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Little Roja Riding Hood
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:56:13 -0500
I agree with KT that there is so much to discover visually in the illustrations for "Little Roja Riding Hood." KT mentioned the cultural elements as one dimension of this. I love the page in which Roja's mother is handling her the basket. There are cultural refeences everywhere--books (not just traditional literature from the ango tradition, but also "Platero y Yo"), the food being prepared, the telenovela on the tv in the background, the cross her mother is wearing. I'm sure I'm missing many. (Susan talks more about religious symbols in her discussion of the sketches: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbcnet/roja.asp
I sometimes think about books in terms of what I might ask children if I were sharing one, or what I think they might notice. On the page when the wolf is first introduce, one of the things I find most stirking are the eyes. First the eyes of Roja and the wold, which are remarkable similar in shape. What might this mean? I can imagine asking. Because the wolf looks completely confident, but so, too, does Roja. Skeptical, yes, about the voice asking her where she's going, but those are the eyes of a girl who is fierce and sure of herself.
And then there are the eyes of the cat, who clearly knows it's the wolf
(angry), and the eys of the sunflowers, watching. And the birds are singing their warning, "Cuidado!"
As Susan notes when she discusses the significance of the natural world, Little Roja is not alone.
The visual elements make for a rich tapestry that is tightly woven, with elements of playfulness also a integral part of the design. The Three Blind Mice appear on every page. Roja's mother wears a cross around her neck, the wolf wears a skull pendant. Roja in her red cape and outfit of stars looks like a small superhero.
Pick any page and you can fall in and find so much.
Megan
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:56:13 -0500
I agree with KT that there is so much to discover visually in the illustrations for "Little Roja Riding Hood." KT mentioned the cultural elements as one dimension of this. I love the page in which Roja's mother is handling her the basket. There are cultural refeences everywhere--books (not just traditional literature from the ango tradition, but also "Platero y Yo"), the food being prepared, the telenovela on the tv in the background, the cross her mother is wearing. I'm sure I'm missing many. (Susan talks more about religious symbols in her discussion of the sketches: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbcnet/roja.asp
I sometimes think about books in terms of what I might ask children if I were sharing one, or what I think they might notice. On the page when the wolf is first introduce, one of the things I find most stirking are the eyes. First the eyes of Roja and the wold, which are remarkable similar in shape. What might this mean? I can imagine asking. Because the wolf looks completely confident, but so, too, does Roja. Skeptical, yes, about the voice asking her where she's going, but those are the eyes of a girl who is fierce and sure of herself.
And then there are the eyes of the cat, who clearly knows it's the wolf
(angry), and the eys of the sunflowers, watching. And the birds are singing their warning, "Cuidado!"
As Susan notes when she discusses the significance of the natural world, Little Roja is not alone.
The visual elements make for a rich tapestry that is tightly woven, with elements of playfulness also a integral part of the design. The Three Blind Mice appear on every page. Roja's mother wears a cross around her neck, the wolf wears a skull pendant. Roja in her red cape and outfit of stars looks like a small superhero.
Pick any page and you can fall in and find so much.
Megan
--
Megan Schliesman, Librarian
Cooperative Children's Book Center
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Room 401 Teacher Education
225 N. Mills Street
Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503
schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
ccbc.education.wisc.edu
My regular hours are T-F, 8-4:30.
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Received on Tue 23 Sep 2014 09:56:59 AM CDT
