#Suçie Stevenson

[picturebookshelf]

Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat (1990)

Story: Cynthia Rylant -- Art: Suçie Stevenson

[aliteraryprincess]

Special Edition: The Princess and the Pea retold by Xanthe Gresham and illustrated by Miss Clara

Warning: Contains spoilers

Welcome back to Fairy Tale Friday! Today’s post is a special edition in two ways. First, it is part of my Fairy Tale February 2020 event, hence the fancy looking banner. Second, instead of looking at a retelling, we’ll be looking at an illustrated children’s book. You can find the last special edition here. I’ll be using the same two section format for today’s post instead of the usual three section one. So let’s dive into this beautiful version of The Princess and the Pea!

My Thoughts:

First and foremost we have to talk about the illustrations by Miss Clara. Aren’t they absolutely gorgeous?! They’re the whole reason I bought the book in the first place. I picked up a copy of The Twelve Dancing Princesses illustrated by her and fell in love with her style, so I immediately ordered The Princess and the Pea. Apparently they aren’t actually illustrations; it says in the back that she makes maquettes of paper, photographs them, and adds in details digitally. The results are these beautiful images that pop off the page and give off the perfect whimsical vibe for a fairy tale. I’m absolutely obsessed with her art now and I have to buy her version of The Snow Queen. 

I was pleasantly surprised with how much the author actually reworked the story. Most fairy tales illustrated for children stick with the original text or a slightly altered version of it. But Xanthe Gresham uses all her own text, and she adds lots of details. While Hans Christian Andersen’s original tale just tells us the prince traveled all over looking for a bride, this version takes us to each country he visits and describes the princesses there. This is more akin to variations of the story from different cultures, including the Italian “The Most Sensitive Woman” and the Indian “The Three Delicate Wives of King Virtue-Banner: Which Is the Most Delicate?” I enjoyed that since it made the story longer and gave an excuse for more beautiful illustrations with lots of varied colors and styles.         

Most importantly (at least to me), Gresham gives an explanation for why a true princess must be so sensitive that she can feel a pea under twenty mattresses. I balked at that even as a fairy tale loving child. At the start of the story, we learn that the prince has an incredibly sensitive heart to the point where he isn’t even able to talk in front of the other princesses. He needs to find a partner who is just as sensitive as he is so he can be comfortable in their relationship. I thought this explanation was wonderful! I loved the portrayal of the prince in general. It’s great to see a sensitive boy since most media portrays men as tough and stoic. He also has a close relationship with his mother, which I found very sweet. And Gresham makes it clear even before the princess passes the pea test that the prince likes her and is comfortable with her. He’s able to immediately let his guard down and smile in front of her.   

My Rating: 5 stars

Other Reading Recommendations:

This section is a little different today too. Instead of retellings, I’m providing a list of other illustrated versions of this tale. And there actually aren’t any starred titles because this is the first illustrated version of this tale that I remember reading.

The Princess and the Pea by Suçie Stevenson

The Princess and the Pea by Paul Galdone

The Princess and the Pea by Janet Stevens

The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child and Polly Borland

The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora

The Princess and the Pea by John Cech and Bernhard Oberdieck

The Princess and the Pea by Chloe Perkins and Dinara Mirtalipova

The Princess and the Pea by Maja Dusíková      

Have a recommendation for me to read or a suggestion to make Fairy Tale Friday better? Feel free to send me an ask!   

[theferallibrarian-blog]

Reading Log #3

Book One

Ball

By Mary Sullivan 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (2013)

ISBN: 978-0-547-75936-4

Language: English

Age: 5-8

Type of Book: Limited Vocabulary

Narrative Plot: This book follows a dog and a ball throughout a day. His owner, a young girl, and he/she, have a loving relationship that surrounds the red ball they play fetch with. 

Relationship Between Text and Visual Pictures: There is only one word used throughout the entire book, “ball.” The pictures depict a multitude of the dog’s emotions as the day goes on and he tries to get other family members to play with him and the ball.

Use and Appeal: I could see this book being great for an ELL teacher to use with a limited proficiency English student. The pictures are so detailed and expressive, the teacher could use this as a beginning, middle, and end of year assessment to see how far the student’s English language capabilities have come. 

Book Two

Up! Tall! And High!

By Ethan Long

The Penguin Group (2012)

ISBN: 978-0-399-25611-0

Language: English

Age: 4-6

Type of Book: Limited Vocabulary

Narrative Plot: This book is about three birds and their respective relationships to “up”, “tall”, and “high” throughout the book.  

Relationship Between Text and Visual Pictures: The words and pictures complement each other perfectly. What is said in text is depicted in the pictures.

Use and Appeal: This book is great for a beginner reader who likes a little competition. 

Book Three

National Geographic Kids

By Various Authors

National Geographic Society

ISBN: Various

Language: English

Age: 5-8 years

Type of Book: Nonfiction Easy Reader Series

About: The images used are from National Geographic. The text is usually written by children’s book authors. What ensues is a wondrous experience for children. 

Relationship Between Text and Visual Pictures: The pictures are professionally taken and therefore very beautiful and realistic. They do not highlight exactly what is happening in the text but rather highlight the main focus of the what the text says. For this, this series uses a limited vocabulary and is broken down into levels.

Use and Appeal: This series is a wonderful supplement to  a science class. It is also perfect for the naturally curious child who is filled with wonder for the natural world. 

Book Four

Henry and Mudge

By Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated by Suçie Stevenson 

Simon and Schuester

ISBN: Various

Language: English

Age: 5-7

Type of Book: Early Reader Series About Pets

Narrative Plot: A gentle easy reader series that follows a boy and his beloved dog. 

Relationship Between Text and Visual Pictures: The illustrations depict all the happy and good that goes on in the life of Henry and Mudge. 

Use and Appeal: This series is great to recommend for children who love adventure with some good action.

Book Five

Katie Woo: Flower Girl Katie

By Fran Manushkin

Illustrated by Tammie Lyon

Picture Window Books (2019)

ISBN: 9781515838425

Language: English

Age: 5-8

Type of Book: Children who enjoy “girl”-y things. 

Narrative Plot: This book is part of a series that follows a young girl named Katie Woo through different big moments of her life. In this particular book, Katie is going to be a flower girl.

Relationship Between Text and Visual Pictures: The text  is for an advanced early reader. The pictures do not depict all that is happening in the text but rather serves as a decoration or small nod to some of what is happening on the page. 

Use and Appeal: Another great book for an independent reader - a great bring home to read. It is a chapter book so it is meant for an advanced early reader just about ready to make the move to transition texts. This book is great for the child who enjoys or relates to the activities/emotions/inclinations that are thought of a “girl-y.” I also think this book is great for a child who is social and enjoys time with friends and other people as the Katie Woo is often with friends and family. Lastly, this book is a great way to get a child inspired to start their own journals about big moments in their lives. Like Katie, they could work through the emotions of these big moments out on paper. 

Book Six

Gus and Grandpa Go Fishing

By Claudia Mills

Illustrated by Catherine Stock

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2003)

ISBN: 0-374-32815-3

Language: English

Age: 5-8

Type of Book: Those enjoy “boy” things. 

Narrative Plot: This book is part of a series that follows a young boy and his grandpa through Gus’s difficult learning moments. In this particular book, Grandpa teaches Gus how to fish. 

Relationship Between Text and Pictures: The pictures are vivid and detailed. They bring the characters and the story to life. 

Use and Appeal: Similar to the Katie Woo book series, this book is great for an advanced beginner reader who is about to or working towards making the leap to transition texts and who likes adventure. This book series also works for the child who has a very close relationship with a grandparent, especially a grandfather - it would be highly relatable for this type of child. 

[sneevish]

"Every day when Henry woke up, he saw Mudge's big head. And every day when Mudge woke up, he saw Henry's small face." From "Henry And Mudge" by Cynthia Rylant and Suçie Stevenson. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtnmLU8Hu3f/?igshid=o6or1p6f1t3h

[munchkinreads]

Image Source: Amazon (1, 2)

Under the Yellow Moon (Henry and Mudge series) 

by Cynthia Rylant, Suçie Stevenson

Publisher: Bradbury Press, Macmillan Inc. (1987)

Category: Easy reader

Suggested age range: ages 5 - 8; 3rd grade/advanced 2nd grade book

Similar reading level to: Lionel series, Fancy Nancy series

Under the Yellow Moon is the fourth book in the Henry and Mudge series, which is centered around a young boy and his dog. This autumn-themed book features three stories about fall activities, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. The text is accompanied by simple and colorful watercolor illustrations. This book - as well as the rest of the Henry and Mudge series - is great  for readers looking for longer books with vocabulary that is not too difficult. It would be an excellent addition to first and second grade classroom libraries.

Biscuit Goes Camping (Biscuit series) 

by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Pat Schories

Publisher: HarperCollins (2015)

Category: Easy reader (I Can Read! My First book)

Suggested age range: ages 4 - 8; a 1st grade book

Similar reading level to: Fly Guy series

In Biscuit Goes Camping, Biscuit the puppy gets ready to spend the night sleeping under the stars. She finds new animals (frogs, fireflies) and hears new sounds (the wind blowing, thunder). When the rain comes, Biscuit discovers a way to camp indoors. This easy reader is full of repetition and onomatopoeia, and paired with Pat Schories’ sweet illustrations, is a great book for emerging readers. Biscuit Goes Camping definitely belongs on the shelves of first and second grade classroom libraries.