So here I am wondering what to read to my jaded fifth graders. They don't go in for the ultra serious, they yawn through the books beloved of second and third graders. They groan when I mention poetry or nonfiction. And then this book falls into my lap. One read through and I'm hooked--and so is my fifth grade audience! Kevin O'Malley has brilliantly joined artistic forces with Carol Heyer and Scott Goto to create a book that is a commentary on story telling, the battle of the sexes, and a great graphic novel picture book yarn!
The premise of this tale is easy to absorb; two characters, a boy and a girl (probably classmates at school) are telling the readers their own made up fairy tale. Each takes a turn at the story, and offers commentary on their partner's part of the tale. The girl starts off with a flowery story of a princess and her ponies and the giant that comes and steals the ponies away. No prince seems up to the challenge. At this point, our male narrator has become heartily sick of the way the story is being told and takes over the narrative. No prince may be up to beating the giant, but a motorcycle-riding Dude with a sword just might be able to win the day. The boy continues on with his tale of action and adventure and finishes off the tale--leaving the princess doing nothing but spinning gold thread. The female narrator has her own idea of how the story should end, and it takes some work for the two to come together on an ending that satisfies them both and delights listeners. The narrative is broken into actual story text, and dialog bubbles, combining traditional picture book style with graphic novel sensibilities. This book will most likely appeal to readers already familiar with comics and graphic novels and who will be delighted to find a picture book in the same format. While this break up of text can be challenging to read aloud, older readers will have no problem following the story on their own.
But the text is hardly the whole story. The pictures are what make this book so delightful, and hysterical. A veteran artist and illustrator of over 25 children's books, Kevin O'Malley's flair is found in the cartoon style boy and girl that speak in dialog bubbles that appear throughout the main fairy tale, offering extra commentary. Mr. O'Malley's characters speak directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and pulling the readers/listeners into the story crafting experience. Carol Heyer is an award winning fantasy artist who has illustrated several fairy tale books for children and her talent shines through in gorgeous romanticized images of a lovely princess and her ponies. Everything is in royal hues shaded to pinks and purples. The pictures are lovely, but very "girl" and extremely saccharine--which the readers will figure out fast enough. The menacing giant doesn't look all that mean or foreboding, and the princess inhabits that "magical fairyland" quality that would be at home in most "girl-centric" advertising. Carol Heyer knows just how to play this up without making the pictures themselves comical or caricatures--they're lovely, but funny as hell when added to the text. Scott Goto also has a fantasy background to his art, but his style is bold, sweeping over the whole page and defining itself with strong colors. His Dude has a modern touch that hints of world wrestling while still managing to capture a more Conan-like spirit in the battle. Goto's giant is monstrous and hideous--in keeping with the male narrative of grossness. "And his breath smelled like rotten, moldy, stinky wet feet!" The combination of these styles as our narrators battle for control of the story highlights the differences and encourages the laughter, while giving some great artwork for the reader to enjoy. Some of this stuff would be at home in any high fantasy collection!
This book manages to highlight what could be considered traditional differences in the way male and female narratives are handled. The girl's narrative focuses on emotions and names of the ponies and more descriptive elements of the text while the boy focuses on action and big events without necessarily finishing the narrative tale. It takes both of them working together and taking elements from the other's story to come to the conclusion. Of course nothing remains in agreement for long! I will be the first to admit it is a hard book to read aloud. If you're really good at voices and humor however, this book is the perfect read for older, more cynical listeners. It took me several tries to get it to read well, but now it's the book that all my kids request. They love hearing it as much as I love telling it!
Those who enjoy this book might want to take a look at the Captain Raptor series also by Mr. O'Malley. Likewise, "Mars Needs Moms" by Berkely Breathed may appeal with its similar whimsy and powerful illustrations. And don't miss "Superhero ABC" by Bob Macleod. This comic-book style art alphabet book is sure to please those with a love of action heroes and humor.
Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude
- Accelerated Reading level : 3.1
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
- ISBN-10: 0802789471
- amazon
Technical Stuff
Word Count: 654
Reading Level: 3.1
Interest Level: elementary
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.1 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 103997
Lexile: 550L
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2 comments :
This was an excellent overview of this book. Certainly those gender differences make an impact and are a consideration when crafting stories for both boys and girls.
this book is awsome. i was laghing the first time i read it!
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