Wolf tale timely for young readers

PRESCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN

IS IT TIME? by Marilyn Janovitz, New York: North-South Books, 1994 and 1996 hardcover, 32 pages, $12.95, paperback $5.95.

This bouncy, rhyming story about a father wolf getting his wolf cub ready for bed is one that may actually help to make a parent and child’s nighttime experience quite a pleasant one. Checking his watch often, the father wolf guides his young wolf with questions throughout the story taking him from a nice, bubbly bath to being finally tucked in only after the wolf cub has brushed his “fangs” and given a “howl.”

Colored pencils and watercolors combine to create soft, airy drawings that complement the light rhythm of Marilyn Janovitz’s text. A question-answer format will invite a positive response from the listener or reader. Especially fun will be the “chiming-in” for the howling. If in a creative mood, children and their parents might even create original rhymes particular to their own evening routines using the pattern established in the story. Repetitive lines with a playful spirit will engage pre-readers and beginning readers encouraging their early reading skills.

Is it time to read a book? Yes, it’s time to read this book!

GRADES ONE-THREE

POLAR, THE TITANIC BEAR by Daisy C.S. Spedden, illustrated by Laurie McGaw, Little, 1995, 64 pages, $17.95.

Imagine the excitement of discovery as you look through a relative’s soon to be discarded old trunk and find a true children’s story of the Titanic, a story as experienced by an F.A.O. Schwartz Steiff polar bear! Leighton H. Coleman graciously shares this charming treasure, as he discovered it, adding facts and insights into a long lost era.

Daisy Corning Stone Spidden wrote this short story for her 8-year-old son Douglas as a Christmas present in 1913. It recounts the traveling adventures of young Douglas and his favorite stuffed animal, “Polar.” They sail to Madeira where Douglas gets measles. He is quarantined and Polar suffers the indignity of a disinfectant bath. The pair go sledding at their home in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., and play on the beach at their summer home in Bar Harbor. When the weather once again turns cold they’re off to Algiers. Slowly, they make their way home, stopping at Monte Carlo, Paris, Cannes and finally in Cherbourg, France, where they are to board the new wonder ship the Titanic.

The book is interspersed with actual photos of Douglas with Polar, and the beautiful watercolor illustrations of Laurie McGaw. The epilogue is chock-full of historical facts and photos. This is an exciting read-aloud to hold the interest of young and old. It gives a timeless humanity to history, and Daisy’s love for her only child will reach out through the pages.

GRADES FOUR-SIX

THE WORRY STONE by Marianna Dengler, illustrated by Sibyl Graber Gerig, Rising Moon, 1996, $14.95.

“The Worry Stone” is a delightful story connecting past, present and future generations of storytelling. An elder named Amanda goes to the park every day and spots young Jason sitting quietly by himself, left out of the games. She suspects he is lonely and could use company so she enchants him with her worry stone and stories.

The story Amanda tells Jason was one her grandfather told her when she was young and alone. It made her feel fortunate and special to have a worry stone and she is ready to pass down her story and her stone to Jason.

The beautiful light of the watercolor and pencil illustrations by Sibyl Graber Gerig reflect the wonderfully told tale of Marianna Dengler. The legend of the worry stone was originally passed down from the Chumash Indians who would be pleased that the tale of “The Worry Stone” is being kept alive.

YOUNG ADULTS

ANGELS OF THE SWAMP by Dorothy Raymond Whittaker, Walker and Co., New York, 1992, 209 pages, $18.

During the Great Depression, in the summer of 1932, three young people — 15-year-old Taffy, an orphan, 12-year-old Jody, living with an alcoholic uncle, and 18-year-old Jeff, an unemployed city boy from Tampa — find themselves seeking relief from unsatisfactory home lives by surviving on an island off the west coast of Florida.

The story starts as Taffy is poling a skiff to Crane’s Bog, a familiar, safe haven until the snakes take to the water. There she meets Jody, in his own skiff, battling a badly infected knee. They pair up and pole to Pelican Island, 100 miles away, a place Jody remembers from shellfishing. Jeff enters their lives, finds a way to earn money and brings them closer together.

This book, one in the American History Series for Young People, is steeped in the flora and fauna of the swamps and islands of Florida. It is based largely on the author’s experience as a child on Tampa Bay. In an author’s note she tells of the livelihood of the fishermen during the Depression years. All through the story she weaves these details into an easily read, touching novel for young adults.