Joan M. LexauReseñas

"'Why the Crocodile does not eat the Hen' from Notes on the folklore of the Fjort (French Congo) "

Oh, this was a fun one! How my children love Archimedes running naked through the streets! (Oops. Spoiler alert?)

I've frequently heard it said that kids can't, or won't, sit still like they used to. Now, there are a lot of different factors in this - electronics of course, and school schedules, and considering that we are now doing storytimes for babies whereas a few decades ago storytime was for elementary-aged kids. On top of that, quite a few of the picture books produced nowadays are extremely long and kids absolutely will not sit still for them! However, in my experience, toddlers and preschoolers will quite happily sit for even a lengthy story if it is a folktale or has a folktale-like cadence.

I don't remember where I originally heard this story; I probably read it as a child, but at some point I realized I needed it for storytime. I purchased an old and rather worn copy online and the kids LOVED it. They even liked my introduction, where I showed them "the mystery book" since it was missing its jacket!

Nevertheless, one can't fully enjoy a book unless you can recommend it to friends and colleagues, and with the only copy in my professional collection, kids coming to the library wanting the book I read in class are bound to be disappointing. So I was THRILLED when I found out that Prestel was republishing this gem!

The story is simple. Boy is exhausted, sitting on a rock, when Tiger shows up. Tiger tells him to run, so he can chase him and eat him, and Boy replies (in my favorite phrase of the book) "Eat me then...I have no more run in me." Tiger is curious, so Boy tells him the story of his adventures, with Tiger responding "That's good" and "That's bad" as one thing leads to another. It turns out, Boy is being chased by Rhino and a wild chase it's been!

Each spread is in dark blue with the shadow of green trees and the figures of Boy and Rhino acting out the story. In the forefront is the face of Boy, the storyteller, and Tiger, the listener, while the text runs on a white background strip below.

When Boy finally gets to the end of his story, there's an unexpected ending for Tiger and Boy's clever tale saves the day and that's good! For Boy at least...

This edition keeps the original art and text, although it's in a larger format than the original I have, which makes it a much better read-aloud. It adds some background information on the author and illustrator and compares the story to the Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights (the use of "virgin" was a little unneeded I think, good luck explaining that to any kids reading it on their own...) The only problem I've had with this story is explaining to kids that Boy is NOT wearing a diaper - I tell them he's wearing special shorts because he lives somewhere very hot.

Verdict: I am delighted to see this classic story back in print and in a lovely edition that's perfect for reading aloud. I can't wait for my friends to be able to share it with a whole new generation of kids, who I promise you WILL sit still for it!

ISBN: 9783791374192; This edition published March 2020 by Prestel; Review copy provided by publisher and added to my professional collection to replace my battered old copy; Purchased another copy for the general library; Included in our emergency virtual storytimes.

Rafer is excited for his birthday and is looking forward to receiving a birthday card in the mail from his less than present father. When he checks the mailbox, he starts to think that his father forgot and his mood is ruined. That it until he realizes the reason he did not get a birthday card is because his father wanted to spend the day with him in person. I think this is a cute story and I'm glad it had a happy ending. I personally didn't think it was too special in anyway, but it wasn't terrible. It provides perspective for children who may have absentee fathers, but overall it was forgettable.

A simple short book under eighty pages long, with wacky goofy illustrations about how your horoscopes can be wrong, superstitions are silly, and how sometimes you have to run headfirst into trouble to save a life or help someone. This book is cute, relatively harmless, and a fun read. A boy wants a dog so bad he'll do anything, but then realizes doing what's right trumps getting what he wants.

This little girl sees a stray cat and tries to do very thing to catch it. However, the cat keeps running away.
peer review
preschool-3rd grade

It was Rafer's birthday and he has a good feeling when he woke up that he would get a letter from his dad. His parents are divorced and he checked the mailbox every hour to see if his dad had sent a letter. Rafer got more than a letter for his birthday, he got to spend a surprising afternoon with his dad. Even though Rafer was treated so well on his birthday by his brother and mother, he still had that longing to see his dad. Divorce puts an emptiness in the heart of children. Divorce is not something that is easy to deal with. Especially at the age Rafer seems to be, having to decide whose house to go to for what holiday or who to spend your own birthday with truly puts anxiety on the child. Refer did a great job at handling this pressure. He was anxious at first, but trusted that his dad would write him. At the end, Rafer was rewarded for his trust by getting to visit with his dad for the day and told his dad to walk slow so because he wanted this day to be long.

A little girl sees a cat and wants to have the cat come to her. The cat keeps leaving because the girls scares him, she doesn't know how to treat him. She eventually learns how to treat the cat in the end.

Age- 3+
Source- Pierce College Library

The story of the Crocodile and the Hen is a classic. This book shows how brains over bronze wins any day. This book I would recommend for ages 2-7, it teaches about thinking outside of the box and outsmarting your opponent. I would recommend that parents read this book to their kids, there is a short synopsis of what the story is about in the beginning of the book to tell the reader what the book is about. This type of feature is very conviet for those parent who read a book before sharing it with their children Another feature is the author's note at the end of the book as well as a short history of J.Leau, the author, and her qualifications for writing this book.

a little boy is playing with a dog and tells the dog that he doesn't like him but as they play together, the little boy ends up liking the dog.
1 book

This book is about a child who dos not like this dog but then come to realize that he is just trying to play and communicate.

Summary: Becky's birthday is soon and the family is facing real problems with money, and Becky is feeling miserable. Her birthday is near and it's as if no one even cares. Becky knows that the family is having a hard time with money, so she knows a present is probably out of question, but she wants chicken spaghetti and striped ice cream. The family decides to make her something special for her birthday. They keep it a secret as best they can but Becky feels miserable since she was left out of the dress making. The family pulls it off. Becky gets her ice cream, and a dress that was made just for her in pink, white, and brown. Like stripped ice cream!

Reflect: this was a very good insight into how hard it can be sometimes to provide for people you love in trying times. I loved how it was very relatable, especially for a college student with multiple loans, and debt. It's almost like Christmas and how I have to somehow come up with something for my entire family.

Extension: this would be a good classroom book to help children understand how it's not as easy to provide for people when times are tough. Perhaps even if everyone works together good things can happen.

The farmer had a hat, an old brown hat. Oh, how he liked that old brown hat! But then the wind came, and blew the hat away. And as fast as the farmer ran, the wind raced even faster. So the farmer went looking. Neither squirrel, nor Mouse, nor Duck, nor any of the other animals has seen the hat--though they had seen some pretty strange things. Would the farmer ever find his favorite hat?

original title - Jose's Christmas Secret
hardworking immigrants make the best of bad luck
A little sappy, but less so than most books of its ilk.
Probably best for ages 7-10.

I enjoyed reading, Who Took the Farmer's Hat?. First, I thought it was an excellent example of looking at someone else's point of view. This allows students to think about how others would see their actions, work, etc. Nodset showed this through each animals and how they saw the farmer's hat. For example, the bird saw his hat as a nest, and the squirrel saw it as a bird in the sky. Nodset helped readers see that not everyone views everything the same way. Second, I appreciated how the author showed sequencing through the story. She moved from one animal to the next, and the farmer asked each animal the same question. For example, it started with the squirrel, then the mouse, and so on. Sequencing would help students, especially ages three to seven, see how to effectively write their own stories. Lastly, I enjoyed the conclusion of the story, and how it illustrated the importance of sharing. The farmer's hat ended up being used by the bird as a nest, but the farmer did not get angry, he went and bought a new hat. This lesson could be important for younger students learning to share classroom items. Overall, the story had a few different main messages. For example, looking at everyone point of view is important, and also how to share and its results.

Oh, this was a fun one! How my children love Archimedes running naked through the streets! (Oops. Spoiler alert?)

This is a fun folktale that kids will sure love. It starts out with crocodile trying to eat hen but hen outsmarts him when he calls him brother. Crocodile then goes to thr lizard to figure things out and learns that they are alike because they both lay eggs.

The book is about a kid and his grandma, and how the grandma teaches him the basic rules of behavior in different places, and how he would do anything for her, as she lost her earring, so he did everything to find it

A young girl plays with an orange cat and learns how to be gentle with the cat.

Ages - 3 to 5
Sources - Pierce County Library and Pierce College Library

Girl tries to ask the cat to come back with her, but the cat keeps leaving because sometimes the girl scares him, doesn't know how to treat him at the end she learns how.
Ages: 3 and Up
Source: Pierce College Library

I really like this book.

I love this book,I love how the animals all try to use the hat and in the end the farmer lets the birds have it for their nest.It is a very interactive book to read to young kids.

I like reading this to 3rd graders for Valentine's Day. It brings up the question of bullying and the differences in expectations that boys and girls have of each other.

I borrowed this early version of the popular sequential consequences story through inter-library loan. It is hilarious! Also delightful and still fresh and new.

A hungry tiger meets a little boy and tells him to run, since he is going to eat him! "I have no run left in me" declares the boy, and tells the tiger a lengthy story of how he has been running all day, trying to escape from a rhino. The tiger responds, "that's good!" or "that's bad" to each twist and turn in the story until....well, I won't tell you how the clever boy ends the story and escapes the tiger AND the rhino. The illustrations are bright and I love the way Aliki separated the different threads of the story and keeps the main characters viewing the action at the sides. As far as I can tell, this book is out of print, which is a real shame.

Verdict: I tested it on my preschool visits last week and the kids loved it, sitting in breathless anticipation through each flip of the plot. Maybe I can find a used copy somewhere....

ISBN: N/A; Published 1963 by Dial (out of print); Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist

Crocodile really wants to eat hen, but every time he goes to she calls him brother and that makes him not want to eat her. He is so puzzled about why Hen keeps calling him brother, so he goes to as the Wise Old Woman. Before he can get to her he runs into Lizard, Lizard explains that they both lay eggs, so that is what makes them brother and sister. Crocodile is satisfied with this answer so he goes to find hen and they live happy.