Marushka and the Month Brothers - Folklore Picturebook



Marushka bringing two apples as she was ordered
Picture Source: Google Search

      Marushka and the Month Brothers is a picture book about a young girl named Marushka, her stepmother and stepsister Holena. As in the classic Cinderella story, Marushka is forced to do all of the work. She obediently does so, even when commanded to find violets, strawberries, and apples in the middle of winter. When searching, she sees a light in the distance where the Month Brothers are gathered around a fire. The Month Brothers consist of every month of the year. She asks for the violets, strawberries, and apples, and her wishes were granted. Thus, when returning home the third time with the apples, it was not enough and in greed, Holena ventures out to find more. To her surprise she also saw the light where the Month Brothers were warming themselves by the fire. However, they were not as kind to her as they were with Marushka and in one big breath, Brother January blew her away, never to be seen again.
 

      In despair, the stepmother went searching for Holena, and also was never seen again. Hence, Marushka was no longer troubled by her cruel stepmother and stepsister, as they were no more. However, Marushka was never alone, because “throughout the long, cold winters, Brother January fills Marushka’s cottage with friends. They sit around her stove and laugh, sing songs, and tell stories in the warmth of Marushka’s smile,” a smile that could thaw a January day (Sturges, 1996).
 

      Marushka and the Month Brothers is a Czechoslovakia and Slovakian folktale. It resembles a Cinderella story, therefore, it can be called a fractured fairytale.  The illustrations in the picturebook are full page and colorful, and appear to have been created  in pastels or watercolor, or both. The theme is about being kind no matter what the circumstances, and the text is easy to read and understandable by kindergartner’s through 3^rd grade. The teacher could use this story as a comparison to the classic Disney Cinderella and ask the students what were the differences they noticed. Another lesson could be for the students to name the 12 Month Brothers, as they were named after each month of the year.
 

Reader Response

1. Did Marushka's stepmother have a name?

2. What were the three items that the stepmother demanded Marushka

find and bring back home?
 

      Although a short book, I enjoyed the implicit lesson being told – to always do the right thing no matter what the circumstances. Additionally, having a smile like Marushka would make everyday tasks much more pleasant, while making the person much more beautiful.

Reference

Sturges, P. (1996). Marushka and the Month Brothers. New York: North-South Books, Inc.

A Picture Book of Sacagawea - Historical Fiction

Source: Google Picture Search

      Several picturebooks are available about Sacagawea, some with more information than others. The one chosen for this Blog Post is A Picture Book of Sacagawea, by David A. Adler and illustrated by Dan Brown.

      Sacagawea was born in 1788 or 1789 to a Shoshone Native American tribe that lived in the area of what is now the State of Idaho. Her tribe was peaceful but were frequently attacked by enemy tribes. One day the Hidatsa Tribe attacked her camp, killed her mother and many others. Sacagawea was captured and taken to the Hidatsa Tribe in present day North Dakota as a young girl.

      Thus, she lived among the Hidatsa, but was their slave. She was sold to a Canadian fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau at the age of sixteen. Soon afterwards, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with about “forty soldiers, frontiersmen, and boatmen, were sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Missouri River and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.” Additionally, they were to draw maps, discover new vegetation and wildlife, and learn more about the Native Americans (Adler, 2000).

      The Lewis and Clark expedition arrived at the Hidatsa camp, and hired Charbonneau as an interpreter, along with his wife Sacagawea, who had a son in February of that year (1805). They soon set out to travel through the North American western lands, in order to reach the Pacific Ocean, which they did in November of 1805. Along the way, Sacagawea was a tremendous help. Her knowledge of the plants and food that were edible prevented the expedition from going hungry many times. They also passed through a Shoshone camp, which turned out to be Sacagawea’s original tribe, as her brother was the Chief.

      The end of the journey was in August of 1806, when they reached Fort Mandan, located in the Hidatsa Indian area. There Sacagawea, her husband Charbonneau, and their infant son parted ways.

      If it was not for the help from Sacagawea - as she knew the Shoshone language well, was knowledgeable of the land and possessed much common sense and strength - it is likely that the Lewis and Clark expedition would not have been as successful as they were (Adler, 2000).

      This book is a historical biography picturebook genre, and it has many clear, colorful pictures in an acrylic painting technique that tell the story. The words are easy to read and would be suitable for 1st through 3^rd grade. Before the reading of the book, a short lesson on Native American tribes would be beneficial, as children may be vague on what role Native Americans played in the western expansion of the United States. Additionally, after the reading, each child could be required to write a one page paper on who the President was at the time (Thomas Jefferson) and how American’s lived. This book is an excellent learning tool to teach about Sacagawea who, along with her infant son, helped assure the success of the journey and open up the continent to the people of the United States” (Adler, 2000).

Reader Response Questions

1. What was the name of Sacagawea’s infant son?

2. How far did the Lewis and Clark expedition travel? Did they reach their goal?

      When looking through the various library books in order to choose one pertaining to this genre, the story of Sacagawea stood out like a shining star amongst them all. She sacrificially gave everything to help the explorers Lewis and Clark achieve their mission. Other versions tell the story further that in appreciation for her service, Sacagawea’s son Jean-Baptiste was adopted at the age of six by Clark, and given the best education and care (Krull, 2015). Not much is written about her after the expedition, but we do know that if she was not captured as a young girl and brought to the Hidatsa camp, we would not have the story today of Sacagawea.

Sacagawea minted dollar gold coin in honor of her service to the United States
Source: Google Picture Search

References

Adler, D. (2000). A Picture Book of Sacagawea. New York: Holiday House.

Krull, K. (2015). Women Who Broke The Rules: Sacajawea. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

June 29, 1999 - Science Fiction Picturebook

     

Holly in "June 29, 1999" by David Wiesner

      If interested in viewing and reading a picturebook that had very little verbiage, this would be the one to view. June 29, 1999 by author and illustrator David Wiesner is packed full of the most stunning full page pictures that I have seen thus far.

      A young girl named Holly, who resides in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, is an amateur scientist and for a school science experiment she "intends to study the effects of extra-terrestrial conditions on vegetable growth and development." After bringing in to her class the information and samples of what was to launch into the sky, "her classmates are speechless." Hence, to her shock and dismay five weeks later the news is reporting that gigantic vegetables are landing in various places in the United States. At first she thought it was the seedlings she launched into the ionosphere; however, vegetables were landing on the earth that she did not launch. Puzzled, she sits in her backyard on a enormous broccoli stem to ponder the situation.

      As it turns out, life from another planet and hemisphere was in the ionosphere touring the planets. By accident, the assistant fry cook "jettisoned the entire food supply" out of the spaceship. The story abruptly ends with the shocked faces of the extra-terrestrial beings as they are now left without food.

An Iowa farmer is joyful that he can finally win the blue ribbon at the state fair
for the largest grown crop item.

      
      In order to adequately understand the entire book, the reader must have reasoning and thinking abilities as the pictures tell much of the story. Therefore, this book is for children in 3rd to 6th grades. 

      This book was interesting as the plot is about elementary children doing an experiment.   However, if the pictures did not heavily tell the story, the reader would be lost and struggle with the conclusion of the story.  Classroom discussion by the teacher could include research on what happens in the ionosphere, if anything, and continued viewing of the pictures to see what each student could discover in the background, in addition to how many emotions can be seen on the faces of individuals in the book. 

Reader Response Questions

1. What were the names of the vegetable seeds that Holly planted in the cups and sent into the ionosphere?

2. Do you think that Holly's teacher in the classroom is pleased with her experiment? Why or why not?

Reference

Wiesner, D. (1992). June 29, 1999. New York: Clarion Books.

Rumpelstiltskin - Folklore Picture Book



Picture Source: Google Images

      Always tell the truth is the moral of this folklore fairytale story Rumpelstiltskin, as stretching the truth a bit may land you into a task that could be impossible to complete. 

      Retold from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, there was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter.  One day the King of the region stopped for a rest at the mill and the miller served him cheese and bread. After the King complimented the miller on the food, the miller, filled with pride, exclaimed that he also had a beautiful daughter that could spin straw into gold. Hence, a prideful and untrue boast ended up almost costing the miller and his family great harm.

      As the story goes, the King sent for the daughter and demanded that by the next day she spin straw into gold. Knowing she could not accomplish such an impossible task, a small man named Rumpelstiltskin appeared out of nowhere to help, but only if given something in return, which the daughter provided a beautiful necklace. The next day again, the King demanded even more straw be spun into gold. Again, Rumpelstiltskin appeared and asked for another item for his services. On the third day, once again the King demanded an enormous amount of straw be turned into gold. Again Rumpelstiltskin appeared and as the girl had nothing left to give, she made a promise to give to him what he demanded. She agreed.

      One year later a son was born and Rumpelstiltskin asked for the child.  Naturally, the Queen refused and she was given three days to discover his name. With the help of the King’s staff, she accomplished the impossible and discovered that his name was Rumpelstiltskin. Hence the little man was never seen again and the Queen, her son and the King “used the gold that the little man had spun to help the children, the elderly, the sick, and the homeless of the land” (Cech, 2008).

      It was fortunate the miller’s daughter was favored and Rumpelstiltskin came to her rescue to assist in an impossible task.

      As a Children’s Folklore Fictional Picture book, the illustrations are mostly full-page and beautifully created. This book is for grades Kindergarten to 2^nd grade approximately. To reinforce the moral of the story, the teacher could give a short lesson on the advantages of always telling the truth, and how lying and deceitfulness will get one into trouble. Additionally, the gold in the story was used to help the less fortunate in society. Ask each student to draw the ways that they would use the gold if they were the King and Queen.

Reader Response Questions:

1.       Have you ever felt you needed to stretch the truth in order to get out of trouble? If you did, what happened afterwards?

2.       Who was the greediest person on the story: the Miller, the King, or Rumpelstiltskin? Why?

      I found it interesting that the king asked the miller’s daughter to marry him after he demanded she prove herself, locking her in the room overnight to spin the straw into gold, and threatening her family with harm if she did not deliver what was required. Nevertheless, a great teaching tool for children to always behave in an upright and moral manner.

Reference 
Cech, J. (2008). Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Sterling Publishing.

Who Is Malala Yousafzai? - Multi-cultural

(Malala-Picture Source: Google Images)

      Who Is Malala Yousafzai? by Dinah Brown was published in 2015. The author tells the true story of Malala, a young girl born in Pakistan. When Malala was ten years old, the Taliban – a group of fundamentalist Sunni Muslim militants – overtook many of the towns in Pakistan and started to enforce their militant and harsh views (Johns, 2011). One of their beliefs was that girls were not permitted to attend school nor receive an education. Along with her father who was a teacher at her school, Malala voiced her opposition in several ways, eventually becoming personally known. 

      In October 2012, when she was 15 years old, a member of the Taliban entered the school bus and shot Malala in the head. After nine months of hospital care in Pakistan and England, Malala returned to school and settled with her family in England. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2014, the youngest person to ever receive the honor (Brown, 2015).

      This non-fictional biography is a shorter version of the adult book and is written for children between the ages of 8 to 12 years old. It contains many black and white drawn illustrations inside and the front cover has a colorful caricature picture of Malala.

      Who Is Malala Yousafzai? holds several opportunities for classroom activities, such as a history lesson explaining when and why the country of Pakistan was established, and showing illustrations of the schools in the country, as it is vastly different from the United States due to the poverty in the region of Pakistan. Students should recognize that they are privileged to have the opportunity to attend school.

Reader Response Questions:

 1. How many brothers and sisters does Malala have, and did they also attend school with her?

    2. If you were told you could not attend school and receive an education, and your dreams of becoming a doctor, nurse, or scientist could not be achieved, how would you react? Would you be courageous and stand up for your rights when being oppressed?

      This book makes an excellent addition to the elementary grades as it brings the Asian culture and customs, the daily struggles under the militant rule of the Taliban, and determination to receive an education to the awareness of American children.

References

Brown, D. (2015). Who Is Malala Yousafzai? New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

Johns, D. (2011). Who Are The Taliban? Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/afghanistan604/who.html.

My Parents Think I'm Sleeping - Fiction (Poetry)

      My Parents Think I'm Sleeping is a children's fictional poetry picture book about a young boy, approximately eight years old, who has a designated bedtime like any other child his age. His parents believe he is sleeping; however, in actuality he is “doing quite a lot,” as the flashlight kept under the sheets is quickly turned on once his parents leave the room. Reading and playing with his model rocket kit are only a few of his activities. His imagination goes into action, as “a monkey battalion is dancing as needles and pins,” along with the incredibly noisy night with “enraged dinosaurs” (Prelutsky, 1985).


      Many of us can relate to the imagined world of “shadows dancing weirdly on the wall” in a form that is eerie, indistinguishable, and keeps us awake for hours.  Additionally, as adults we were children at one time and may have had the same experience of an active imagination and sneaking into the kitchen during the night for a slice of cake.  As a creative assignment, teachers could ask each child to draw a picture of themselves upon their bedtime. The image of their bedroom could also be included, along with any significant items in the bedroom. However, consideration should be taken for any students who do not have adequate housing facilities, as it may be embarrassing for a homeless student, for example, to have nothing to draw. 

Reader Response and Questions for Discussion

1.      Do you think the boy's parents know he does not quickly fall asleep and is awake for a while?

2.       What are some of the activities that the boy does during the night?

      The book was published in 1985, before the era of vivid and new styles of picture book artwork which has arrived in the past two decades. Some of the pictures cover the full page, while others are half of a page. This poetry book would be enjoyable for a small group of children in the early elementary grades, as each stanza has four lines, and two of the four lines rhyme at the end. The words are simple yet descriptive. The only setback are the pictures as they can only be observed close-up.

      Jack Prelutsky is the author of The New Kid on the Block and many other popular books of humorous verse. His first children's book was A Gopher in the Garden and was published in 1967. "Since then, he has published over seventy books of poetry and in 2006 the Poetry Foundation designated Jack as the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate" (About Jack, N.d.)

Reference

About Jack. (N.d.).  Jack Prelutsky. Retrieved from http://jackprelutsky.com/bio/.

Prelutsky, J, (1985). My Parents Think I'm Sleeping. New York: Greenwillow Books, Inc.