AUTHOR CONNECTIONS:

A compiler, writer, and folklorist, Neil Philip has several critically acclaimed children's books to his credit. They include In a Sacred Manner I Live: Native American Wisdom, The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, and War and the Pity of War (All Clarion Books). A noted scholar of folk and fairy tales around the world, Philip asserts that American folktales contain a distinctive "freshness and informality," and beg to be shared orally. Philip and his wife live in the Cotswolds, England.
 
 
CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:
 
Listen to the recording of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle." Divide the class into three groups. Have each group prepare for a dramatic production of the story, assigning a different time and place in America in which their version of the story will occur. Decades in which Rip could possibly awaken are the Roaring 1920s, the Rebellious 1960s, and the Hip-Hop 1990s. Dialogue, music, costumes, and props should accurately depict the appropriate era. Perform plays for other same-grade students to enjoy.
 
Listen first to the recording of Howard Pyle's "The Apple of Contentment." Upon completion, students will begin an in-depth author and illustrator study of Howard Pyle. Divide class into three smaller groups: One group will research Pyle's life; another will discover information about stories and books that Pyle wrote; the third group will learn about Howard Pyle, the artist and illustrator of children's books. Share findings with the class, and then compile the information on Howard Pyle into one large volume. Be certain to include photocopies of famous illustrations from Pyle's books, complete lists of works written by Pyle, and names and brief biographies of Pyle's students - who later became famous in their own right - he instructed while teaching at Philadelphia's Drexel Institute.
 
Listening to Louisa May Alcott's short story serves as the ideal segue to an author study of one of the world's most famous female writers of the nineteenth century. Research Alcott's life to learn all about the woman responsible for creating Jo March, a pioneer in juvenile heroines in American literature. As a class, read Alcott's classic Little Women; culminate the unit by watching the recently produced movie version of the book. Such an activity makes for fascinating discussion of comparisons and contrasts.
 
Listen first to Carl Sandburg's "How They Broke Away To Go To the Rootabaga Country" from his Rootabaga Stories. Look for more of these stories in the school or public library; read two and discuss how they are similar to the structures of well-known European fairy tales. Specifically compare and contrast settings and characters from the two types of tales; have students chart their findings for display on the wall. Additionally, have each student prepare an oral report on either Carl Sandburg, the poet, or Carl Sandburg, the biographer. Each student must have visual graphics that accompany his or her findings, and recite either a poem or a snippet of text.
 
This recording features many American authors who contributed regularly to St. Nicholas, a children's periodical enormously popular in America from 1870 to 1930. On the classroom wall, complete a butcher-paper time line that begins with 1870 and ends with 1930. Using both print and non-print sources, students will learn who the notable authors and illustrators were for each decade, giving examples of their work done for the magazine. Any reports or pictures created by the students may be mounted on the time line; significant historical events or inventions may also be included, especially if it alters the content or stories or technique of illustrations found in the famous magazine.
 
 
INTERNET CONNECTIONS:

Folklore, Myth and Legend
    http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/storfolk.html
This part of a superb Web site will assist students who want to learn more about the genre of traditional literature. The Web pages may better prepare students who want to write their own modern fairy tales, fables, or tall tales using the old forms, but with twentieth-century content that echoes today's changing values.
 
Alcotts and Orchard House
    http://www.louisamayalcott.org/louisamaytext.html
This Web site introduces Louisa May Alcott and other members of the Alcott family, where they lived, and who their renowned friends were; biography and bibliography of this world famous author of Little Women are included, as well as a virtual tour of the rooms in the Orchard House that was home to Alcott from 1858 to 1877.
 
Children's Literature - Art Gallery
    http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/ENGL/courses/engl208c/gallery.htm
These Web pages offer outstanding overviews of the history of St. Nicholas, the popular and prestigious children's magazine that began in the late 1800s and continued through the 1930s.
 
Carl Sandburg Page
    http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~rmrober/sandburg/home.htm
This informative Web site tells about the life and work of this maverick author and poet from Midwestern America. These pages link to other interesting Sandburg sites, where images of his birthplace and recordings of some of his poems are available.
 
 
FOR FURTHER LISTENING AND READING:
 
American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne (Knopf, 1991) - ages 9 and up. UNABRIDGED AUDIO available from Audio Bookshelf.
 
American Tall Tales (Knopf, 1991) by Mary Pope Osborne; Illustrated by Michael McCurdy
 
ASHLEY BRYAN: Poems & Folktales, Performed by the Author; Spirited retellings of four African folktales and evocative poetry celebrate narrative born of the oral tradition. UNABRIDGED AUDIO and book available from Audio Bookshelf
 
ONCE UPON A FAIRY TALE - Twenty-one celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Robin Williams spin out these tales supported by fantastic illustrations.  Hardcover book/CD available from Audio Bookshelf.
 
From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs (Scholastic, 1993) compiled by Amy L. Cohn; Illustrated by eleven Caldecott Medal and Four Caldecott Honor Book Artists
 
The Huckabuck Family: And How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back (FSG, 1999) by Carl Sandburg; Pictures by David Small
 
Stockings of Buttermilk: American Folktales (Clarion Books, 1999) Edited by Neil Philip; Illustrated by Jacqueline Mair