Module 2: Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Book Summary: Miss Alice Rumphius's grandfather was an artist. Like him, she wanted to travel the world and live by the sea when she was older. But there was a third thing he said she should do as well: "do something to make the world more beautiful" (Cooney, 1982). This is the story of how she did all three of those things, told from the perspective of her great-niece, who hopes to be like her aunt when she grows up.

APA Citation: Cooney, B. (1982). Miss rumphius. New York, NY: Viking.

Impressions: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed and related to Miss Rumphius. The story is one that anyone at any age can find relatable and charming. The desire to see the world, reach their goals, and to leave an impact on the world is one that is shared by those both young and old.

Personally, I loved that she worked in a library and followed her passions. She traveled far and wide, made friends in far corners of the earth, and finally retired by the sea--just as her grandfather did. It was when she was older that she found a way to make the world more beautiful: planting lupine flowers all over her community. It was uplifting and encouraging to see a story about dreams being born and accomplished at all ages throughout her life.

The artwork brought the story to life. Barbara Cooney did a superb job of recreating the clothing throughout the different eras of Miss Rumphius' life. The colors of the lupines are vibrant and beautiful. The details of the artwork within the pictures allows the reader/viewer to see how Miss Rumphius' life was full, adventurous, and beautiful.  

Professional Review: 

KIRKUS REVIEW

You might almost believe that Barbara Cooney had a Great-Aunt Alice Rumphius who did just as we read here--else why go to the trouble of spinning out a yarn, composed of transparent storybook motifs (an elderly grandfather who carves ships' figureheads; travels to exotic places; a solitary cottage by the sea), just to arrive at an old lady who strews lupine seeds about? Ostensibly, she's fulfilling her promise to her grandfather to "do something to make the world more beautiful"; in Barbara Cooney's precisionist Maine coast pictures, the drifts of lupine blooms are a tribute to the lupine lady per se. It's a lovely notion, in short, if not much (or too much) of a story.

Kirkus Review. (2012). [Review of the book Miss Rumphius by B. Cooney]. Kirkus review. Retrieved January 28, 2015 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/barbara-cooney/miss-rumphius/

Library Uses: Miss Rumphius could be used in a story time where the children could do crafts that include paper flowers or creating lists of places they'd like to travel to with pictures of different locations to choose from.

Module 1: Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

Book Summary: Little Red is assigned to write a story. She wants to write something that has adventure, bravery, and interesting creatures in it. Her story is a funny, educational adventure about Little Red making her way through her school to end up in Principal Granny's office where the Wolf 3000 (a pencil sharpener that is the equivalent of the Big Bad Wolf) is in disguise as her principal. Throughout the story, the reader learns about writing (plot, grammar, etc) while remaining entertained by this funny, educational take on Little Red Riding Hood.

APA Reference of Book: Holub, J. (2013). Little red writing. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.

Impressions: I really enjoyed Little Red Writing. It had me laughing and enjoying the artwork while also being impressed by how it so easily teaches readers--both young and not so young--how to write a story. I also loved the humor throughout the book. The teacher's name was Ms. 2 and all of the pencils in Little Red's class had a cute spin on what kind of pencil they were and the stories they wanted to write about. 

One of my favorite scenes was with Conjunction Glue, which led to a long winded sentence with no punctuation. I read this aloud to one of my roommates while acting out the scenes in different voices, which was something that we both enjoyed. She is an English teacher and immediately went to Amazon to buy a copy of the book to share with her class. 

At the end I really liked that Little Red saved herself because the "Woodsman" character fainted at the sight of Wolf 3000. I think more books should have the main character save themselves, especially the heroine.

I also really enjoyed how the book was written almost as if a comic book with speech bubbles and panels on some pages. It makes for a fun, unique children's book read that I'm already talking up to others.

Professional Review: 

HOLUB, Joan. Little Red Writing. illus. by Melissa Sweet. 36p. Chronicle. Oct. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8118-7869-2.K-Gr 2–Written with wit, humor, and puns galore, this fractured fairy tale features Little Red, a pencil in search of a story. Given a writing assignment by her teacher Ms. 2, Little Red travels down the story path with a basket of red nouns looking for the kind of tale that will allow her to display bravery and fight evil, “because red is the color of courage. But what would a brave pencil do?” As she journeys around the school, she encounters action words at the gym, descriptive words at the library, etc., until she comes across a long tangly tail that is up to no good. Brave Little Red follows it into Principal Granny’s office where she comes upon the Wolf 3000, “the grumpiest, growliest, grindingest pencil sharpener ever made!” This is a book so rich in words and wry humor–written and visual–that one reading just isn’t enough. Imagine kids running to the dictionary to look up “bosky” and “tenebrous” after getting bogged down in the dark, descriptive forest (the school library) or poring over Sweet’s characteristically engaging watercolor, pencil, and collage illustrations for delicious details, such as the pencil school newspaper with the motto “We get to the point.” These pictures don’t merely enhance Holub’s clever text, they become a part of it through the use of layered papers upon which the dialogue is literally written in pencil. Little Red’s classmates run the gamut of childhood types, each distinguished by its individualized eraser. Creative and fun, this book works equally well for storytime or story writing. Pair it with Janet Stevens’s The Little Red Pen (Houghton, 2011) for the full gamut of school-supplies silliness.–Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

Markson, T. (2013). [Review of the book Little red writing by J. Holub]. School library journal. Retrieved January 24, 2015 from http://www.slj.com/2013/09/reviews/fiction-reviews/preschool-to-grade-4-fiction-september-2013/#_. 

Library Uses: Little Red Writing could be used in a creative writing workshop for young writers (elementary to even teenage) as an example of what a story needs: plot, rising action, etc. Also show parts of speech and punctuation and how to creatively take a well-known story and put a spin on. After the story is shared, have them create a short story where they write a retelling of a fairy tale and/or a story that teaches readers about parts of speech/grammar.