I waited anxiously for Emily Gravett's most recent picturebook. She's one of my favourite, favourite picturebook creators and she was creating a book about cats ... I'm a cat lover, so that made her even more wonderful (actually I also love dogs, so she's already satisfied my canine wishes with Dogs)... and here it is, Matilda's Cat... fresh off the press, it's been out for less than a month. Delightful, and very preschool, but there's an ironic humour in there which will keep us teachers giggling to ourselves, and possibly also get picked up by the children - so much to look at and discover and make connections with and between. Those of you who are familiar with Sendak's Where the wild things are,are sure to make the visual connection between our girl protagonist in a cat suit and Max in his wolf suit.
Gravett's front covers are all fairy similar in format, especially those for preschool aged readers: a pale background with the main characters appearing large as life. Matilda's Cat is no exception - we are shown a girl child in a cat suit holding a cat - a grinning cat at that! They are both ginger cats, that is the cat suit is ginger and the cat is ginger. This is important for we can question right from the start whether Matilda's cat is her cat persona or her ginger tabby.
Back cover
It is the back cover that answers our question - an arrow points to the real cat, who is doing the best of cat things, sharpening his claws. Is it a he or a she cat? I kind of think it's a she cat, her pouchy belly is just like my cat Sooty, who's a well to do four-year-old kitty. I just love Matilda's cat's stripes, and that lovely twirly bit on her haunches.
In true Gravett style, the picturebook peritext is used to the full. the endpapers are a pale duck-egg-blue ...
Front endpapers
... cat prints take us from verso to recto and we see the ginger feline leaving the page, her head appears as we turn into the copyright and title page spread. She's looking distinctly worried as she looks across at Matilda who is enthusiastically completing a drawing of her lovely six-legged cat.
Copyright and title pages
The title font, as on the font cover is in freehand and it continues throughout the picturebook ... if you haven't connected the visual of Matilda in her cat suit with Max in his wolf suit then I'm very disappointed... the pointy ears and the rectangular clawed feet along with a dangerously long tail - there are no whiskers or buttons, but this is Max reincarnated, and not matter how hard I try, I can't rid the visual connection.
Opening 1
The following spreads show Matilda, in her cat persona, doing what she thinks cats do: her happy declaration, "Matilda's cat likes ..." followed by a fun activity that most cats do like leads us through the visuals. "... playing with wool", is one of my cat's favourite playtimes, but Matilda's ginger tabby is terrified. Matilda was enjoying herself greatly! I like the cats on the wool - you'll notice they are like the orange cat illustration by the dedication and in fact are repeated on some of the following spreads decorating different parts of the illustration. Matilda's attempt at doing cat things come in threes (a structure which is also evident in another of her picturebooks,Wolf won't bite) - playing with wool, boxes (could this be a reference to the well loved My cat likes to hide in boxes) and riding bikes. Her ginger tabby is either miffed or terrified (actually my cats don't like bikes either).
Opening 2
Opening 3
What's interesting about the verbal text is that as Matilda passes onto another activity, and thus through a page turn, the previous activity remains on the next spread, but gets crossed out. It's peculiar: a silent acceptance by the narrator, confirming what we see in the illustrations. I've not used this picturebook with children yet, but I'm interested to see how they respond to this. And so Matilda moves through tea parties, funky hats and fighting foes, not once is the ginger tabby impressed. Opening 6 is Matilda at her most Max-like marching across the recto with a sword in her hand. And so the next set of three activities appears ... "Matilda's cat likes drawing."
Opening 7
There's a nice array of sketches showing what Matilda has done so far with her feline friend, her drawings portraying a complying cat knitting a scarf, riding on her bike, sharing a pic-nic tea, playing happily in boxes, dressing up (you see the ginger tabby is a girl cat!) and fighting real foes. Upon turning the page, " ...climbing trees, and bedtime stories." (Max climbs trees in his adventure too!)
Opening 9
Matilda is buried in her book, unaware of poor ginger tabby's reaction to the chosen title (Gravett's own picturebook about dogs!) ... the looming shadow is made by Matilda's cleverly placed hand, and poor tabby is truely terrified, tail bushy and shackles up, her whiskers are frazzled in fright. But Matilda has had enough ...
Opening 10
As her ginger tabby sits on the offending book and licks herself back to normal, Matilda crossly lists the things that she knows her cat does not like... revisiting the spreads we have just seen and emphasizing "... OR bedtime stories." I suspect that children will enjoy remembering the different activities and thus be challenged to remember the sequence they have shared with Matilda through the illustrations. We turn the page and Matilda has shed her cat suit, and Ginger tabby is looking keen, we see Matilda leave the spread in her PJs, covered in black terriers and wearing dog slippers... so what does Matilda's cat like?
Opening 12
"... MATILDA", of course! The illustration shows us a happy couple: tabby on her back, and Matilda's dog-clad-arm hugging her. You can almost hear the purrs coming from the illustration (check out the stylised cats on her duvet). But that's not the end ... don't ever forget Gravett's endpapers.
Back endpapers
Here they are... those cat prints leading from verso to recto and Matilda's tabby is making the most of her opportunity to get her own back on those dog slippers. So much to see and smile over. The verbal text accompanies the little girl, told by an invisible narrator, who describes what Matilda enjoys doing. We, the reader, are left to claim as loudly, or as quietly, as we like, that Matilda's cat does not like any of those activities, until finally Matilda takes note and agrees with us (or did she know all along?). It's such fun and I can't wait to share this picturebook with my preschoolers.
I've not posted on my blog for two weeks, so a big apology to regular readers. I've just handed in my PhD thesis so it was a very busy two weeks getting everything ready, and my blog got left behind. But life is normal again and so is my blog. Hooray!
Front cover
This week's post is about a book I was sent by the publisher Child's Playand it has been sitting on my desk waiting patiently to be written about. Created byMarta Altés, NO!gives us a dog's view of life. I have four dogs of my own, so you might think I'm biased, but even if you don't like dogs, the idea that Marta Altés has taken and made into a picturebook is brilliant.
Dog owners will all have experienced chewed newspapers and slippers, dug up gardens, dirty paw prints on clean floors, disappearing food, and too much slobber. Ever wondered what the dog thinks it's doing? Marta Altés has given it a great deal of thought and dedicated the result to her dog Floc.
NO!has all those bits that make it a good picturebook. The front and back covers are one whole image, unbroken across the spine.
Back and front covers
The front cover shows the front of our protangonist, looking very pleased with himself; the back cover is the the back view of our doggy friend, and a broken vase can now be seen. We don't know it yet, but lots of information is being given us as viewers, and as ever, upon returning to this picturebook children will comment on the signifiance of these two images. You can't quite see the detailed line drawings that cover the background, they're lovely.
We open onto the end papers, literally printed on the back of the front (and back) covers. Multiple images of our dog, doing all sorts or doggy things.
Front end papers
I found myself smiling as I looked across the two pages, very doggy-like poses and positions. My own dogs do all those things, in all those ways. Title page is a goodie too.
Title page
There's our dog about to eat something quite deliciously smelly! And so our story begins...
Opening 1
This is "No". A waggy-tailed dog with a very large nose. "No" thinks he's such a good dog.
Opening 2
"... so good that my family is always calling my name!" What a cute angel-like dog. No then explains why he's such a good dog. The words tell us quite plainly of his good intentions, and the pictures show us the disasterous results. No helps his family get to places faster - I always wondered why my own dogs pulled so hard! He tastes their food, just to check it's OK ...
Opening 4
He helps his family find treasures in the garden (by digging lots of holes) and rolls in the dirtiest of dirt (and often smelliest) so that he will look his best!
Opening 6
And worse still, he warms their beds while looking his best (and you can imagine what the pictures show us!). Each and everytime, the "NO" gets longer and louder ... "NOOOOOO!"
He tidies their newspapers ...
Opening 8
... feeds himself (from the kitchen bin) and helps the family with the laundry. One of my dogs was very good at that. She chewed one of my favourite summer blouses and I still haven't forgiven her. The "no" on this spread is eight O's long!
Finally we see No's family, a spread of vignettes showing a very happy dog and two distressed children.
Opening 11
He is certain they love him "very much", but more important, he knows he loves them. There is one thing that he just doesn't get ...
Opening 13
"Why did they buy me a collar with the wrong name?" and we are shown what his real name is. There is one more spread, before the end papers.
Opening 14
He doesn't really care if his collar says Spike, he's a content little dog, knowing he's a good little dog.
It's a fun little book, and seeing the world from another's eyes is indeed a lesson, even if they are a dog's. Marta Altés has very cleverly brought pictures and words together to create this story and children are easily able to appreciate the humour the pictures bring to the words (or is it what the words bring to the pictures?). On the first sharing of the book they'll be chorusing "Noooo!" in no time (no pun intended) and will want to share their own experiences and pet dog stories. Why not encouarge them to write and illustrate some of their own pet stories and put them together in a class book.
Many thanks to Child's Play for sending me NO! by Marta Altés.
If you are looking for a pink princess story, the kind where prince meets princess and they live happily ever after, then look elsewhere! Princess Smartypants by Babette Coleis quite different, she's a feisty little miss, who wants to do stuff her way and really couldn't be bothered with princes!
It's a great little picturebook, and thoroughly funny, even if you're a boy! But what makes this particular picturebook so special is the way the pictures and words together create the humour and irony, which the words alone just can't reach. You really do have to take in the words and the pictures, rather like Rosie's Walk, it's a 1+1=3 picturebook!
The peritextual features do well at preparing us for our spirited princess. On the front cover she is shown riding a motorbike, in her leather bike gear, a dino on her back seat. Can you see the number plate? HRHSP - Her royal Highness Smarty Pants - do help your students with this joke!
Page 1
Upon opening the book, there's a great family crest on page 1, with more of those dinos and a big fat frog. "Smartypantus rulus O.K.us" is the family moto!
Title page and copyright
The title page shows our princess marching steadfastly into the book, leading a mummy dino and four babies, pets maybe?
Princess Smartypants is a typical 32 page picturebook, made up of the occasional double spread but mostly verso and recto illustrations. There's no rhythm or pattern to how they appear, but there is a definite pattern to how the words tell us one thing and the pictures show us something quite different, at times expanding on the words, other times actually giving different bits of information.
Opening 1
The verso here tells us that "Princess Smartypants did not want to get married. She enjoyed being a Ms. " the pictures show us what fun she has being a Ms! Lying on the floor, watching horse-riding programmes, surrounded by her pets and recently discarded litter. And in recto just look at those boggled eyes princes, all captivated by her golden locks and painted nails!
Opening 2
But all Princess Smartypants wants to do is "live in her castle and do exactly as she pleases." And of course the pictures so us what this entails!
The problem starts when the Queen says she has to sort herself out and get a husband. Poor King looks quite battered at the Queen's side - I'd guess he probably wishes his daughter would stay as she was! However this doesn't stop the constant stream of princes, which continue the story.
From here on princess Smartypants gives each prince a task, which often relates to his name - weird and wonderful names, which will mostly likely be lost on your students, so do explain them! On each page or spread the words tell us what the task is and the pictures show us how each prince failed. This is how the ironic humour works at its best.
Opening 4
"She asked Prince Compost to stop the slugs eating her garden." And poor Prince Compost is shown being frightened by the giant slugs! And so it continues with Prince Rushforth and Prince Pelvis; Prince Boneshaker and Prince Vertigo - poor chap is asked to climb a tower! Prince Bashthumb doesn’t manage to collect firewood, and Prince fetlock is kicked out of the picture, literally! Great use of frame breaking in the verso illustration below.
Opening 8
And Prince Grovel is just hilarious going shopping with a very large Queen! Last comes Prince Swimbladder and he too fails his task.
But wait! What about Prince Swashbuckle? A dashing young prince, who manages to successfully complete each of the tasks.
Opening 11
Once again the words remind us of the what had to be done and the pictures show us how Prince Swashbuckle creatively managed to do it. And here he is: a very clever prince, waiting smugly for Princess Smartypants to kiss him on the cheek.
Opening 13
But look at those ellipses:
Opening 14
Ha, ha, ha! Princess Smartypants turns him into a frog, and she lives happily ever after, no longer bothered by princes, who are frightened of her now!
Gail Ellis and Jean Brewster included this picturebook in their well-known resource book, Tell it again! The new storytelling handbook for primary teachers. But sadly they make no mention in the introduction of the clever use of illustrations to create the humour that makes this book so special. Instead there is a focus on the words, with lots of activities to expand on what a typical prince and princess are like or to match what the different princes are asked to do. There is an activity, which uses a substitution table to help children describe why the princes couldn't complete their tasks, and another which helps students describe how creative Prince Swashbuckle was, all information they can only get from looking at the illustrations, so that's good!
I'd also suggest that children be told that the words and pictures give different bits of information, and that when they are seen together they are much funnier. I'd help the children look for how the pictures contradict the words. Upon re-reading children don't need to be told again, they will have understood, and will talk and comment about the humour they can create by making 1+1=3!
Another focus Ellis and Brewster give to their activity set is related to gender stereotypes, and this is an important aspect of books like Princess Smartypants, but isn't she being a little mean and hard hearted? Poor Prince Swashbuckle, he did so well to complete all the tasks, wasn't she rather rude to turn him into a frog? This could be quite a good discussion, and boys in particular may feel rather trodden on after seeing what happens to all the princes, so give them a chance to voice their concerns!
Finally there's a great film on YouTube of Babette Cole reading Princess Smartypants. A lovely way to engage the children if you have a class set of books, so they can look at the picturebook and listen to Ms Cole as she happily reads the story!
Just like byLynda Waterhouse and Arthur Robins was one of nine books in a collection I featured in a publication by Mary Glasgow Scholastic, Realbooks in the primary classroom, sadly now out of print. Just Like was published in 2000 and is available very cheaply on the secondhand markets via Amazon. I'm featuring it on my blog because it's an example of how picture and word are needed together to get the whole meaning. It's a great little book, and I selected it nearly a decade ago not because of its word-picture interaction but because of its topic and the structures held therein. I'm ashamed now that it was the words that attracted me to this title, but very glad that as I've learned more about different ways the pictures and words animate each other, I've come to appreciate the irony which is created when they come together here.
Back cover
This is the back cover and it explains what this picturebook is about - A boy and a man are peering up at the framed words... huum I wonder who Sam is like? If we return to the front cover, we realise these must be all Sam's Aunts and Uncles. What a motley crew! Could the red headed boy be Sam?
Copyright and title pages
There's a fun dedication from Lynda Waterhouse to all her aunts and uncles, which might interest the children you are sharing this book with. This must be Sam, shown looking hot under the colar and sporting an Aunty-like lipstick mark on his cheek. Bother those aunts! We can see four of them on the title page... it must have been the one with the lipstick!
We begin with the family get together when Sam was born. A typical British street, with houses which are all the same yet different and a crowd of family members arriving.
Opening 01
We have no idea who they are, least of all whether the biker is anything to do with the family at all. Slowly we are introduced to the relations, but you have to be alert, or you'll miss the clues!
Opening 02
"'Sam looks just like you,' Great Aunt Bertha said to Dad." Can you see the fat Aunt pointing? That's Great Aunt Bertha! On turning the page we see that not all the family were in the living room...
Opening 03
Grandad wasn't there! Look at him! A wild Grandad! Notice how the words tell us Grandad as "playing outside", but the pictures show us that he's being very clever with a skateboard!
This pair of spreads has set us up for the rhythm we will encounter as we continue. First we are shown a scene with all the family, except Grandad (for now we look for him and see he is never there!), comparing Sam to one of his relations. Then when we turn the page, or move from verso to recto and we see Sam's Grandad doing something completely unexpected! We are encouraged to turn the page because a sentence is left half finished, "They all munched and nodded ..." [page turn] "... except Grandad. (...)". But of course we want to turn the page because we know Grandad will be doing something silly! The more this happens the more we want to turn the page and the funnier the story becomes!
Sam is told he has eyes like his Mum ... "They all nodded ..." [page turn] "... except grandad who was racing down the hill." We see him with a group of happy children on a snow sled!
At a cousin's wedding, Sam was compared to his shy Uncle Norris ... Look at grandad!
Opening 06
He's practising his magic tricks ... practising! He isn't very good yet!
Sam is told he is a show off like Great Uncle Bernard, he's musical like Auntie Rita, and he has delicate skin like Great Aunt Bertha. Until on Sam's 8th birthday, which we know because we can count the candles on his cake, he was asked to make a wish. Every one smiled ...
Opening 12
... except Sam! Oh my goodness is he upset? Sam was tired of being compared to all his family. "I am me. And the only person I am like is ME." Not only did the candles blow out, but ...
Opening 13
"The jellies wobbled. The sausages shivered. The crisps curled. Nobody said a word." We are shocked for two reasons, first we have been led to believe that Sam is a quiet chap, who takes all the fuss in his stride, and second the rhythm we have become used to has been broken. Not to worry, it's soon back... Aunty Vera can't stop herself...
Opening 14
Finally Grandad takes some notice!
Opening 15
Sam gets to go on the bike with his grandad and off they go!
I selected this picturebook to be used with older primary. The humour is perfect and there's a some challenging language there, as well as lots to look for and at in the illustrations. The language, "to look like [someone]" and "to be like [someone]" is used very clearly and the children can have fun using it to for their own personal descriptions. They can also have a hilarious time describing some of Sam's family, who are portrayed beautifully in the illustrations. As ever it's a book which needs to be returned to, as there is so much in the illustrations, too much to take in with one encounter. Leave the picturebook in the classroom and let the children browse through it. They'll be giggling to themselves as they do!
If you have a moment, check out the other books Arthur Robins has written / illustrated. There's a nice collection of alternative traditional tales, with titles like Little Red Riding Wolf, and Ghostyshocks and the three scares - well worth collecting for slightly older children.
