changes the animals undergo are brought
to life through these stunning photographs.
The transformation of summer’s dappled
fawn to winter’s mature deer is really
endearing. Even the squirrel approves:
“Nicely done! You are prepared! You’re
almost as plump as me.” First Snow in the
Woods is a delightful book to add to your
collection. (. . .)
Product review by Kate Kessler,
Product Reviews Manager
Shakespeare’s Storybook:
Folk Tales That Inspired
the Bard
Written by Patrick Ryan
Barefoot Books
www.BarefootBooks.com
1-617-576-0660
Begin a story with “Once upon a time . . .”
and watch your children’s eyes widen. A
simple tale told in an intriguing manner
can easily captivate even the most
apathetic audiences. Several such stories
have been told and reinvented from century
to century and in many different cultures
throughout the world. Even the masterful
stories of William Shakespeare are tales
gathered from many different sources and
retold in the rich language and poetry for
which he has become famous, a language
sometimes inaccessible to very young
minds. Yet, one might be surprised to see
the similarities between Shakespeare’s As
You Like It and the children’s fairly tale,
Snow White.
Professional storyteller Patrick Ryan,
desiring to find the sources behind many of
William Shakespeare’s plays, searched out
stories from old books, visited libraries,
and even read original books printed in
Shakespeare’s time. He discovered that
Shakespeare’s plays seemed to be related
to old stories that had many different
versions. Ryan chose bits and pieces of
stories that suited him and reinvented
seven of the bard’s famous plays in accessible language that is suited for children.
In The Devil’s Bet ( The Taming of the
Shrew), beautiful Nora is grumpy, lazy,
and quarrelsome. Taken by her beauty, a
young woodsman decides he will civilize
her and make her his wife. His cunning
allows him to win her hand in marriage,
but he has to work hard to win her heart.
With the help of Nicky Nicky Nye, a water
devil, and the woodsman’s reminder to
Nora that “soft words and a gentle touch
win more than harsh words and mean
tricks,” the grumpy maiden is tamed and
the two live happily ever after.
The Hill of Roses is Ryan’s version of
Romeo and Juliet. On either side of a hill
covered with roses are two villages whose
residents are sworn enemies. Julietta must
combat her brother, Tibbot, when he
discovers she has fallen in love with
Romeus, a young man from the enemy’s
village. There are battles, magic potions,
feigned deaths, and, ultimately the true
deaths of each of the lovers because of the
enmity between the two families. This
great tragedy causes the villagers to eventually make peace. They plant flowers on
the hill to remind themselves of the cost of
hatred. (. . .)
Snowdrop (As You Like It) reminds the
reader immediately of Snow White, except
in this tale it is a wicked, usurping king
who tries to destroy the beautiful and innocent young maiden. When the king finds
that Snowdrop has found refuge in the
forest with a pack of thieves, he makes
several attempts on her life (even with a
poisonous apple!) until he finally
succeeds. Thinking her too beautiful to
bury, her friends place her in a glass coffin.
When the king sees his son adoring the
seemingly dead maiden whom he has loved
since childhood, the king pushes the coffin
out of his son’s hands in a rage, the jolting
action causes the poisoned piece of apple
to fall from Snowdrop’s mouth, and the
princess is awakened. The son punishes the
king, marries Snowdrop, and the two, obviously, live happily ever after. (. . .)
This work is a very natural piece to add
to any homeschool. In addition to the timeless tales; the quality, detailed artwork; and
the lines from Shakespeare’s plays written
throughout the margins, each story is introduced by a summary of the Shakespearean
play from which it is borrowed. The ambi-
tious teacher will find the original sources
for Patrick Ryan’s stories listed in the bibliography. What a wonderful way to introduce
little ears to tales written by the renowned
poet and playwright, to give them the
groundwork to eventually hear the “real
thing.” (. . .)
Product Review by Tammy Walker
How to Teach Art to
Children
Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
www.evan-moor.com
1-800-777-4362
This inviting, full-color book for grades
one through six is divided into two parts:
“Learning About the Elements of Art” and
“Using the Elements of Art.” In the first
part, students learn about the seven
elements of art (line, shape, color, value,
texture, form, and space) by creating art
projects that focus on each particular
element. The book gives a variety of great
ideas for exploring each element, and all
projects are suitable for homeschoolers.
Projects use basic art supplies, such as
colored pencils, markers, tempera paints,
construction paper, scissors, glue, and
clay—most of which I already had lying
around my house. Some projects also
require photocopied pages, such as a
project in which students create their own
tertiary color wheels. Each project is illustrated both in progress and in its completed
form, so that students have examples to
imitate.
The second part of the book focuses on
different artists and styles of art that represent a variety of cultures. Altogether, there
are twenty-four art projects in this section.
Students learn about an artist or culture
and then use the elements of art that they
learned about in the first part of the book
to create their own artwork in a similar
