By Gyo Fujikawa
Gyo Fujikawa is a favorite childhood author and illustrator of mine. My first memory of reading includes her book Oh What a Busy Day! Her illustration technique is so unique and different from anything else I have seen. Her love and respect of children and nature is present in all of her drawings. She uses both color and back and white illustrations in all of her books. Children appear round, cheerful, and expressive of their feelings. Fujikawa was one of the first illustrators to include children of different nationalities and cultures in children's literature. Her earliest books (published in the early seventies) contained child diversity when most books portrayed children as white, middle class Americans. I have always had such great respect for Fujikawa for this reason.
Like her other books, Fujikawa uses a soft and delicate style to make both her text and illustrations appeal and relate to children. Most of her drawings contain nature (animals and plants) and objects familiar to children. Animals are used as realistic and imaginative characters. For example, butterflies, birds, rabbits, and mice often appear "in nature" within her drawings. The wolf in Little Red Ridinghood appears as any wolf one would find in nature (rather than a walking and talking character in the tale). On the other hand, in the tale Goldilocks and the Tree bears, the bears are wearing clothes and acting in "human-like" roles. This technique combines fantasy and reality to target the developing mind of a child. The reader is exposed to the realistic norms of everyday life (Fujikawa uses illustration as instruction) while being comforted by the inclusion of imagination and fantasy.
This book contains a "This book belongs to" page (which is present in all of Fujikawa's books and serves as another example of how she uses technique to relate and appeal to children) and a "Contents" page to quickly find the page number of a favorite fable or tale. The last page of the book contains a "The End" page that includes black and white illustrations of animals, children, and the characters from the fables "walking away" from the story. A clever technique used to "finalize" the ending.
I cannot say enough good things about the author Gyo Fujikawa and her quality of literature. All of her books contain HOURS of exploration and inference for young children. I include all of her books in my classroom and will purchase duplicate copies of each when I have my own children.
Retold by Barbara Karlin
and Illustrated by James Marshall
This version of Cinderella is best known for its illustrations by James Marshall's. The story line is very similar to the American fairy tale. The author, Barbara Karlin, sticks very closely to the original plot. However, she does include a casual tone to the text. The only parts I found Karlin to stray from the original plot included; the character the king, who was the instigator of the ball (with the intentions of helping his son find a wife) and the ending, when the fairy godmother moves in with the couple.
The illustrations are unique to James Marshall's style.
The characters have square faces, pig-like noses, large red cheeks, and tiny specs as eyes. They often appear squatty and obese. Their clothing as well as the objects around them are always large and circular (for the most part). The The illustrations are meant to be humorous and eye-catching. Children will spend long periods of time maing comments such as: "Look at her big teeth! The stepsisters are so ugly!", "That is a fat cat!" or "Hahaha! Look at the prince sit in the hammock!" These are all comments I have heard real students in the classroom say while reading this book together. The illustrations serve as the entertainment for a story most children "have already heard." I recommend using this version to immerse struggling readers into the content area.
By Ellen Jackson
This book acts as a parody for the well-known fairy tale Cinderella. The story compares the tales of two young women: Cinder Ella and Cinder Edna. Cinder Ella portrays a helpless, materialistic, shallow woman, while Cinder Edna portrays a smart, savvy, down-to-earth one. The two characters are compared throughout the tale. Cinder Ella is beautiful, gets waited on by her fairy godmother and meets a just as shallow prince. She is unable to dance very much because she fears her glass slipper will break. Her prince finds her and they marry leading her to a boring life revolved around her husband. Cinder Edna on the other hand is average looking, earns her own money, and meets the prince's brother Rupert. Rupert, unlike his brother (who marries Cinder Ella) is intelligent, has substance, and values ideas rather than status and wealth. Rupert finds Cinder Edna by first looking in the phone book, then asking all of the ladies in town who knows six different recipes for tuna casserole (which he knows only the true Cinder Edna would know). Cinder Edna and Rupert get married, pursue education, and build an environmentally friendly cottage together. They are the ones who "live happily ever after."
Jackson "upgraded" the Cinderella" fairy tale by adding a "twentieth century" spin to the plot. The character Cinder Edna encourages young female readers to be strong, self-sufficient, and educated. The message that "looks and money" do not acquire happiness certainly holds true here. Jackson's text is powerful while the illustrations (by Kevin O'Malley) are humorous. This rendition of the fairy tale would be extremely useful when teaching a lesson on building character or positive self-image. This book most likely will appeal to more female students, however male students will enjoy the humor.
by Paul Fleischman
Both the author and the illustrator (Julie Paschkis) use a variety of techniques to portray the numerous variations of the Cinderella fairy tale from several different counties. The cover contains a picture of "the glass slipper" (which appears more like a dutch shoe) surrounded by berries and blooms. This center picture reminds me of "folklore" through its illustration style. Both the slipper picture and the title of the book are glossy, while the background is matte. This technique makes these items appear sharp and inviting.
The author's note explains the significance of combining multiple versions of the fairy tale as they are told in multiple different countries. The tale has been so beloved by so many societies and cultures that he (the author) felt it would be significant to create a version including all of the variations. The countries from which these variations are included are displayed for the reader on a large map in both the front and back endpapers. The countries are written in a white font against a blue backdrop to stand out. The author informs the reader of each county variation by using a train of periods to note the differences. For example, when describing the gown, he includes "... a clock sewn of kind-fisher feathers... a kimono red as sunset...". The illustrations are necessary to inform the reader of the country from which each part of the tale (the vacation) is derived. The text is not only labeled this way in book, but also the illustrations. The illustrator creates unique backgrounds and pictures within a frame that "represent" each county.The illustration details also change from county to county.
The countries represented in both the text and illustrations are vast, and in some cases, even "unheard" of to the reader. Some children may not have heard of the counties Appalachia, West Indies, or Laos. I was both surprised and impressed with the author's inclusion of these countries. I would never have thought the country of Laos would have their own variation of the fairy tale Cinderella. The author most likely includes these less-known countries to both inform the reader and promote diversity.
This book is diverse, entertaining and informative. I believe it should be on the bookshelf of every elementary classroom. Middle and High school students can learn from and enjoy this book as part of a lesson as well.
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