THE GIRL WHO LOVED WILD HORSES --- Book Review for module 2

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Goble, Paul. 1978. THE GIRL WHO LOVED WILD HORSES. NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-02-736570-0.

PLOT SUMMARY
A Native American girl truly loves horses, gets to live with them, and finally becomes one. She also loves her people. This is a story of becoming who you are meant to be while loving the family you are born to.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Paul Goble managed to capture the simplicity and complexity of the Native American way of life with his retelling of the folktale THE GIRL WHO LOVED WILD HORSES. The art is reminiscent of ancient Native American drawings and perfectly matches the cultural feel of the tale. The storm scene with angry black clouds even looks like an angry stallion with flashing eyes and a thrashing mane.
The spotted stallion took the girl as one of his herd and they were very happy, even though the girl missed her human family. The entire village knew of the girl's love for horses and accepted the special affinity she had for them, but they were still surprised when she decided to go live with the spotted stallion forever. She had to explain to them, "They are my relatives. If you let me go back to them I shall be happy for evermore."
The simple tale is quite full of symbolism. The love we must feel for nature, with her love of the horses. The pain parents feel when a child makes her own decisions, leaving their home to make one of her own with the partner of her choosing. The joy she can bring to them as an adult, yearly bringing them a spotted colt or a grandchild.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Winner of the Caldecott Medal, 1979
*ALA Notable Children's Book
*NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
*Children's Literature --In this Caldecott Medal book, Goble tells the story of how a girl so loved horses that, according to this Native American legend, she eventually became one. Beautiful, bright color illustrations on every spread expand upon the spare, but effective text. A true delight for those who love folklore and horses. The text closes with two Native American songs celebrating horses.

CONNECTIONS
*Before Reading The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Remind the children that Native Americans value having a very close relationship with nature. From the title of the book, can the children guess what aspect of nature this Native American story is about? Ask the class to tell how many of them have ever had the chance to ride a horse or to get close to a horse. What were their reactions to their experiences? (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=389_type=Book_typeId=59)

*After Reading The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Have the class leaf through the book's illustrations to find symbols that they readily associate with Native Americans (e.g., arrows, feathers as hair ornaments, tipis, men with long, braided hair, etc.). What new information did the class learn about Native Americans from reading this book? (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=389_type=Book_typeId=59)

*Tie in with a science lesson on horses

*Read in a series with Goble's other Native American tales -- BUFFALO WOMAN (ISBN 9780689711091), THE GIFT OF THE SACRED DOG (ISBN 9780020432807), or STAR BOY (isbn 978-0689714993) to discover commonalities in Native American folk tales.

Book Review for Vardell 5603 -- The Hello Goodbye Window

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Juster, Norton. 2005. THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW. Ill. by Chris Racshka. NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9780786809141.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

The kitchen window in Nanna and Poppy's house is special. It is called the Hello, Goodbye window. As the unnamed narrator visits with her Nanna and Poppy, we experience life through the eyes of a child. It is part magic, part real, part serious, and part not.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Juster's characters are fully realistic, and the book has a simple, easy plot line. Raschka's illustrations are very simplistic water color and look like they have been done by a child. Many may feel that the simple illustrations contribute to the overall feel of comfort and imagination, but I do not. I feel that many excellent opportunities for superior illustrations were missed with the surreal/almost abstract form of the illustrations. The one spread that was effective was the starry night. The dark sky contrasted extremely well with the lit window framing the faces of Nanna and the narrator.

In light of the many awards and starred reviews, I realize that my opinion is in the minority. I do, however, still feel that children need quality illustrations in books. If they are to be suggestive and stimulating for the imagination, they can be so without being childlike.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus starred review -- “Juster adopts the voice of a child with a steady, sweet candor” -
School Library Journal starred review -- “Raschka’s visual interpretation of this sweet story sings… this is the art of a masterful hand”
Booklist starred review -- "Two well-known names come together in a book that speaks to the real lives of children.”
Publishers Weekly starred review -- "Juster crafts an endearing portrait of a grandchild and her grandparents in this endearing book illustrated in paintbox colors by Raschka. . . Grandparents will be especially charmed by this relaxed account of how a child's visit occasions everyday magic." -
The Horn Book -- “Say hello to Raschka at the top of his form.”

5. CONNECTIONS**

*Have children visualize thier own homes or their grandparents' and have them draw and color the kitchen.
*Sing "Oh, Susannah" with the children
*Have children fold a piece of drawing paper in quarters. In each quarter, they can
draw a window frame. In each frame they can draw and label one thing the little girl
saw looking in or out of the window.

**These story connections and more are available from Hyperion Books for Children teaching guide available at http://www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com/data/books/tgpdf/07868091401500.pdf