Children's Traditional Literature: The House In the Night

Swanson, S. M., & Krommes, B. (2008). The house in the night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Reading level: 60L

Interest level: Grades PreK - 2 

Black and white scratchboard pictures accompany simple text in this soothing bedtime tale. The scratches create motion across the pages, which would otherwise be a little flat with such a limited color palette. However limited, the illustrations in this book are gorgeous. Yellow is used sparingly to highlight: for example, on the first page an adult hands a bright yellow key to a genderless child, saying “Here is a key to the house.” Yellow also creates visual interest: on the next page, a giant, yellow sun with friendly eyes and thick, wavy rays greets the horizon on the left page. The rays emanate clockwise, pushing the reader towards the right page and the little house on the hillside. “In the house burns a light” says the right page, and the yellow light breaks though the window. These clever visual elements keep young readers interested in what is otherwise an incredibly basic story. 

Watch a reading of  "The House in the Night"

Children's Traditional Literature: Interrupting Chicken

Stein, D. E. (2010). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Reading level: AD300L

Interest level: Grades PreK - 2 

This Stein offering is wildly different from the roughly drawn and incredibly basic “No, David!” Little chicken, all tucked into bed, is ready for his bedtime story, and he promises not to interrupt this time. Just two pages into story-within-a-story (meta!) “Hansel and Gretel,” however, little chicken jumps into the page, delivering a warning about the witch to the siblings, which they heed, promptly ending the story. This occurs with the next two stories, and then papa chicken has no more tales to tell. Little chicken offers to put papa to bed with his own story, an adorably crayon drawn “Bedtime for PAPA.” Papa, predictably, interrupts it with a massive snore. 

I’m not sure what the point is to this one. Books are stupid, unless they are boring? It’s more fun to tell a story than to read one? Honestly, I wouldn’t use this in the classroom. It’s more of a bedtime book, and not a great one. But, I guess it could be used as a read aloud, since it’s subversive and kids like subversive. As part of a lesson, maybe you could use it as a model to prompt students to write their own endings to famous fairy tales.

Children's Traditional Literatue: In a Dark, Dark Room

Schwartz, A. (1984). In a dark, dark room, and other scary stories. (Illus. D. Zimmer). New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Reading level: 430L

Interest level: Grades 1 – 4

Traditional

            This book contains a story that totally scarred me as a child – so much so, that I haven’t read this book since. This book is written for the older elementary set, but it’s worth noting that the content may upset the more delicate flowers in the room. The story, specifically, is “The Green Ribbon,” and it involves decapitation. Schwartz’s other stories are pretty tame by comparison – jump scares and the like. This book was passed around the playground a lot, which means it’s probably high interest.Also, the illustrations are nowhere near as frightening as “Scary Stories,”  but these aren’t exactly the goofy skeletons of “Funnybones.” Use with caution for resistant readers.

Watch a shaky cam reading of "In a Dark, Dark Room" (some profanity)