Retold by Claire SipiIllustrated by Holly Clifton-BrownPublished by ParragonCopyright 2014Modern Fantasy
The bright and colorful illustrations on the book cover really grabbed my attention. I knew that if I found the book irresistible, that my students may do the same. I do consider this story to be a modern fantasy because it provides an escape from reality by bringing life to inanimate objects. The animals are also given human like characteristics. The events which occur in this story are far from realistic. The book follows Dorothy and her new found friends along the yellow brick road. Each of the travelers are in search of something which they believe they need to find happiness. Once reaching their destination, they are all shocked to discover the solution to their problems. What do you think happened?
The illustrator, Holly Clifton-Brown, uses watercolors and pencil drawings to assist the text of this story. The reader can really relate to how the characters are feeling just by analyzing their facial expressions within her illustrations. The emotions and feelings of the characters are greatly exaggerated with Mrs. Brown's expressionistic style of work. She also uses perspective and light by reflecting a different point of view in certain images. Each time a new character is introduced in the story, the illustrator creates the drawing/painting from his or her perspective. The new character appears to be very large with the others standing in the background. Naturally, the reader's attention is drawn to the new character and the reactions of the others.
The illustrator, Holly Clifton-Brown, uses watercolors and pencil drawings to assist the text of this story. The reader can really relate to how the characters are feeling just by analyzing their facial expressions within her illustrations. The emotions and feelings of the characters are greatly exaggerated with Mrs. Brown's expressionistic style of work. She also uses perspective and light by reflecting a different point of view in certain images. Each time a new character is introduced in the story, the illustrator creates the drawing/painting from his or her perspective. The new character appears to be very large with the others standing in the background. Naturally, the reader's attention is drawn to the new character and the reactions of the others.
The Wizard of Oz is not an extremely lengthy story, but the pages do contain a lot of text. With that being said, I would suggest this book for a read aloud lesson in the second and third grade classrooms. The progressive plot in this book would make for a great lesson. The students could actively participate in creating a time line as well as identifying the beginning, middle, end, problem, and solution. The educator could also use this book to introduce a literary term such as moral. The class may work together to develop their own ideas as to what the author wanted to teach them by writing this story. The children should be encouraged to use creativity in their attempt to identify details which support their hypothesis for the moral of the story.
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