The Ugly Duckling

1. Bibliography

Pinkey, Jerry. 1999. The Ugly Duckling. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Books.  ISBN 9780688159337.

         2.  Plot Summary

A mother duck hatches 6 eggs near a beautiful pond near a farmhouse.  The last duck to hatch is an awkward bird that does not physically look the same as the other ducklings.  The oversized “ugly” duckling was born into a world of drama and frustration.  He is bullied by other ducks -- even his siblings and kicked by the girl who feeds them.  After he no longer feels at home on the farm, the ugly duckling flees.  He encounters more drama as he runs from hunters and a hunting dog and becomes restless after living with a family that took him in.  The duck must survive a harsh winter alone after longing to fly south with an elegant flock of swans.  Finally, the duckling encounters the flock of swans again and when he joins them in the water he sees his reflection.  He realizes that he IS a beautiful swan - in fact the book ends with children saying he is the best swan.  

          3.  Critical Analysis

The Ugly Duckling is a beautiful story adapted by Pinkey from Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story about a lonesome and depressed animal who looses confidence and all allies in the world. Soon this creature transforms into a strong, confident, and beautiful creature.  

The beautiful watercolor illustrations are realistic and detailed. The setting and scenes make one feel that you are truly in the wild experiencing the seasons with the ugly duckling.  The reader can truly see the changes of the bird on each two-page spread because of the details in the artwork.

Although the story is a classic, the experiences of the character development for the ugly duckling are a bit disconcerting.  Many scenes, such as the the hens and other ducks attacking the ugly duckling, the gun shooting at a flock of geese and the bird being frozen into a pond, are dramatic and could be a little scary for a child.  It is understandable that Pinkey left these types of details in his story so that readers can truly see the stress that was put on The Ugly Duckling.  His triumphs would not be nearly as emotional and influential without the troublesome details.  That being said, I think it could be frightening for some children to read or hear such a story.   

Overall, the story was adapted and illustrated beautifully to represent the classic story while creating a modern book.  

          4.  Award & Review Excerpts

Nominated for Caldecott Medal 

Nominated for Bluegrass Award

“The gorgeous double-page spreads combine realistic light-filled scenes of farmyard and pond life with a focus on one small bird who doesn't fit in, an awkward creature who appears to disrupt the natural harmony but is really part of the wonder of connection and renewal”. -- Booklist

“The appeal of this tale is as strong today as it was 150 years ago, and Pinkney has done an admirable job of repackaging it for a new generation”.

 -- School Library Journal

         5.  Connections

• Invite students to create artwork of the beautiful swan to connect this to their own triumphs.
• Read this book in conjunction with other variants of the classic adapated by different people:

• Isadora, Rachel.  The Ugly Duckling. 2009. G.P. Putnam’s Sons: Bergenfield, NJ.
• Mitchell, Stephen.  The Ugly Duckling. 2007. Candlewick Press: Westminster, MD.     
• Angeldorff, W. The Ugly Duckling. 2006. Purple Bear Books: Jackson, TN                                                       Create comparisons based on the differences in the variantations of these adaptations.  

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

1. Bibliography

Scieszka, Jon. 1989. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Ill. by Lane Smith.  New York, NY: Viking Penguin. ISBN 9780670827596.

            2.  Plot Summary

 In this version of “The 3 Little Pigs”, the big bad Wolf wants to make sure everyone knows his side of the story!  Alexander T. Wolf is writing from jail about how he got a bad reputation for something he did not do.  The Wolf explains that he simply needed to borrow a cup of sugar to make a cake for his granny while he had a cold.  The Wolf happened to stop by each of the pigs homes asking for a cup of sugar and had a HUGE sneeze from his cold.  After the Wolf accidentally huffs and sneezes down the first two pigs homes, he was unable to leave a dead pig in the rubble.  The police show up when the Wolf is screaming and yelling at the third wolf because he said rude things about his granny.  Because he was unable to leave the “meals” behind, when the police show up at the third pigs house to handle the situation, he looks guilty.  His argument is that it isn’t his fault the pigs built such flimsy homes!

3.  Critical Analysis

 This story is a version of “The 3 Little Pigs”  in which the big bad Wolf tells his side of the story from a first-person point of view.  In this version, the wolf is the protagonist telling a flashback of his conflicts (with a cold and the police) which lead to the demise of two of the three little pigs.  The Wolf says,  ``I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong''.  This is the theme of the entire story.  

The Wolf handles plenty of complications throughout the beginning of the story including not having sugar, having a cold and accidentally sneezing down homes of innocent pigs.  As the story goes on, the Wolf reveals that each situation was a coincidence.  He only ate the first and second little pigs because he accidentally “sneezed” their homes down and could not waste a meal.  After that, the third pig was just down right rude to him.  The police happened to catch him lashing out at the third pig - another coincidence.  

Although the setting is very similar to the original story of “The 3 Little Pigs” including the mediums with which the houses were created with, the main focus is the opinion of the Wolf.  This story is a satire filled with humor that will likely be understood primarily by older children.  
The illustrations in this book are unique and different than any other version of "The 3 Little Pigs".  The fact that this is told from the Wolf's point of view is made clear through the illustrations.  They are simple and crazy!  There is humor in the pictures of animals ears' sticking out of pots and the pigs rear's sticking up in the air!  

4.  Awards & Review Excerpts

Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Winner

Flicker Tale Children’s Book and ABBY Award Nominee

“In this gaily newfangled version of a classic tale, Scieszka and Smith (Flying Jake) argue in favor of the villain, transforming the story of the three little pigs into a playfully suspicious, rather arch account of innocence beleaguered.” -- Publishers Weekly

“One of life’s more important lessons is that a second view of the same events may yield a story that is entirely different from another but equally “true”. -- Kirkus Reviews

            5.  Connections

• Read The 3 Little Pigs and then this book.  Compare the story between each book and how one story can be interpreted by two different sides.   
• Play the “telephone game” where all of the students sit in a circle, start with one secret whispered in the first person’s ear, each student whispers the secret into the next person’s ear, and see what the secret is at the end of the game.  When it is completely different from the first secret, the student’s can see how different one story can vary from person to person.  

The Fisherman and the Turtle

1. Bibliography

Kimmel, Eric. 2008. The Fisherman and the Turtle. Ill by Martha Aviles. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Company. ISBN 9780761453871.

2.  Plot Summary

A story about a hard working fisherman and his wife who live during the time of the Aztecs. One day while fishing, the fisherman captures a turtle in his net.  The turtle offers him one wish in exchange for his freedom.  The fisherman makes a wish to capture four fishes.  After he returns home and tells his wife what happened, she insists on him returning to sea and asking for a better wish - to be rich and live in a stone home.  Each time he returns to sea, she requests more and more over the top wishes exposing her greed.  Finally, one day she tells her husband to wish that she is a god and she pays the price for never being satisfied. 

3.  Critical Analysis

The Fisherman and the Turtle is a folktale that is based on adaptations of the Grimm brothers’ The Fisherman and his wife.  Set long, long ago in the days of the Aztecs, the story is told from an omniscient point of view.  This point of view is one in which the wife, turtle and fisherman are all told by a storyteller disconnected from the tale.

The theme of this story is to be careful what you wish for.  The wife was greedy and never satisfied with what she had.  The more that her husband and the turtle provided for the wife, the more she wanted.  Finally, when the fisherman’s wife wanted to be a god, she is turned into a stone statue like the other gods of Tenochtitlan.  

The illustrations in acrylics and liquid watercolor were beautiful!  A fabulous extension of the story.  The look of the setting and characters was culturally appropriate and complimented the tale.  The fisherman was always wearing the same loin cloth while his wife’s clothes got more extravagant with each page which emphasized her greed.  Another beautiful part of the story is that each time the sea is shown, the water grows more intimidating and dangerous looking.  The conditions of the sea change with each page and by the end of the book, the sea has heavy, rolling, waves crashing about the fisherman’s boat.  

The sea is an integral part of the story and setting because it represents the struggles the fisherman goes through and how his world is changing.  With each dramatic request, the setting in the sea becomes more hectic.  

4.  Award & Review Excerpts

“Aviles uses acrylics and liquid watercolor, as well as motifs from Aztec art, in the brightly patterned illustrations. She changes the placid, blue-green sea in the opening pages to a truly frightful place at the end” -- School Library Journal.

“The result of her final wish is a satisfying surprise. Kimmel concludes that while the mighty Aztec empire is long gone, the great turtle still swims in the sea "as he has since the beginning of time," and asks, "If you met him, what would you wish for?" -- Kirkus Reviews

5.  Connections

• Provide students with folktales representing a similar story.  Discuss the differences and similarities between the two stories:
• Brothers Grimm. The Fisherman and His Wife.  2001.  The Creative Company
• Godden, Rumer. The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle.  1995. Buccaneer Books, Incorporated.   

• Utilize a reading theatre that supports discussion at the end of the book after the author asks “What would you wish for?”
• Invite students to draw their own sea turtle whom which they would ask a wish of if they ever encountered to encourage creativity in artwork.