Module 3: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
by Verna Aardema
illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon

Book summary:
After a pesky mosquito tells an iguana a silly lie, the iguana becomes annoyed and places sticks in his ears to avoid hearing such nonsense any longer. Thus begins a chain of events that eventually leads to the death of a baby owl. The mother owl is so grieved by the death of her baby that she refuses to summon the sun and the entire land is blanketed in darkness for far too long. The king of the wilderness, the lion, calls the animals of the kingdom before him to explain what has happened.  Mother owl explains that the monkey has killed her owlet and she is too grieved to call up the sun. The monkey in turn blames the crow, who blames the rabbit and the story unfolds. In the end it is seen that the mosquito is responsible for the death of the baby owl and the Mother owl is satisfied and calls the sun. The mosquito hides away to avoid punishment, but is riddled by a guilty conscience. The guilty conscience leads the mosquitoes to constantly buzz in the ears of people asking if everyone is still angry. This requires an honest response, and is why people squash mosquitoes.

Aardema, V., & Dillon, L. (1975). Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears: A West African
        tale. New York, NY: Dillon Press.

My impressions:
I found the retelling of this classic African folktale a refreshing break from traditional fairy tales. The moral of the story is an important lesson on the consequences of telling lies and the greater effects of one's actions. The story is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that will captivate younger readers with the bright colors and sharp edges while exposing them to the traditional style of African art. 

Professional Review:
Ages 5-7. The Dillons' cut shapes of varying hues assembled into stylized scenes create a polished, dramatic visual panorama that is well matched by Aardema's onomatopoeic text relating how a mosquito's silly lie to an iguana sets in motion a cumulative series of events.

Folktale favorites. (1996, June 1). [Review of the book Why mosquitoes buzz in people's
         ears, by V. Aardema].  Booklist, 92(3), 19-20. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com

Library Uses: 
This book would be an excellent addition to a book talk series for younger readers focusing on different types of illustrations. Students should look at the different types of art that resembles traditional artwork from varying countries and then choose a  style to emulate in their own display using pastels or colored pencils.

Module 3: Rapunzel

Rapunzel
by Paul O. Zelinsky

Book Summary:

This retelling of the classic fairy tale begins with a woman expecting her first child. The woman looks over the wall into the garden of a sorceress and becomes fixated on a bed of rapunzel leaves.  She longs so desperately for the leafy greens that she puts her health in peril and her husband scales the wall to retrieve the rapunzel for his wife, so that she does not die. Instead of satisfying her craving it only amplified it, and on the husband’s next attempt he is caught by the sorceress. The sorceress agrees to spare the life of the man and his wife in exchange for the child she bears. The sorceress names the baby Rapunzel and takes very good care of her. On Rapunzel’s twelth birthday the sorceress sends her to live in a high tower in the woods, with no entrance or exit, to protect her from the evils of the world. The sorceress visited Rapunzel daily by climbing her hair to the top of the tower. One day a prince heard Rapunzel singing and watched the sorceress climb her hair into the tower. The next day the prince called out to Rapunzel to let down her hair and he climbed up to meet her. Rapunzel and the prince fall in love and have their own marriage ceremony high up in the tower, all the while keeping their relationship a secret from the sorceress. When Rapunzel’s dress becomes tight the sorceress knows immediately what has happened and in a rage cuts off her hair and banishes her to a wild country to raise her children alone. The sorceress then waits for the prince to return. When the prince learns what has happened to Rapunzel he is distraught and falls from the tower, blinding himself. After a year of wandering aimlessly, the prince hears Rapunzel’s sweet singing and the two are reunited and the prince meets his twin children for the first time. Rapunzel’s tears heal the prince’s vision and they return to his kingdom to live happily ever after.

Zelinsky, P. O., Beniker, A., Stevens, J., & Dutton Children's Books (Firm). (1997).
             Rapunzel. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books.

My impressions:

I found this story to be quite endearing and was pleasantly surprised to find the sorceress resembling a mother who was not ready to let her child grow up, rather than a cruel and unreasonable monster. The oil paintings were breathtaking and created page upon page of beautiful images that captured my attention completely. I found the story enticing in that the sorceress truly loves and cares for Rapunzel as her own child, and this is further depicted in the rich illustrations through the loving way she holds her as a baby and watches her grow into a young lady. I felt that the sorceress was resisting letting go of the beautiful Rampunzel and that is why she barricaded her into the tower – but the tower is not the ominous tower I remember from my childhood tales, rather it is a place of beauty and luxury. I think the tale finds a poetic way to demonstrate the struggle that many mothers have in letting go of their daughters for the first time.

Professional review:

Zelinsky does a star turn with this breathtaking interpretation of a favorite fairy tale. Daringly--and effectively--mimicking the masters of Italian Renaissance painting, he creates a primarily Tuscan setting. His Rapunzel, for example, seems a relative of Botticelli's immortal red-haired beauties, while her tower appears an only partially fantastic exaggeration of a Florentine bell tower. For the most part, his bold experiment brilliantly succeeds: the almost otherworldly golden light with which he bathes his paintings has the effect of consecrating them, elevating them to a grandeur befitting their adoptive art-historical roots. If at times his compositions and their references to specific works seem a bit self-conscious, these cavils are easily outweighed by his overall achievement.

The text, like the art, has a rare complexity, treating Rapunzel's imprisonment as her sorceress-adopted mother's attempt to preserve her from the effects of an awakening sexuality. Again like the art, this strategy may resonate best with mature readers. Young children may be at a loss, for example, when faced with the typically well-wrought but elliptical passage in which the sorceress discovers Rapunzel's liaisons with the prince when the girl asks for help fastening her dress (as her true mother did at the story's start): "'It is growing so tight around my waist, it doesn't want to fit me anymore.' Instantly the sorceress understood what Rapunzel did not." On the other hand, with his sophisticated treatment, Zelinsky demonstrates a point established in his unusually complete source notes: that timeless tales like Rapunzel belong to adults as well as children.

[Review of the book Rapunzel, by Paul O. Zelinsky]. (29 Sept. 1997). Publishers Weekly 244
                 (40), 89. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com

Library Uses:

This book would be excellent on display for the Caldecott collection, or used in a lesson introducing different styles of art, specifically Renaissance era artwork and Italian influences on art in the book. The book also would be an appropriate complement to a fairy tales book grouping or as a whimsical addition to a unit concerning plants and gardening.

Module 2: Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius
written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Book Summary: 

Miss Rumphius  is the story of Alice Rumphius, who as a child decided she wanted to have a life like her beloved grandfather and travel to many faraway places and then live by the sea when she became old. Her grandfather gives her his blessing but also adds that Alice must try to do something to make the world more beautiful. Once Alice grows up she fulfills her dream of traveling to faraway places and has many great adventures visiting tropical locations, climbing mountains, and riding camels across the desert. She eventually settles down and lives in a cottage by the sea where she ponders how she will fulfill her grandfather's edict to make the world more beautiful. After a spring spent in bed because of health problems, Miss Rumphius discovers the lupines she had planted the summer before kept her spirits high as she saw them through her bedroom window and that her flower seeds had also spread because of the wind and the birds. At this moment she realizes she can make the world more beautiful by spreading lupine seeds across the countryside and throughout the town. She sprinkles lupine seeds wherever she goes and succeeds in making her part of the world more beautiful for all of the town to enjoy. The story ends with Miss Rumphius passing on the special message to make the world more beautiful to her niece.

Cooney, B., Cooney, B., & Viking Press. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York, NY: Viking Press.

My Impressions:

I never read this book as a child, but I wish I had! I loved the message in the simple story and the illustrations were very well done and would appeal to young and old readers alike with all the bright colors. I walked away from the book feeling as though the "lupine lady" had lived a very rich and full life and accomplished her goal of making the world "more beautiful." I, too, felt compelled to remember my childhood ambitions, and make strides to begin to do something to make the world a better place. I also thoroughly enjoyed the independence of Miss Rumphius. It was quite refreshing to read a children's book with a strong female character. Miss Rumphius never mentions falling in love or having a family, which are traditional female roles in children's books. Instead, she has great adventures traveling all over the world and eventually settles down by the sea before fulfilling her life's purpose to make the world more beautiful.

Professional Review:

You might almost believe that Barbara Cooney had a Great-Aunt Alice Rumphius who did just as we read here--else why go to the trouble of spinning out a yarn, composed of transparent storybook motifs (an elderly grandfather who carves ships' figureheads; travels to exotic places; a solitary cottage by the sea), just to arrive at an old lady who strews lupine seeds about? Ostensibly, she's fulfilling her promise to her grandfather to ""do something to make the world more beautiful""; in Barbara Cooney's precisionist Maine coast pictures, the drifts of lupine blooms are a tribute to the lupine lady per se. It's a lovely notion, in short, if not much (or too much) of a story.

[Review of the book Miss Rumphius, by B. Cooney]. (1982, Oct. 11).  

     Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com .

Library Uses: 

This book would tie in wonderfully with an Earth Day celebration in the library and as a discussion starter for students on the importance of doing things for others and your impact on society. 

Module 2: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
by Judy Blume

Book Summary:

This coming-of-age novels follows Margaret Simon through her sixth grade year and all of the pre-teen angst that accompanies it. At the opening of the book the reader discovers that Margaret has recently moved to New Jersey from Manhattan where immediately Margaret is focused on trying to fit in after befriending Nancy, a fellow student entering the sixth grade who lives on her street. Margaret suffers through the worries associated with a changing body, or in her case, a body that isn't changing quite fast enough. The reader sympathizes with Margaret's struggle of feeling different because she is of "no religion." Although Margaret is neither Jewish or Christian, she has a personal relationship with God and checks in with him daily as well as pleads with him to let her be "normal." As the book continues, the reader joins Margaret as she deals with her first kiss, her secret crush on Moose, the older boy who mows their yard, and worrying whether she will be the last of her friends to get her period. As Margaret struggles to find herself and decide on a religion, she learns a thing or two about trust and friendship along the way.

Blume, J. (1970). Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Bradbury Press.

My Impressions:

I really enjoyed reading this coming of age novel, and only wish that it had been made available to me in 5th or 6th grade. Unfortunately, I attended an extremely conservative school and it was on our district's banned books list. I was immediately drawn back in time and could relate to the anxious feelings Margaret was feeling regarding her slow to develop chest area, not wanting to be the last of her friends to get her period, and secret crushes on older boys. If I had been able to read a book like this as an adolescent, I would have found solace in the fact that I was, in fact, normal - just as Margaret was hoping to discover. I also probably would have secretly tried her "we must, we must, we must -- increase our bust!" exercises in front of my own bedroom mirror! One day I will be giving a copy of this book to my daughter the summer between her fifth and sixth grade years in school because overall, the book could be extremely beneficial in opening the lines of communication and opportunities for discussion about coming of age issues.

Professional Review:

The comical longings of little girls who want to be big girls -- exercising to the chant of "We must -- we must -- increase our bust!" -- and the wistful longing of Margaret, who talks comfortably to God, for a religion, come together as her anxiety to be normal, which is natural enough in sixth grade. And if that's what we want to tell kids, this is a fresh, unclinical case in point: Mrs. Blume (Iggie's House, 1969) has an easy way with words and some choice ones when the occasion arises. But there's danger in the preoccupation with the physical signs of puberty -- with growing into a Playboy centerfold, the goal here, though the one girl in the class who's on her way rues it; and with menstruating sooner rather than later -- calming Margaret, her mother says she was a late one, but the happy ending is the first drop of blood: the effect is to confirm common anxieties instead of allaying them. (And countertrends notwithstanding, much is made of that first bra, that first dab of lipstick.) More promising is Margaret's pursuit of religion: to decide for herself (earlier than her 'liberal' parents intended), she goes to temple with a grandmother, to church with a friend; but neither makes any sense to her -- "Twelve is very late to learn." Fortunately, after a disillusioning sectarian dispute, she resumes talking to God. . . to thank him for that telltale sign of womanhood. Which raises the last question: of a satirical stance in lieu of a perspective.

[Review of the book Are you there God? it’s me, Margaret, by J. Blume].

          (1970, Oct. 1). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Uses:

This book has appeared on many banned books lists, and would make a great display in a library promoting banned books week. Are you there God? It's me, Margaret is a good book to place on a recommended reading list for older middle school girls, under a "coming of age" category. I would also recommend this book to teachers as a choice for literature circles or a girl's book club, along with encouragement to discuss the issues brought up throughout the book with family members, in particular mother/daughter conversations.

Module 1: Bats at the Library

Bats at the Library
written and illustrated by Brian Lies

Book Summary:
Bats at the Library is an enchanting tale of bats who find an open window at the library and spend an evening enjoying all the library has to offer. The older bats gets right down to business, while the little bats brush up on their studies, and several bats enjoy some play time before they all settle down to story time. The bats become a part of the stories they are reading as the imagination runs wild, until eventually their time is up and the bats must leave the library. As they leave, they remember the experience with fondness and look forward to their next adventure in the library.

Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

My Impressions: 
This book is one of the most beautifully illustrated children's books I have seen recently. The colors were vivid and the drawings precise, and I was delighted to see the bats playing all around the library, making shadow puppets, splashing in the water fountain, and playing tag before settling in to spend some quality time with their favorite books. As I read this book to my niece we both became excited pointing out the bats as famous storybook characters such as Little Red Riding Hood. The sing-songy quality of the rhyming lines adds to the enjoyment of the reading experience, and I found myself wanting to read it again as soon as I was finished!

Professional Review:

 “Word spread quickly from afar…a window had been left ajar. Can it be true? Can it be? Yes, bat night at the library.” The bat families first introduced in Brian Lies’s Bats at the Beach (2006; Nutmeg Media, 2008) are back for a literary adventure in this iconographic rendering of the book (2008, both Houghton Mifflin). Once again, the youngsters are ready to play; viewers will delight at the imaginative mischief to be had at the library—puppet shadows on the wall with the overhead projector, swimming in the water fountain, posing in a gingerbread house pop-up book, and duplicating themselves with the copy machine. Finally tired out, the little ones join their elders for a magical story time, sitting in chairs, or hanging upside down from the tabletops. Children will be tickled to see scenes from some of their favorite books such as Make Way for Ducklings, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, Pippi Longstocking, and others—all inhabited by bats. Background strings and high-pitched bat squeaks enhance the whimsical acrylics painted in warm, rich colors. In a conversation with the author, Lies shares his inspiration for the story. The setting is based on the library in the small town where his father grew up—a stone building with stained glass windows where, indeed, there was once a visiting bat. As Lies speaks, close-up stills allow viewers to notice the artwork’s clever details that they may have missed the first time around. The author also confides that another bat family outing is in the works—Bats at the Ball Game. –Barbara Auerbach, P.S. 217, Brooklyn, NY

Auerbach, B. [Review of the book Bats at the Library, by B. Lies]. (2010, Jan. 14).

     School Library Journal 56(1). Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com.

Library Uses: This book would be an excellent story time book for younger children first being introduced to the library. Children could be invited to create their own shadow puppets, like the bats, using an overhead projector. It would also make a great addition to a unit about bats. Students can build their own paper airplane bats and "fly" them around the library (making sure to clean up before the sun come back up!)