Jim LaMarcheRessenyes

A review of a book adaptation by Paul Galdone, part of the Folk Tale Classics series, says it is a “faithful retelling” of the Grimm Brothers tale, with “the art of master storyteller” Paul Galdone, that captures the kindness of the shoemaker and the magic of the elves.

Partially inspired by the author's own childhood experiences, this is a beautiful book about a little boy name Nicky who is sent to spend the summer with his eccentric grandma in the country. What he thinks is going to be the worst summer ever, completely changes one day when he finds an abandoned raft on the river. The illustrations in this book are soft and dreamy and pull in the reader. This would be a great mentor text for character development as the little boy changes throughout the story.

A luminous, lushly illustrated retelling of the classic tale. Needle and thread form a border around the text; the full-bleed art is predominantly warm-toned, even the scenes that take place at night. Of all the Grimm tales, this is one of the cheeriest.

Acrylic washes and colored pencil on watercolor paper.

Nicky isn't happy to be spending his summer with his grandmother in the Wisconsion woods. He'd rather be spending his time in the city with his friends. He hates the woods and the chores that are given to him. One day a raft appears on the river and changes everything. As he expolres the river, the raft works it's magic and opens Nicky up to the wonders around him. He begins to realize the beauty of the things around him including the nature and animals, his grandmother, and his own talent. This book, with it's amazing pictures and beautiful storyline, is a wonderful addition to a classroom and could be used to teach about the importance of nature. In the classroom it could be read around Earth Day.

Adapted from Charles E. Carryl's classic nonsense rhyme, this tale follows a group of children as they set sail on a fantastic voyage on the Walloping Window-Blind. A ship with a highly unusual crew - a hopscotch-playing boatswain, a mad gunner firing cannons into the gale - the Walloping Window-Blind is eventually abandoned, as the fun-loving mariners head ashore on the Gulliby Isles. Here they live, until another ship sails across the Peppermint Sea to pick them up...

Although I hadn't heard of Carryl's poem before picking up this adaptation from picture-book author/illustrator Jim LaMarche, it has apparently been quite popular, since first appearing in 1885. It has been included in a number of children's poetry collections over the years - Burgess Johnson's 1929 A Little Book of Necessary Nonsense, Katherine Love's 1957 A Little Laughter, Louis Untermeyer's 1970 The Golden Book of Fun and Nonsense (illustrated by the Provensons), etc. - and has been recorded as a song numerous times. It has also been given at least four picture-book treatments, that I know of: Paul Galdone's 1963 A Capital Ship; or, The Walloping Window-Blind, Harry Devlin's 1968 The Walloping Window Blind: An Old Nautical Tale, Ted Rand's 1992 The Walloping Window-Blind, and this 1994 version, done by LaMarche.

Leaving that interesting history of transmission aside, I found that I enjoyed The Walloping Window-Blind, appreciating both its rollicking rhyming structure and the silly but entertaining tale that it conveys. LaMarche's accompanying artwork is creative, depicting the seafaring mariners as children, and capturing all of the madcap things they do. I don't know that I liked the illustrations here quite as much as in some of the artist's other titles - it was sometimes a little too dark in tone, preventing me from appreciating the details - but it was still appealing, overall. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy nonsense rhyme, as well as to fellow fans of Jim LaMarche. For my part, I'll have to see if I can track down other retellings of this poem/story, to see how they compare.

Marvelously talented author and illustrator Jim LaMarche turns to man's best friend in this picture-book collection of three dog stories. In Molly we see a young girl and her faithful canine companion head into the woods, after the girl is given a time out by her exasperated mother. When the girl can't find her way home again, Molly steps in to help. In Ginger, a boy and his father go for a hike in the woods with the boy's beloved dog, who goes missing and can't be found. Leaving his jacket for Ginger to sleep on, the boy reluctantly leaves, returning the following day to find his best friend waiting for him. In Yuki, a young boy finds a stray dog, and longs to adopt him, only to be told by his unemployed mother that they can't afford a pet. When Yuki's owner comes to reclaim him, she offers a number of things that the boy and his mother have been needing...

I enjoyed both the stories and the artwork in Lost and Found: Three Dog Stories immensely, finding the former heartwarming and the latter gorgeous. Tales of animals being lost and finding their way home are almost guaranteed to find an appreciative audience with me, but LaMarche's three stories here explore how animals help us, as human beings, both to find and to make our homes. The result is a selection of stories that tug at the heartstrings, and leave the reader with a happy, satisfied feeling at the end. The illustrations, done in acrylic washes and colored pencil, are as lovely as one would expect, given LaMarche's track record. Soft-edged but clear, perfectly capturing the emotional register of each scene, and the changing moods of both people and dogs, these paintings are a joy to peruse. Of course, as a fox lover, my favorite scene was the one in which Molly chases away a fox while her girl is sleeping, but all of the pictures were beautiful. Recommended to young dog lovers, to picture-book readers who enjoy animal stories, and to fellow fans of Jim LaMarche.

Fabulously talented author/artist Jim LaMarche delivers another beautifully-illustrated, sensitively-told tale of childhood in Up, which chronicles the experiences of Daniel, a young boy who wishes he were older. Longing to join his father and older brother on their family's fishing boat, and sick of his nickname, 'Mouse,' Daniel discovers one day that he has a most unusual ability: he can levitate objects just slightly off the ground, or whatever other surface they lay upon. As he practices this secret new skill, Daniel wonders what use it could possibly be, finding the answer when a whale washes up on the beach close to his house, and his father and the other fishermen have no luck dislodging it...

I have enjoyed every book I have read that has been illustrated and/or written by Jim LaMarche, and Up is no different. The story here is engaging and ultimately heartwarming, addressing a common childhood concern - namely, wishing to grow up, and be trusted with more mature tasks - and offering a creative and magical solution, in the form of Daniel's unusual ability. The accompanying artwork, done in acrylic paint and colored pencil, is simply luminous, beautifully capturing the enchantment of Daniel's experiences, and the world around him. Highly recommended

I really enjoyed this book. The story is about a poor family who makes shoes for a living, but they only have once piece of leather left. The shoemaker ends up cutting the last piece of leather and goes to bed. When he woke up, the shoes were made. Night after night, the same thing kept happening and they became rich. However, they did not know who was helping them. One night, they stayed up late and discovered it was elves helping them. To thank them, they made the elves new clothes and shoes and then the elves left. This is a sweet story to read teach the purpose of giving back without wanting something in return. The elves had no idea they would make them clothes, but they helped them anyway. Every story I read that includes elves makes the story that much more magical!

This is a great story to read aloud to students during the holidays.

Nicky has to live with his grandma for the summer because his father has to work. This is something that Nicky is not looking forward to at all. Grandma doesn't even have a tv. What will he do? He would be bored for sure. Or maybe not, as Nicky soon finds out. Grandma proudly calls herself a river rat, someone who lives with nature and all the wonderful creatures in it. Nicky finds a raft down by the creek. That raft becomes an invitation to all kinds of critters. Raccoons. Deer. Cranes. Turtles. Crayfish. It's as if these creatures are meeting Nicky for the first time, but not the raft. The more Nicky becomes one with nature, the more he forgets about that tv. He, too, is becoming a river rat.½

The family is a poor shoe making family. They had only one pair left to make, but over night the shoes were finished they couldn't figure out how. Every time they leave the leather out for the shoes someone finishes them over night. They become rich, but they want to find out who is helping them. They eventually find elves making their shoes. The shoemakers wanted to pay them back so they made them clothes and shoes. They never did see them again. But the book gave a great message the message was about getting things and then giving back.

I enjoyed this book because of the illustrations and characters. This story is about the shoemaker and his wife, they were poor, and they only had enough leather left to make one pair of shoes. Once he cut the leather, he went to bed. When he woke up the shoes were made just right, and he sold them twice the money. As the nights keep passing by, the shoemaker and his wife became rich. They stayed up to eventually find out who's making the shoes. They discovered it was two elves who were in tattered clothes. The shoemaker and wife wanted to thank them, so they made new clothes and shoes for the elves. The elves were excited and never returned. This is a great fairy tale to read to children.

When I think of a folklore book this is somewhat the type of book I think of. It contains one of the main elements of folklore, magic. The book opens with talk about spells and it is later found that the shoes were made by elves. The story is not too long and the language is simple so I think this book will be good for younger audiences. What the shoemaker does for the elves can show children to give and thank people when someone helps them.

Jim LaMarche is another favorite illustrator. He is particularly great at rendering emotions on the faces he paints.

In this tale, a father and brother believe that Daniel is too small to go onboard the boat. One day he discovers a surprising talent. He can lift items upward when he concentrates on this task. As his special skill grew stronger, one day he and his mother watch as a whale is beached on shore.

Daniel moved the whale to it's side, concentrated and looked into the whale's eyes. By concentrating, and peacefully believing he can help the whale, he is successful. Slowly, the whale moved deeper into the water. Both Daniel and the whale were successful in making this major event occur.

With this amazing feat, Daniel's brother and father now believed he was big enough to go out on the boat with them.

I enjoyed this read for a multiple of reasons. This book has wonderful illustration, character and theme. The illustrations in this book were made from colored pencil and appeared realistic. The colors chosen by the author made each page unique and engaging. The characters in this book were distinctive in their portrayal. The author did a great job in making the characters believable. The theme of this story is a great message for readers of all ages.

The story of the elves helping a poor family and then the poor family giving help in return was the sweetest thing. I can see why people would tell this story. It teaches children to be kind and to give to those who need it most. It sort of follows the golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". It teaches that you should always treat others with respect and kindness. The elves helped the old shoemaker and his wife even though they didn't have anything and they did not expect anything in return. Once the old shoemaker and his wife had money they thanked the elves with clothing and shoes of their own. The story is sweet and the illustrations in the book are beautiful and just fantastic.

I liked a number of things about The Raft. An often overlooked point is that Nicky’s dad was a working and most likely single parent. Spending the summer with his grandmother was not about his father wanting him to have the experience, it was a necessity. Next, I feel as though this book showed what many of us know: being miserable is a choice. At the beginning of the book Nicky does not want to enjoy his time at his grandmother’s river house and purposefully chooses not to do tasks as she instructs him. When things don’t work out he calls fault to his grandmother and the situation, not his own actions. When Nicky sees that he is somewhere special that has so much to offer him if he will look for it, he experiences growth not only as a person, but in his relationship with his grandmother. While I feel that this book had some nice points to it, overall this did not feel like a book I would reach for with my students for a few reasons: the pacing was slow and made it hard to stay engaged, the story felt like it had been done before, and the character growth seemed really abrupt.

"The Raft" by Jim LaMarche is a story of a boy who is forced to spent the summer with his Grandmother. He is unhappy but soon learns that with nature and imagination there's a lot he can do. I loved to see Nicky connect with nature and his grandmother through the author's dialogue. Additionally, with the use of inner dialogue we see a growing love for nature and understanding as the boy adventures down the river on his raft.

Reading Level: 2-4

A wonderful retelling of the Bros Grimm fairy tale with kindness as the main theme. Wonderfully rich illustrations.1

A great book about a boy and how he envisions he little oasis he calls the pond and does it all through the seasons.

When Matt finds a tiny stream bubbling up out of the ground in the old dirt pit near his home, he has an idea: why not clean up the area, and turn it into a pond? Enlisting his sister Katie and best friend Pablo's help, that's just what he does, and the three children end up enjoying the beauty of their creations throughout the four seasons. The local animals also enjoy the new pond...

Apparently based upon an incident from author/artist Jim LaMarche's childhood, Pond is a lovely picture-book exploration of the beauty of the natural world, and the importance of being responsible stewards of that world. Like The Raft, another of LaMarche's picture-book creations that I have read and enjoyed, the story here emphasizes the importance of outdoor play for young people, and features absolutely gorgeous illustrations. It also imparts an important lesson about the power children have to positively impact the world around them. Recommended to all young nature lovers, to anyone who enjoys beautiful picture-book art, and to LaMarche fans.

This version of The Elves and the Shoemaker is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm story retold and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. Jim LaMarche decided to keep the original setting of the tale which was set in Germany. In the story, a very poor shoemaker and his wife only had enough leather for one pair of shoes. After cutting out the leather the shoemaker and his wife went to bed. When they woke the next morning the leather from the night before had been sewn into shoes. A customer loves the shoes so much he pays double the price. This allows the shoemaker to purchase more leather and the same thing happens over and over again. Soon the shoemaker and his wife are no longer rich and they decide to find out who has been making the wonderful shoes for them. they discover that two little elves are making the shoes for them. In return for their hard work and kindness, the shoemaker and his wife make the elves clothes. The elves are excited about their clothes and they skip away from the shop singing.

This magical fairy tale is all about kindness. Unlike most fairy tales that depict a battle between good and evil, this fairy tale has no evil deeds. Two people in need are helped by elves who expect nothing in return. This is a great lesson about how kind acts can make a difference in someone's life and it isn't necessary for the person to know who performed the kind act. It's a lesson that children easily pick up. My ten-year-old said, "the book teaches you to help other people even if you need help yourself." This is something I didn't think of when I read it. If the elves know how to sew shoes they could have easily stolen the first pieces of leather and made their own clothes.

kids clean out an area, and an old pond is reborn. wildlife return; kids play½

The Shoemaker and his wife were very poor. He only had enough leather to make one more pair of shoes. That night he cut out the leather for the pair of shoes he would make the next day. In the morning a perfect pair of shoes was made from the leather. The shoemaker had no clue who had done it. Each night the shoemaker cut out leather, and each morning pairs of shoes were waiting on the worktable. The shoemaker and his wife were no longer poor, but did not know who to thank. One night the shoemaker and his wife waited up to see elves had been making the shoes. They then left the lives thank you gifts, warm clothes and shoes. The elves were ecstatic, but no longer needed to be cobblers. The shoemaker and his wife lived happy lives from then on.
The style of writing is quite easy to follow. The way the story is written on each page builds suspense. The illustrations aid the story in being able to show what the author is describing about the shoes, the elves, etc. The story relays the message that good things come to those who continue to work hard and have hope.

Realistic Fiction. I would use this book in my classroom to differentiate between fiction and realistic fiction, and also for setting identification, character identification, and vocabulary development.