Swamp Angel (Caldecott Honor Book)

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On the day of her birth, nothing about Angelica Longrider suggested that she would one day become the greatest woodswoman of Tennessee. In fact, the newborn was "scarcely taller than her mother and couldn't climb a tree without help." It's not long, though, before Angelica is vanquishing varmints such as Thundering Tarnation, a huge bear with a taste for settlers' winter rations, and swallowing entire lakes in a gulp.

This tallest of tall tales is an original from an intriguing newcomer to children's books, Anne Isaacs. In the tradition of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, the story of a self-sufficient, tornado-wielding, unflappable heroine lopes along at a perfect pace. Paul O. Zelinsky's folksy oil illustrations are painted on cherry, maple, or birch veneers, with old-fashioned frames; the extravagant and fanciful paintings have garnered the distinguished illustrator yet another Caldecott Honor. (Zelinsky has already received one Caldecott Medal for Rapunzel and two Caldecott Honors for Hansel and Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin.) The dry and fantastically far-fetched humor of the author-illustrator team will make readers of all ages feel as though Angelica herself has tossed 'em in the air so high that they are still on the way up at nightfall. (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Swamp Angel, a prodigious heroine who can disarm taunting men and marauding bear alike, is the original creation of a talented new writer whose tall-tale text unfolds in a crackling combination of irony, exaggeration, and sheer good humor. Caldecott Medallist Paul O. Zelinsky, working in an American primitive style on cherry and maple veneers, brings his matchless wit and whimsy to these characters of extraordinary dimension. Drawing us into the luxuriant beauty of the American wilderness, his paintings flow with rhythm, deft expression, and a sense of monumental motion that befits a heroine who can wield a tornado like a lasso and drink a lake dry. From the Great Smoky Mountains to the starry heavens above, Swamp Angel and Thundering Tarnation leave their indelible impressions on land and sky. So too will this book hold readers with its bold, expansive image-making--grandly demonstrating the flamboyant vigor and winking humor by which the tall-tale tradition endures.

Customer Reviews:

Great NON-Princess Story!.......2006-11-10

My 3 year old loves this book! She enjoys looking at the beautiful illustrations and listening to the great escapades of this strong female character. If you and your family like Paul Bunyan stories - this one is great for women to be.

Swamp Angel.......2006-05-22

Swamp angel is about a friendly, strong, giant girl; from the South. The conflict of the story is, Tarnation, a giant gorilla is eating up all the food. So, the mayor decides to have a contest to see which man can kill him. Whoever succeeds, will get to keep the pelt of the giant animal. Everyone who dared to try to kill the beast, failed, until one day the Swamp angel stepped in. This book is extremely funny with wonderful illustrations. I believe this book would be suitable for children under the age of eight. I give this book two thumbs up.

A Book For All.......2006-04-21

Swamp Angel is a great adventurous folktale, with unbelievable illistrations. And a funny southern accent that all will love. A heart warming tale bout a freindly, super-strong, giant girl; who saves her dear little home from dangers like a tornado. Anne Isaacs did an exceptional job to make this book humorous, exciting, adventurous, and fun-filled for all especialy children. Swamp angel is a considerate, generous, and all around nice person. Yet she's strong, brave, and determined. This story is taken place in Tennesse, down south. The problem is that Thunderin' Tarnation is eating all the food, so the mayor decides to have a contest. The first person to kill Thunerin' Tarnation gets to keep the pelt of the giant beast, saves their intire state's food from being eaten, and dthey will have an abundance of food. Many tried and almost all failed but one Swamp angel. But she still hasn't saw Thunderin' Tarnation yet. Until one day by the lake she spotted Old Tarnation. And that was were the showdown between Old Tarnation and Swamp Angel began. If you're a Paul Bunyun fan, well then this book is for you. I thought this was a fun and exciting book. If you read this book, I can almost garuntee that you will feal the same way. I give Swamp Angel two thumbs up!

I really liked Tarnation!.......2004-08-23

WARNING!!This review may contain Spoilers!

This story starts out by telling about the birth of a young girl who is amazingly big for her age. No one knows that she will become a great woodswoman since she cannot climb a tree at birth without help:). As she grows older she saves her town numerous times with her strength earning her the name "Swamp Angel".

When a mean bear comes to town many hunters try to capture it before it causes anymore damage.(One is Swamp Angel) Eventually she does capture the bear, named Tarnation, and kills him. Call me a sucker for a happy,happy ending, but I was hoping Tarnation would give up his evil ways and use his strength for good. And then they could have all lived...well you know what I mean.

What's not to like?.......2003-12-07

A truly enjoyable folktale. With Paul Zelinsky's inventive and endlessly amusing illustrations, the book tells as well as it views. With sentences like, "Varmint, I'm much obliged for that pelt you're carryin'", Swamp Angel's showdown with the bear Thundering Tarnation is of epic proportions. Zelinsky has truly outdone himself in his portrayals of their fight. There are thousands of tiny illustrations hidden on each page for kids to discover and delight in. The fight itself is about good old-fashioned wrassling, and it's a joy to watch. Zelinsky painted his illustrations on actual wood veneer, hoping to give the book a folk-art feel of some sort. The result is a beautiful story that adults and kids will both enjoy. As I might have given away, I'm a fan. book could easily be paired with another tall tales, possibly that of the other gigantic hero Paul Bunyun or the great John Henry. Both would fit in well with this story, though Swamp Angel owes perhaps most of her telling to Pecos Bill more than anyone else.

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Davy Crockett (Tall Tales, 3)
Larry Dane Brimner
Manufacturer: Compass Point Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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From America's earliest days, the South has produced some of the most intriguing and notable figures in the nation's history. That the state of Tennessee has contributed its full share of such men and women is artfully revealed in the stories which comprise "Frontier Tales of Tennessee".

These tales do not tell of bear hunts or frontier brawls. Instead, author Louise Littleton Davis has gone behind the historical scenes to trace the personal tragedies and triumphs that shaped the destinies of people struggling to build a young nation and that influenced the course of history itself. Such an influence was the disastrous first marriage of Sam Houston, who might never have left Tennessee to help forge Texas had he found wedded bliss in his home state.

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Motion, Forces, and Energy, as a part of the Glencoe Science 15-Book Series, provides students with accurate and comprehensive coverage of forces and Newton’s laws. The strong content coverage integrates a wide range of hands-on experiences, critical-thinking opportunities, and real-world applications. The modular approach allows you to mix and match books to meet your curricula.

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Glencoe Science: Motion, Forces, and Energy, Student Edition (Glencoe Science)

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The last of the great fire-breathing
dragons has awakened. . . .

Everyone thought all the dragons had been wiped out -- until a fierce flying beast appears, and leaves the village of Doran in flames. There is only one survivor: Jude, an ordinary man who never intended to be a hero. He'd rather avoid any danger, but a strange, strong-willed girl from a distant land has her own plans for hunting the last dragon. Can her courage and cunning help him conquer his fear in time to save their world from devastation?

Customer Reviews:

Good or Evil.......2006-08-22

Jude of Doran has heard from his father that the village of Jude's uncle has been destroyed. Everything was burned, with no survivors. They wonder if the Scots were raiding across the border, but there were no tracks. Jude goes off to a neighboring town to buy a new bow and arrows, and returns to find his village burned, and his family dead. On his own, he joins a carnival family that had been performing in the town he visited. Events leave him in the company of a young Chinese woman, Jing-wei, who had been stranded in the country. He hears of more burned villages, and then sees the dragon. Jing-wei says that all dragons are not evil, but this dragon has acquired a taste for human flesh. Jude and Jing-wei go on a quest, and Jing-wei has a plan to deal with the dragon.

The story is told in a narrative fashion as Jude relates his story to a monk who is writing it down with a quill pen on parchment. It is interspersed with Jude's comments to the monk. It is an easy to read tale, and is suitable for older children. It does raise a question about dragons, as they show up in legends in various countries. I recall that one appears in Beowulf.

The Dragon Approaches.......2006-03-02

Jimmy Reuter
2/23/06
The Hunting of the Last Dragon
Sherryl Jordan-ISBN: 0-06-447231-0
"We'll not fail Jude, we'll not fail, said Jing-wei, taking my hand and turning me away so I could not see the burned solider." This great fantasy book is about a young man named Jude who is from the small, peaceful village of Doran. His quest is to hunt down and slay the last dragon because certain people believe it is his destiny. Revenge is also an issue seeing as to the fact that the dragon destroyed his entire village and killed his family. This book takes place Medieval England.
This was a great book because I love fantasy fiction and it really kept my interest the whole time, by adding unexpected events and action into the story. I would recommend this book to anyone, but if you like dragons, adventure, and even a little bit of romance you will love this book as much as I did. As I mentioned earlier I love fantasy fiction and that's maybe why I liked this book so much; plus dragons, to me, are great to read about because of all their power and mystery. In the beginning this book was kind of hard to concentrate on because of the writing. The narrator/ main character, Jude, is talking to his scribe Benedict the monk who is writing his story out. The reason this was kind of hard to follow is because sometimes the story is placed in the past, sometimes in the present and it switches off during the whole of the story. Overall this was a great book for all of the reasons above and if you like fantasy fiction as much as I do you will love this book!

A beautiful, haunting story. .......2005-03-05

Written down word for word by a monk under a vow of silence, as recounted by the unwilling hero Jude, this is a tale of England at the time of the Black Death, heavy with moral overtones, life's lessons, and insight into peasant life, as Jude tries to make sense of all that is happening around him.
Pity, compassion and a sense of justice compel him to set free a strange fairground freak, befriend and heal her, then together they rid the land of the terrible creature that plagues it. In doing so, Jude discovers how fear turns to hate, greed to cruelty, and friendship to love. As well as finding his inner strength and self-worth, he discovers that beauty is mostly inside and in the eye of the beholder.
Although simply and archaicly written, the narrative flows, carrying one along with the adventure, immersed in the plot. In the accompanying (sometimes bawdy) descriptions we learn a little cultural and social history, as well as what made the mediaeval mind tick. What takes a little getting used to are the stilted, one-sided conversations with the silent scribe who's been instructed to 'copy every word', that preface each chapter - but it adds a certain charm to this lovely, addictive book. *****

Sherryl Jordan writes another spell-binding winner.......2004-07-26

"The dragon came nearer, its head moving low along the ground, side to side, sniffing. Every time it breathed, it scorched a trail of fire across the earth. Its neck was long, graceful, and glittering like gold. Its wings were folded close against its brilliant body, the wing sections shiny and ribbed like fish fins, the fine bones ending in sharp hooks. The long barbed tail was bent, the bones set crookedly, yet it coiled and uncoiled as slowly and smoothly as a snake. All the dragon's movements were smooth, fluid and fascinating, almost spellbinding in their beauty and their deadliness."

Everyone thinks dragons are extinct--until a fierce flying beast swoops upon the village of Doran, leaving it in flames. Young Jude survives only because, on the fatal day, he went to Rokeby to buy himself a new bow and arrows. Homeless, desperate, and wracked with grief and guilt, Jude joins a travelling fair, where he meets a young Chinese girl, caged and displayed as a freak. Jing-wei, in spite of her humiliating plight, is strong-willed, brave and cunning. She has her own plan for hunting the last dragon. But will it work? What if the dragon lands up merely wounded? Can she help Jude conquer his fear in time to save their world from destruction?

It is Jude himself who tells the story, set in 1356. And this is where problems arise. Jude is an ordinary villager (or peasant) and therefore cannot read or write. Sherryl Jordan's solution is to have Jude relate the story to a monk, who writes at his dictation. Unfortunately, this poses another problem. All Jude's greetings and asides to Brother Benedict are included, which tended to jerk me out of the story because, although they do add background flavour and an extra dimension to the story, their presence felt most unnatural in that Benedict simply wouldn't have been able to write fast enough to get everything down, especially since he would be continually having to refill his quill. But in the face of such powerful story-telling, not to mention the sheer beauty of Sherryl Jordan's prose, to complain about this seems like nit-picking.

AHHH! The Dragon!.......2004-05-24

I liked this book a lot! If you don't like medieval books, then DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW ANYMORE! In this book a boy named Jude travels to a town to buy a new bow and arrows. When he's there he sees a circus. When he goes into the tent, He sees a man in armor with a great blade the man claimed it was the blade that hunted the last dragon. Next, was a little footed Chinese woman covered in hair, a freak. She claimed there was still one dragon left. Jude didn't believe in dragons. So, he left the village. When he returned to his village, it was gone. It had been burned to ashes. See what I mean? Isn't this an awesome book?!

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