Children's Fiction Country & Ethnic
It's Not about the Crumbs!
Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales
- Publisher
- Tundra
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2010
- Category
- Country & Ethnic, Beginner, General
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780887769535
- Publish Date
- Oct 2010
- List Price
- $8.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 5 to 8
- Grade: k to 3
Description
Here are five first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story along with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun. The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story: Little Red Riding Hood in It's Not About the Hunter!, Beauty and the Beast in It's Not About the Rose!, Snow White in It's Not About the Apple!, Cinderella in It's Not About the Pumpkin!, and Hansel and Gretel in It's Not About the Crumbs! As one friend starts, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.
Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales is a great first step in developing a lifelong love of reading, and it makes a fine companion to Veronika Martenova Charles's series, Easy-To-Read Spooky Tales.
About the authors
Veronika Martenova Charles grew up in a Prague, Czechoslovakia. When her grandmother put a stop to her drawing classes, she became a singer instead. After her dramatic arrival in Canada, she studied art at university and became an award-winning author and illustrator. Her books include Maiden of the Mist, The Birdman, and her series for beginning readers: Easy-To-Read Spooky Tales and Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales. Veronica is currently researching the future of children's storytelling in doctoral studies. She lives in Toronto.
Veronika Martenova Charles' profile page
Phyllis Root is the author of BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD and many other award-winning books for children. She says, " Aunt Nancy is my grandmothers and aunts — women who never let the world get the better of them — all rolled into one." She lives in Minneapolis.
David Parkins has illustrated numerous books for children, including WEBSTER J. DUCK by Martin Waddell and Egyptian Diary by Richard Platt. He lives in Lincoln, England. C
Librarian Reviews
It’s Not About the Crumbs! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales)
Author Veronika Martenova Charles scored a hit with her Easyto- Read Spooky Tales series featuring cautionary folk tales from around the world (Don’t Open the Door!, Don’t Go Near the Water! and more). Her new series of Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales promises to be equally satisfying for the learning-to-read crowd. It’s Not About the Crumbs! is one of the first five titles in the series.In each of the Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales, three modern-day children encounter a situation that reminds them of a well-known tale. This prompts them to tell three stories of their own, taken from cultures around the world. It’s Not About the Crumbs! features three Hansel and Gretel type of stories, where children outsmart a witch or ogre who is planning to eat them. “The Children in the Woods” comes from the European tradition; “Zahra and Binti” has its roots in a Sudanese story and “The Ogre” is based on a Japanese tale.
Martenova Charles seamlessly weaves the three stories in with the framing text, producing a fun and highly accessible read for youngsters. The black and white illustrations by David Parkins are lively, expressive and just spooky enough to give a few delightful shivers to the audience that knows the stories will turn out fine. (Martenova Charles has also worked with children in schools to use folk tales and create their own and educators will find a valuable resource in her adult book Fairy Tales in the Classroom: Teaching Students to Write Stories with Meaning Through Traditional Tales with a foreword by Betsy Hearne.)
The other four titles in the Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales series are: It’s Not About the Pumpkin! (based on Cinderella stories, naturally); It’s Not About the Hunter! (Red Riding Hood); It’s Not About the Apple! (Snow White) and It’s Not About the Rose! (Sleeping Beauty). The layout of the books is appealing; the type is large enough for young readers (using serif for the folk tales and sans serif for the framing story). Bravo to Veronika Martenova Charles and David Parkins for another fine series!
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Winter 2011. Volume 34 No. 1.
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It's Not about the Hunter!
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It's Not about the Rose!
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It's Not about the Pumpkin!
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It's Not about the Apple!
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