A Trio of Tolerable Tales - Hardcover

Atwood, Margaret; Petričić, Dušan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554989337 ISBN 13: 9781554989331

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2017

Synopsis

Three hilarious Margaret Atwood tales, together in a chapter book for the first time!

In Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes, Ramsay runs away from his revolting relatives and makes a new friend with more refined tastes.

The second tale, Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda, features Bob, who was raised by dogs, and Dorinda, who does housework for relatives who don’t like her. It is only when they become friends that they realize they can change their lives for the better.

And finally, to get her parents back, Wenda and her woodchuck companion have to outsmart Widow Wallop in Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop’s Wunderground Washery.

Young readers will become lifelong fans of Margaret Atwood’s work and the kind of wordplay that makes these tales such rich fare, whether they are read aloud or enjoyed independently. Reminiscent of Carl Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories, these compelling tales are a lively introduction to alliteration.

Key Text Features
illustrations
humour

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

About this title

About the Authors

MARGARET ATWOOD, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. Her latest novel, The Testaments, is the long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, now an award-winning TV series. Her other works of fiction include Cat’s Eye, finalist for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; The MaddAddam Trilogy; and Hag-Seed. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award. She lives in Toronto.

Dusan Petricic is a world-renowned cartoonist, illustrator and graphic designer. Born in Belgrade, he now lives in Toronto.

Reviews

Gr 3–6—Wacky, weird, and wonderful words wend their way through these three short stories written by the wise and witty Atwood. Three wildly silly and humorous tales use alliteration from beginning to end. In "Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes," Rude Ramsay and his red-haired, revolting relatives, Rollo, Ron, and Ruby, battle over their ridiculous, rotten repasts (dinners). Rude and his rat friend, Ralph, run away and encounter a group of roaring robot radishes bent on destroying everything around them. The two friends find relief and refuge when they meet a new ally, Rilla, who resides in a romantic rectory. In "Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda," Bob is abandoned outside a beauty parlor where his bubblehead mother is having her hair dyed blonde. He is found and adopted by a trio of dogs—a beagle, a boxer, and a borzoi. On the same block lives Doleful Dorinda. Her parents are missing after a deadly disaster, and she is taken in by distant relatives who force her into distasteful, distressing servitude. As fate would have it, Doleful Dorinda and Bashful Bob meet, and she dedicates herself to teaching him how to speak instead of bark. "B" and "D" words repeat to the satisfying conclusion, when Bob and Dorinda are reunited with their parents and both families buy a bungalow. There, they, along with the dogs, "dwell in blinding bliss, delirious with delicious delight." "Wandering Wenda" features woeful Wenda, alone after a whirlwind. She and her faithful woodchuck, Wesley, wander wistfully in search of her parents. They come upon Widow Wallop, in her wide-wheeled wood wagon pulled by two Welsh ponies, who kidnaps them. Wenda and Wesley are taken to her Wunderground Washery, where they are made to do "weeks and weeks of washing in the wet and weltering cellar." Wu, Wanapitai, and Wilkinson, the waifs welcoming Wenda and Wesley to the washery, have also lost their parents in a weird whirlwind. Wolves, rabbit warrens, and wizardry bring this narrative to a fast-paced finish as the witchy widow is discovered to truly be Willup the Whirlwind Whiz. He is obliged to wave his wand and whisk the parents back from the wispy clouds. The whimsical black-and-white illustrations pair handsomely with the text. Not only can this book be read aloud or silently for readers' enjoyment, it can also be used to introduce the concept of alliteration. VERDICT The wide and varied vocabulary will enrich even the most erudite student; an excellent and unusual addition to most collections.—D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH

Edition details

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1554989337
• ISBN 13: 9781554989331
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 52