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| www.amazon.com |
CACTUS
SOUP
by Eric A. Kimmel Illustration by De Phil Huling
Plot
Cactus Soup
is a retelling folk story about Mexican soldiers passing through a village
during the Mexican Revolution. As the soldiers are approaching the village, people
begin to hide all their food and pretend to live in less fortunate
circumstances. The village people fear that these soldiers will come and eat
all the food from the town, leaving them without resources for a while.
However, these soldiers know how to convince the town’s population without them
noticing. The soldiers begin to prepare a simple soup and before you know it, a
couple of cactus thorns turn into a great meal for all to enjoy.
Analysis
The story takes place in a rustic Mexican town
called San Miguel located in Mexico City around the 1900’s when Pancho Villa and Emiliano
Zapata where roaming the country. The town has a hot desert appearance where
cactuses grow. Most of the story takes place in the streets during the day with
the exception of the evening feast.
The story includes Spanish and English words with a
glossary at the end of the story given children the opportunity to understand
both languages. Also, there is a repetitive phrase the captain uses throughout
the story “Why ask for what you don’t have”.
The story illustrates Mexican style clothing during
the Mexican Revolution. The reader can see this by clothes depicted by the
soldiers and town’s people. Sombreros, gun holsters and belts with bullets hang
across the soldier’s chest are just some of the colorful pictures depicted in
this wonderful book. The illustrations were created using paint and watercolors
with a sand brown tone, allowing the reader to see the hot desert under the sun.
Another interesting feature is the distinctive face shapes of the characters.
In some pages they are round while others they are triangle. This sort of
illustration adds to the comedy of the story which will have children laughing,
making the book even more enjoyable.
CACTUS SOUP, even though is a retelling story from
many different cultures around the world, has a unique touch of humor and
carries its own identity. The illustrations of the characters are distinctive
and the reader can see the difference and share the experience with them.
A strong point I found
while reviewing this book was the distinct character drawings. My two children
not only laughed at the pictures, but were having a conversation of the
different aspects of the characters faces. When a book leads its readers to
have positive conversations after putting the book down; then it’s a success.
Review
“the fast-moving
narrative is rich in Spanish vocabulary and generous with opportunities for the
audience to participate in the telling.” - Horn Book Magazine, January/February
2005
Connections
Activities-
Reading to children and
explaining to them the historical customs of Mexico will be a great activity
for children to begin to understand Mexican history.
Children can perform a
play based on the story and dress up in old style Mexican revolution clothing.
Related Electronic Book-
Stone Soup by Wang
Meijan
Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric A. 2004. CACTUS SOUP. New York,
Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 9780761451556
Carter, Betty. 2005. "CACTUS SOUP." Horn
Book Magazine 81, no. 1: 103. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September
24, 2013).
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| www.ala.org |
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
Plot
Joseph Had a Little
Overcoat
is a simple book filled with great detail that children will enjoy. Joseph, the
main character of the book, has an old overcoat that keeps getting tattered every
time he uses it. So Joseph decides to make different garments out of his old
overcoat. In each page children will
find cut-hole figures on the pages leaving the reader to guess what the next
cloth creation will be. Finally, Joseph creates a button which he ends up losing
at the end.
Analysis
Joseph seems like any normal person who appreciates
his coat and wants to keep it for as long as he can. Throughout the book Joseph
attends many events and his coat accompanies him in various forms. His
creativity on making a jacket, a vest, a scarf and so on out of one coat allows
children to see and understand how he makes different kinds of clothing out of
a shabby coat.
The story takes place at Joseph’s house, either in
his bedroom or outside on his farm. However, throughout the story you can see
the main character out and about in the streets, at a wedding, a fair and at
church. Many of the scenes are during the day but a few are at night as well.
Joseph made something out of nothing. The theme of the story is the fact that Joseph
was able to make different clothing out of his timeworn overcoat until he was
left with nothing. However at the end he does mention that out of nothing he
made a book. The story has a main repetitive phrase that “drops” the last word
of the sentence. For example “Joseph had a little overcoat” turns into “Joseph
had a little jacket.” The phrase “It got old and worn” stays consent allowing
the reader to stay focus with the style of the book. The moral of the story can
be described as a lesson about recycling or a message about been creative and
to find use of old things. “You can always make something out of nothing” the
author says at the end of the book, which tells the reader to make something
even if there is nothing to make it from. Another plus to this book is the song
that accompanies it; children will spend an enjoyable time singing the words to
this catchy tune.
This amazing folktale has many pictures detailing the
culture and customs of Jewish-Polish heritage. The Jewish culture is shown
throughout the book in newspaper pictures, fliers, famous Yiddish literature
writers and songs. The book is a mixture of fun colors and images showing a
warm atmosphere. Every page you turn
will be full of food, animals and people wearing different color clothing.
One of the strengths of this book is the way the
author introduces Jewish –Polish clothing style in older times. He introduces
different kinds of information pertinent to theses historical customs.
Reviews
“Don't you lose it: clever, visually engrossing,
poignant, it's worth holding on to.” –Horn Book Magazine, January/February 2011
Connections:
Here is a website for children about songs from
around the world.
Brief background information about the author always
makes the story more interesting.
Bibliography
Parravano, Martha V. 2000. " JOSEPH
HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT." Horn Book Magazine 76, no. 1: 68. MasterFILE
Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 24, 2013).
Taback, Simms. 1999. JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT.
New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670878550.
Yannucci, Lisa. “Kids Songs From Around The World.”
Mama Lisa’s World. 2013. http://www.mamalisa.com/index.html
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http://www.worldcat.org/title/three-little-pigs-a-folk-tale-classic/oclc/708580538?referer=br&ht=edition
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THE
THREE LITTLE PIGS: A FOLK TALE CLASSIC by Paul Galdone
Plot
THE three
little pigs, written by Paul Galdone, is a classic folk tale that has
been retold over many years. The story begins with three little pigs leaving
their home in search of a life of their own. The first and second pig fail and
are eaten by an evil wolf who simply blows down their homes. The third pig however
is much wiser and builds a house that withstands the mighty blow of the wolf.
At the end the wolf realizes that the last little pig is just too smart and out
of frustration commits an error and finds himself in a boiling pot.
Analysis
The main characters of the story are the wise little
pig and the evil wolf. The little wise
pig, which is the last pig to survive the wolf’s attack, is the smartest and
wisest of all three pigs. The wolf is depicted as an evil wolf willing to do
whatever it takes to fill his stomach.
The setting of the story begins with the classic
phrase “Once upon a time.” This phrase leads the reader to understand that the
story took place some time ago in a magical place where pigs built houses and
evil wolves talked. Most of the story depicts the action in fields, gardens and
at a fair. However the most significant point of the setting is at the red
brick home that the third little pig built.
The theme can be seen throughout the story when the
evil wolf eats little pig one and two. The story begins to change when the evil
wolf tries to trick the third little pig. The third little pig is just too
smart for the wolf and the reader is able to see that strength does not always
triumph over weakness.
The style of the story is the same concept as early
retellings where pigs are able to build houses out of straws, sticks or
bricks. And where pigs are eaten by evil
wolfs, yet at the end of this story, the third pig prevails by eating the wolf
instead of the other way around. The story has a small rhythm and the reader
can see this by the famous phrase; “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff and I’ll blow
your house in, “spoken by the mighty evil wolf.
The colors of the illustrations from this title are bright
in tone. The green color of the grass and the blue sky are just examples of the
wonderful watercolors used. These illustrations set the tone for the book
allowing children to enjoy the book as the read along. The book also does a
wonderful job changing its colors when the wolf appears; the color red gets
darker giving a sense of danger. The pictures are drawn with ink lines giving
special attention to certain points of the story. The shadows, the wolf and
clouds for example all have outline shapes making it look distinctive. For the
most part though the colors used in the story are friendly and pleasant to the
eye.
One of the strengths of the book is the
illustrations. The pictures and colors make the story innocent and enjoyable for
children even though the wolf has a cruel ending. I like the contrast between
the happy colors of the book and the wolf’s death; this gives a balance to the
book which I really enjoyed.
Review
“Cheerful color gives the book a sunny aura and
brings out the tale’s humor. For the very youngest, this could be the best
choice.” – Horn Book Magazine, March/April 2009
Connections:
Related Book-
Variant book “THE THREE PIGS” by David Wiesner.
Activity-
Giving children a brief description of different
traditional tales and playing a game with flash cards to match their
definitions.
Bibliography
Galdone, Paul. 2011. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS: A FOLK
TALE CLASSIC. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547370200
Long, Joanna Rudge. 2009. "Some Pigs!."
Horn Book Magazine 85, no. 2: 171-178. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost
(accessed September 25, 2013).
