Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Written by: Randall Jarrell
Published by: Collins Publisher 1987
Illustrated by: Nancy Ekholm
Grades 1-3
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book
Written by: Randall Jarrell
Published by: Collins Publisher 1987
Illustrated by: Nancy Ekholm
Grades 1-3
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book
Synopsis: This fantasy book tells the story of Snow-White, the most fairest of them all. After escaping her wicked step-mother, the Queen, she lived with the seven dwarfs in their tiny house. She was tricked three times by the Queen who was trying to kill her. The last time with an apple that put her in a deep sleep. The prince came along and saved Snow-White and they lived happily ever after.
Theme/Skill: It talks about family, strangers, friendship, royalty, work, and revenge. It can focus on the skills of sequencing, main idea and details, cause and effect.
About the Author: Randall Jarrell
Randall was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1914. He attended Vanderbilt University and received both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from there.Jarrell met and married Mackie Langham, a colleague, at the University of Texas.His first poem written was published in 1942 entitled Blood for a Stranger.After enlisting in the Army Air Corps that same year during World War II, he soon left and served as a technical sergeant teaching celestial navigation in the army. With a lot of inspiration from the army, he published a book in 1945 entitled, Little Friend, Little Friend.After the war he went to New York, where he was an acting literary editor of The Nation. He also taught at Sarah Lawrence and later Woman’s Collage also now known as UNC-Greensboro. Randall died in 1965. He is known as renown poet, critic, and author.
Source used: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/9
Pre-Reading Activities: Bring in apples for all the children to eat. Ask questions such as: Why would you eat this apple that I gave you? Would you eat this apple if a person that you didn’t know gave it to you? Explain to the class about strangers, who they are, and rules to abide by if they are approached by a stranger.
Post-Reading Activities: Following reading the book, ask questions such as: How was Snow-White’s step-mother like a stranger in the book? What should you have done if you were Snow-White and were approached by a strange old lady? Then as a class they will come up with a contract of what they are to do if they are in the presence of a stranger. The teacher will read over the contract and then one at a time each child will come up and sign their names. This can then be hung up in the classroom for all to see.
Reflection: I love the story of Snow-White. However, this version of Snow-White does not make it child friendly with the numerous amount of wording on each page. If a child was reading this on their own they would have to be very fluent and have a wide ranged vocabulary. The picture book is very lengthy and I think many kids would become disinterested in the story if it was read all at one time. I think to read it effectively would be during snack time and a few pages a day to keep the kids wanting more. I also think that this version may be outdated to use in the classroom, and that the movie would serve a better purpose that would probably get the kids more engaged.
Post-Reading Activities: Following reading the book, ask questions such as: How was Snow-White’s step-mother like a stranger in the book? What should you have done if you were Snow-White and were approached by a strange old lady? Then as a class they will come up with a contract of what they are to do if they are in the presence of a stranger. The teacher will read over the contract and then one at a time each child will come up and sign their names. This can then be hung up in the classroom for all to see.
Reflection: I love the story of Snow-White. However, this version of Snow-White does not make it child friendly with the numerous amount of wording on each page. If a child was reading this on their own they would have to be very fluent and have a wide ranged vocabulary. The picture book is very lengthy and I think many kids would become disinterested in the story if it was read all at one time. I think to read it effectively would be during snack time and a few pages a day to keep the kids wanting more. I also think that this version may be outdated to use in the classroom, and that the movie would serve a better purpose that would probably get the kids more engaged.
I absolutely love Snow White and it is so interesting that so many authors are able to rework this fairy tale as well as so many others. Sometimes it does bother me that authors turn these children's stories into something dark but perhaps this is for our more mature students? Or middle level English teachers could use this familiar text to assist students to dive deeper into character analysis? Good job!
ReplyDeleteYes I think you are right. I think that it is probably intended for more mature students to look at the Classic Snow White in a different way from what they already know. It would be great for older students to do either the character analysis or a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the versions. Thanks!
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