Posted on by TracyC

The Persian Cinderella

The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo, art by Robert Florczak, 1999.

This is a Persian version of the classic Cinderella story.

There is a lovely girl named Settareh, a name that means “star” because she has a star-shaped birthmark. Her mother died shortly after she was born, so she has grown up with a stepmother, two stepsisters and some aunts and cousins. Her father leaves her to the women of the family to raise, but she is often ignored and neglected by them. Her stepsisters are jealous that she is pretty and are mean to her.

Then, one day, her father visits the women and gives them each some money to buy cloth for new clothes because the princes is inviting everyone to his palace to celebrate the New Year. However, in the market, Settareh spends her money on other things and has none left to buy cloth. She spends part of her money for something to eat because she’s hungry, and then, she gives some to a poor beggar woman as an act of kindness. Finally, she finds herself compelled to buy a strange blue jug. Her stepsisters tell her that she was a fool for buying the jug, which has an obvious crack in it and for wasting the money that she was supposed to spend on cloth, but Settareh still loves the little blue jug.

Then, Settareh discovers that the jug has a fairy inside and has the ability to grant wishes! Although her relatives think that Settareh won’t be able to attend the festival at the palace because she doesn’t have anything appropriate to wear, Settareh secretly asks the jug for a special gown and comes to the festival anyway. People at the festival don’t recognize her and think that she’s a visiting princess, and she catches the eye of the prince. However, she leaves the party quickly so she can return home before her family, accidentally losing a diamond anklet as she runs away. One of the prince’s servants finds it and gives it to the prince, who begins to search for the girl who wore it.

When the prince finds Settareh, he proposes to her, but Settareh’s jealous stepsisters scheme to get rid of her and take the magic jug for themselves! Settareh will need the prince’s help to escape!

There is an Author’s Note in the back, explaining more about this version of the story, which comes from The Arabian Nights, and some background information to the story, including a little about the New Year festival of No Ruz in the story, which is still celebrated in Iran. There is also an Artist’s Note about the style of the artwork.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction and Spoilers

I enjoyed this Persian version of the Cinderella story! I like Shirley Climo’s picture book series showing different versions of Cinderella stories from around the world, including The Egyptian Cinderella and The Korean Cinderella. One of the parts of this story I found the most interesting is that the story doesn’t end when the prince finds the girl who attended his party, as so many other versions of the story do. There is one last obstacle for the couple to overcome, when Settareh’s mean stepsisters use the magic of the jug to turn Settareh into a bird, until she flies to the prince, and he changes her back. I don’t now whether adding one more obstacle to the story enhances it that much, but I appreciated it as an interesting twist. It also resolves the matter of the jug because, while it grants the stepsisters’ evil wish, their wish also destroys the jug, so the wishing is over.

The artwork in the book is beautiful. The artist tried to make the art style as authentically Persian as possible, using models for the characters who were ethnically Persian (Iranian). The artist used a combination of water-based markers, colored pencils, and ink, and pictures are lively and full of color.

Posted on by TracyC

The Princess and the Warrior

The Princess and the Warrior by Duncan Tonatiuh, 2016.

This story is a folktale about the origins of a pair of volcanoes near modern Mexico City.

The Aztec emperor had a beautiful daughter, Princess Izta, and there were many men who wanted to marry her. They gave her many wonderful gifts, but Princess Izta wasn’t impressed by any of them.

The man she loved was a warrior called Popoca. Unlike her other suitors, he really loved her for the person she was. The emperor disapproved of Princess Izta marrying a warrior who wasn’t from a wealthy, influential, or royal family, but he also knew that Popoca was brave and a good warrior. Their kingdom was at war with a neighboring kingdom, led by Jaguar Claw, so the emperor promised Popoca that, if he could defeat Jaguar Claw, he would allow him to marry Princss Izta.

There were hard battles against Jaguar Claw, but Jaguar Claw gradually realized that he would lose the war. As a final act of revenge before defeat, he sent a messenger to tell Princess Izta that Popoca was dead. Worse still, the messenger gave Princess Izta a potion that would supposedly help her with her shock but which put her into a deep sleep.

When Popoca finally returned victorious, he was shocked and grieved to find Princess Itza in a deep sleep, from which nobody seemed able to wake her. He sat by her side, waiting for her to wake up. The story is based around the two volcanoes, one which looks like a sleeping woman and is dormant, and the other which looks like it’s sitting upright and shows signs of activity.

There’s an author’s note in the back of the book about the origins of the legend and how this version of it differs from other versions and about the volcanoes that inspired the story, Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. There’s also a glossary of Nahuatl words used in the story.

My Reaction

I hadn’t heard this story before, but I enjoy folktales from around the world! The art style is fascinating, incorporating aspects of traditional Aztec art, such as showing things in a very two-dimensional style and human beings in profile. Even though there is fighting depicted in the story, it isn’t too graphic for children

When I was a kid, I would never read author’s notes, but I appreciate them as an adult, especially in cases like this, where they provide more information about the background of legends. This picture book is meant for children, but it can also be fascinating for adults, especially with the addition of the background information.

Posted on by TracyC

When Clay Sings

When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Tom Bahti, 1972.

This children’s picture book is a salute to the ancient makers of Native American pottery, dedicated to these makers and the museums that preserve their work. It’s written as free form poetry with images of the American Southwest and designs from Native American pottery.

The story sets the scene on a desert hillside, where pieces of ancient pottery are buried. Sometimes, Indian (Native American) children dig up pieces of old pottery, and their parents remind them to be respectful of what they find because they are pieces of the past and of lives that went before. Sometimes, they’re lucky enough to find pieces that fit together or even a bowl that isn’t broken.

They reflect on the time and skill that went into making the pottery and how strong the pottery would have to be to last well beyond the lives of the people who made it. They think about the people who painted the beautiful designs on the pots and what their lives were like. Could their own children have requested favorite pictures painted on their bowls?

Some designs show animals or bugs or hunters, but others show bizarre creatures that might be monsters or spirits. Others show a medicine man trying to cure a child, ceremonies, dancers in masks and costumes, or the traditional flute player. People can reflect on the lives of those long-ago people and how they compare to the lives of people today.

There is a map in the back of the book which shows the areas of the American Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado) where the pottery designs the book uses originated from and the tribes that used them.

This is a Caldecott Honor Book. It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

My Reaction

I grew up in Arizona, and I remember our school librarian reading books by Byrd Baylor to us in elementary school during the late 1980s or early 1990s. She wanted to introduce us to this author because she wrote about the area of the United States where we lived. In fact, this book about pottery was fitting because, when they were building our school in the 1970s, they found some ancient pottery. They used to have it on display in the school library. Even to this day, it’s common for people creating buildings in this area to have the site surveyed by archaeologists. Finds are fairly common, and the usual procedure is to thoroughly document everything that gets uncovered before burying it again in the same location and constructing the building over it. One of the reason why they usually rebury finds is that, in this dry, desert climate, putting them back into the ground will actually preserve them very well. It’s possible that later generations will find them again (especially with the location documented) when the building is gone or no longer necessary, but they may have better instruments or techniques for analyzing them.

I’m a little divided on how much I like this book, though. On the one hand, I like books about folklore and traditional crafts, and this book focuses on a geographical area that’s very familiar to me. On the other hand, the free verse poetry that reflects on the feelings of people about the pottery doesn’t appeal to me quite as much as books which show the process of making it, like The Little Indian Pottery Maker. I like to see the process and learn more of the known background legends of some of the designs than just try to imagine what things might have been going through the minds of the designers. Toward the end of the book, they show the legendary humpbacked flute player, but they don’t tell you that this figure is called Kokopelli and that there are legends about him. It’s a nice book, but I just felt like there was potential to include more background information.

This book uses the word “Indian” for “Native American” or “America Indian”, which is common in older children’s books.

Posted on by TracyC

Arthur’s Halloween

Arthur Adventure

Arthur’s Halloween by Marc Brown, 1982.

It’s Halloween, and Arthur’s already getting spooked! His family is putting up Halloween decorations, and his sister, D.W., scares him with her costume when he wakes up on Halloween morning. Arthur is supposed to take D.W. trick-or-treating, although he doesn’t really want his little sister tagging along.

At school, Arthur has trouble recognizing everyone in their costumes. There are Halloween treats and games, though.

That evening, Arthur and D.W. go trick-or-treating with Arthur’s friends. Arthur’s friend, Buster, warns them not to go to a big, old house because a witch lives there, and the last person who went in on Halloween never came out again.

Arthur and D.W. lag behind the other trick-or-treaters, and when Arthur turns around, he sees D.W. going into the witch’s house! What choice does Arthur have but to go in after his sister to save her?

My Reaction

This book reminded me of the Berenstain Bears Halloween book The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat. It’s another instance of an elderly woman who seems witch-like and scary, but the children enter her house on Halloween, discover that she’s really nice, and get some special treats. Entering a stranger’s house is never a good idea because, in real life, that could be very dangerous. I get the theme that appearances can be deceptive and things that seem scary aren’t so scary when you understand them, but I do quibble that this might not be the best way to demonstrate that to young children. All the same, I do have nostalgia for both the Berenstain Bears and the Arthur books.

I remember reading the Berenstain Bears Halloween book as a kid, but I don’t remember reading Arthur’s Halloween until I was an adult. Because of the similarity in the themes of the stories, I checked the copyright dates. They’re both from the 1980s, but Arthur’s Halloween is the older of the two books. I don’t know if the Berenstain Bears took inspiration from the Arthur story or if they were both inspired by something older or if the similar theme is just a coincidence.

One other odd thing about this story is that old Mrs. Tibble is human. Everyone in the Arthur books is some kind of animal, but not Mrs. Tibble. There is no explanation for this. In the cartoon version of Arthur, Mrs. Tibble is an animal, just like everyone else.

Posted on by TracyC

Cranberry Mystery

Cranberry Mystery by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1978.

Antiques are being stolen from the people of Cranberryport, and no one knows who is responsible. People are looking at each other with suspicion.

After Annabelle, an old figurehead that used to belong to Mr. Whiskers’s grandfather, is stolen from Mr. Whiskers’s house, Mr. Whiskers sees a light on Sailmaker’s Island. He believes that the thieves are hiding on the island, but the sheriff will not listen to him. The only person who listens to Mr. Whiskers and believes him is young Maggie.

When Mr. Whiskers and Maggie set out to the island to find the thieves by themselves, they are captured!  How can they escape and get the authorities?

The book includes a recipe for Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Pie-Pudding.

My Reaction

The story is more adventure than mystery. The thieves are strangers, not anybody from the town, so there’s no evaluation of different suspects, and Mr. Whiskers has a pretty good idea where the thieves are hiding, so there isn’t much searching for them. It’s more about how Maggie and Mr. Whiskers escape from the thieves and alert the authorities. It’s a nice story, but I just think that the “mystery” could use a little more mystery. The best part is when Maggie uses the old figurehead, Annabelle, as an improved raft to reach the authorities.

The season in this story is “Indian summer“, which is when it’s technically fall, but there’s a warm period. There are different names for this phenomenon, but the term “Indian summer” might be based on the concept that this is the time of year when Native Americans prepared food stores for the coming winter.

Posted on by TracyC

Moonflute

Moonflute by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood, 1980, 1986.

One night, a little girl named Firen can’t sleep. It’s a hot summer night, the moon is full, and Firen feels like the moon has taken away her sleep, so she must go out into the night and look for it.

Outside, Firen raises up her hands to the moon and asks for her sleep back. The magical moon sends her a moonbeam, and when Firen touches it, she realizes that it’s solid. It’s actually a flute. When Firen plays the flute, it makes magical music that doesn’t sound like any normal flute, and it brings all sorts of wonderful smells of things that Firen loves. As she continues to play, she feels light and tingly, and she realizes that she is rising into the air!

Firen flies over the countryside, looking for her sleep. As she journeys through the night, she sees various animals and wonders if they have her sleep. She sees cats in a patch of catnip, whales playing in the ocean, and bats and monkeys in a jungle.

When Firen sees a couple of monkeys soothing a baby monkey to sleep, she thinks about her own parents and uses the flute to return home. Is the moonflute helping her find her sleep at home with her parents, or has she actually been asleep all the time?

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

This book follows the “It was all a dream” theme, where the main character experiences something fantastic, but they were dreaming all the time. While Firen was wondering where her sleep was, she apparently fell asleep. It isn’t definite that’s what happened, but it’s implied when her parents go to her room, and she’s in bed, without the flute. If readers would like to think of it differently, that Firen really did have her flying adventures, it’s possible to read it that way, too.

The pictures really make this book! The illustrations are oil paintings, and they are beautiful and ethereal. Firen witnesses some stunning scenes, like whales leaping in the ocean, with everything bathed in glowing moonlight.

I was intrigued by the name “Firen” because I don’t think I’ve heard it before, and I like unusual names. I couldn’t find much information about the name online, so it seems like it isn’t very common. I thought at first that it might be a modern, invented name, although one name site says that it has Arabic origins.

Posted on by TracyC

The Mysterious Giant of Barletta

The Mysterious Giant of Barletta by Tomie dePaola, 1984.

This story is adapted from an Italian folktale. There is a note in the beginning about the town of Barletta and the statue that stands in front of the San Sepolcro Church. According to the note, nobody knows who the statue is supposed to represent, which is why there are stories about it. This one takes place during the Middle Ages, the 11th century.

Because no one knows who the statue is supposed to be, the people of Barletta call it, “The Mysterious Giant.” No one even knows for sure how long it has been there. It has been there for as long as anyone can remember, including Zia Concetta, the oldest person in Barletta. People are accustomed to gathering around the statue to meet each other, and many of them will give the statue a friendly greeting or wish it good night.

However, one day, the town is threatened by an invading army. The people of Barletta are unprepared for invaders, and many of them prepare to flee, not knowing what else to do. Zia Concetta appeals to the statue to save their town.

The statue hears Zia Concetta’s request, and it comes to life, climbing down from its pedestal. Together, he and Zia Concetta come up with a plan to discourage the invaders.

When the invaders arrive, they see the statue, sitting by itself outside the city, crying. When they ask the giant statue why it’s crying, it says that the other boys at school are mean to him because he’s smaller than everyone else. When the invaders hear that everyone else in Barletta is bigger than the giant statue, they decide that they don’t want to meet the rest of the townspeople and leave!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

I always like books that reference folklore! The theme of someone who is large pretending like they’re much smaller than other people to scare off an attacker is one found in other folktales. For example, in Fin M’Coul (a version of which was also written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola), Fin M’Coul, who is a giant, pretends to be his own baby to make an enemy think that his father must be larger and more fierce than he actually is.

I particularly liked this story because, unlike other folktales, it has a real setting and a definite landmark, the statue that is sometimes called the Colossus of Barletta. The way it is drawn in the book isn’t exactly as it appears in real life. In real life, it holds a cross in the hand that is raised, although the cross was not part of the statue originally. It probably originally held a spear or a flag standard. It is about three times the size of an adult human, which isn’t as large as it is shown the book. As in the book, it isn’t certain exactly who the statue is supposed to be, although it appears to be the statue of an emperor. He appears to be a middle-aged man wearing a jeweled diadem. The reason why nobody knows exactly who it was supposed to be is that it wasn’t originally made or displayed in Barletta. It was probably originally looted from Constantinople by the Venetians. There is a story from Barletta that it was once lost in a shipwreck on the way from Constantinople and washed up on the shores of Barletta in 1309, where some of its bronze was used for casting bells for a monastery. Then, in the 15th century, the statue was restored and displayed in front of the church. That, by itself is a fascinating story, although it isn’t explained in the book.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Saint George and the Dragon

Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, 1984.

The story of Saint George and the Dragon is an old folktale. The story as told in this children’s picture book was adapted from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene.

The Red Cross Knight, who carries a shield decorated with a red cross, does not know his own name or even where he came from. He only knows that the Queen of the Fairies has sent him to face a terrible dragon. He is accompanied on his journey by a princess with a little white lamb and a dwarf. The Princess’s name is Una, and her kingdom is being attacked by the dragon.

On their journey, they meet a hermit, who shows the knight a distant palace on a mountaintop, where angels travel between the palace and heaven. It’s so beautiful that the knight wants to go there immediately, but the hermit says that this palace is in another world and that he cannot go there until he faces the dragon. The hermit also reveals the knight’s past to him. He is not one of the fairy folk, although the fairy folk are the ones who sent him. The hermit knows that he was kidnapped by the fairies as a baby and hidden in a farm field, where he was discovered by a plowman who named him George. His true destiny is to become Saint George, the patron saint of England.

Una takes George to her parents’ fortress. As they approach, they see the dragon for the first time. George sends Una away from danger, and he and the dragon battle for the first time. The dragon picks up George, horse and all, and throws them to the ground. George manages to drive the dragon away, but he is also injured. At first, he and his friends think he is going to die, but he lies down in an ancient spring that cools and heals him. By morning, he is able to rise and fight again.

The second time George fights the dragon, he is able to cut off part of the dragon’s tail and one of its paws. The dragon’s fire finally drives George away, and once again, George seems too wounded to survive. However, he rests under an apple tree that drops healing dew, and George survives.

The third time George and the dragon fight, George manages to kill the dragon. Everyone celebrates, and Una’s parents thank George. The king gives George rich rewards, but George passes them on to the poor people. George is bound to the service of the Fairy Queen for six years, but the king allows George to marry Una and promises him that he will become the next king when his service is finished.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

I love the colorful illustrations in this story, although some of them seemed a bit brutal for an audience of young children, showing George badly injured and the dragon spurting blood. Because I love folklore, I know that the legend of St. George and the Dragon is a Christian allegory, although it has some basis in earlier folktales and historical figures. I’ve heard different interpretations of what the dragon is supposed to represent. It can be a symbol of evil, the devil, or sin, and I think I’ve heard that it could represent paganism, which was replaced by Christianity (represented by St. George in the story), although I can’t remember where. In a way, I think this is one of those picture book that might mean more to adults because they would understand more of the symbolism, history, and folklore references in the story. On the other hand, who doesn’t love a story that ends with a gallant knight marrying a beautiful princess?

In case you’re wondering, the red cross on St. George’s shield isn’t the red cross used by the International Red Cross. However, Saint George’s Cross is on the national flag of England and is also part of the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom.

As another odd piece of literary trivia, the legend of St. George has a connection to another story that I’ve on this blog, Phoebe the Spy. The connection isn’t an obvious one because Phoebe the Spy was set in New York during the American Revolution, which seems far removed from Medieval England. However, on April 23, 1770 (St. George’s Day), the St. George Society (originally called the Sons of St. George) was founded at the Fraunces Tavern in New York, just six years before the story of Phoebe the Spy begins at the same tavern. The St. George Society was and still is a charitable organization that helps immigrants from Britain, using the patron saint of England as its namesake.

Posted on by TracyC

Christmas Trolls

Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett, 1993.

In this Scandinavian Christmas story, young Treva and her brother Sami are getting ready for Christmas when strange things start to happen.

First, Treva feels like someone is watching them when they go to pick out a Christmas tree in the forest. Then, after they start decorating for Christmas, some of their decorations start to disappear. They had already wrapped Christmas presents and hidden them away, but they discover that those are gone, too!

Treva begins to realize what is causing these disappearances when she spots their Christmas pudding, apparently moving quickly across the snow, stuck to the back of a hedgehog! Treva follows the hedgehog and pudding into the forest, where she finds two trolls, pulling the pudding up into their tree house.

In the tree house, Treva finds the trolls arguing over all of the Christmas things they’ve taken from Treva’s family. Treva confronts them about stealing their Christmas things. The trolls say that they just want Christmas. They’re like small children who want something but don’t know how to get it or make it for themselves, so they just started trying to take it from other people.

Treva tells them that she will show them what to do for Christmas. She helps them clean up their little house, make decorations, and decorate their tree for Christmas.

She also explains to them that arguing and being greedy isn’t the proper Christmas spirit, and it’s been ruining their mood. She tells them to try cooperating with each other and playing nicely together while they decorate. Finally, she teaches them that Christmas is about being generous and giving something to each other, not just taking things. To demonstrate what she means, she gives them their first Christmas present, her favorite Christmas decoration.

With the trolls now able to have Christmas on their own, Treva is able to reclaim the rest of her family’s Christmas presents and decorations. However, the trolls and their hedgehog friend have one more special Christmas present to give now that they understand what giving is.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

My Reaction

This is a fun Christmas story with beautiful, colorful illustrations! I really loved the pictures in the book, with all the colorful Christmas decorations. The designs of the family’s Christmas decorations are traditional Scandinavian decorations. The side and bottom panels of the illustrations also explain some of what’s happening even before the main character understands.

I also loved the designs of the troll and their fun hedgehog friend. Around the time this story was published, troll dolls, which have existed since the late 1950s, were having a rise in popularity. The trolls in this story somewhat resemble troll dolls, with their fluffy hair rising to a point, although the troll dolls have more colorful hair options. I enjoy stories that use fantasy creatures, especially ones that aren’t especially common. The trolls in this story are troublesome, but in a little kid manner, not overly threatening. They’re more about mild magical mischief and lessons they have to learn.

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Mr. Pine’s Purple House

Mr. Pine’s Purple House story and pictures by Leonard Kessler, 1965.

Mr. Pine lives in a little white house. All of the houses on Vine Street are white, and they look completely identical. Mr. Pine thinks that he’d like to do something that will make his house different from all the other little white houses.

His first idea is to plant a pine tree in his front yard. Since his name is Pine, everyone seeing it will think of him, and his house will be different from everyone else’s. The problem is that all of his neighbors like his pine tree and decide to plant their own trees. Soon, all of the houses look alike again with pine trees in the yards.

To make his house look different, Mr. Pine tries to plant a bush next to his tree, but everybody likes that idea, too. Soon, everybody has both a bush and a pine tree in their yard, and the houses look identical again.

Mr. Pine tries to think of something that he can do with his house that his neighbors won’t imitate. He gets the idea of painting his house, but he can’t pick any obvious color that all of his neighbors will want, too. He decides to paint his house purple. Is this finally the idea that will make Mr. Pine’s house different from the rest?

This book is actually the second book in a series of picture books about Mr. Pine.

My Reaction

I often think of this book and The Big Orange Splot together because they’re both about people in a neighborhood of identical houses who make changes to distinguish themselves and their houses and end up changing the way their neighbors view their own homes. The difference between the books is that, in The Big Orange Splot, the neighbors were completely opposed to changes that made anyone’s house different until they began to see the opportunities for living out their own dreams through their homes. In this book, the neighbors immediately seize on everything that Mr. Pine does that’s different and start copying him. They think all of his changes are great and frustrate his efforts to be different by doing everything he does until they decide to all paint their houses different colors. Of course, Mr. Pine’s changes are all less outlandish than the ones from The Big Orange Splot, so they would be easier to accept.

I liked it that Mr. Pine’s neighbors all have colors for names: Mrs. Gray, Mr. Gold, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. White, and all the colors they eventually pick for their houses are different from the colors in their names. Even though this book mentions a lot of colors, the only colors shown in the pictures are black, white, and purple. In the end, when the houses are all different, the differences in color are shown with lines providing shading rather than with actual colors. It still works to show that the houses are now different from each other.