From: Anne C Oelke <acoelke>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 15:27:07 -0600

One of my favorite new children's book is "Stephanie's Ponytail" by Robert Munsch, Illustrated by ?? Martchenko. (His first name eludes me here at home). It is published by Scholastic, and was part of our book fair. This Canadian storyteller relates the tale of Stephanie who is always teased and then copied, no matter what her hairstyle. Stephanie gets the last word (or the last hairstyle) in the end. This was a BIG hit with the children at our school from Gr. 1-5. Yes, even the fifth graders were sitting still, in rapt attention, and joining in delightedly.

It is so true to life that I keep handing it to adults and saying "You have to read this". And they always laugh and know at least one situation of kids that it fits perfectly.

For those who have enjoyed this story already, just imagine my amusement when, the day after I first read it, four "so sophisticated" sophomore girls paraded into the library, plopped themselves down, and proceeded to style identical ponytails! I needed a quick trip to the magazine room so I could giggle in privacy!

Munsch captures the foibles of children so well, and his storytelling background is so evident. His works read aloud wonderfully, with repetitions that children love to join in. Hmm, I guess you can tell that I am a Robert Munsch fan. Then there's the wonderful artwork of Jan Brett, the creativity of Lois Ehlert---but those are other stories and other postings. :-)

Anne

Anne Oelke | "Some days are like that, acoelke at peoples.net | even in Australia!" Cambria-Friesland School Dst. | Judith Viorst in _Alexander Cambria, WI | & the Terrible, Horrible,
                                                           | No Good, Very Bad Day_.
Received on Wed 04 Dec 1996 03:27:07 PM CST