Swamp Angel

Title: Swamp Angel
Author: Anne Isaacs
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher and date of Publication: Puffin Books, 2000
Genre: Traditional Literature, Picture Book
Age Range: 1st grade-3rd grade
Award: 1995 Caldecott Honor Book

Summary: This tall tale was about Angelica Longrider, a giant. She was taller than her mother when she was born, which isn't possible. There is also this giant bear that eats everything in their town, named Thundering Tarnation. There is a competition to see who can kill this bear first and Angelica signs up. She finds the bear and they wrestle and wrestle until they finally fall asleep. Their snores are so loud it makes trees in the forest fall. Angelica made a tree fall, and when it fell it hit the bear and killed them. Angelica was praised from the whole town.

Response: I think this story is a good tall tale that I had never heard before. It's a cute story but of course it's a tale because when Angelica was born, she was taller than her mother (which isn't humanly possible!). Also, no one would be wrestling around with a bear and fall asleep with it. By the end of the story, I kind of grow fond of the bear and I was sad when the tree fell on its head and killed it. I like the idea of the wonder woman that becomes swamp angel because she pulled a wagon out of the swamp that got stuck when she was only twelve. I think this book would help children, because in the upper elementary grades girls hit a growth spurt and pass the boys. This could help them become more comfortable with being taller and give them support that they can do anything.

Teaching Ideas: I would like to read this in like 4th or 5th grade because girls outgrow the boys and it would help the girls to become more comfortable with themselves. For younger children, I would let them describe what they think it would be like to be as big as Angelica was. We could make a mini town and see what it would be like to be a giant.