Top Ten Picture Books inspired from other stories

Last week I posted a top ten list of my favorite novels which were inspired by other stories. This week I decided to keep with the theme, but focus on picture books.

10. Cinderella Penguin, or The Little Glass Flipper by Janet Perlman

10. I love any picture book with a cast of penguins.

9. Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella written by Tony Johston Illustrated by James Warhola

This version of Cinderella is about a Bigfoot Prince searching for his princess. It follows the traditional plot closely, but the Bigfoot cast adds many humorous touches.

8. The Frog Prince Continued written by John Scieszka illustrated by Steve Johnson

Every fairy tale ends in “and they lived happily ever after”. But, do they really? This continuation of The Frog Prince suggests that kissing amphibians may not be the best way to pick a husband.

7. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly By Simms Taback | Used | 9780670869398 | World of Books

The twist in this book is not in the story, but the illustrations. Holes in each page reveal more animals that have been eaten by the old lady.

6. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe

This Cinderella story set in Africa won a Caldecott Honor and The Coretta Scott King Award. Nyasha and her sister Manyara are both beautiful on the outside, but only Nyasha is beautiful on the inside. When the great king summons eligible girls in the land in order to choose a wife, their actions show their true beauty.

5. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munch

Prince Ronald is captured by a dragon and Princess Elizabeth sets off to rescue him. Along the way she loses her dress and is forced to use a paper bag. When she outsmarts the dragon to rescue the prince, he is not grateful. This humorous story gives a positive message to young girls.

4. Lon Po Po written by Ed Young

The 1990 Caldecott Medal Winner is a Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. While there mother is away visiting their grandmother, three sisters must deal with a wolf disguised as their grandmother.

3. The Rough-Face Girl written by Rafe Martin Illustrated by David Shannon

A touching Native American version of Cinderella. An Algonquin girl is mistreated by her older sisters. When an invisible being seeks a wife, she is the one chosen.

2. The Wolf Who Cried Boy Written by Bob Hartman illustrated by Tim Raglin

Bored by the dinners his mother has been serving, Little Wolf claims to see a boy in the forest. His parents are busy chasing after the nonexistent boy and dinner is ruined, and they are left eating chipmunks and dip. Little Wolf is so excited he tries the stunt again. But, when an entire boy scout troop shows up in the woods, his parents no longer believe him. Great for teaching theme.

1. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! written by John Scieszka illustrated by Lane B. Smith

I love using this book for teaching point of view. Alexander T. Wolf is baking a cake for his dear granny when he runs out of sugar. He goes to neighbor’s straw house to ask to borrow a cup, and his sneeze inadvertently blows down the house. The rest is history. I love the details of this story. I’ve read it hundreds of times and still notice new details in the photos and text.

September 27, 2021

Quarantine Confession

In December of 2019, social media was flooded with posts declaring that 2020 was destined to be great: the 4^th of July and Halloween fell on a Saturday; Christmas, and Valentine’s Day on Fridays. Even Cinco de Mayo fell on a Taco Tuesday. Those posts were like the builders of the Titanic declaring their ship couldn’t be sunk. Covid was the iceberg that took us down. By St. Patrick’s Day, we were locked in our homes, scrambling to work remotely and isolated from friends and family.

I talked to many avid readers who said they found they couldn’t focus on reading during this time, and reverted to audiobooks, or only reread favorites (or relied strictly on Netflix for entertainment). Not me. Reading is my escape. I read more than the average person in any year, but in 2020 my reading reached new levels. According to goodreads, I read 99 books through quarantine. (If I’d paid closer attention, I would’ve squeezed another in to make an even 100).

Don’t get me wrong, I watched my share of Netflix and spent time on social media and texting friends. But, reading is still the ultimate form of entertainment for me. For the first time in my life, I could sit down with a book, knowing that I could read as long as I wanted because there was nowhere else to go.

While I am thrilled to get together with friends and family again, and hope we never go through another lockdown, a part of me will always feel a little nostalgic for that time.

September 25, 2021

Nicole’s Top Ten Books Inspired from other literature

10. Snow White-Red Handed by Maia Chance

Genre: Mystery

Based on: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

This book has a little of all my favorite genres: mystery, historical fiction, fantasy and romance

9. Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange

Genre: Historical Fiction

Based on: Emma

I enjoyed all of the books in the Jane Austen Heroes series, but this was my favorite. The series is epistolary novels that follow the diaries of Austen’s heroes. I loved that Mr. Knightley is delightfully oblivious to his feelings for Emma, even though it is plain to the reader that he’s in love.

8. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

Genre: Historical Fiction

Based on: Hansel and Gretel

Generally, I like retellings because they’re fun reads. This one’s a tearjerker. It is a Holocaust story about two children left in the woods by their desperate parents.

7. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Genre: Fantasy

Based on : A Thousand and One Nights

There are so many twists in this book, that you can’t stop reading. I also enjoyed learning more about Arabic culture.

6. A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Based on: Beauty and the Beast

Great start to a series filled with intrigue, romance and twists you won’t see coming.

5. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles – Books My Kids Read

Genre: Science Fiction

Based on: Fairy Tales

Cinderella as a cyborg? Sounds crazy, but it works. Not only that, but the series keeps getting better with further twists on Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. I love how the relationships between the characters evolve as the series continues.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Based on: The Iliad

Retelling of The Iliad that focuses on a romance between Achilles and Patroclus. It does a great job of staying true to the original story while also making it unique.

3. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen

Genre: Fantasy

Based on: Peter Pan

Captain Hook tells the tale of how he was trapped in Neverland and forced into battle for Peter Pan’s entertainment. Great twist that completely turns the story upside down.

2. The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Based on : Cinderella

This romance is so much fun! I am a sucker for the marriage of convenience trope. I think it’s because there’s more character development and you really see the characters fall in love.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordon

Genre: Middle Grade fantasy

Based on: Greek mythology

I love how Riordon combines suspense and humor throughout all of his books. Any of his mythology series fit here, but I decided to go with the series that started it all.

September 19, 2021

Getting Kids to read

Some of us seem to be born readers. The love of a story is embedded within our DNA. We have gravitated to books from babyhood. Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone. Many of the students I work with will avoid reading at any cost.

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It is my firm belief that everyone can find enjoyment in reading. They just need to find the right book for them. I have spent my career trying to match kids to books. This is easier said than done, but I’ve made progress.

Here are some tips:

Be open to less traditional reading- comics, graphic novels, video game manuals etc. lead to other reading
Devote specific time to free choice reading
Do not react when they tell you they hate reading, you’ll drive them further away
Get recommendations from other kids, they’ll take it more seriously
Give them easy access to a variety of books
Pay attention to which books are being made into movies, and get them interested in reading the book first
Read aloud the first in a series, so that they will be motivated to go to book two
Talk about your own reading interests
Topics almost every kid loves reading about: animals, humor, adventure stories

September 18, 2021

Optometrist or Torturer?

There are people who read for necessity. Then there are people who read for pleasure. Finally, there are people for whom reading borders on addiction. I am one of the latter.

Yesterday I had an eye doctor appointment. As part of the examination, the doctor handed me a story and asked me to read the first line. The good news: In my mid-forties, I can still read the fine print without contacts or glasses. The bad news: I only read the first line, and then it was taken away. It had something to do with a boat (there’s a small chance it could’ve been a boot, the writing was very small).

You cannot leave a reader hanging like that. Where were they taking the boat? What kind of boat was it? Were they on an island? If it was a boot, what were they doing with it? I needed to know.

Since everything I read is filed away somewhere in my brain (unfortunately the same isn’t true of details like where I parked the car), it sparked a memory of reading the same line at my last appointment. The least they could’ve done was let me read the second line this time. Then maybe by the time I turn 200, I will have gotten the entire story.

When she left me alone to wait for my eyes to dilate, the card was still on the shelf. My hands itched to grab it and read the rest of the story. Unfortunately, I hadn’t finished filling out insurance forms before my appointment, and I was in a rush to finish while I could still see to write. Therefore, when my doctor returned I was innocently sitting in the chair with my completed paperwork, pupils dilated, and still hadn’t read the next line.

Still haunted by that boat, I returned home. I knew it would take a while for my pupils to return to normal, so I turned on a Friends rerun rather than trying to read. Still, I couldn’t resist. Every time there was a commercial, I was compelled to open an email or grab a book, but I couldn’t focus my eyes. It was as if I was being denied a basic need. By the time Rachel got off the plane, my eyes had cleared. I spent the afternoon reading and writing, just because I could. It was like gorging after a diet.

I googled the line to see what happened to the boat. It must not have been from an actual piece of literature because all I found was a bunch of deals on dinner cruises. Nothing with a boot either.

September 4, 2021