Children and YA Book Reviews: Traditional Books

Traditional Book Review #1
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
De Paola, Tomie. 1998. STREGA NONA: AN OLD TALE RETOLD AND ILLUSTRATED BY TOMIE DE PAOLA. New Jersey: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671666061.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Strega Nona was an old lady who lived in the town of Calabria, Italy. Her name means “Grandma Witch” and the towns people thought she had a “magic touch” with her potions. She hired Big Anthony to help her around the house and the garden. Strega Nona warned Big Anthony not to touch her pasta pot but he was a curious fellow that did not follow what he was told when Strega Nona left him alone one day. He decided to make a pot of pasta for everyone in town to see. Since Big Anthony did not know all of Strega Nona’s secrets he was unable to stop the pasta pot from making pasta and covering the town and its people. Strega Nona returned home to see the terrible mess that Big Anthony made. She decided that he needed to learn a lesson and made him eat all the pasta.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Tomie de Paola’s charming and magical version of this retold story is a beautifully illustrated watercolor folktale from Italy. Children will be captivated by the main character who maintains a smile on her face throughout the story even when she finds out that Big Anthony her hired helper disobeys her and uses the magic pasta-making pot after he was told to not touch the pot. Like many children that are curious Big Anthony waited for a chance to do just the opposite. At the end of the story he of course gets into trouble when he is not able to control the magic pot. As much as Strega Nona is calm Big Anthony’s expressions change continuously. The book is filled with many two page spreads of muted pastel-colored illustrations. The use of tile roofs and castle-like buildings gives you a feeling of a happy Medieval time period. The moderate amount of text and illustrations complement one another. The use of warm colors of yellow, gold, and red with the drawings of flowing and coiled pasta give you a warm feeling as you read the tale. The lesson to be learned is clear as Strega Nona punishes Big Anthony by telling him to now eat all the pasta. Children will be able to relate their own experiences where they disobeyed their parents and had to pay consequences. This book is a Cadecott Honor Book (1976).
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW: “De Paola’s illustrations aptly capture the whimsy of this ancient tale… simple line drawings clearly reveal the agony and ecstasy of pasta power, the muted colors create just the right ambience for a Medieval village” (paperback version)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Review: “Neither de Paola nor his most famous character, Strega Nona, need introductions in the United States.” (video version)
5. CONNECTIONS
Also available in Spanish print and in video.
Read other Strega Nona stories by Tomie de Paola.
Read and explore folktales from other countries that may represent the students in your class.
Discuss the social meaning of the folktale about respecting the authority of others and the consequences of actions.

Traditional Book Review #2
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Climo, Shirley. 1989. THE EGYPTIAN CINDERELLA. Illustrated by Ruth Heller. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0064432793.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Shirley Climo’s story is an Egyptian variant on the folktale of Cinderella during sixth-century B.C. This story takes place in Egypt as a fair-skinned “rosy-cheeked” green-eyed Greek slave girl named Rhodopis is taken to live with three Egyptian servant girls. Rhodopis’ master took notice of her dancing and singing with the animals and decided to give her a pair of beautiful gilded rose-red gold leather slippers to cover her bare feet. The servant girls became jealous of her. Rhodopis was not asked to go to the court of the Pharaoh in Memphis by the servants. She regrettably had to stay behind and do her chores of washing linen and taking care of the garden. A green great falcon came and took one of Rhodopis’ slippers back to Amasis the Pharaoh. As Amasis received the slipper from the falcon he thought this was a sign from the god Horus. He wanted to find whom this belonged too. Amasis set off and successfully found Rhodopis and made her queen of Egypt.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Shirley Climo’s version of the ancient Cinderella tale is set in Egypt. The plot of the story is similar to the traditional tale of Cinderella. The Egyptian Cinderella is named Rhodopis; a Greek slave girl brought back from Greece to be used as a housekeeper that lives with three jealous Egyptian servants. The Pharaoh Amasis seeks to find a queen of Egypt. The great falcon Horus is the courier of the special slipper owned by Rhodopis. Other animals are depicted in the story as well and are friends with Rhodopis. As a folktale this story contains the flavor of the culture and country of Egypt in the fine lined and colorful illustrations throughout the story. The Egyptian women and men depicted in the story have stereotypic black straight hair with a dark complexion and are dressed in traditional clothing with jewels in their hair or around their necks (similar to Egyptian papyrus prints of ancient Egypt art. There is a magical quality to the illustrations that fill the pages with brightly colored backgrounds, flora and fauna. Text is used to tell the story with the illustrations as an artistic complement. Names used in the text (i.e. Rhodopis (rosy-cheeked), Pharaoh, Horus; city of Memphis, and the Nile attach the story to Egypt. The Author’s Note at the end of the story states that “the story is both fact and fable.” This story would be for preschool through third grade children.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST Review: “Classes that explore variants of folktales and those that study Egypt will find this especially worthwhile.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK Review: “Conventional clichés are common…the most disturbing features of this trite tale are the racist connotations, whether conscious or not.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Review: “A stunning combination of fluent prose and exquisitely wrought illustrations. The story of Rhodopis, A Greek slave girl in ancient Egypt … [contains] Powerful visual presentations reminiscent of the figures on Egyptian frieze paintings and carvings, colorful birds and animals that pulse with life…”
5. CONNECTIONS
This Egyptian folklore story could be used in conjunction with other Cinderella variants to compare and contrast the main character and story or study the geography and culture of another country or region.

Traditional Book Review #3
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Simonds, Nina, Leslie Swartz, and The Children’s Museum, Boston. Illustrated by Meilo So. 2002. MOONBEAMS, DUMPLINGS & DRAGON BOATS: A TREASUREY OF CHINESE HOLIDAY TALES, ACTIVITIES & RECEIPES. New York: Gullivar Books, Harcourt. ISBN 0152019839.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, The Children’s Museum, Boston and Meilo So (illustrator) have put together a beautiful collection of four holiday folklore tales from China and the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Each of these holidays coincides with the lunar calendar. This publication contains a note from the authors, an explanation of Chinese festivals and the lunar calendar, additional resources for adults, young readers, and internet sources for books, information, and specialty foods. In the back of the book the reader will also find a guide to Chinese pronunciations listing vowels and consonants. The festivals include the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, Dongfang and the Festival of Lanterns, Qing Ming and the Cold Foods Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. A total of ten simple to follow recipes and activities coordinate with each of the holidays. Chinese folklore include stories about the Kitchen God (Overseer of Destiny), Dongfang (“a skilled astronomer and astrologer … he could predict the future”) and the Fire Goddess, the loyal Jie Zitui, Qu Yuan and the River God.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities, & Recipes is a thematic collection of juvenile nonfiction, traditional and adapted Chinese recipes (i.e. New Year Dumplings, Sweet Rice Balls, Crisp-Cooked Vegetarian Noodles, Tea Eggs, Five-Treasure Moon Cakes and Rabbit-in-the-Moon Cookies) and handicraft activities (i.e. New Year Prints and Characters, Paper Lanterns, Pinwheels, Kites, Bamboo Clackers, Shadow Puppets and Theatre) to complement the additional collection of Chinese folktales and festivals. Teachers, parents, and students will all enjoy this brightly watercolored illustrated book as a reference for the celebration and understanding of Chinese holidays and culture. Each section contains a moderate amount of text with dispersed illustrations that coincide with the folktale, recipe, or handicraft. The use of black ink for distinct lines and vibrant color (primarily shades of red, blue, yellow and green) makes for an attractive simple painting with characters and landscapes. The paintings are of traditional Chinese watercolor style of simple brush strokes. Chinese characters are also added to the English titles. Each handicraft activity and recipe is rated by a pictorial degree of difficulty and the amount of time needed to complete the project. This additional information would be helpful for teachers planning activities with students. The selection of recipes and handicrafts are directly associated with their respectful folktale. This allows the reader to understand the historical value of literature. Each of the folktales evokes a sense of tragedy and strife but ends with a degree of optimism and remembrance and therefore is celebrated year after year. Caution in using the folktales with young children should be noted. This book would be suitable for grades 3-7.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST Review: “This brightly illustrated, large-format book … explains the holiday, tells stories related to it, and offers at least one activity and recipe.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Review: “The ample white space surrounding the text is filled with small, whimsical watercolor illustrations. Each of the four sections is introduced by a dynamic, detailed watercolor painting on a double-page spread….visually appealing addition to any holiday collection.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Review: “Step-by-step illustrations aid in food preparation or crafts such as New Year Prints or Good Luck Characters in this elegantly designed volume.”
KIRKUS Review: “Gorgeous watercolors complement and brighten each sampling as well as attract readers with their simple beauty and elegance.”
5. CONNECTIONS
Study Chinese heritage, complete some of the handicraft activities and sample a few of the recipes with your class after reading about the stories of these holidays.
If you have children in your class that are of Chinese decent they may ask a parent or grandparent to come in and teach or share something about Chinese culture and language to the students.
Compare these holidays with other ethnic cultures.
This content could also be linked with science or math by discussing calendars (Gregorian, Roman, Julian, Chinese, Thai solar (based on Western and Buddhist calendar), Persian, Islamic, and Jewish). How is a year defined? Complete a lesson on the cycle of the moon, sun, and seasons.