The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

Dahl, Roald. THE WONDEFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR AND

SIX MORE. 1977. Penguin Books Ltd.: England. ISBN 31551071199686.

PLOT SUMMARY

Roald Dahl presents seven stories that are a mixture of reality and fantasy. The book introduces us to a young boy that is able to communicate with animals, a very likable pickpocket, a simple and hardworking farm worker, and a young gambling lad that is born into wealth but chooses to put his gambling winnings to good use. The book also includes Roald Dahl's first hand account of how he became a writer and also includes his first published story.

ANALYSIS

Another title for this book might have been, "Delightfully Delicious Tales of Dahl." What makes his stories so wonderful? First, as you read his words - it is as if he is speaking to you directly. You are an old friend that has stopped by to chat.

"But however much you may want to take up fiction writing as a career, it would
be pointless to go along to a publisher and say, 'I want a job as a fiction
writer.' If you did that, he would tell you to buzz off and write the
book first."

Since reading this book is such a delight all the rest is an added plus. As I read portions of this to my students all of a sudden foreign names and places were popping up all over the place:

Queen Elizabeth II

Westminster Abbey

London

Canterbury

Oxford University

Where are these places, who are these people, why are they mentioned in our book? Teachers will relish in numerous teachable moments. Make sure you have your world maps handy, your computer ready to search, and notify the librarian you may be needing his services to find biographies of famous Brits. This is a teacher's paradise!

The stories themselves are page turners! They include richly descriptive settings and have quick moving plots. You cannot put the book down until you discover how it is that a person can see without using his eyes, or until you determine if the hitchhiker has devious intention or ends up being a likable fellow. One must complete the story of The Mildenhall Treasure to determine if the utmost greedy treasure hoarder gets what he deserves.

Inclusively students learn of the language usage of the British.

And what marvelous exciting fun that was!

"Miss, who talks like that? That sounds so freakish!

Would you believe I used Charlie and Lola's books to compare language usage? Charlie and Lola are 9ish and 6ish respectively and reside in London.

In the books Lola makes statements like, "I feel so ever not well." and "My room most certainly is not untidy." These are the words of a six year old British girl.

My students made an observation and that lead to a question: It seems like the British love to use adjectives, and especially -ly adverbs. Maybe all British person don't speak like this. Do they?

In order to answer that we stormed the library to find more British authors, read, investigate, compare and contrast.

Roald Dahl may indeed be a Language Arts Teacher's best friend. His books most undoubtedly should occupy a great deal of shelf space in our libraries and our homes.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

"Packed with wit and sarcasm, this book truly represents the best of Dahl. He's a gifted writer with a knack for telling outrageous stories and creating unforgettable scenarios. Young adults and adults will treasure this book."-From Children's Literature

CONNECTIONS

Younger children may enjoy reading the Charlie and Lola series of books by Lauren Child. This brother and sister team live in London.

Other books by Roald Dahl include BOY, THE BFG, REVOLTING RHYMES, THE TWITS AND GOING SOLO to name a few.

Many of Dahl's books are available in audio format read by British narrators. The British narration brings the book alive and makes the listening a true cultural experience.

Sleeping Ugly

Yolen, Jane. 1981. SLEEPING UGLY. by Diane Stanley. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc. ISBN 0-698-30721-6

PLOT SUMMARY

Presented is a fractured fairy tale based on Sleeping Beauty. The story deals with Miserella and Plain Jane. One is undoubtedly beautiful on the exterior, but wicked and heartless. The other is kind and a lover of animals, but as plain as she can be. Through a series of events, both Miserella and Plain Jane and even the Fairy fall into the 100 year sleep. A prince kisses two out of the three and there is, of course, a happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Like a good fairy tale, Miserella is thoroughly wicked. In contrast there is not a drop of iniquity in Plain Jane and is the poster child for kindness. Yolen includes humor that caused me to laugh out loud! When Miserella states Plain Jane has made a stupid choice the Fairy replies, "Do not call someone stupid unless you have been properly introduced, or are a member of the family." I laughed out loud so many times that my students HAD to find out what I was reading and WHY was it so funny? If this does not make a great read-aloud, I don't know what does. The story was fast paced paced and had plenty of action. Also like a good fairy tale, the bad guy, in this case a spoiled rotten princess, got what she deserved: perpetual sleep and Plain Jane, got the prince and lived happily ever after. I loved the fact that Plain Jane was never transformed into a beautiful princess. Her looks remained plain and in spite of that - the prince chose her over the beautiful Miserella. The prince had three cousins just like Miserella, "Pretty on the outside. Ugly within." The story was a breath of fresh air in the sense that it was a break from Disney's equation of beauty equates kindness.

REVIEWS

"Yolen pokes fun at the patterned Sleeping-princess story in a tale that's written with brisk simplicity and humor...it is amusing, it has plenty of action, and it's easy to read". -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "A light, bright twist on the romantic tale". From Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS

Since the story provided an alternate view of Sleeping Beauty, students could use the story to invent their own versions of Sleeping Beauty - or in this case, Sleeping Ugly. A good activity prior to the actual writing would be a contrasting and comparing of the two fairy tales: Sleeping Beauty and Sleeping Ugly.

Adelita

DePaola, Tomie. 2002. ADELITA A MEXICAN CINDERELLA STORY by Tomie DePaola. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 0-399-23866-2

PLOT SUMMARY
The story is set in old Mexico and covers the life of Adelita. Like Cinderella, she looses her mother and eventually her father, but acquires a wicked stepmother. Two dreadful stepsisters make her life difficult, but Adelita's nanny provides her with love. There is no fairy godmother and no glass slipper, but there is a party and a single prince. There is also a happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The setting is in the familiar "long ago" and the dilemma is quickly set: the evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters are determine to make Adelita a very unhappy young girl. A nanny takes the place of the fairy godmother and unlike in Cinderella, there is no glass slipper, but a scarlet shawl. Curiously enough, Cinderella is mentioned in the story. When the party is over and the the mysterious new girl vanishes, everyone is left wondering who she was. The stepmother states -to her relief - that there is no glass slipper like in the fairytale. The simple, but colorful and beautiful illustrations, the use of Spanish within the story, and the authentic images of old Mexico make this an unforgettable book. While the book included many Spanish phrases, my students enjoyed it when it was read aloud. The Spanish phrases, followed by the English translation, didn't make for a choppy read, but provided an explanation of the words. De Paola includes a list of Spanish phrases used in the book that could be a great tool for teachers.
My students have heard other variations of Cinderella, but without a doubt this is the one with which they most identified. My students recognized the crucifixes, the Virgin Mary, the clay pots, the spicy green peppers, and the Spanish words and phrases. Adelita had a name that sounded familiar and this Cinderella shared their skin tone. This book validated their culture!


REVIEWS
The prose is straightforward and crisp, though the habit of including a Spanish phrase that is translated immediately afterward (e.g., "Soy yo-only me-" or "-mi peque-ita-my little one-") interrupts the narrative flow. However, this is a minor quibble given the beauty of dePaola's signature artwork. From School Library Journal
DePaola tweaks just enough details to make his version fresh; his liberal use of Spanish phrases (translated within the text) and cultural details enlighten as they enliven. From Publishers Weekly
CONNECTIONS
While this book validates the Mexican culture it can also be a great tool to introduce the Mexican culture to others. A great number of cultural connections could be made with this book. Since it includes many different Spanish words and phrases, students could begin a Spanish/English dictionary. This book could also be a great starting point to begin Hispanic Heritage themes. The book presents, simple, yet rich and colorful illustrations. It lends itself to promote art. Many times my students feel their drawings are not good enough. The simplicity of the illustrations presented here could ease any student's mind.