Part 1 of 2
Rathmann, P. (1996). Officer Buckle and Gloria. Penguin Group (USA). ISBN: 9780399226168
Summary: Officer Buckle is assigned to take a police dog named Gloria with him to a local school for a safety speech. Unfortunately, his safety speeches are so boring that it makes people fall asleep! While making his speech, unbeknownst to him, Gloria is performing tricks to imitate the safety rules and becomes a success. Officer Buckle enjoys the glory until he realizes that his speech was successful thanks to Gloria. He even refuses to continue teaching safety tips and Gloria ends up being by herself, but it wasn’t the same without Officer Buckle. And because he refused to stop teaching about safety and an accident happened at the school! A letter sent to him from a girl named Claire that convinces him to return and he learns that he needs Gloria by his side. Officer Buckle and his new partner travel to many schools to teach kids about safety.
Analysis: The overall book was cute with expressive drawings. Gloria drawn in an animated sense brought the story to life and was just simply adorable to look at. Bright colors with a watercolor-like finish added energy to the illustrations and a cartoon style that brings the deadpan humor to life of the story. The text for the safety tips that have all capitalized letters for certain parts of the tip to make it stand out to the reader to follow along with the story in a seamless blend. The illustrations are nicely spaced out and very large that really brings in the audience into the world of Officer Buckle and his new partner, no there's no disruption to the text, but actually emphasized by the expressiveness of Gloria and Officer Buckle. It shows children that safety doesn’t have to be this boring thing that makes one take naps through, but tells kids that practicing safety is crucial to staying out of danger and preventing accidents. The last tip being “ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR BUDDY!” can teach children to stay by their friends' side and understand the morals of teamwork.
AWARDS:
*1996 Caldecott Medal
*School Library Journal “Best Books of 1995”
BOOKLIST (2007): “...Large, expressive line drawings illustrate the characters with finesse, and the Kool-Aid-bright washes add energy and pizzazz. Children will enjoy the many safety-tip notes tacked up on the endpapers and around the borders of the jacket front.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2007): “...Rathmann's high-voltage cartoons, outlined in black ink for punchy contrast, capture her characters' every feeling, from Gloria's hammy glee and Buckle's surprised satisfaction to Gloria's shame at having tricked her partner. In a sound and sensitive conclusion, Gloria's disastrous attempt to go solo inspires Buckle's ``best safety tip yet'': ``Always stick with your buddy!'' As a bonus, equally sage sayings decorate the volume's endpapers.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (2007): “...The vibrant palette of the cartoon art, as well as the amusing story, make this title an appealing read-aloud choice. Older children will enjoy poring over the many safety tips presented on the endpapers, all illustrated by Gloria's antics. A five-star performance.”
Other books by Peggy Rathmann:
Rathmann, P. (2001). 10 Minutes till Bedtime. Penguin Group (USA). ISBN: 9780399237706
Rathmann, P. (2006). Ruby the copycat. Scholastic, Incorporated. ISBN: 9780439472289
Wiesner, D. (2002). The Three Pigs. Clarion Books. ISBN: 9780618007011
Summary: A classic retelling of the famous Three Little Pigs, but retold in another fashion. The three pigs, in an attempt to escape the big bad wolf, get out of their own book! They explore around using a paper airplane made out of a page of their own book. After much time navigating, they escape into the familiar rhymes from the Mother Goose stories. Even bumping into the cat and his fiddle1 They meet a dragon and rescue him from a knight sent to slay him. Eventually, the pigs are able to return back into their own story (along with a new scaly friend). The big bad wolf won't be huffing and puffing anymore houses down with a dragon by their side!
Analysis: The idea of characters "getting out" of their own stories is such a fun, whimsical way to explore beyond the story (quite literally) and even sort of "break the fourth wall" when the characters are aware they exist in a story book. The pigs are originally drawn in a one-dimensional way then transformed into three-dimensional pigs with details and shadows that really make them pop out of the book. The colors are quite beautiful with usage of some warm tones and various shades of the colors to make the characters really stand out in their own way. The pigs dialogue bubbles add hilarious comic-book style details that truly change a classic fairytale into something uniquely its own version. The text flows as if being "blown" by the wolf himself which gives it movement and the usage of the white-space to zoom in on the pigs makes it refreshing to look at. The double-page spread brings the reader into the world of the three pigs and the perspective changes also creates the hilarious adventure of the three pigs "escaping" their own story in a brand new style of illustration; can be used for comparison to the traditional story and show how fairy tales, fables and such can be transformed into other versions of the same story. Finally, seeing the three pigs fly on a paper airplane is just so fun!
AWARDS:
*2002 Caldecott Medal
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (2007): "...Wiesner's luxurious use of white space with the textured pigs zooming in and out of view is fresh and funny. They wander through other stories-their bodies changing to take on the new style of illustration as they enter the pages-emerging with a dragon and the cat with a fiddle. The cat draws their attention to a panel with a brick house, and they all sit down to soup, while one of the pigs reconstructs the text..."
NEW YORK TIMES (2007): "Wiesner's dialogue and illustrations are clever, whimsical and sophisticated."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2007): "...Wiesner's (Tuesday) brilliant use of white space and perspective (as the pigs fly to the upper right-hand corner of a spread on their makeshift plane, or as one pig's snout dominates a full page) evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities and that the range of story itself is limitless."
Other books by David Wiesner:
Wiesner, D. (1995). June 29, 1999. Clarion Books. ISBN: 9780395727676
Wiesner, D. (2013). Mr. Wuffles!. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 9780618756612
Wiesner, D. (2011). Tuesday. Clarion Books. ISBN: 9780395551134
Zelinsky, P. O. (1998). Rapunzel. Dutton Children's Books/Penguin Group (USA). ISBN: 9780525456070
Summary: Adaptations of elements of various versions (early French and Italian) as well as Grimm brothers, becomes Zelinsky's tale of Rapunzel. The story begins with a couple who finally have a child after many years together. The wife is constantly crazing rapunzel (an herb that grows in the garden of the sorceress who lives next door), so her husband went to steal the herb and got caught by the sorceress who was angry that the couple tried to steal from her. In exchange for his life and the rapunzel, she makes him promise their newborn daughter to her. The sorceress raises the child (named Rapunzel) in a locked tower and the girl grows really long hair that eventually becomes a rope of a prince who eventually finds her and wins her heart. Can the prince and Rapunzel overcome the sorceress and the obstacles that stand before them?
Analysis: The style of the illustrations are incredibly gorgeous, artistically detailed in every single picture drawn in the book. The illustrations are very life-like and give a sense that the characters are going to come out of the story with the amount of detail that brings them alive. The colors are well chosen, suiting the rich atmosphere and setting of the story (with the usage of oil paintings). The famous tower stands beautifully on the side of the page that invokes a mysterious, yet inaccessible feeling to those who see it along with a full-page spread of the sorceress climbing into the tower using Rapunzel's hair to let readers make predictions of how it'll be important later on in the story. The usage of white space is done to keep the text from interrupting the illustrations and is spaced out nicely to be able to read through the text. Overall, the text and the stunning paintings has the reader travel into another time and be involved with the story, it can also be a way to practice inferencing for young children or to expose them to retelling of classic fairy tales.
AWARDS:
*1998 Caldecott Medal
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (2007): "An elegant and sophisticated retelling that draws on early French and Italian versions of the tale. Masterful oil paintings capture the Renaissance setting and flesh out the tragic figures."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2007): "Zelinsky (Swamp Angel) does a star turn with this breathtaking interpretation of a favorite fairy tale. Daringlyand effectivelymimicking the masters of Italian Renaissance painting, he creates a primarily Tuscan setting. His Rapunzel, for example, seems a relative of Botticelli's immortal red-haired beauties, while her tower appears an only partially fantastic exaggeration of a Florentine bell tower. For the most part, his bold experiment brilliantly succeeds: the almost otherworldly golden light with which he bathes his paintings has the effect of consecrating them, elevating them to a grandeur befitting their adoptive art-historical roots..."
KIRKUS REVIEWS (2010): "...Suffused with golden light, Zelinsky's landscapes and indoor scenes are grandly evocative, composed and executed with superb technical and emotional command."
Other books by Paul O. Zelinsky:
Zelinsky, P. O. (1990). Wheels on the Bus. Penguin group (USA). ISBN: 9780525446446
Zelinsky, P. O. (1986). Rumplestiltskin. Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 9780525442653
Gerstein, M. (2007). The Man Who Walked Between The Towers. Square FIsh. ISBN: 9780312368
Summary: A street performer (named Phillippe) who goes about his day looks on at the tallest towers of New York City. In his day to day life, he rides a unicycle juggling balls and torches. Mostly, the act he always performs is dancing and walking on a rope he ties between two trees. He gazes upon the towers and looks at the space between them, thinking it would be a wonderful place to stretch a rope. He had done this before in his home city of Paris, so he thought he could do the same in New York. The owners and the police thought he was crazy for wanting to do this. Determined to walk across the towers, the hero disguised himself as a construction worker and had his friends help him set up the wire to be stretched across the two buildings during the night. Some minor mistakes happened, but Phillippe managed to get the wire tightly stretched across the towers by morning. When the sun rose, he took his first daring step with his balancing pole until he got to the center. The winds were blowing, he wobbled a little bit. Soon, people pointed up at the man walking between the towers as if he was walking on air. The police came to arrest the performer, but he kept on performing his act. He even laid down on the wire with the city harbor beneath him! Once he was satisfied, he came back, only to be arrested. The judge sentenced him to perform for the city. The towers he walked across are gone, but the memory of when this brave hero walked and performed in the air is still remembered.
Analysis: The lyrical element of the story of the text makes it almost a fairy tale or fable like in the storytelling. It captures a true event in history of a fantastical act never done before on that fateful day in 1974 of Phillippe’s tightrope walk. The oil-and-ink painting and light colors of the settings, the people make it whimsical and fun to look at. A unique use of perspective such as Phillippe looking at the towers on the ground while measuring a rope in his hands shows a challenge and a distinction between the height of the towers and the feat he is about to make. The other portion of the protagonist and his friends trying to stretch the wire across the towers then fell, giving the reader a view of the harbor below to emphasize the height of the towers; along with the scene of Phillipe preparing to walk gives the reader a sense as if they are actually present in that moment, watching him about to take the first step. The scenes of Philippe walking across the wire is simply breathtaking, yet terrifying at the same time for those that don’t like heights. The people of the city watching him from the ground are demonstrating the awe and surprise of seeing a man perform on a wire, thousands of feet in the air. This book can be used to teach children to overcome obstacles, no matter what people may tell you and that the impossible is possible. In the end, it tells an inspiring tale of an amazing aeralist that went beyond anyone’s expectations and takes risks to achieve his end goal.
AWARDS:
*2004 Caldecott Medal
KIRKUS REVIEWS (2009): “...Unparalleled use of perspective and line-architectural verticals opposed to the curve of wires and earth-underscore disequilibrium and freedom. In a story that's all about balance, the illustrations display it exquisitely in composition. Readers of all ages will return to this again and again for its history, adventure, humor, and breathtaking homage to extraordinary buildings and a remarkable man.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2009): “...An inventive foldout tracking Philippe's progress across the wire offers dizzying views of the city below; a turn of the page transforms readers' vantage point into a vertical view of the feat from street level. When police race to the top of one tower's roof, threatening arrest, Philippe moves back and forth between the towers ("As long as he stayed on the wire he was free"). Gerstein's dramatic paintings include some perspectives bound to take any reader's breath away.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (2009): “In 1974, a young Frenchman saw the completion of the World Trade Center towers as an irresistible invitation to stretch a cable between them and dance across it. Gorgeous oil-and-ink paintings capture the aerialist's spirited feat and breathtaking perspectives high above Manhattan harbor.”
Other books by Mordicai Gerstein:
Gerstein, M. (2017). Boy and the Whale. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 9781626725058
Gerstein, M. (2019). I am Hermes!: Mischief-Making Messenger of the Gods. Holiday House. ISBN: 9780823439423
Macaulay, D. (1991). Black and White. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 9780395521519
Summary: One story about a train being late. There are regrets for the inconvenience caused for the passengers waiting for the train to come. Another story is about a family where the parents got into a funny mood. Making costumes of newspapers and wearing hats made out of paper, the family enjoys a night of fun outside of their normal daily life. In the third story, a convict escaped and the cows went beyond their pasture! The farmers are looking everywhere for the cows, but cannot seem to find them no matter what they do! Lastly, is a boy on a journey while on the train. Looking out the window and then hearing singing! Also, what seems to be snow falling from the sky. It ends up being pieces of newspaper. Are they all four different stories completely unrelated to each other? Or is it one whole story?
Analysis: The interwoven seemingly irrelevant stories into a book is such a unique idea. Each story takes up a quarter of a two-page spread, each a bit different in their own way. Causing the reader to think they are unrelated. The boy on the train uses pastel watercolors while the story of the family are sephia (brown) tones with white. The late train story uses bright colors and more detailed drawings while the cow story is more cartoonish. The text for each story is written in a different way, still going with the concept of apparently separate stories. Soon, the four stories start to merge into one. The falling “snow” being torn up newspapers flowing into the bottom half of the page was done brilliantly and further emphasizes the merging of the stories. The four tales start becoming connected towards the end of the book despite alternate realities coexisting within the book. This can be a conversation of how the stories are entwining as well as exploring the text and illustrations in unexpected ways.
AWARDS:
*1991 Caldecott Medal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2007): “...Eventually, the stories begin to merge into a surrealistic tale spanning several levels of reality, e.g.: Are characters in one story traveling on the toy train in another? Answers are never provided--this is not a mystery or puzzle book. Instead, Black and White challenges the reader to use text and pictures in unexpected ways. Although the novelty will wear off quickly for adults, no other writer for adults or children explores this unusual territory the way Macaulay does.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS (2011): “Warning that the stories here "do not necessarily occur at the same time" and that they may prove to be "only one story," the endlessly inventive Macaulay challenges readers to unravel an intricate puzzle in the form of four stories—simultaneously presented in the four quadrants of each double spread…”
Other books by David Macaulay:
Macaulay, D. (2015). Castle: How It Works. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 9781626722088
Macaulay, D. (2015). Eye: How It Works. Square Fish. ISBN: 9781626722132
Macaulay, D. (1999). Shortcut. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 978061800676
Comments
Post a Comment