Five Star Fractured Fairy Tale

I’ve been getting lots of requests for recommendations for fractured fairy tales from the student-teachers as they head out on their practicums.  It’s just that time of the year, I guess.

I usually recommend checking out my Pinterest page first to see what grabs them. Many don’t come with any idea as to which fairy tale they want to look at so I find this kind of gets them started.

However, I have a recommendation today that I gave 5 stars to in Goodreads and would recommend for everyone. (I rarely give 5 stars for any books.)  After the Fall: How HumptyDumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat is that wonderful!

This is Humpty’s story: he likes sitting high up on his wall to be close to birds; the Great Fall was just a silly accident; he was patched up but developed a fear of heights; not able to ascend his wall and commune with birds has left him joyless; a chance encounter with a paper airplane inspires him to construct a flying paper bird which helps take away a little of his sadness. His new found solace, however, is short lived as the paper bird flies over the wall by accident. Humpty almost walks away from the bird and wall but decides that he is not going to be defeated by this turn of events. He  tackles the wall, succeeds overcoming his fear and now wants to be known not as the egg who falls off a wall but the egg who gets back up.

This story definitely has a message, which might have been too didactic, but the way Dan Santat tells Humpty story, it’s not that in the least.  Humpty is very relatable as a character. He conquerors his fears that have developed from an incident that just happened. The illustrations add a level of humour which is subtle and wry but obvious. I especially loved the pages depicting Humpty grocery shopping for his favorite cereals which he can no longer reach because of his fear of heights.  All the ‘good’ cereals (aka. High sugar ones) are on the top shelf so he now must eat those he can reach which are all the ‘bo-rings’, ‘twigs & berries’ and ‘chicken feed’ brands on the bottom. The ending is uplifting and eye-opening, too. I had never really considered what kind of egg Humpty was and in this story we find out. Brilliant!

I highly recommend this title for elementary grades.

Today’s recommendation is Which One Doesn’t Belong? : a Shapes Book by Christopher Danielson.

It would be an interesting resource to bring into a math classroom especially when doing geometry but not necessarily only limited to mathematics. This book presents four varying shapes on a page and asks the viewer to select which one doesn’t belong.

There is no wrong answer.

Each shape has some feature that makes it distinct from the others. This promotes critical, analytical thinking and rationalizing skills as students look to justify their answers.

There is a teacher’s guide that I haven’t seen yet but the publisher’s information suggests that it will promote mathematical thinking across many grades going beyond the obvious geometry connections.

I do think the student book is quite clever in the way it gets the viewer to work through the reasoning behind their selections but then also to see how the other shapes are different in their own ways. I see this as good (and fun) practice for developing logic thinking skills.

I’m recommending this for elementary and middle grades. I have hopes that the teacher’s guide will have suggestions to use with high school students.

Hurray for imagination

I love This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary, a quiet reverie about a little girl using and enjoying her imagination.

Everything from a box becoming a boat that lets her sail the high seas, to imagining that her dresses have feeling which could be hurt if they knew she had a favorite, to being a mermaid, a wolf boy, and a fairy tale hero, she's been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. Her life is filled with colourful characters and play.

“But more than anything she likes stories, because you can make them from nothing at all.”

 Isn’t that the best?

This reminded me of a few other titles that also showcase the wonder and power of imagination.

Here are a few recommendations:

Imagine a city by Elise Hurst

Scribble by Ruth Ohi

Over the Ocean by Taro Gomi

What to Do with a Box by Jane Yolen

Use Your Imagination by Nicola O’Byrne

Imagine a World by Rob Gonsalves

There are so many more that could be added to this list.  These are only a few of some recent publications.

 

I recommend all of these for the primary grades.