Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs illustrated by Wanda Gag

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs illustrated by Wanda Gag was recently reprinted, an older picture book first published in 1938. There's a chance this is one of the versions your grandmother or great grandmother or even great great grandmother read as a young girl. There is something about Gag's illustration style--popular at the time and similar to Lois Lowry to name one--that is simply charming. These illustrations are black and white.

From the University of Minnesota Press which has reprinting much of Gag's works in recent years:

‘Oh, please, dear hunter, have mercy! If you will let me go, I’ll gladly wander away, far away into the wildwood and I’ll never come back again.’

“The huntsman was glad enough to help the sweet innocent girl, so he said, ‘Well, run away then, poor child, and may the beasts of the wood have mercy on you.’ As a token he brought back the heart of a wild boar, and the wicked Queen thought it was Snow White’s. She had it cooked and ate it, I am sorry to say, with salt and great relish.”

Wanda Gág interjects her own humor and adorable illustrations into this classic tale of the Brothers Grimm.

“The small size of this Caldecott Honor Book encourages intimate sharing. The pen-and-ink drawings are treasures, loaded with details. Inventive compositions and an asymmetrical picture shape are key features in Gág’s works.” —Book Links

Best known for her Newbery Honor winner Millions of Cats, Wanda Gág (1893–1946) was a pioneer in children’s book writing, integrating text and illustration. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota, she rose to international acclaim. In recognition of her artistry, she was posthumously awarded the 1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Millions of Cats and the 1977 Kerlan Award for her body of work.

And some illustrations:

To read more about Gag--who lived a fascinating life--there is a great picture book that can be shared with the children in your life.

Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw

More of Gag's fairy tale works:

  

Release Day: Red Riding Hood

Well now. The reviews are in and Red Riding Hood appears to be receiving worse reviews than Beastly did last week. If asked, most of the reviewers would apparently recommend Beastly over Red Riding Hood. I talked about movie reviews and fairy tale films last week. I won't diatribe again.

Overall, I'm hoping the movie does well at the box office so the slate of upcoming fairy tale films will continue to receive the support they need from the studios. Beastly performed better than expected, so hopefully Red Riding Hood will do well enough, too. I also wonder just how much of the dislike is a backlash against Catherine Hardwicke and the Twilight culture. After all, it's cool to hate Twilight and anything that smells of its influence. Unless you are a Twilight fan, of course. Harry Potter didn't appear to be this divisive. That said, the criticism appears to be valid on many points, too. That doesn't mean that the target teen audience isn't going to adore it. I'm eager to read the word of mouth.

On the other hand, Jane Eyre, which has a limited release today, is getting strong reviews. I really want to see it so I am bummed it's not playing in Nashville yet.

So are you going to see Red Riding Hood this weekend? If you do, please come back and report!

St. Patrick's Day Storytime

  

I've received a few emails recently about my SurLaLune Storytime pages hidden away on the main SurLaLune site. Apparently the area has many fans of its own. The pages are webpages from my personal notebook of the odds and ends I gathered when I presented several storytimes a week as a children's librarian. I haven't updated it very often with new titles, but it is filled with songs and finger plays as well as book suggestions for many, many storytime themes. I had never posted the St. Patrick's Day page so the emails were searching for it since it was missing. This week I programmed it and now it is online.

I found some more books that appear suitable for toddler and preschool, but when I was doing storytimes, I mostly had to stick with a color green theme because most of the books are either too small format for a storytime setting or way too wordy for a young audience. Hooray for St. Patrick's Day! (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin) was fine for toddlers, for example, but it's a small book and was horrible for reading to a group of people.

  

Despite all my best efforts genealogically, I haven't a touch of Irish blood in me although we believe my husband has some way back--most of his family is Pre-Revolutionary War--so we're talking way far back. Still, so many of us enjoy the day who have zero blarney blood. I'm sporting green nail polish this week (well, I do most weeks if it's not blue) and I am already anticipating at least one meal or more of corned beef and cabbage. Believe it or not, my favorite rendition in recent years was at Cracker Barrel where the cabbage was not so overcooked it was disgusting. Besides, my friends and family are not obliged to eat the same dish if we eat out. Apparently, not everyone is a fan of cabbage which I rather adore if it is cooked well. I cook it it in other dishes but prefer not to cook corned beef myself since I don't do it often enough to be competent. Although I am tempted when I see it in the store, I just don't cook a variety of meats often enough. I'm not a vegetarian, but a lot of my cooking imitates one.

  

So here are some books, many of these pictured here are not for preschoolers, as well as the link to the storytime page if you are looking for some inspiration for celebrating the day with a young one or ones next week.

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault and illustrated by Fred Marcellino

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault and illustrated by Fred Marcellino received a Caldecott Honor Medal. It is my favorite picture book rendition of this tale. Marcellino obviously gained some inspiration for his Puss from Gustave Doré. It's hard for an illustrator of this tale not to be influenced directly or indirectly, I believe. Even Puss in Boots in the Shrek movies has some Doré influence.

Description from the publisher:

Fred Marcellino's magnificent interpretation of this classic tale belongs on the shelf of special favorites. "Riveting . . . A provocative, unforgettable visual experience."--1991 Caldecott Committee. ALA Notable Children's Book; Booklist Editors' Choice; The Horn Book's Fanfare Honor List; Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year; Parenting Reading Magic Award. 1991 Caldecott Honor Book. Full-color illustrations.

And now some illustrations:

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner is today's picture book, a rather obvious one since it received a Caldecott Medal. I'm a Wiesner fan and rooted for this book when it was up for Caldecott consideration.

Book description from the publisher:

This picture book begins placidly (and familiarly) enough, with three pigs collecting materials and going off to build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. But the wolf"s huffing and puffing blows the first pig right out of the story . . . and into the realm of pure imagination. The transition signals the start of a freewheeling adventure with characteristic David Wiesner effects—cinematic flow, astonishing shifts of perspective, and sly humor, as well as episodes of flight. Satisfying both as a story and as an exploration of the nature of story, The Three Pigs takes visual narrative to a new level. Dialogue balloons, text excerpts, and a wide variety of illustration styles guide the reader through a dazzling fantasy universe to the surprising and happy ending. Fans of Tuesday's frogs and Sector 7's clouds will be captivated by old friends—the Three Pigs of nursery fame and their companions—in a new guise.

Here are some illustrations: