It's A Whopper!

On many a summer or fall morning in those wee hours before dawn I can vividly remember hearing my Dad's whispered, "Margie, do you still want to go fishing? It's time to get up."  Some days it was harder than others to rouse myself, but I never missed a chance to be out on the lake with Dad.  In my tenth year one such trip will never be forgotten.

It has to do with trolling, letting out too much line, a huge small-mouth bass and a boatload of patience on my Dad's part.  What Dad was able to do with that fish is...well another story altogether.  When I was finely able to read David Shannon's newest title, Jangle: a BIG fish story (The Blue Sky Press, October 2012), I was transported back in time to a day laden with wonderful memories and laughter.


When the sun goes down and the weather's just right, Big Lake gets smooth as glass and a thin mist whispers across it.

It's when the lake's surface is just so, one might catch a glimpse of its famous resident, an elusive trout named Jangles.  As a boy sits in front of the stone fireplace in their cabin a tale unfolds, told by his fisherman father who has just taken out his tackle box.  Heard before, it's of when the father was a boy but on this night the tallness of the story defies belief...or does it?

Jangles is a trout of gigantic proportions. You could always hear him coming; having escaped being caught so many times lures of all shapes and sizes hung along his massive jaws.  He had an appetite to match his size snatching unsuspecting eagles from their roosts and the careless beaver who got too close.  He was not without heart though, rescuing a baby from drowning.  What a fish!

Trying to snag that Jangles using whole turkeys for bait or dynamite never worked out well.  Unaware his boat had drifted to the center of the lake, one evening the boy's father felt something on the end of his line.  It was another fishing rod.

As he was reeling in the line on that rod, he could see a lure rippling through the water as it neared the boat. What he saw next frightened him---a large dark shadow and the unmistakable sound of lures jangling.  He hardly dared to breath.

In a blink of an eye Jangles has taken that bait, pulled the boy over the side of the boat and down into the watery depths.  The impossible happens, stories as old as time are told, and a boy rides back to his boat.  A mistake is nearly made before right reigns with a twist, a twist that is storytelling perfection.


David Shannon writes with the flair in the grand tradition of storytellers of old; spinning a yarn so unbelievable you find yourself wondering if it might not be true.  Hooking readers with the first sentence, painting in our minds the two, father and son, seated before the fireplace and the words "once upon a time", though unspoken, are understood.  Humor, simile, alliteration and descriptive details add to this whale of a tale.  Jangles becomes a character every reader wants to met.


When given the perspective upon viewing of the massive fish spread across the two pages of the jacket and cover, there is little doubt in the reader's mind as to the enormity of this story.  Using lures to create the letters for Jangles, plus the trout pictured on the boy's ball cap, on the title page add to the overall "fishiness" of what lies ahead for readers.  For this title Shannon chooses to use oils rather than acrylics on all his two-page spreads throughout the book.

This use of oils coupled with his color palette lend a special level of emotion to his telling.  The details in the surroundings, clothing, style of the boats and fishing lures, not to mention the characters' facial expressions, gives the story a sense of history, an air of mystery and humor.  By continually shifting from close-up to panoramic or looking down upon a specific scene, readers feel as though they can at any time, if they so choose, step right into the pages.  Two of my favorite visuals are a close-up of the boy hooking the fishing rod, bringing it out of the water and gazing at it in amazement and the other is of Jangles' huge tail taking up most of the two pages, a full moon lighting the sky as the boy stands waving in his boat.


Jangles: a BIG fish story written and illustrated by David Shannon is one catch you won't want to let get away.  It's a keeper through and through.  As a terrific group read aloud or a tale to be loved by two, this book is better than best, ahead of the rest.  If you can locate a copy of Steamboat Annie & the Thousand Pound Catfish by Catherine Wright with illustrations by Howard Fine, it would pair nicely with this book.  I'd be willing to bet the fish and fishing books will fly off the shelves after readers hear this story.  As for me, I'm dreaming of being ten again.


This is a link to an interview with David Shannon about Jangles.  This is a link to the book trailer for Jangles.  If you are considering an author study of David Shannon here is a listing of his books with a short biography.  A series of interviews by David Shannon can be viewed by following this link.

Inside a Hat

I recently reread an article in Psychology Today written by Pamela Brown Rutledge Ph. D., M. B. A. in Positively Media titled The Psychological Power of Storytelling.  Two phrases from six of her main points which resonate are:

Stories are about collaboration and connection.  They transcend generations, they engage us through emotions, and they connect us to others.

Stories are how we are wired. ... To the human brain, imagined experiences are processed the same as real experiences.

And more recently an article written by Leo Widrich titled The Science of Storytelling: Why Telling a Story is the Most Powerful Way to Activate Our Brains another interesting point is:

When we are being told a story, things change dramatically.  Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.

For these reasons coupled with personal experience, I am continually looking for books to excite listeners to the sheer power, the fun, of story.  Sometime during the month of December author Ame Dyckman, Boy + Bot (Alfred A. Knopf) (reviewed here), tweeted about a terrific title she had just read, Mr. Zinger's Hat (Tundra Books, a division of Random House Canada Limited) by Cary Fagan with illustrations by Dusan Petricic.  At the first reading, as each page was turned, I became more and more excited.  You could not ask for a better book about story and storytelling.


Every day after school, Leo took his ball into the courtyard.  He threw the ball high into the air.  It would hit the brick wall and bounce back, and Leo would try to catch it.

About the same time each day when Leo was throwing that ball, a neighbor, a writer of stories, Mr. Zinger would walk in circles around the courtyard where Leo was playing.  One day after school that ball bouncing got a little out of control; the ball soaring too high for Leo to catch it.  It flew toward Mr. Zinger knocking his hat into the air.

A breeze caught that hat, Mr. Zinger called for Leo's help and Leo scurried to get it.  Like a magnet to metal Mr. Zinger's hat settled right on top of Leo's head over his baseball cap.  This ordeal had Mr. Zinger a little frazzled so he asked Leo to sit a spell with him on the bench.

Mr. Zinger questioned why his hat took off like it did, peering to see what might be inside.  His reply was:

"Ah, I see now," said Mr. Zinger.  "It's a story.  A story trying to get out."

Through a series of questions, answers and imaginative musings Leo and Mr. Zinger made a story.  Should the story be about a man or a boy, will he be poor or rich, happy or sad and what exactly happened to this person?  With the story finished Mr. Zinger left to go back to his writing.

As Mr. Zinger walked away Leo's final question to him prompted a reply as true as time.  Least you think the tale is over, think again.  Leo went back to his ball and throwing it against the wall.

That ball went too high again.  A voice called out.  Play.  Bench.  Baseball Cap.  Guess what happened next?


Through word choice, dialogue between his characters, and pacing Cary Fagan manages to make the everyday magical.  The gap between generations is easily bridged through a mutual respect and the exchange of imaginative thoughts.  Using the hat as a receptacle for stories is a stroke of genius; capturing our thoughts, dreams, or ideas.


 Choosing to make Mr. Zinger's hat the focal point of the front and back jacket and cover, the title page, verso and dedication page reinforces the title selection, its importance and, in the reader's mind, a question forms, "What is it about Mr. Zinger's hat?"  All the illustrations in this title are rendered in watercolor by Dusan Petricic.  Large amounts of white space act as frames around the different sized pictures, some single pages, others crossing the gutter, extending across two pages.

Readers cannot help being drawn to the animated features of the freckle-faced, red haired boy side-by-side the older gentleman with bushy white eyebrows, mustache and beard.  The casual bright play clothing, shorts, T-shirt, tennis shoes and ball cap of Leo contrast against those of Mr. Zinger, a dark suit and hat.  Petricic's technique of changing the style of the illustrations, more cartoon-like, to differentiate between the story within the story is a very nice touch.  These pictures, young and old, colorful and classic, soft and bold, enhance the idea of storytelling as a bridge between differences.  My two favorite visuals are the bench scenes; Leo looking inside the hat when Mr. Zinger holds it above his head and Leo holding his baseball cap so his new friend can look inside.


Mr. Zinger's Hat written by Cary Fagan with watercolor illustrations by Dusan Petricic is full of the might, the miracle, of making stories.  It's not hard to picture a group of students walking into an educational setting, being giving a hat as they enter and telling them that today "H is for Story".  The questions and answers will undoubtedly be as varied as the people themselves.  After hearing Mr. Zinger's Hat, I wonder what stories will emerge from inside their hats?

A Bear...A Story...

I may have mentioned a time or two before but sometimes when I get a new book by an author and an illustrator whose work I appreciate and admire, I don't read it right away.  I keep it in view, anticipating the moment when I open it for the first time; like I do with a present.  I am careful when I do open it, looking at the jacket, cover, endpapers and title page before I even start the story.

There are those when the story is finished, where I sit in stunned silence wondering.  Then I read the story again...and again...and again.  The new title, Bear Has a Story to Tell (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press) written by Philip C. Stead with illustrations by Erin E. Stead is one of those books.

It is almost winter and Bear was getting sleepy.

Before Bear will let himself go to sleep, he has a story he feels the need to tell.  He first goes to Mouse. But Mouse has seeds to gather. Bear helps him and watches him burrow into the ground to wait out winter.

Duck has no time for a story needing to fly south. Frog has to find somewhere to sleep out of the cold.  When Bear looks for Mole, he listens but Mole is already deep asleep, deep down in the earth.

As the snowflakes drift down, Bear, too, lets himself go to asleep, story untold.  Excitedly, Bear awakens to the warmth of spring eager to tell his tale.  As his friends slowly shake off the seasonal shift and slumber, Bear helps each one adjust to this season as he helped each one get ready for the last.

A moon rises in the darkening sky.  Bear sits upon a log with Mouse, Duck, Frog and Mole around him ready to listen.  But Bear has a problem.  His friends speak up as friends do, everything coming full circle.


As the text written by Philip C. Stead is read you can't help but feel he has leaned over and whispered to you, "I have something to tell you.  Listen."  His words truthfully, gently, softly beckon you to follow Bear. And you do because of the way he writes.

As Bear progresses from one of his friends to the next we know he is getting sleepier and sleepier by the descriptive language and comparisons.  We can picture him and his friends in the woodsy surroundings through sensory phrases.  Every carefully told action Bear takes depicts his kindness, his patience.  Mouse, Duck, Frog and Mole respond naturally, instinctively, to their world and to Bear.


It's the illustrations of Erin E. Stead created with crushed dry pastels and pencil (her favored medium) that illuminate the narrative further, evoking a sense of peace, a quiet presence.  Every feature of Bear, his face with expressive eyes, black nose, his large rounded stomach, arms and paws are very much bear but more.  The way he looks when he walks, his stance when he bends over to offer assistance to Mouse, how he holds his arm outstretched to check the wind's direction, how he gazes upward at the snowflakes, are all done with a reverent grace, a respect for the story.

Tiny details on Mouse, Duck, Frog and Mole offer insights into their personalities but do not stray from their natural appearances.  As readers turn the pages different backgrounds, sometimes mostly white with a few stray leaves and Bear's sitting log, distinctive tree branches awash in fall colors, or varying shades of blues and blue-greens signifying a change in seasons or time of day.  I have so many favorites but the one of Bear lying down, head on paws, with Mouse, Duck and Frog waiting with him for Mole to pop out of his hole in the evening is simply beautiful.


Authors Norma J. Livo and Sandra A. Rietz in Storytelling: Process & Practice, state:

"Story" is a mystery that has the power to reach within each of us, to command emotion, to compel involvement, and to transport us into timelessness.

Through the combined, award-winning talents of Erin E. Stead and Philip C. Stead readers enter the marvelous mystery of story in Bear Has a Story to Tell.  We are witness to its rhythm, its invitation and how everyone has a story to tell in their own time.

Follow this link to an interview of Erin E. Stead at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast where she discusses her work.  Here is an interview given by both Erin E. Stead and Philip C. Stead to Publishers Weekly, Life After The Caldecott: Erin and Philip Stead.

Giving Voice to Story

Nearly thirty years ago I was sitting in a local professional development meeting listening to a storyteller.  This storyteller, unbeknownst to me at the time, would open a door in my personal and professional life which has never been closed since that day. Sheila Dailey (Carroll), then making her home in the middle of the Mitten known as Michigan, told her listeners a pourquoi tale from the Mongolian people.

Told with a range of vocal intonations and through the use of a single instrument, she took her audience back in time.  As I gazed at all the adult educators seated in the room, it was easy to see she had them under her spell.  There was a timeless exchange taking place between teller and listener; an oral tradition.



I knew I wanted to be able to tell a story, as she had done, to my students.  After searching I was able to locate a copy of the book on which her story was based, Suho and the White Horse (Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc., 1967--re-published under license by R. I. C. Publications Limited Asia) retold by Yuzo Otsuka with illustrations by Suekichi Akaba. (The newer addition is titled Suho's White Horse: A Mongolian Legend.)  The story within this book was the spark for expanding my role as a teacher librarian into a storyteller as well. 

The first page of the book introduces readers to the location of Mongolia, the people who inhabit this region and to a very specific instrument native only to them, morin khuur or horse-head fiddle.  Only two strings are needed to make music and a horse's head is carved at the top of the fiddle's neck.  Living among these herders long ago was a shepherd boy, Suho, who made a life for himself with his grandmother. 

Working as hard as any man he would tend their small herd of sheep daily, singing songs that rang out across the vast steppes.  One evening returning fearfully late, Suho stepped out of the darkness carrying something.  As neighbors surround him they could see cradled in his arms a newborn foal as white as snow.

Over time the colt and boy became inseparable.  As the years passed each grew in strength and stature.  One spring the governor announced a challenge; a horse race with his daughter's hand in marriage as the prize.

There was never any question as to whether the race would be won by the young man and his beautiful white horse but the events which followed were not as expected.  Suho and his companion were cruelly separated.  But as readers or listeners will discover even wealth and power has its limits.  Devotion such as theirs was not to be denied.

Otsuka's retelling, and the subsequent translation by Richard McNamara and Peter Howlett in the new edition, is straightforward in the language used but also gives a sense of the vastness of the setting, the historical perspective of the roles which must be assumed according to one's station and the value of horses in the culture of these people. Readers will never doubt the affection between the young man and his horse nor the pride of his neighbors at having such an animal in their midst.  It is in the careful word selection where the intensity of the story shines.

Suekichi Akaba is one of only two Japanese artists to ever win the international Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration-1980.  His paintings done in subdued earthy tones are stunning in their portrayal of the land and people.  Varied backgrounds and the panoramic two-page spreads accentuate the flow of the tale. 

Suho's White Horse:  A Mongolian Legend includes a CD of musical selections played on the horse-head fiddle.  It's uncanny how like a horse the sounds are.  The entire story is read at the beginning and end of the CD.  In between individual pages are read so a listener can follow at their own pace.

I was thrilled when I discovered the publication of this new edition and even happier when it arrived on my doorstep earlier this week.  It is a reminder of a journey began; the representation of how listening to the telling or reading of a story is essential to building reading and writing skills in our students.  It is in the reading aloud to our students, telling them a story or teaching them to read aloud or tell a story, where the structure of story is learned.  But even more important, it is where the love of story is born, where the need within all of us is filled.

I highly recommend this volume for a unit on folktales, a study of Mongolia, an examination of music within given cultures or pure enjoyment for older elementary readers on up.  Suho's White Horse:  A Mongolian Legend beautifully retold by Yuzo Otsuka and illustrated by Suekichi Akaba is why every time I go into a new library, I usually end up in the 398.2 section seeking out new tales to tell.  Read...pass it on.


Three titles which Sheila Dailey (Carroll) has authored that I personally own are: 
Putting the World in a Nutshell:  The Art of the Formula Tale, Tales As Tools: The Power of Story in the Classroom and Storytelling:  A Creative Teaching Strategy.  You will probably have to obtain them via inter-library loan as they are out of print.  Students need to hear the excitement in our voices when we talk about books and reading, when we read aloud to them.  It's how we make the reading community grow.

Weaving Words of Story

I have seen with my own eyes the transformative power of storytelling whether I am telling to one, five, fifty or five hundred; it's in the looks, the silence, the sighs, the knowing nods of my listeners and in the inevitable question, "Is this true?" My reply is always the same, "What do you think? Isn't there a truth to be found in every story for each listener, something that speaks to their heart?"   Unlike the oral teller in a limited setting (with the exception of taped tellings, duly noted), an author's written words can reach an unlimited readership for an unlimited amount of time; touching generations.

In Starry River Of The Sky (Little, Brown and Company, release date October 2, 2012) author, Grace Lin, bids readers to reenter the world of her 2010 Newbery Honor winning title, Where The Mountain Meets The Moon.  Blending traditional, timeless folktales from the Chinese culture with the main narrative, she fashions a story laced with life's most meaningful truths.  Her words are like a hand held open for us, hoping we will except the invitation to hold on and walk with her into this beautiful story.  From the first sentence to the final word we are under the spell of her magic.

Rendi was not sure how long the moon had been missing.

With this first sentence we're drawn into the story by questions.  Who is Rendi?  Where is the moon and why has it gone missing? 

Rendi, a boy, has hidden on a merchant's cart filled with large covered jugs (gangs) of Son Wine.  He is discovered when the innkeeper, Master Chao, in the poor Village of Clear Sky makes a purchase.  Left by the merchant, Rendi becomes the inn's new chore boy, a vacancy needing to be filled after the departure of the innkeeper's older son, Jiming.

Hints are left for the reader as to the wealthy way of life Rendi has left.  To himself, his intentions are clear; leaving this dusty, drought-ridden, sorry excuse of a village is his top priority.  Of interest to him though is the large expanse of stone, a plain, stretching beyond one's view next to the inn.  Why is this here? Where does it go?

With the arrival of a new guest, paying for one month's rent on their room in advance, every one's lives, their perspectives and relationships begin to alter.  Gently, but with purpose, the ethereal Madam Chang through story and conversation begins to offer explanations to the people living in and near the inn; causing them to question what they believe to be true and to recognize what is right before their eyes.  It seems there is a celestial imbalance paralleling the discord in the lives of Master Cho, his daughter, Peiyi, their neighbors Widow Yan and her daughter, MeiNan along with old, confused Mr. Shan.

Why is Rendi hearing a whimpering and moaning which appears to come from the moonless sky each night? Who are the government officials seeking?  Will the thieving traders succeed in their greedy plot?  Will love triumph?  Will wishes come true?

Imagine, if you will, beginning with a bud which a petal at a time opens until in full bloom; this book is the glorious result of a flowering realized. Madam Chang is not the only one with stories, others tell theirs, each building one upon the other. Soon the line between reality and story blur and blend.

Grace Lin's writing is so compelling, even though I have never heard her speak, I hear her voice as if she is reading this book to me.  Her setting is finely formed to the point where you can open a page and step right in.  Characters speak to readers with thoughts and desires timeless in quality.

What follows is a passage from Starry River Of The Sky.

The sky sent out another pitiful groan, and Rendi looked at her in confusion.
"Remember your story?" Madame Chang said. "The duke believed that if a listener truly understood, he can hear what another cannot.  You must understand in a way none of us do."
"But that wasn't true," Rendi protested. "The duke was tricked."
"The duke was tricked," Madam Chang said.  "But that does not mean what he believed was false."
The light of the firefly lanterns flickered, and shadows wavered over Rendi's frowning face.

Grace Lin has penned a story, Starry River Of The Sky, resplendent in its honor of the human need to listen to and tell stories bridging the gap between young and old, then and now, seeking to find the similarities in cultures and illuminate the differences.  My book is an advance reading copy without her intricate, stunning illustrations as were seen in Where The Mountain Meets The Moon. It will be a happy day when I can purchase the hardcover copy to sit next to its companion on my personal bookshelf.  Thank you Grace Lin for sharing your gift of story with so many.  Starry River Of The Sky is a treasure beyond value.

Just Like Pen And Paper

Recently I posted about an online journal/diary application called Memiary.  This application asks users to focus on five specific thoughts for a given date.  No sooner had I written about Memiary than I read about another web 2.0 service, Penzu.

Penzu is not a new application having been in use for at least four years, including beta.  According to the site:

Penzu is an online diary and personal journal focusing on privacy.  With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper. 

Penzu is free to users over the age of thirteen (13) but can be upgraded to the Pro version for $19.00 per year.  If users are between the ages of 13 to 18 they must have parental or guardian approval with full knowledge of the terms of use and privacy policy.  To sign up for use click on the green Create Your Free Journal button on the home page.

To register enter in your first and last name, email address and a password.  The terms of use and privacy policy must be read and accepted. The next screen hosts a leather bound journal requesting you to select an avatar. 

You are next advised that you can like on Facebook or tweet on Twitter about Penzu.  The Looking Glass feature is offered, on or off, and explained further.  Next a series of email reminders to journal are available.  Finally the settings are completed with twelve fonts listed from which to choose for your default font. 

On the cover of your journal appears your name.  To the left of your name the book icon, when clicked, takes you inside your journal to begin writing.  To the right the gear icon is your settings and the lock icon presents your privacy. 

At the first page (entry) of your journal on the left is a cursive lower case i; signifying access to your account.  Across the top of the page are a series of icons representing from left to right:  new entry, save, print, insert photo, share, lock entry, and format (bold, italics, and underline text, change font, change font size, text color, margin justification, strike through, background color, two bullet options, spell check, insert date, insert link and remove formatting).  The remaining icons are for Pro users only; tag, customize, and versions.  Of course comments can be left on either of the Penzu.

When you wish to insert an image it can be uploaded from your computer or Flickr.  As images are uploaded they appear across the top of the page.  They can be inserted, attached to the left margin of the page or deleted. 

At any time you can toggle back and forth between the pad and all the entries by selecting the pencil or the book icon to the right of the paper.  Recent entries are numbered in the small black tab in the upper right of the screen.  As you work the application is continually saving your work or you can save it manually. 

Be default everything in Penzu is private.  You can also put an additional lock (password) on each entry.  When you choose to share you are presented with several choices, email or public link.



When you send an email enter in one or more addresses and an optional message.  You can send this as yourself or anonymously. The public link can be viewed by anyone but only you can edit the entry.  The link can be sent to Twitter.

Here is the link for the simple Penzu I wrote as part of the Caldecott Challenge in which I am participating.

The overview of Penzu is complete and interesting.  Under the Why Journal heading there are many ideas that could be altered or expanded to make this application work in a classroom setting.  Mobile apps are available.  For more expansive and sophisticated journal keeping than Memiary this comes highly recommended.