[BOOK REVIEW] One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes

Title:  One Hundred Hungry Ants

Author:  Elinor J. Pinczes

Artist:  Bonnie MacKain

Genre: Food / Animals / Counting / Humor

Year Published: 1993

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many children’s books that help children deal with solving math problems by presenting the concept in a creative and fun way.  But, I will admit that I have not read any math book quite like this one!  “One Hundred Hungry Ants” is a children’s book written by Elinor J. Pinczes along with illustrations by Bonnie MacKain that deals with solving division math problems and it is an excellent way to help children solve division problems in a fun and creative way!

The book starts off with one hundred hungry ants heading towards a picnic site, determined to fill their stomachs with the delicious food ahead of them.  But, then the smallest ant kept asking the other ninety-nine ants to divide into several groups of one hundred such as dividing into two lines of fifty and four lines of twenty-five, while delaying their time in getting to the picnic site.

Will the one hundred ants make it to the picnic in time?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! Such a simple and innocent picture book and yet one that packs so much humor and clever rhyming schemes that I was totally blown away by this book! Elinor J. Pinczes’ writing is extremely creative and hilarious to read as I was laughing my head off with the small ant’s determination to help make the group of ants move much faster to get to the picnic area.  I really loved the many different ways that the ants formed up into groups such as being into two lines of fifty or four lines of twenty-five as it makes it easier for smaller children to understand how to do division and it is also creative enough for children to participate in the fun of the ants’ determination to get to the picnic area.  Bonnie MacKain’s artwork is creative and hilarious to look at as the artwork is scratchy and yet all of the ants (and the other animals) look so cute on each page.  I especially loved the images of the other animals taking the food away from the picnic while the ants were too busy trying to organize themselves in lines to really notice this and it makes me laugh and feel a little sorry for the ants at the same time!

Overall, “One Hundred Hungry Ants” is a brilliant book that teaches children how to have fun with doing division problems and is hilarious enough to keep many children entertained for years!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Artist and the Architect by Demi

Title:  The Artist and the Architect

Author:  Demi

Genre: China / Rivalry / Trickery

Year Published: 1991

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 

I have read many books by Demi and I always loved the fact that Demi is always exploring different cultures with her works.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon another one of Demi’s works called “The Artist and the Architect,” which is a tale that takes place in China.  Man, did I end up enjoying this mesmerizing tale of deceit and cunning!

In Ancient China, there lived a wise and fair Emperor who had two experienced men, an architect and an artist who would create various buildings and artwork for the Emperor. Unfortunately, the artist was always jealous of the architect and he decided to plot the demise of the architect.  The artist then tells the Emperor about how the Emperor’s deceased father wanted an architect to build him a palace in Heaven and in order to do that, they must gather a large pile of wood and set it on fire with the architect standing in the middle of the fire until he rises up to Heaven.

I have always loved reading folktales from different countries, especially China and I was so delighted in finding another folktale from China retold by none other than Demi!  I loved the way that Demi retold this tale as it was full of drama and magical elements at the same time!   I was amazed at the fact that this is a tale about the artist deceiving the Emperor in order to get rid of the architect, which is a subject that I find so common in many folktales where the main antagonist wishes to get rid of the protagonist through any means possible and that is what made this story so interesting to read!  I also loved the Chinese influence of this tale as it made this story even more exotic in tone and I have always enjoyed checking out folktales from different countries!  But, probably the best part of this entire book was Demi’s illustrations as they were truly beautiful and creative to look at!  I loved the way that Demi drew the palaces in China as they look so beautiful and I also loved the clothing worn by the Emperor and his subjects as they truly look so distinguished!

The only problem I had with this book was that the ending seemed a bit too ambiguous, since I was not able to figure out what became of the artist at the end of the book.

SPOILER ALERT!

The only thing I gathered from the ending of the book was this little proverb that was mentioned:

“The small man harbors an envious spirit; the great man rejoices in the talents of others.”

It is sort of unknown if the architect forgave the artist for his deceit or not, although it looked like they were making up at the end, judging by the image of them shaking hands.

SPOILER ENDED!

Overall, “The Artist and the Architect” is a fantastic folktale from China that fans of Chinese folklore would enjoy immensely!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the book might be too complex for some smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] Rumpelstiltskin by Paul Galdone

Title:  Rumpelstiltskin

Author:  Paul Galdone

Genre: Fairy Tale / Fantasy / Cult Classic

Year Published: 1985

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Clarion Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Threat of Child Kidnapping)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

There have been so many different versions of the legendary Brothers Grimm tale, “Rumpelstiltskin” that I was surprised to find another version of this tale, even though I already know the story by now!  But, Paul Galdone’s version of the classic Brothers Grimm tale is definitely something worth checking out!

The story begins with a poor miller telling the king of the land that his beautiful daughter can spin straw into gold. The king then decides to take in the miller’s daughter to his castle and ordered her to spin straw into gold for him or else, she will die.  The miller’s daughter, who had no clue how to spin straw into gold, started crying when suddenly a small man came in and told the miller’s daughter that he will help her spin straw into gold as long as she gives him something. So, afterwards, once the miller’s daughter gave everything to the little man when the king made her spin even more straw into gold, she ended up promising the little old man her first born child.  After the little old man finished spinning the straw into gold, the king decided to marry the miller’s daughter and she ended up giving birth to a baby girl.  But suddenly, the little old man popped up and demanded the queen to give her baby to him.  But, the queen refused, so the little old man decided to give the queen three days to guess what his name is so that she could keep her child.

I have read many versions of “Rumpelstiltskin” and even though I already know the main gist of the story by this point, Paul Galdone’s version of the classic Brothers Grimm tale continues to renew my interest in this fairy tale!  As usual, I have always enjoyed the classic fairy tale story “Rumpelstiltskin” and it was amazing reading another version of the classic Brothers Grimm and still enjoying this story for its intense story line and magical elements.  Now, because everyone already knows the story of “Rumpelstiltskin,” I would like to talk more about what I loved about Paul Galdone’s artwork for this story.  I loved Paul Galdone’s artwork in this book as the characters look realistic and I also loved the scratchy feel of the artwork as it fits perfectly with the intense nature of this story.  I also loved the image of Rumpelstiltskin himself as he is shown to be a short, old looking man who wears medieval clothing such as a blue blouse with yellow and red striped pants and a brown cape and it makes him fit the role of the medieval times extremely well.  I also loved the image of the miller’s daughter herself as she is truly beautiful with her long wavy blond hair and blue eyes, although I did have a problem with the miller’s daughter having dark circles under her eyes since it made her look a bit unhealthy from where I stand.

The only problem that I had with this book (and with the story in general) is that it deals with the possibility of a child being taken away from their parents because of a promise they made years ago.  This is often an issue that would worry most parents since it would involve their children possibly being taken away from them without warning sometimes and parents might want to tread with caution when reading this book to their children.

Overall, Paul Galdone’s version of “Rumpelstiltskin” is definitely one book to check out if you are a huge fan of the classic fairy tale and if you are a fan of Paul Galdone’s works in general.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the theme of child kidnapping might upset some smaller children.