Tricksters: Traditional and Contemporary

Annotated Bibliography

Cover Image	Age of Audience	Country of Origin	Story Information
	Kindergarten thru 3rd Grade	France Traditional	Brown, Marcia (1947) Stone Soup, New York: Atheneum Books ISBN 0684922967 Three soldiers came marching down the road towards a French village. The peasants seeing them coming, suddenly became very busy, and hide all their food under their mattresses or in  the lofts of their barns. A battle of wits begins, with the soldiers outwitting the villagers. Stone soup? Why, of course, they could make a wonderful soup of stones...but, of course, one must add a carrot or two...some meat...so it went. If time permits, children love to make their own stone soup with each child contributing a carrot, potato or two.
	First thru 4th Grade	United States Contemporary	Kelly, John (2004) Mystery at Eatum Hall, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press ISBN  0763625949 John Kelly serves up a gem of a trickster gets tricked book. Horace and Glenda Pork-Fowler, a portly porker and his delectable goose wife, get an invitation to a weekend of gourmet dining at the manor of "Dr. Hunter". Upon arriving, the couple discovers a note explaining that Dr. Hunter has been called away. He instructs them to eat freely, and on Sunday he intends to "meat [them] personally" (a misspelling that may have something to do with the gigantic pie-maker disguised as a jolly bandstand on the back lawn). While we never see Dr. Hunter 'til the end, we get glimpses in silhouette of a long nose and sharp teeth in the corner. There is a twist to the ending that will have the whole family howling!
	Kindergarten thru 4th Grade	Peru Bolivia Traditional	Knutson, Barbara (2004) Love and Roast Chicken, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books ISBN 1575056577 Cuy is a clever guinea pig. He manages to escape 3 times from a hungry fox, Tío Antonio. In their last encounter, Cuy, trapped by a sticky doll and tied to a tree by a farmer, talks Tío Antonio into switching places with him. The sticky doll is reminscent of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby recorded by Uncle Remus. Knutson includes a simple map of the region, an explanation of a trickster tale, and several sources for the story. A glossary provides a pronunciation guide for the Spanish and Quechua words incorporated into the text which is very helpful for a teller. This makes a lively story to tell. Knutson's boldly outlined, vibrant woodcut and watercolor artwork captures the mischievous nature of the guinea pig and you can see why they are used by art teachers to teach how to do woodcut art.
	Pre-School thru 2nd Grade	Africa Traditional	Lester, Julius (1996), Sam and the Tigers New York: Dial Books ISBN 0803720289 "I write because the lives of all of us are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details." Lester writes these words to show that we are the same under the skin. He struggled with the retelling of Little Black Sambo, the most challenged book in children's publishing. Lester did a fine job of removing of the offending names, by naming everyone Sam. It lends a truly comical air that children will be delighted with. While this book lends itself well in storytelling, readers of the book will be delighted to see the hidden pictures in Jerry Pinckney's exquisite illustrations.
	First thru 3rd Grade	United States Traditional Rural South	Mc Kissack, Patricia (1986) Flossie and the Fox, New York: Dial Books ISBN 0803702507 As Mrs. Mc Kissack states in her author's note at the beginning of the book, "Long before I became a writer, I was a listener." Mrs. Mc Kissack is an excellent listener. She gathered this story at the knee of her grandfather. Grandfather loved to tell the tales of lil' Flossie Finley and Patricia's favorite is Flossie and the Fox. Big Mama sends Flossie on an errand to bring a basket of eggs to Miz Viola. She warns her to watch out for the fox, since he loves eggs. Flossie asks what Fox looks like and Big Mama answers "a fox be just a fox". Of course, Flossie runs into the fox and through a series of clever exchanges where she refuses to acknowledge him as a fox. This tale is useful with or without the books, since your audience will know the animals that Flossie mistakes for a fox. For a small audience, the book provides the lush illustrations by Rachel Isadora.
	Pre-School thru 2nd Grade	Africa Limba Traditional	MacDonald, Margaret Read (2001) Mabela the Clever, Illinois, Albert Whitman, ISBN 0807549029 MacDonald's retelling of this Limba tale is perfect for storytime success. The children can identify with the silly mice who are being hunted by one clever cat. The mice are invited to joing the "Secret Cat Society". Thankfully, the youngest mouse, Mabela, remembers her father's advice for survival when she is away from her home and saves her friends and turns the tables on the wily cat. The story contains a catchy song that McDonald has made up so you can invite the audience to join you. MacDonald also suggests a Mabela game in the front of the book.
	First thru Fourth Grade	Mexico Traditional	Morales, Yuyi (2003) Just a Minute, California, Chronicle Books, ISBN 0811837580 Death, Señor Calvera (Mr. Skull), knocks on Grandma Beetle's door.  "Just a minute," she sweetly explains. "I have just one house to sweep." So begins Señor Calvera's long day as he patiently waits, counting off each of Grandma's chores in English and Spanish as they pile up. The books ends up in a birthday party for Grandma with her 9 grandkids. Señor Calvera is delighted to be included among the guests and leaves without Grandma at the end of the book. Great story to tell with the children and have them mimic the chores Grandma has to accomplish: sweeping, boiling tea, pounding corn, fruit to slice, cheese to melt, food to cook, piñatas to fill, tables to set,  and children to hug.
	Kindergarten thru 3rd Grade	United States Contemporary	Palatini, Margie (2003) Bad Boys, New York: Katherine Tegen Books  ISBN 006000102X Willy and Wally, a couple of bad wolf brothers, are running away from an angry gal in a red cape and 3 little pigs. They hide among a flock of sheep, thinking they'll have a big lunch. The tables are turned on them by the sheep who see through the disguises right away. The wolves end up with a bad haircut, and run away in the underwear. Adults will love the puns like Meryl Sheep.
	Pre-School thru Grade 3	United States Contemporary	Palatini, Margie (1995) Piggie Pie, New York: Clarion Books ISBN 0395716918 Gritch the witch flies to Old McDonald's Farm to get 8 pigs to make piggie pie. The pigs trick the witch by putting on other animal disguises and making barnyard noises. They wear out the witch and at the end the big bad wolf advises Gritch to give up the hunt for the pigs. She invites wolf home for lunch and pictures wolf on a bun, at the same time wolf is imaging a witch sandwich. Younger children will enjoy the the familiar Old McDonald story format while the older children will delight in the pigs outwitting the witch and escaping being lunch. Adults sharing the story with children will find subtle references in the illustrations to tickle their funny bone as well, such as the reference to Yazgur's farm in the Yellow Pages that Gritch searches for her piggie pie ingredients.
	Pre-School thru Grade 2	South Africa Traditional	Seeger, Pete (1963) Abiyoyo, New York: Simon & Schuster ISBN 0027814904 Abiyoyo Returns (2001) ISBN 0689832710 A ukulele-playing boy and his magician father are always getting into trouble, so the town sends them to live at the edge of town. They have a chance to redeem themselves when the town is going to be attacked by Abiyoyo, a giant who is very hungry. The villagers panic as the giant approaches and they see him popping sheep and cows into his mouth as a snack. The boy and his father save the town when the boy plays his ukulele for the giant and he begins to dance. The giant soon runs out of breath and falls to the ground giving father the opportunity to make the giant disappear. While Abiyoyo presented as a lullaby, I remember the song as a lively, rambunctious tune and it delights the children to stand up and dance like the giant while others play the parts of the magician and musician. In the sequel, the townspeople have cut down the trees creating an erosion problem, with seasonal flooding and drought. They ask the magician to bring Abiyoyo back to help them build a dam to protect their land. Abiyoyo is reconjured, moves the boulders to build the dam but when they try to trick the giant by making him dance again, the magician's wand is broken and they must learn to live with Abiyoyo and Abiyoyo must learn to live peacefully with them. The sequel will work with older children who understand the ecological concerns of having trees, fresh water and problems of erosion.
	Pre-School thru Grade 2	United States Contemporary	Steig, William (1990) Doctor De Soto, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux ISBN 0374418101 Doctor De Soto is a mouse-dentist who runs his practice with his assistant-wife. The De Sotos are friendly and professional toward all their patients. The exception is "cats and other dangerous animals", clearly stated on the sign outside his office. Dr. De Soto and his wife are sympathetic though when a fox turns up with a rotted tooth. The fox behaves himself while Dr. De Soto is in his mouth, but has mischief on his mind when he returns the next day to get his replacement gold tooth. He has mouse-flavored snacks on his mind. Luckily, Doctor De Soto and his wife have anticipated such despicable canine intentions, and find a way to outfox the ungrateful fox.
	Pre-School thru Grade 2	United States Contemporary	Stevenson, James (1998) Mud Flat April Fool, New York: Greenwillow ISBN 0688151639 Sometimes you don't need another trickster help a joke to backfire. In this slim volume, there are 10 short chapters, perfect for a teacher or librarian who only has a few minutes to fill around April Fool's Day. The young and old of Mud Flat plays jokes on each other and the tricksters have the tables turned on them to bring the jokes full circle. My favorite in the book is Morning at Mud Flat when Brian tricks his friends into thinking his head was on backward when he woke up in the morning. Brian kneels backward on a chair on the porch with a blanket tossed over his back and empty shoes at the base of the chair under the blanket. It would be an easy disguise to replicate for a story hour and one that would be a sure laugh.

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