Rapunzel

Author & Illustrator:   Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher:  Dutton Children's Books
Publication Year:   1997
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott Medal

Summary:  When a man steals some rapunzel from a witch for his pregnant wife, the witch catches him and steals the baby away. The story follows the familiar plot line as a prince discovers the secret tower and falls in love with Rapunzel. They get married and Rapunzel gets pregnant. In a rage, the sorceress cuts her hair off and sends her off into the wilderness where she gives birth to twins. The sorceress tries to blind the prince but Rapunzel's tears heal him and the family lives happily ever after. Zelinsky's gorgeous paintings in the Italian Renaissance style are framed in traditional fairy tale style.

Classroom Ideas: Zelinsky is a very versatile artist and it would be interesting to compare this book to his others and talk about artistic style. This book could also be part of a fairy tale unit, to compare with other versions or even with the Disney movie Tangled.

Z is for Moose

Author: Kelly Bingham
Illustrator:   Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   Featured on "Calling Caldecott" blog, Publisher's Weekly Kirkus and Horn Book starred reviews,

Summary:  Hilarious version of an alphabet book! Everything starts out well until Moose jumps onto the 'D' page. Zebra, acting as a director, is not impressed with Moose and sends him off to wait for his turn. He continues trying to get into all the pages in creative ways- under the ice cream, on the jam label, in kangaroo's pouch, until the M page comes. But wait! M is for Mouse? Moose is mad and starts destroying the book until Zebra comes up with a compromise. This adorable book made me laugh out loud several times!

Classroom Ideas: Smaller readers would love correctly identifying the pages that Moose has ruined. With older kids, this could serve as a mentor text or start a discussion about problem solving and compromise.