WWRW - Barbara McClintock

Aunt Pitty Patty's Piggy, The Tale Of Tricky Fox, and  The Gingerbread Man  are three well-loved books that have been in our home for many years.  I've written about these adaptations by Jim Aylesworth and illustrated by the fabulously talented Barbara McClintock before.

Recently, Patrick overheard me saying to Jill, "Come closer and speak louder," which everyone should recognize as the line the fox uses to get the gingerbread man close enough to eat..."with a snap and a snick, and a lap and a lick, the gingerbread man was gone!"

Jill recognized the quote and immediately took off, "Run, run as fast you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

These are longer stories, for an older toddler or pre-schooler.  Jill loves the stories with their repetition, I relish the beautiful pictures.

We recently discovered some books that Barbara McClintock has written and illustrated all by her-own-self.

Adèle & Simon and Adèle & Simon in America both have the same plot.  Older sister Adele warns younger brother Simon not to lose his many belongings.  Boys will be boys, and while stopping at various Parisian events, Simon manages to lose every single thing. The same thing happens in America, when Adele and Simon travel by train with Aunt Cecile throughout America circa Teddy Roosevelt.

While I did not appreciate Adele's complete lack of patience and understanding as she chides Simon on every single page, I do appreciate the incredibly detailed Parisian street scenes and the American vistas.

IF you have Very Sharp Eyes, You might find Simon's things before they get returned to him at the end of each story.

Barbara McClintock has also written a charming re-telling of Cinderella.  In this version of the tale, the older stepsister is especially mean and takes to calling Cinderella, Cinderbottom, which I have to say I have called Jill a time or two lately.  When I play the role of evil stepsister or stepmother, and threaten her with the ball, she is far more likely to clean up her messes.

McClintock sets her version of Cinderella in France during the reign of King Louis XIV (a fact that I gathered from a savvy review on Goodreads), and the sets and costumes are simply exquisite.

Dahlia , Animal Fables from Aesop, Goldilocks And The Three Bears, and Our Abe Lincoln are McClintock treasures that we have yet to explore.  Today we are heading to that place of wonder and marvel, the library, and hope to get our hands on a few of them.

Too many picture books in this post?   Check out my review of I, Emma Freke from Monday.  And be sure to check out all of the other well-read bloggers links below!

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