It's Not About the Straw! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) - Softcover

Charles, Veronika Martenova

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770493263 ISBN 13: 9781770493261

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2013

Synopsis

More first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun.

The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story:
It's Not About the Ball! is based on The Frog Prince;
It' Not About the Tiny Girl! is based on Thumbelina;
It's Not About the Diamonds! is based on the story of Diamonds and Toads;
It's Not About the Straw! is based on Rumpelstiltskin and
It's Not About the Beanstalk! is based on Jack and the Beanstalk.

As one friend starts his story, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.

Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales are a great first step in developing a lifelong love of reading, and it makes a fine companion to Veronika Martenova Charles's series, Easy-to-Read Spooky Tales.

About this title

About the Author:

VERONIKA MARTENOVA CHARLES is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books include The Birdman, illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. She has studied at Ryerson University, the Ontario College of Art and Design, and has a graduate degree in Folklore from York University. Veronika Martenova Charles lives in Toronto.
 
DAVID PARKINS is the award-winning illustrator of over fifty children's books. He began his career at Dyfed College of Art in Wales, studying wildlife illustrations.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 2-4–Three school friends tell a series of folktales across cultures. However, these students seem much too mature for activities like show-and-tell. The rough black-and-white drawings, which are not of high quality, show them as middle school age. While the easy-to-read format makes the selections accessible to beginning readers, they omit the richness and subtlety of quality folklore. These books beg the question of whether it is better to share folklore in any format, regardless of quality, in order to make the stories accessible to younger readers. Eric Kimmel and Margaret Read MacDonald, just to mention two, offer picture-book versions of folktales that are easy to understand, rich in text, and handsomely illustrated so that children can be introduced to the best in folklore as opposed to the easiest for independent reading. In addition, many collections contain stories from different cultures, linked by similar elements, without an unrealistic and forced staging in order to connect the folktales across the cultures, while highlighting the common elements.–Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York Cityα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1770493263
• ISBN 13: 9781770493261
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Parkins David