 |
The man who walked between the towers
Gerstein, Mordicai. 2003. THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS. Brookfield, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN:
076132868.
THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS chronicles the true story of Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers in New York
before construction on the towers was finished. The story begins like a fairytale, "Once there were two towers side
by side." The ink sketch colored with oils on this page shows two towers towering over the Manhattan skyline. A street
performer sees the towers and "looked not at the towers but at the space between them." The idea came to him to
walk between the towers on a wire. Knowing he would be arrested, the young man plans to secretly carry out his dream.
Dressed as construction workers, the young man with his friends carried a 440-pound reel of cable and other equipment
up the elevator, then up 180 stairs to the roof. When night fell and after some mishaps, the cable was finally in place.
After dawn they were ready, and Philippe, with a twenty-eight-foot balancing pole, walked between the towers. He spent over
an hour on the wire, attracting the attention of crowds and the police below. "When he felt completely satisfied, he
walked back to the roof and held out his wrist for the handcuffs." Philippe was sentenced to perform for the children
in the park. The arrest by the police is given just the right amount of emphasis, enough to warn children that this was a
very dangerous feat and to not try it on their own. The final page depicts a mystical illustration of the ghostly towers with
a tiny figure on a wire between them.
The illustrations make the story come to life. The text is lyrical but at times stilted. Vertical and horizontal pictures
and different perspectives bring the pictures to life and add interesting highlights to the story. There are tall, narrow
illustrations for the stairs, thin illustrations to represent the rope between the buildings, and two foldout pages in middle
of the book to demonstrate the height of the towers and the width between them. Character is revealed by the expressions on
the Philippe's face. Whole pages of the book are washed with dark blue to depict the night scenes. The illustrations lighten
as daybreak and daylight appear. The cover has a drawing of a large foot walking on a rope looking down on the city. This
book would make a great wordless picture book.
The man who walked between the towers is a story that would appeal to the school age child and to adults who are interested
in the World Trade Center Towers in New York. The words are not especially expressive. Details in the illustrations add
depth and interest to the story. The final page with the ghost of the two towers towering over the Manhattan skyline reflects
the "joyful morning, August 7, 1974, when Philippe Petit walked between them in the air." This would be a good
book to share with children ages 5-9 that are interested in daring feats and the World Trade Tower history.
"With its graceful majesty and mythic overtones, this unique and uplifting book is at once a portrait of a larger-than-life
individual and a memorial to the towers and the lives associated with them." (Lukehart 2003).
Lukehart, Wendy. 2003. The man who walked between the towers (book). School Library Journal 49 (11): 125.
Knuffle Bunny: A cautionary tale
Willems, Mo. 2004. KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN: 0786818700
Daddy, Trixie and Knuffle Bunny go on an errand to the Laundromat. At the Laundromat, Trixie plays and helps her daddy with
the wash. Shortly after they left the Laundromat, Trixie discovers her Knuffle Bunny is missing. Because Trixie cannot talk,
she tries to communicate this to her father by saying, "Aggle Flaggle Klabble!" She tries everything to make her
daddy understand, even going "boneless." Upon reaching their apartment, Trixie's mommy opens the door and asks,
"Where's Knuffle Bunny?" Daddy realizes that Trixie has been trying to say, "Knuffle Bunny." The whole
family races back to the Laundromat. The final scene shows Trixie reunited with her stuffed toy and saying her first words,
"Knuffle Bunny!!!"
Pictures of Knuffle Bunny in a washing machine on the end pages of the book foretell the fate of the stuffed toy. Sepia-toned
photographs of the Brooklyn neighborhood buildings are printed on olive-green pages. Hand-drawn ink sketches are melded onto
the touched up photographs (undesirable items like garbage cans are removed). The sketches are shaded and colored on a computer.
The color of the sketches contrasts nicely with the sepia-toned photographs and contributes to the eye-catching appeal of
the cartoon characters. Different sizes of picture, spacing on the pages, and the placement of the ink cartoon characters
walking into and out of pictures, add to the feel of the stroll to the Laundromat. The page where Daddy realizes his mistake
is emphasized by zig-zag cutouts. The cartoon sketches admirably display the emotions of the characters. Young children
will immediately identify with Trixie.
The four hanging, framed illustrations on the title page, show the parents getting married, the parents with a new baby,
the parents when the baby is older, and the toddler hugging her stuffed bunny. This sets the scene for the story by developing
the characters and emphasizing how important the stuffed bunny is to Trixie.
The text is simple and well constructed. Although the plot is predictable, this store concludes with a milestone for Trixie,
her first words. This book would appeal to children ages 2-6 and would be a good story time book.
"A seamless and supremely satisfying presentation of art and text." (Topol 2004).
Topol, Martha. 2004. Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale (book). School Library Journal 50 (10): 136.
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
Van Allsburg, Chris. 1979. THE GARDEN OF ABDUL GASAI. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 039527804x
THE GARDEN OF ABDUL GASAI depicts a blend of realism and fantasy. The story begins in the real world and travels to the mystical
garden of magician Abdul Gasazi where dogs are turned into ducks, or are they? The dog's character is revealed in first sentence,
"Six times Miss Hester's dog Fritz had bitten dear cousin Eunice." Alan Mitz is asked to dog sit for Fritz. Alan
is wise to Fritz's tricks and all goes well all morning. When naptime comes, Alan hides his hat under his shirt knowing Fritz
loves to chew his hat. The afternoon walk leads to trouble. By a vine-covered wall with an open doorway, there was a sign
that read: "ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO DOGS ALLOWED IN THIS GARDEN." This is the garden of Abdul Gasazi, retired
magician. Much to Alan's dismay, Fritz snapped his collar and "bolted straight ahead through the open door." "Down
shadowed paths and across sunlight lawns," Alan chased Fritz further and further into the garden. Finally, coming through
a clearing in the forest Alan sees the house of Gasazi.
Gasazi the Great does not like dogs and turns them into ducks. Alan is convinced Fritz is a duck because the duck tried
to bite him. When the wind took his hat, the duck grabbed the hat and flew away. Slowly, Alan finds his way back to Miss
Hester's house. Alan tells his story but to his surprise Fritz came "racing out of the kitchen, dog food on his nose."
Thinking the magician tricked him Alan went home. But there is a final twist to the story. On the last page, Fritz brings
Alan's hat to Miss Hester. Was he turned into a duck?
Detailed shading of the pencil illustrations provides realistic three-dimensional pictures. The illustrations reinforce
the text, add to the setting and extend the plot. The text on the left hand page is framed with intertwining leaves; the
illustrations are on the right hand page. There is a strong use of line and shapes to add motion to the pictures. Different
perspectives are used in the illustrations. The house of Gasazi is drawn looking up making the house appear imposing. This
book might loose some appeal to children because there is no color used in the illustrations.
The writing is very readable and engages the reader's interest. The question posed on the last page "What are you
doing with Alan's hat?" leaves the reader guessing. Is there really magic? This mystery would appeal to children ages
4-8.
"Visually, the book is a stunner..." (Singer 1980)
Singer, Marilyn. 1980. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. School Library Journal 50 (10): 62-3.
A Caldecott celebration: Six artists and their paths to the Caldecott medal
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION: SIX ARTISTS AND THEIR PATHS TO THE CALDECOTT MEDAL. New York: Walker
and Company. ISBN: 0802786588
A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION, like a good newspaper article, covers the who, where, when, why and how of the awarding of six
of Caldecott awards, one for each decade that the award has been issued. A brief introduction tells the history of the award
and some of the importance people attach to winning the award.
The artists included are Robert McCloskey for MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, Marcia Brown for CINDERELLA; OR, THE LITTLE GLASS
SLIPPER, Maurice Sendak for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, William Steig for SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE, Chris Van Allsburg
for JUMANJI and David Wiesner for TUESDAY. In each instance, the illustrator is introduced, where he/she lives and writes,
when the award was won, why the story and illustrations were written, and how the illustrations were created and the books
produced. Special interesting tidbits about each author are included. Robert McCloskey lived with ducks to get his illustrations
just right. One of the versions of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE was a handmade book-measuring three-quarters of an inch by seven
inches. There is a picture of a clay model of a frog made by David Wiesner when he was illustrating TUESDAY. Unlike later
authors, Robert McCloskey had not heard of the award. Because of the prestige of the medal, the lives of the award winners
changed. Marcia Brown said, "The first Caldecott gave me enough financial freedom to go to Italy."
The writing gives the reader a taste of the amount of work and detail that went into each book. Their inspirations, special
techniques, work processes and reactions to winning the award, could create a desire in a potential artists to attempt picture
book illustration.
Each section has a picture of the author and the cover of the book. Examples of other photographs are sketches the artists
made while working on their books, the bronze sculpture in Boston Public Garden of the Mallard family, a hand-written note
sent to his editor by Robert Kraus, and many other photographs of objects that give a feeling for how the books were crafted.
Information about other books illustrated and/or written by these artists is also included.
This book would appeal especially to young artist or adults who are interested in children's books and children's art.
Quotes from the artists, stories from their lives, and how they reacted to winning the medal make this book appeal to all
ages. The end pages contain a bibliography of all of the Caldecott winners from 1938-1998. There is a glossary and an index
of proper nouns.
"While the focus is on the creation of the award-winning books, a great deal of background about the artists' lives
and the way in which they work is given....So many good stories for children and adults to enjoy." (Scotto 1998).
Scotto, Barbara. 1998. A Caldecott celebration: six artists share their paths to the Caldecott Medal. School Library
Journal 44 (12): 140.
|
|
