, soup has been outlawed, and spoons and bowls have been confiscated. When a light loving rat (Roscuro) and cauliflower-eared servant girl (Mig) come up with an evil plan to harm the princes the forces of good and evil collide. Desperaux faces his fears of the dungeon to save his princess. After a lot of trouble and talking, order is restored to the kingdom. The princess is saved, soup is brought back, Mig is reunited with her father, Roscuro is allowed to come into the light, and Desperaux lives his life happily as a friend of the princess.

Response:
This was such good book! It was full of loveable, memorable characters with a fairy tale like setting. Despearex just captured my heart. He couldn’t help it that he was different and it broke my heart that even his own family did not accept him. In fact, his own brother and father are the ones who had him sent to the dungeon. This is something very important that I think we should point out to our students. That others, no matter how different they are, need to be treated with respect and compassion. And that we should above all uphold an atmosphere of acceptance for everyone. The illustrations throughout the novel are also something to note. They help the reader get a visual of the characters and the setting without overpowering the text. There are only a few, but I think they are interspersed at appropriate parts. Another aspect of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed was its interactive aspect. Kate DiCamillo did a great job of interacting with the reader. Her comments and questions to the reader kept me fully engaged throughout the story. It really helps to pull you in and make you a part of the story. Another great thing about the book is that Kate encourages children to expand their vocabulary. She included harder words like “perfidy” and “adieu” and encouraged her reader to look these words up. I think it is great that she is helping to broaden children’s knowledge. One of my favorite things about the book was Kate’s words of wisdom. She had such good points throughout the novel. On page 113 she cautions her reader that “All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.” On page 117 when she warns, “every action, reader, no matter how small, has a consequence.” And finally on page 207 she says, “Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing.” All of these things are wonderful life lessons that we can all take to heart.

Teaching Ideas:
I’m not sure that I would teach this novel, but I would definitely have it available in my classroom. It has great characterization, a fairy tale setting, and it promotes the themes of acceptance and forgiveness. What’s not to love? Be sure to treat yourself to this wonderful book!

Bad Day at Riverbend

Title: Bad Day at Riverbend
Author/Illustrator: Allsburg, Chris Van
Publisher and Date: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995
Genre: Picture Book, Fantasy

Age Range: K-2nd

Summary:
Riverbend is a quiet little town where hardly anything ever happens. One day however, everything changes. A mysterious “shiny, greasy slime” appears all over a coachman, his horses, and his coach. Soon the mysterious substance has spread to cover townspeople, cattle, and buildings. Sheriff Ned Hardy takes it upon himself to investigate this mystery. The only clue they have is that a bright light appears right before everything becomes covered in slime. At the end of the story the reader discovers the “shiny, greasy slime” are actually crayon scribbles and that Riverbend is located in a Wild West coloring book!

Response:
This book is so cool! The illustrations in this book are what truly set it apart. Chris Van Allsburg used computer images and crayons to create his unique illustrations. At first glance I actually thought a young child had colored in the book and “ruined” the illustrations. When I read the book, however, I figured out that these marks were an integral part of the story. One of my favorite pictures in the book is when the sheriff and his men discover the stick figure the child has drawn. They describe him as skinny as a broomstick and tall as a tree, and they actually think that he is the culprit of the mysterious marks! This book is a great read! It will keep children of ages entertained the entire way through the book. One of my favorite things about this book is that it does not have a set ending. The reader has to infer what has happened and decide an ending on his/her own. I love this because it allows the reader to think and to be creative!

Teaching Ideas:
I would definitely read this book in my classroom! It is such a fun story! Every child can relate to this story; I know I can! As a child I would color for hours and hours. So I thought it would be neat to let my students have a chance to color in class. A great teaching idea would be to give every child in the class a picture from a different coloring book and allow them to come up with their own story based on this picture. Then they could color the picture and share their picture and story with the class. I also love these lessons that Houghton Mifflin has come up with. Be sure to check them out!

Swamp Angel

Title: Swamp Angel
Author: Isaacs, Anne
Illustrator: Zelinsky, Paul. O
Publication and Date: Puffin Books, 1994
Genre: Picture Book, Traditional Tale
Age Range: K-3rd
1995 Caldecott Honor Book


Summary:
This is the tale of Angelica Longrider, or as some might call her "Swamp Angel." She was born as tall as her mother and could build her own log cabin at the age of two. This is no ordinary Tennessee native. She was kind and brave. She roamed around the mountains of Tennessee helping others. She pulled a whole wagon train of prospective settlers out of a swamp earning herself the nickname "Swamp Angel." One of her most remembered feats deals with a huge bear nicknamed "Thundering Tarnation." Angelica entered a competition alongside the men to try to kill the pesky bear that was eating all their winter rations. As the story progresses you see that the bear has licked one man clean, made another bald, and surrounded a third with toothpicks. Angelica is the last to try her hand at the bear. They fight and wrestle over lakes and mountains and finally Angelica kills the bear quite by accident (with her snoring). Everyone in Tennessee was fed with plenty of leftovers for the winter all thanks to Angelica!


Response:
I really enjoyed this tall tale! I was so excited that it was set in the south and encompassed the Southern dialect! I loved the phrases "thundering tarnation" and "confound it!" I think that the southern dialect adds so much character to the story. The most spectacular parts of the book are the illustrations. Each illustration is painted in oil on cherry, birch, and maple veneers. These illustrations were amazing to look at! One of my favorite pictures in the book is when Angelica is sitting in the middle of the dried up lake with the huge bear holding her down and the poor man sitting in a fishing boat. The looks on all their faces made me laugh out loud! I love way Angelica was depicted in every picture. Everything looked so miniature next to her, almost like the cabins and settlers were her playthings. The colors used were all so vibrant and rich; I really felt like I was in the middle of the beautiful Tennessee Mountains. The tales of how the smoky mountains were made, how the short grass prairie in Montana came into being, and how the big bear constellation was formed in the sky are all great examples of early myths about creation. These tales were all so entertaining!


Teaching Ideas:
This would be fantastic book to read as an example of a tall tale. It is an entertaining book for all ages. Storytelling, creation myths, early settlement, and pioneer life would all be great things to tie in with this book. I think it would also be a neat idea to have students come up with their own tall tale to explain some phenomenon in North Carolina or they could research another tall tale to share with the class. There are so many fun things to do with these tall tales that the sky's the limit! Enjoy

Lon Po Po

Title: Lon Po Po

Author/Illustrator: Young, Ed

Publisher and Date: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1989

Genre: Picture Book, Traditional Tale

Age Range:1st-3rd

1990 Caldecott Medal Winner

Summary:

In this very different tale of little red riding hood, the mother travels to the grandmother’s (Po Po) house and leaves her three children at home. The three girl’s names are Shang, Tao, and Paotze. She warns her children before she goes, “Remember to close the door tight at sunset and latch it well.” The crafty wolf observes her leaving and comes up with a plan to trick the children into being his dinner. He waits until dark and then knocks on the door acting like he is their Po Po. The children question him, but eventually decide to let him in. They began to realize that something isn’t quite right with their Po Po. Shang observes, “Po Po Po Po your foot has a bush on it”, when she brushes the wolf’s tail. Shang, the eldest, finally realizes what’s happening and comes up with a clever plan of her on. She lures the wolf outside with promises of a famous gingko nut that “is soft and tender, like the skin of a baby. One taste and you will live forever.” The children trick the wolf into letting them pull him up the tree in a basket so that he too can reach the gingko nuts. When the wolf is close to the top branch, the children let the basket go and the wolf falls to his death. The children go back inside to sleep safe and sound until their mother returns.

Response:

Lon Po Po is a much different version of little red riding hood. This version seemed to be a lot darker then the previous versions I had read. The inscription to the wolves on the very first page adds to this dark effect. Young thanks the wolves for allowing us to use them as our symbol of "human darkness." The illustrations also add tremendously to this dark atmosphere. Young's illustrations are done with watercolors that have been smudged to give each illustration a smoky, surreal effect. Most of the illustrations from inside the house are dark and blurry; you cannot really see what is going on clearly in any of the pictures. I think this definitely helps to give the reader a sense of suspense and dread. To me the scariest picture in the story is of the wolf lying in bed. You can only see his yellow eye staring out and the outline of his teeth. If I was a young child I would be scared to death! In most cultures, especially the Chinese culture, folktales are told to teach a lesson or moral. This story I think could have several lessons to impart to readers. The first lesson is to always listen to your elders. Their mother warned them specifically before she left to latch the door at sunset. If they had listened to her and not let anyone in the house then they would have been safe. The second lesson that I pulled from the story was that selfishness and greed never pay off. The wolf had the children literally trapped, yet he allowed them to escape because of his greed for something more (the gingko nuts). His greed also led to his death. This is a great lesson for us all. Selfishness and greed never pay off! In the end they only lead to ruin and despair.

Teaching Ideas:

This book would also be a great book to do a compare and contrast activity on. This book is much different from any book I have ever read about little red riding hood. I think it would also be neat to discuss the Chinese culture along with this book and how it played an integral role in the story! This is a very interesting read! Be sure to check it out!

Little Red Riding Hood

Title: Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale
Author/Illustrator: Ernst, Lisa Campbell
Publisher and Date: Scholastic, Inc., 1995
Genre: Picture Book, Traditional Tale
Age Range: K-2nd

Summary:
In this updated version of little red riding hood a young girl decides to take a basket full of fresh muffins and cold lemonade to her grandmother who lives just a short distance across the prairie. The young girl jumps on her bike all decked out in her red hoodie (which consequently gave her the name little red riding hood). Her mother gives her clear instructions as she rides off, “whatever you do, don’t talk to strangers.” Unfortunately little red riding hood, like the rest of us, was not always so good at following instructions. Along the way she runs into a hungry wolf who cleverly finds out where she and her tasty muffins are heading. The wolf races ahead of her, but he soon runs into trouble of his own. He expected to find a feeble old lady at the grandmother’s house and instead he faces strong, protective grandmother. She and little red riding hood share their muffins with the wolf, and the grandmother recruits him for her new muffin business. She keeps him very busy so he’ll no longer have time to make trouble. Everyday before little red riding hood leaves to help deliver muffins for her grandmother, the wolf yells out one piece of advice: “Don’t talk to strangers!” And believe me she never did again!

Response:
I really liked this version of little red riding hood. I liked that it was more contemporary than the original version. I think readers could relate very easily to little red riding while at the same enjoying the book for the folk tale that it is. The illustrations were one of my favorite parts of the book. Every picture was done in bright colors that filled both pages. The illustrations would be great for younger readers, because they followed along with the text so well. The characterization in this book was alsofantastic. I liked the fact that the wolf was not necessarily portrayed as evil in this version; he was not represented as something that young children now have to fear. Ernst was so smart when she wrote that the wolf was after the muffins rather than the little girl. I think that when children read the traditional story of little red riding hood they can be too frightened by the people eating wolf. I know that I personally was! In this story we have a villain who is slightly less harsh. The granmother was my other favorite character. She was so capable and creative! I think it is great that Ernst turned the words from the traditional tale around. Instead of the child saying these words to the wolf, he now says them to the grandmother: “M-m-my” he finally stuttered, “what big eyes you have grandma.” “All the better to see you, skulking around my fields!” grandma answered. This part of the story made me laugh out loud; it was such a change! This story also had a positive ending which I really loved. Instead of punishing the wolf the grandmother found something constructive for the wolf to do so that he would no longer “bully” anyone. This is an important lesson for everyone; sometimes all a person needs is a positive outlet for their behavior, not necessarily a punishment every time.

Teaching Ideas:

This would be a great book to use in a folk tales unit. You could easily compare and contrast this version of little red riding hood to the countless other versions out there. I would also be sure to point out to students the value in the words “don’t talk to strangers!” and of listening their parents. Oh yes! Don't forget about the recipe on the last page of the book! it would be so neat to have those muffins for the class to eat aftet the story. It would really bring the story to life, don't you think?

check out this great lesson plan from readwritethink.org for more teaching ideas!

Baseball Saved Us

Title: Baseball Saved Us
Author:Mochizuki, Ken
Illustrator: Lee, Dom
Publisher and Date: Lee and Low Book, Inc., 1993
Genre: Picture book, Multicultural, Historical fiction
Age Range: 1st and up

Summary:
This book is set during WWII in the year 1942; the story takes place in a Japanese American internment camp. The story is told by a young boy who is confused and upset by what is happening to him and his family. He talks about being ostracized and called names after something called Pearl Harbor happened, and then eventually one day he and his family have to move to a new place. This new place is crowded, hot during the day and cold at night, the bathrooms and cabins have no privacy, and the traditional rules of their society no longer apply. He says that this place is a camp, but its not fun “like summer camp”. The young boy’s father decides to build a baseball field to try to reunite their family and others. They plan where the bases should be, irrigate the field, build wooden bleachers, and wear uniforms sown by their mothers. At first the young boy is scared to play baseball because he always strikes out when he bats and he plays second base (supposedly the easiest position on the field). On the day of the big game however, the young boy is up to bat with two strikes. There is a runner on second and the score is 3-2 with two outs. He says he can feel the eyes of everyone on him. He glances up to see the security guard who watches them day and night and he suddenly becomes very angry. He swings with all his might at the third pitch and hits a home run to win the game for his team! The story then skips forward in time to after the war. The Japanese Americans are no longer in interment camps, but he says life is not much better. He is made fun of at school and has no one to ea lunch with. He does however still have baseball to help him fit in. On the day of another big game, he is once again up to bat. He hears someone in the crowd call him a “jap” and he is shocked and upset that people are still doing this. He sees the glare of the sun on the pitchers sunglasses and he is suddenly reminded of the guard form camp. He swings with all his might and he hits another home run!

Response:

I really liked this book! I like that it was told through the eyes of a child; it really helps you get a new perspective on the situation. Children are so vulnerable and I think this book really conveys that. The young boy gets so upset when he is ostracized at school and called a “jap”; he cannot really understand why he is being treated differently than the other children. The explanations were heart wrenching yet simple. A child can understand what is happening to this young boy and his family easily. The illustrations also helped to add emotion to the text. They were done by applying encaustic beeswax on paper, scratching out the images, and then adding oil paint for various colors. The illustrations from the camp are all kind of blurry and brown. I think this is to help the reader picture the conditions that these people were living in, because literally in the desert the wind blew the brown sand all of everything and turned it a shade of brown. After camp however to pictures change to include more colors: green for the grass and blue for the sky. One of my favorite illustrations is on the final page of the book when all of the players form his team are holding him up to celebrate. They have put aside their differences and have united together for an instant because of their love for baseball. This picture gives me hope!

Teaching Ideas:
Baseball Saved Us would be a great book to read to first grade and up. I think children on that level and above can really appreciate what is happening to this young boy and his family. They get a real look inside Japanese American interment camps and the effects it had on the Japanese people. They can understand the racism and prejudice that this young boy suffered and they can feel his hurt as people called him names like “jap.” Students can learn to empathize with this young boy and answer questions like “What would it feel like to move away form home suddenly” “What would it be like to have no privacy?” “What would you do if someone called you a name?” These are all questions that can help children see that these things really happened, and that they happened to children just like them. It would open doors to talk to my students about prejudice, discrimination, and bullying, and what we as a class can do to fix these problems. I believe children can make a difference and I would do my best to inspire my students to do so in my classroom.