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There Was An Old Lady
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From: Steven
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 16:49:26 PST
I used "There Was an Old Lady" in two storytime sessions yesterday and today (I realize storytime aptness has little or nothing to do with Caldecott standards, but will share anyway). It worked well. The way the hole fits snugly around each animal really gives the impression of swallowing. The lady gets fatter with each swallow, and it's fun to see the kids gradually noticing this. My first time through I read all the words, including the added comments after
"perhaps she'll die." On some pages this worked well. Others, especially the last one, I thought were more distracting than funny in a group setting. Some of the extra comments had a nice rhythm following the regular verse...others were more awkward (sorry I can't site examples...the book is now checked out). My second session I read the verse part only, and it worked better I thought. Reading it at home to my own kids (7 & 10) on the other hand, was different. They loved the extra words and got to appreciate a lot of the smaller details in the illustrations that the storytime kids missed out on. My conclusion is that it's a very good storytime book, but full appreciation comes up close. The illustrations capture the silliness and the slightly black humor of the story perfectly. At my first "perhaps she'll die" this morning a girl called out "that's a bad word!" And to some preschoolers, it is. But here I was able to say..."in this book, it's a silly word," and the illustrations affirmed it. Showing the lady flat and dead after swallowing the horse actually accentuates the humor even more, without detracting from the gruesome edge. The ending moral
"Never eat a horse" also helps. As for Caldecott quality, I think the combination of perfectly suited drawings and inventive, purposeful design make it deserving. The contrast in styles between this and "Rapunzel" (not to mention "The Gardener" and "Harlem") shows how hard (and how fascinating) it must be to be on that committee.
-------------------------------------------------------Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library 1595 Burns Streeet West Linn, OR 97068 ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46 e-mail: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
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Received on Thu 22 Jan 1998 06:49:26 PM CST
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 16:49:26 PST
I used "There Was an Old Lady" in two storytime sessions yesterday and today (I realize storytime aptness has little or nothing to do with Caldecott standards, but will share anyway). It worked well. The way the hole fits snugly around each animal really gives the impression of swallowing. The lady gets fatter with each swallow, and it's fun to see the kids gradually noticing this. My first time through I read all the words, including the added comments after
"perhaps she'll die." On some pages this worked well. Others, especially the last one, I thought were more distracting than funny in a group setting. Some of the extra comments had a nice rhythm following the regular verse...others were more awkward (sorry I can't site examples...the book is now checked out). My second session I read the verse part only, and it worked better I thought. Reading it at home to my own kids (7 & 10) on the other hand, was different. They loved the extra words and got to appreciate a lot of the smaller details in the illustrations that the storytime kids missed out on. My conclusion is that it's a very good storytime book, but full appreciation comes up close. The illustrations capture the silliness and the slightly black humor of the story perfectly. At my first "perhaps she'll die" this morning a girl called out "that's a bad word!" And to some preschoolers, it is. But here I was able to say..."in this book, it's a silly word," and the illustrations affirmed it. Showing the lady flat and dead after swallowing the horse actually accentuates the humor even more, without detracting from the gruesome edge. The ending moral
"Never eat a horse" also helps. As for Caldecott quality, I think the combination of perfectly suited drawings and inventive, purposeful design make it deserving. The contrast in styles between this and "Rapunzel" (not to mention "The Gardener" and "Harlem") shows how hard (and how fascinating) it must be to be on that committee.
-------------------------------------------------------Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library 1595 Burns Streeet West Linn, OR 97068 ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46 e-mail: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
-------------------------------------------------------
Received on Thu 22 Jan 1998 06:49:26 PM CST
