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Cinderella or the little glass slipper
Brown, Marcia. 1954. Cinderella or the little glass slipper. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN: 0684126761
This traditional tale of Cinderella is retold and illustrated by Marcia Brown. Cinderella is a young girl who is tormented
by her stepmother and two stepsisters. She is treated as a servant. When the king's son gives a ball to meet all of the
eligible young women of the country, the two stepsisters keep Cinderella busy getting them ready for the ball. After they
have left for the ball, Cinderella's fairy godmother appears and changes a pumpkin into a coach, 6 mice into horses, a rat
into a coachman, six lizards into footmen, and Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown. Cinderella goes to the ball and falls
in love with the prince. Cinderella hurries away on the first night but at the second ball, she forgets the warning and looses
her glass slipper. The rest of the story is well known. This version does not include gory details of foot cutting by Cinderella's
stepsisters. The father does not die but is "tied hand and foot to his wife's apron strings." The story ends with
Cinderella forgiving the stepsisters and giving "her sisters a home at the palace and on the same day married them to
two great lords of the court."
The pen and pastel sketches are dream-like adding to the mystical nature of this classic fairytale. The end pages of
the book show the scene of Cinderella riding to the ball in her coach. Limited use of color contributes to the enchantment
of the story. There are full-page spreads with minimal text, pages of text with the illustration on the opposite page, and
pages with both illustrations and text. The words flow around the illustrations. The surrealist nature of the sketches compliments
the familiar story. The illustrations are not as flashy as some versions of this story, never the less the stepsisters are
haughty and ugly, and Cinderella is innocent and lovely. This book was awarded the Caldecott Medal.
With the plot that is familiar and simple and the drawings that are notable, this book would be enjoyed by all ages.
From the dust jacket, "This translation is excellent for story telling and also for reading aloud. Marcia Brown's illustrations
are full of magic and enchantment..."
Scary stories to tell in the dark
Schwartz, Alvin. 1981. Scary stories to tell in the dark. New York: Harper Trophy. ISBN: 0064401707
Scary stories to tell in the dark is a collection of folklore told by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
The collection is broken up into five sections: 1. "AAAAAAAAAAAH!", 2. HE HEARD FOODSTEPS COMING UP THE CELLAR STAIRS...,
3. THEY EAT YOUR EYES, THEY EAT YOUR NOSE, 4. OTHER DANGERS, 5. "AAAAAAAAAAAH!". Each section begins with a description
of the type of tales found in that chapter. The end of the book contains notes, sources of the tales, and an extensive bibliography
what would be of interest to people who enjoyed this book. Books of interest to young people are marked with an asterisk.
The first chapter, "Aaaaaaaaaaah!", consists of short tales told around a campfire or in the dark. These tales are used to
make your friends jump. The first story is about a big toe that was found and eaten. A voice comes asking, "Where is my to-o-o-o-?"
The voice gets closer and closer, coming to the door, coming in the house, coming up the stairs, each time asking, "Where
is my to-o-o-o-e?" At the end of the story, the storyteller jumps at his friend and shouts, "YOU’VE GOT IT"
The second chapter, "He Heard Footsteps Coming Up the Cellar Stairs...", is a series of ghost stories. The third chapter,
"They Eat Your Eyes, They Eat Your Nose", contains scary stories about all kinds of things. One involves passing around the
remains of a dead man in a darkened room for all to feel. His brains are a wet squishy tomato. His eyes are peeled grapes.
His nose is a chicken bone. His ear is a dried apricot. His hand is a cloth or rubber glove filled with mud or ice. His
hair is corn silk or yarn. His heart is a piece of raw liver. His blood is warmed thinned catsup. The worms that ate the
rest of him are wet cooked spaghetti noodles. I have used a version of this tale with great success at a Halloween party.
Chapter four, "Other Dangers", represents tales from recent times. One story is about the death of the girl who wore a dress
that had been used for a funeral. The dress was soaked in embalming fluid and the embalming fluid killed the girl. The final
chapter, "Aaaaaaaaaaah!", contains stories that are meant to make you laugh instead of scare you.
The black and white sketches add to the gruesomeness of some of the tales. Because they are not realistic and not in color,
the sketches make the book not too gory just scary. This book is a favorite of children ages 8 and up. It is good for Halloween
or any time of the year when a funny or scary tale is needed. This book is a part of a series of scary storybooks by Alvin
Schwartz. This series was number one on the list of most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000. (ALA 2005).
"True to the genre, the stories contained are suitable for telling, particularly at Halloween and around the campfire." (Chamberlin
1982).
Chamberlin, Leslie Burk. 1982. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (book review). School Library Journal 28 (5):
81.
The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000. 2005. American Library Association.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm (accessed February 10, 2005).
The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales
Scieskza, Jon. 1992. The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN: 067084487x
Illustrated by: Lane Smith.
The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales is a collection of traditional folktales told in a new wacky manner.
Instead of the Gingerbread Man, there is a Stinky Cheese Man who no one wants to catch. Instead of a pea under the mattress,
a bowling ball is placed under the mattress. The frog stays a frog when kissed by a princess and the ugly duckling “he
grew up to be just a really ugly duck.” Hilarity is to be found on every page. The stories are narrated by Jack with
the little Red Hen running through the book yelling about her story, her wheat, her bread until she is silenced by the Giant.
Instead of the traditional fairytales, these tales are shortened off the wall versions, “that often trade their traditional
morals for hilarity.” (Rogers 1992). As a result, to enjoy this book to its maximum, the reader needs to be aware of
the traditional stories alluded to in the book.
Things are always going wrong for the narrator, Jack. The story of Little Red Running Shorts is supposed to be three pages
long but the characters quit so there is a blank page in the middle of the book. The Table of Contents is placed on page
10 and comes crashing down on the end of a story. Even the ISBN number on the back page of the book is complained about by
the Little Red Hen. When I first was introduced to this book, it was a feast for my eyes. Every page, even the book jacket,
adds to the experience encountered when reading this book. “The collaborators' hijinks are evident in every aspect
of the book, from endpapers to copyright notice.” (Roback and Donahue 1992).
The expressionistic, abstract illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the text and add additional notes of interest to
the stories. Text size, color, font and spacing contribute to each story and the book overall. Collage is effectively used
with the paintings. The Giant Story is completely told with a collage of words printed on different papers using different
type sizes and fonts. The quilts on the bed in the princess and the pea story are collage of fabric. Actions of the characters
are shown in the illustrations. All the rules about writing a book are broken and the result is a wacky hilarious book that
will be appreciated by children ages 6 and up, but to truly appreciate this book, it is necessary to be familiar with the
fairytales these stories were taken from. “Those in the know will laugh out loud.” (Rogers 1992).
Roback, Diane and Richard Donahue. 1992. Forecasts: Children’s books. Publishers Weekly 239(42): 79.
Rogers, Susan L. 1992. The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales (book). School Library Journal 38(9):
210.
It could always be worse
Zemach, Margot. 1976. It could always be worse . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN:0374336504.
It could always be worse is a Yiddish folktale. "Once upon a time in a small village a poor unfortunate man lived
with his mother, his wife, and his six children in a little one-room hut." Needless to say life was not easy in the crowded
small hut. When the man could take no more of the crying and quarreling, he went to his Rabbi for advice. The Rabbi listened
and thought. He asked if the man had "any animals, perhaps a chicken or two?" When the man answered in the affirmative,
the Rabbi told him to "take the chickens, the rooster, and the goose into your hut to live with you." The man followed the
Rabbi's advice. Life in the hut got worse and the man again visited the Rabbi. Eventually the Rabbi had the man take all
the animals he owned into the hut with his family. When the man went back the last time to complain, the Rabbi told him to
take all of the animals out of the hut. Of course, now it seemed quiet and peaceful with just people in the hut. "With just
my family in the hut, it's so quiet, so roomy, so peaceful...What a pleasure!" said the man to the Rabbi.
This simple humorous Yiddish folktale is complimented wonderfully with expressionistic ink sketches colored with watercolors.
There are full-page spreads with minimal text as well as pages of text with the illustration on the opposite page. The earth
tone colors and clothing of the characters add to the setting. The chaos of living in a crowded one-room hut is made obvious
with the cut away views of the inside of the hut. In the beginning, there is a baby pulling a cloth, upsetting bowls and
the older children arguing. Everyone looks unhappy and crammed into the hut. As the story progresses, each picture shows
more chaos, chickens on the table standing in the food, the goat ramming the wife spilling the food, the cow climbing on the
table. At the end, the family, minus the animals, is shown sleeping peacefully.
The simple plot, predictable story line and amusing illustrations make this a good read aloud book. Children will enjoy the
plight of the man who, when he follows the Rabbi’s advice, makes everything worse.
This is a good book to share with young school age children (grades K-3). "The point is easily made – indeed life
Could Always be Worse - making this a natural for story hour and creative dramatics." (Lewis 1977).
Lewis, Marjorie. 1977. It could always be worse(book review) . School Library Journal 23 (9): 58.
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