A Long Long Sleep is written by Anna Sheehan. This is retold version of Sleeping Beauty. The main character is Rosalinda Fitzroy. She is sixteen years old. Her parents are some of the most powerful people in the world and they own a company UniCorp. Rose was put into a stasis sleep, and was left there for too long, to avoid the dark times that were ahead. She ended up staying asleep for over sixty years. When she was awoken by a kiss from a boy named Bren, not only were her parents and boyfriend Xavier gone, but so was the world and life she knew.
I think that it would be interesting to have students talk about what their lives would be like if they were asleep for over sixty years. How would they feel? How would they survive? Would they be able to make it on their own? Would they wish they had stayed asleep? This could be done orally or they could write about it in a journal.
Three Versions of the Same Story Written from the Viewpoint of Different Cultures:
In the United States, we know Snow White as the princess who lived with seven dwarfs in the woods. She lives with the seven dwarfs to hide from her evil stepmother. Snow White's stepmother is jealous of Snow White because she is the "fairest in the land" One day when the dwarfs are working, the Queen shows up to their house dressed as an old lady and convinces Snow White to take a bite of a poisonous apple.The dwarfs got back too late to help Snow White, and they placed her in a glass coffin. Snow White is awakened by the prince when he kisses her.
In Italy, the tale of Snow White is told in the version called The Crystal Casket. In this version, the main character is Ermellina, and she is twelve years old. Ermellina's teacher falls in love with her father and she becomes her stepmother. The stepmother was very mean to Ermellina, and she would have her do dangerous tasks, such as watering a pot of basil on a terrace. One day when Ermellina was completing this task, an eagle came and took her to a house of fairies so she would be safe from her stepmother. The eagle went back to the step mother ten days later to tell her what had happened to Ermellina. The stepmother was furious and she sent a witch to kill Ermellina. The fairies left for a trip and had told Ermellina to leave the door closed. The witch showed up dressed as a servant girl and gave her a basket of sweetmeats. When Ermellina ate the sweetmeats, she died. When the fairies got back, the head fairy brought Ermellina back to life, but she would not do it again. Once again the fairies left, and the witch came back dressed as a tailor. When Ermellina put on the dress that the witch gave her, she died. The fairies knew they could not bring her back to life, so they placed Ermellina in a casket that they covered with diamonds. The fairies took the casket through town, and the prince saw Ermellina. He knew he must make her his wife. He asked his mother to take care of her. While taking care of her, they stained her dress. They took the dress off to clean it, and Ermellina came back to life. Her and the prince ended up getting married.
The Portuguese version of Snow White is called The Vain Queen. In this version the Queen asked her servants if there was anyone with a face more beautiful than hers. When her servants replied that her daughter was more beautiful, she ordered them to take her away and cut her head off. The Queen demanded that the servants bring back her daughter's tongue. The servants realized that they could not kill the princess and they killed a small dog and took the tongue to the Queen. The servants told the princess what the Queen had told them to do and told her that she should run away and never return. The princess found a farmhouse and when the owner returned, he asked her if she could be his wife or daughter. The princess agreed to be his daughter and the man arranged a bed for her. One day, the man told the princess to go on a walk. She saw a young man and became frightened. Everyday, she saw this young man. The young man turned out to be a prince and he wanted to marry the princess. When the princess did not show up when ordered by the Queen, the Queen showed up at the farmhouse to beg the princess to marry her son. The two got married and lived happily ever after.
Reference: http://fairytales438.weebly.com/snow-white.html
I would use all of these stories with my students. I think that it is a great way to learn about other cultures. I also think that students would like to see how the same story can be told in different ways. I would split the students into groups and have them research each of the different cultures after we read each of the stories.
Fractured Fairy Tale:
Cinder Edna is about Cinderella's neighbor, Cinder Edna. Just like Cinderella, Cinder Edna had to work very hard for her evil stepmother and stepsisters. Unfortunately, CinderEdna did not get rescued by her Fairy Godmother. She ad to rely on herself to get to her happily ever after. Cinder Edna buys a dress for the ball on layaway and while at the ball she dances the Jitterbug with the Prince's brother. As you can see, Cinderella and Cinder Edna had similar lifestyles, but they had very different traits.
I would use this book along with Cinderella to teach my students about character traits. I think that it would be good for the students to see how people in similar situations handle them differently. There are so many activities that can be used when teaching character traits. I think one of my favorites is creating a character traits wheel.
4 Books that have won Awards
Locomotive is written and illustrated by Brian Floca. It won the Caldecott medal in 2014. This book takes place in the summer of 1869. It is about families, crews, and trains traveling together on the brand new transcontinental railroad. It talks about where the trains get their speed and strength. It also talks about what work the crew has to do and the excitement of traveling on the transcontinental railroad.
I would definitely have my students write in a journal about their trips on the railroad. We would read other books to give them more ideas on what to write. I found a site that has activities for this story: http://www.brianfloca.com/locomotive.html
This is Not my Hat is written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2013. In this book, a little fish steals a hat from a big fish while he is sleeping. Just as the little fish thinks he is getting away with it, the big fish wakes up and follows him. A crab sees the little fish swim into hiding and he promises he will not tell anyone where the little fish went. When the big fish shows up, the crab points right to where the little fish is hiding. The big fish swims into where the little fish is hiding and comes out with his hat on.
I think this would be a great book to use when teaching kids about how it is wrong to take things that are not yours without permission. I also think that a lesson on trust could be tied into it. There are many different activities that could be done with this book. I would have my students draw their own pictures about how they think the big fish got his hat back. I found some activities online: https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/BookModule/ThisIsNotMyHat
A Ball for Daisy is written and illustrated by Chris Raschka. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2012. In this book Daisy's ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. There are very few words in this book. Instead, Daisy's feelings are portrayed through her body language.
I would use this book for younger children. Since the book is pretty much wordless, I would have the students tell me the story on their own. I think it would be interesting to see how different the stories would be. I found a lesson plan for this book:
http://abcsofreading.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-ball-for-daisy.html
A Sick Day for Amos McGee is written by Phillip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2011. Amos McGee is a zookeeper. He goes to work everyday when he gets up and around. Amos is a very busy man, but he always makes time for the animals. He plays chess with the elephant, races with the tortoise, sits quietly with the penguin, blows the rhino's runny nose, and tells stories to the owl. On the day that Amos is too sick to go to work, the worried animals take the bus to his house to keep him company.
This book would be a great book to use to teach the value of friendship. I would have my students pick a zoo animal that they would like to have as a friend. They would draw a picture of them doing an activity with that animal and they would also write a story to go with it.
One Story from The Stinky Cheese Man
"Chicken Licken"
In Chicken Licken, a piece of something fell on Chicken Licken's head. This makes her think that the sky is falling. Throughout the story, Chicken Licken tells Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky that the sky is falling and they need to tell the President. On their way to tell the President, they run into Jack the Narrator. Since he was not supposed to be part of the story, the animals ignore what he has to say. The animals run into Foxy Loxy, and Foxy Loxy leads them to the cave. It ends by saying Foxy Loxy did not get to eat them because the sky was not really falling.
Younger children would definitely find all of the stories from The Stinky Cheese Man funny. It would be fun to have the students work together to make their own story. I found a lesson plan for this book online:
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/i-hate-complain-your-cheese-stinks/
A Tall Tale
Paul Bunyan was the largest baby ever born in Maine. He dug the great lakes. He gouged the Grand Canyon. He is the fastest and funniest lumberjack. His best friend is Babe the Blue Ox and their favorite thing is pancakes. On some of their journeys, they get paid for their work with pancakes.
I think students would really love tall tales. I would use Paul Bunyan along with other tall tales so students could really understand how they are written. I would then have them write their own tall tale.
https://www.paulbunyantrail.com/tall-tale/page-2/
A Fable
Belling the Cat is about a group of mice getting together to come up with a means of protection from the cat. One mouse suggests that they put a bell on the cat's neck so they can hear it coming. All of the mice applaud and accept the idea. Then, one older mouse says that the plan is admirable, but then he asks which mouse is going to put the bell on the cat. "It is easy to propose impossible remedies".
I found a website that has activities for all of Aesop's Fables:
http://gec.kmu.edu.tw/~lc/ecorner/eBook/Teaching%20With%20Aesop's%20Fables.pdf
Folktales from 4 Different Countries
Mexico
A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia is written by Julia Alvarez and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. Maria's father's olive crop failed and she fears that her family will have to leave their farm in the new world. One night, Maria dreamed of planting orange seeds that came from her parents' home in Valencia, Spain. This dream inspired Maria. In the dream, the lady of thanks introduces Altagracia to Maria.
Japan
Japan
Two Frogs is found in The Violet Fairy Book. This tale was written by Andrew Lang. It is about two frogs. One frog lives in Osaka, and the other one lives in Kyoto. The two frogs did not even know that the other one exsisted. But both frogs decided at the same time that they wanted to travel to each others' hometown. The trip was very long for both frogs and they were surprised to see the other frog when they each got to the top of the mountain. They came up with an idea to help each other see the cities from the mountain. They did not know that they were viewing their homes. They both decided that since Osaka and Kyoto were the exact same, they did not need to travel any further.
India
The Elephant and the Jackal is about an elephant named Karpuratilaka. He lived in the forest and all of the other animals were scared of him. He would tear down trees and rip branches for no reason. By doing this he destroyed many of the animals' homes. One day, the elephant ruined the Jackal's home. The jackals had a meeting because something had to be done. The jackals convinced the elephant that he should be king and that all of the other animals agreed. To get to the crowning ceremony, they had to walk through a swamp. The elephant got stuck, and the more he tried to get out, the deeper he went. When he asked for help, the jackals left him there. "Every despot has to meet his doom".
Africa
The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter is a Nigerian folktale. In the beginning the king got fifty wives for his son, but his son was not pleased by any of them. The king decided that if anyone had a daughter that was prettier than any of the wives, the daughter, father, and mother were to be killed. The tortoise had a very pretty daughter. The mother wanted to kill the daughter so that she and the father would be safe. The tortoise refused and hid their daughter until she was three years old. The prince fell in love with the tortoise's daughter and said that he himself would be killed before he allowed their family to be killed. The prince convinced the king to get rid of the law that ordered them to kill pretty daughters. "Always have pretty daughters, as no matter how poor they may be, there is always a chance that the king's son may fall in love with them, and they may thus become members of the royal house and obtain much wealth"/.
I would use these folktales to teach my students about different cultures. I think that they would enjoy hearing storied from other countries. They could pick out the similarities and differences between them.
http://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/Nigerian_folktale_1.html
http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-folktales/hitopadesha-tales/elephant-and-jackal.html
http://www.colorincolorado.org/book/gift-gracias-legend-altagracia
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/japan.html#twofrogs
A Story in a Format Other Than a Traditional Book
The Paper Bag Princess is a readers theater. Princess Rianna and Princess Simran are getting married to Prince Ronald and Prince Donald. Dante the Dragon decides to kidnap Princess Simran. Princess Rianna rescues Princess Simran by talking the dragon into proving he is the fastest dragon and that he can make the most fire. When the dragon is worn out, he falls into a deep sleep. Rianna goes into his lair to get Simran. When she gets there, her hair is a mess and she is wearing a paper bag for a dress.
I think students would love this readers theater. It is funny and it is full of excitement. It would be a great readers theater to use for practicing reading with expression.
http://cassandraspursuit.blogspot.com/2011/07/script-paper-bag-princess-synergy-camp.html
