Children's+Literature+Assessments

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 * Children's Literature Assessments**

I have included three items: Leo Lionni PowerPoint, Book Awards PowerPoint, and Authentication of an Ethnic Children's Tale,//Lon Po Po.//


 * 1. Leo Lionni PowerPoint:** A Celebration of Children's Writer and Illustrator Leo Lionni

LIS 60629: Library Materials and Services for Children

July 2009, Dr. Boon




 * 2. Book Awards Group PowerPoint:** I did the first section with Chidren's Book Awards.

LIS 60600: Foundations of Library Science

Fall 2008, Dr. Boon




 * 3. Authentication of An Ethnic Children's Tale**

LIS 60629: Library Materials and Services for Children

July 2009, Dr. Boon

Sources for Authentication of //Lon PoPo// by Ed Young “About Ed.” Edyoungart.com. 2007. 2 July 2009. [].

“China: Wolves of the World” //International// //Wolf Center////.// 2 July 2009. [] Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. “House Architecture.” A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization. 3 July 2009. [] “Ed Young: Biography.” Scholastic. 2009. 2 July 2009. [] “Ed Young.” //Embracing the Child// 22 June 2009. 2 July 2009. [] Fuller, T.K. //Wolves of the World.// Voyageur Press, 2004.

“Ginkgo.” National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 17 Feb 2009.

3 July 2009. [].

“Gingko.” //World Book Encyclopedia.// Advanced. 2009.

“Han Chinese clothing.” Wikipedia. 30 June 2009. 3 July 2009. [].

People’s Republic of China. Culture Grams. 2009. [Columbus Metropolitan Library] 3 July 2009. [|http://online.culturegrams.com.webproxy-prod.columbuslibrary.org] Tartar, Maria, ed. “Little Red Riding Hood.” //The Annotated Brothers Grimm.// New York: Norton, 2004. 140-149.

Tiffney, Bruce H. "Ginkgo." __World Book Advanced__. 2009. 3 July 2009 . Young, Ed. //LonPoPo: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China//. New York: Philomel, 1989.

Authentication of //Lon PoPo: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China//

Elements || Grimm Version || Ed Young’s Version ||
 * Literary
 * Plot ||  || A mother leaves her three young daughters home alone while she goes to visit their grandmother on her birthday. She warns the girls to latch the door. An old wolf who lived nearby impersonates the grandmother to gain admittance. The wolf stands outside the house, and the children ask “why is your voice so low?” (7). Claiming “she” has a cold, the wolf is let in by the two younger girls, anxious to see their PoPo. The wolf climbs in bed, and the girls join him. Shang says,” your foot has a bush on it” (8), to which the wolf replies he has brought hemp to make a basket. Shang then notices the wolf’s sharp claws and says, “your hand has thorns on it” (11), to which the wolf replies that he has brought an awl to make them shoes. Shang sees the wolf’s hairy face just before the wolf blows out the candle.

Shang devises a clever escape plan: she entices the wolf with the suggestion of getting and eating gingko nuts. As the wolf can’t climb the large tree, the girls climb up and are safe. Shang suggests the wolf climb in a basket and the girls will pull him up; her plan is to drop him so that he will die.

The number three appears when the girls attempt to pull the wolf up to the top of the tree; they pull twice and drop him. On the third pull, they drop him from high up enough to kill him.

When they are sure he is dead, the girls go inside and sleep. In the morning they tell their mother about their adventure. ||
 * Character-ization ||  || Instead of one girl, this version has three girls, Shang, Tao, and Paotze. They are drawn so as to not be stereotypes; their facial features are unique. The two little ones act like young girls, anxious to see their PoPo and spontaneous. Shang, the oldest and wisest, is a believable big sister who takes charge of the situation.

The mother is seen in the first scene, where she bids them goodbye. || No electricity: The children use candles.
 * Setting ||  || Time: “Once, long ago” (2)

Season: The tree is full of leaves, the nuts are ripe, and the mother walks to the PoPo’s without a coat. All characters wear long sleeves. I get the impression it is summer or autumn.

Place: somewhere in rural China

There are no words to describe place, but the title refers to China and the characters are definitely Chinese.

Their home is isolated, and the wolf lives nearby; both facts suggest a rural setting. || Girl vs. wolf || External conflict: girls vs. wolf ||
 * Conflicts || External conflict:
 * Theme || Moral: Listen to your mother or you will be in danger.

Be mindful of life’s dangers. || With cleverness and teamwork, you can succeed (or in this case, protect yourself).

The girls defeat the wolf through their own courage, ingenuity, physical strength, and teamwork. They do not rely on outside help as does Little Red. ||
 * Style ||  || The book is stunning with its traditional Chinese picture sequence panels. This interaction between the text and pictures makes it a true picture book.

Young’s painting is impressionistic and spiritual in its color and composition. || Po Po means grandmother in Cantonese.
 * Language ||  || Lon or Long means wolf in Cantonese.

The title means “Wolf Grandmother.” ||

Results of Illustration Research
 * Detail || Ed Young’s //Lon PoPo// || Resources ||
 * Wolf || Grey wolf

Dark fur on back White belly

Large enough to trick the girls into thinking it is a woman

Large, menacing teeth

Wants to eat the girls

Wants to eat gingko nuts

Can’t climb a tree || According to the International Wolf Center (IWC), the most common type of wolf in China is the grey wolf. The “adult males average 5 to 6.5 feet. The average height (at the shoulder) of a gray wolf is 26 to 32 inches.” Adult male wolves average 90 – 105 pounds (Fuller 21). The size and shape of the wolf could trick the girls into thinking he was their PoPo. Young’s depiction of the wolf is realistic; it is a grey wolf of typical proportions.

Several of Young’s drawings reveal the wolf’s teeth. This is realistic as a wolf’s teeth are very powerful: “ The canine teeth, or fangs, can be 2 1/2 inches long and are used for puncturing and gripping. The incisors are for nipping small pieces of meat; the carnaissial teeth are like scissors and knives. Wolves use them to sheer flesh away from bones. Molars are for grinding and crushing” (IWC).

While wolves prefer meat, their teeth and digestive systems are adapted to eat local plants as well (Fuller 81); thus, it is realistic that the wolf would want to eat gingko nuts. ||
 * Gingko tree

World Book Advanced. 2009 || In the text (15-21) the tree is enormous. The three children are able to perch on one branch, the wolf is unable to reach the children, and when the wolf falls, he dies (so the drop must be significant).

On page 2, it has bright yellow foliage. In one scene, the leaves are blues and greens (15-16). ||  According to //World Book Advanced://

a large, ornamental tree native to China and Japan, with fan-shaped leaves and nuts that can be eaten; maidenhair tree. It is the only surviving species of a group that lived millions of years ago. Also, **gingko**. [< New Latin //Ginkgo// < Japanese //ginkyō//] Thus it is plausible that the children would have a gingko tree outside their house and would eat the nuts.
 * gink ** |**go** «GIHNG koh, JIHNG-», //noun,// //plural// **-goes**.

This tree can be 60 – 80 feet tall (Fiffney), so it is also plausible that the girls could get to a branch that the wolf could not reach. I’m not sure how they got up to the branch, though. Young’s drawing is realistic in the appearance of the tree. The yellow color on page 2 is very similar to the image I found (see left). Also, the tree has a splotchy look that Young captured nicely. || Shang says, “Gingko is soft and tender, like the skin of a baby. One taste and you will live forever. . . . the nuts grow on the top of the tree just outside the door” (14). Later she says, “gingko is magic only when it is plucked directly from the tree” (16). || See above.
 * Gingko nuts || The story suggests that ginko nuts have magic qualities. This is a clever device used to trick the wolf.

The gingko is considered sacred (Tiffney).

Gingko biloba has been in the news as an herbal supplement to ward off dementia, but numerous sources show that the tests failed. (“Ginkgo” NCCAM)

The concept that the nuts will promote immortality is medically unfounded, but it is interesting that the girl connected immortality with an herb that supposedly added to one’s mental longevity. ||
 * Clothing || The children wear the same style shirt: long-sleeved, V-neck, appears buttonless, thin white collar. Each girl has a different color: plum, turquoise, and bright spring green.

The mother’s attire: Long-sleeved red shirt and full length blue skirt, formless || According to Culture Gram: “People’s Republic of China”:

“Chinese attire traditionally is conservative and simple. . . . Women tend to wear dresses more than pants.”

According to my research, the girls’ outfits are similar to traditional Chinese attire. The Han style includes a wrap-type shirt or robe, and the girls are wearing something similar. It is impossible to tell if they are wearing a dress, skirt, or pants. (Han)

The colors are typical for ceremonial attire; the bright colors would not be appropriate for farm children. (Han) ||
 * Architecture

(Ebrey: Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp. 1987, Cangnan xian, Zhejiang Province) || The house is depicted in the first and last scenes.

It is small and rectangular with a distinct Asian-looking sloped roof.

It has no windows, door or adornments.

It has a chimney with smoke in the last frame. || According to Ebrey: Housing varied by location and time. Traditional Chinese houses for the urban dwellers with low to moderate wealth: Made of earth and wood South-facing Sloped roof Symmetrical Rectangular Three-bay style

It appears that the girls’ house is south-facing as they are waving goodbye to their mom as she leaves at night. One assumes the door would be there; however, based on construction, the door should be on a side where we don’t see the V shape.

Overall, the house matches the basic standards of a Chinese home for this period; however, it is somewhat idealized in Young’s art. It is overly quaint and the slopes are exaggerated.

I found no chimneys in any reference or photo. ||

2.