Heckedy Peg

"Here are your children", she said. "If you can't guess them right the first time, I'll eat them for my supper."

Heckedy Peg

By:Audrey Wood Illustated by: Don Wood

Voyager Books Harcourt Brace & Company

Text copyright 1987 by Addrey Wood

Illustration copyright 1987 by Don Wood

Picture Book

29 pages

Elementary school age

Heckedy Peg has lost her leg, but it really has nothing to do with the story.  A mother has 7 kids, all named the days of the week.  They help their mother with the chores and one day after tehy were done their mother asked them what they would want for the market.  Each child told her one thing they wanted.  The mother left with the last warning to her kids to not let anyone in and to not touch the fire.  Their mother left and the kids started to play.  Soon an old lady came to the window and told the kids "I'm Heckedy Peg. I've lost my leg. Let me in."  The kids told her NO, their mother had told them they were not allowed to let strangers in.  So she tried again, asking to let her in so she couldlight her pipe.  The kids again told her no.  Heckedy Peg then told the kids that if they let her in she would give them gold.  So for a sack of gold the kids let her in to light her pipe.  As soon as the pipe was lit, Heckedy Peg turned the kids into food as she threw her pipe to the ground.  When the mother got home, she got home to an empty house.  All that was there was the broken pipe and burnt straw on the floor.  As the mother sat there with the things she brought home for the kids a bird comes to the window and tells the mother that it was Heckedy Peg who took her kids and led the mother to where she lived.  The mother arived right before Heckedy Peg was about to eat.  She kept trying to get into the house but Heckedy Peg would come up with a reason why she could not.  Her shoes were dirty, her socks were dirty, her feet were dirty.  After taking off her shoes and socks the mother told the witch that she cut her feet off and knelt down and covered her feet with her dress.  Heckedy Peg didn't see feet, so it looked like she did cut them off, so she let the mother in.  The witch told the mother that if she could guess which food was which kid on the first try she would let her have the kids, if not then she would eat them for dinner.  The mother used what the kids wanted to find out what food was what kid.  Using those things the mother KNEW what food was what kid and she had her kids back.  The mother jumped to her feet and told the witch she would be sorry and chased her into town, but before they could catch her, Heckedy Peg jumped off the bridge, and was never seen again. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story.  A mother to read this to her kids, and elementary aged kids. 

I don't really think there are any problems or issues withe this book.  It is a cute funny little story, and has an end that you would not expect.

I enjoyed the story.  My roommates made fun of the story, but that is why it is not a book for college students.  It was a cute little story about how a mother loves and knows her kids.  I really did like it.

Anderson Tales

These were my favorite.  Though they still are not totally like the fairy tales I grew up with, I think that they were the best written. I also think they are the better ones for the kids, still I think some changes should be made, but that they are good for anyone to read. 

I read these online here is the link to them.
http://hca.gilead.org.il/

"Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that."

The Princess and the Pea
Once there was a prince who was looking for a princess, a real princess.  He looked all over for her and could not find one.  He returned home without a bride.  One dark and stormy night a princess came knocking on the door, but the weather had made a mess of her and she did not look like a princess.  They let her in anyway and had to run a test.  The old queen set a pea under 20 matresses and she had the Princess sleep on that, for only a princess with soft and delicate skin could feel a pea under all the mattresses.  In the morning she was asked how she was slept.  She told them that she wasn't able to sleep at all.  She didn't know what it was, but something was hard in her bed that left her black and blue all over her body.  They knew that she had to be a real princess, so the prince married her.  And what happened to the pea?  Well they put it in a museum. 

I also read these three Anderson fairy tales:
The Little Mermaid
Thumbelina
The Last Pearl

Asbjornsen Tales

These are more like the fairy tales that I remember.  So far they are my favorite ones.  They are more normal then the other fairy tales that we have had to read. 
These I would read to my kids, becuase they would enjoy them, like the one I am going to share with you, I know that it would make them laugh, but I would change the end to be a little less gross. 
I think the same issues as with the other fairy tales still stands strong, they are a little bit to "yuck" for children.


I read these online and so I could not find the information and so here is the sight I read them off of
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsen_moe.html

"he flew at the Troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the burn"

The Three Billy-Goats Gruff
There once was three goats named gruff.  They wanted to go up the hill to eat the gass to get fat.  They had to cross a bridge to get to the hill and a mean, gross troll lived under this bridge.  Each Billy-Goat took a turn cross the bridge.  The youngest and smallest went first.  The Troll asked who was that making nose on his bridge.  The goat got him to let him pass and not eat him by telling him to wait for his brother who is bigger then he is.  The next billy-goat came across and the troll was not happy with the noise that he was manking, because this goat was bigger so he made more noise.  This brother got the troll to let him pass the same way the younger one got by, telling the toll to wait until the oldest and biggest Billy-Goat Gruff to come.  So the troll waited for the biggest Goat to come by and when he cross the bridge the troll told him that he was going ot eat him.  The goat took his challenge and told him that he has two spears and would poke his eyes out and would crush in as well.  So when the troll jumped on the bridge the Billy-Goat ran at him and poked his eyes out with his horns and crushed him up and threw him off the bridge.  He then joined his brothers on the hill where they ate and ate and ate until they got fat.  So fat that they couldn't walk home.
"snip, snap, snout this tale's told out"

I also read these three Tales by Asbjornsen:
East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon
The Husband Who Was To Mind the House
Thumbikin

Perrault Tales

These are fairy tales writen by Charles Parrault.
I read the fairy tales online and so this is the link since I could not find any of the information.
http://www.angelfire.com/nb/classillus/images/perrault/perra.html

These make me a little sad, they don't have the best of endings but are more like the fairy tales I remember as a child, just without the happily ever after.  But I did enjoy them.
I would recomend that parents read these to their kids, once they get a little older, or well maybe for kids to just find them on their own.
The only issue I find wrong is when I think fairy tale I think happily ever after, not someone getting eaten and that is how the story ends.

"Little girls, this seems to say, Never stop upon your way. Never trust a stranger-friend; No one knows how it will end. As you’re pretty, so be wise; Wolves may lurk in every guise. Handsome they may be, and kind, Gay, or charming never mind! Now, as then, ‘tis simple truth— Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth!"

Little Red Ridding Hood

This story is of a  little girl who went on a trip to see her sick grandmother.  She was called Little Red Ridding Hood because of the red hood that she wore.  Her mother one day sent her with a cake and butter to give to her grandmother.  So Red Ridding Hood set off into the woods to deliver the itams to her grandmother.  Along the way she ran into a wolf.  This wolf asked her where she was going.  Red Ridding Hood Responded and told the wolf that she was off to see her grandmother.  The wolf asked if it was far and Red Ridding Hood told him where she lived.  So the wolf decied that he would go see her too, BUT he would take one path and she the other and they would see who would get there first.  So the wolf took off running and Red Ridding Hood took her time and entertained her self by picking barries and what not while she traveled.  The wolf got to the house first.  He knocked on the door and made himself sound like Red Ridding Hood.  The grandmother told the wolf how to open the door and he entered and went to the old lady and ate her up.  Then came Red Ridding Hood to the door and she knocked.  The wolf now pretending to be her grandmother told her how to get in and Red Ridding Hood came in.  The wolf invieted her into bed with him, so she got into bed and noticed something not right. 

As the story goes, the famous lines...
“The better to embrace you, my child!” “Grandmother dear, what big legs you have!” “The better to run with, my child!” “Grandmother dear, what big ears you have!” “The better to hear with, my child!” “Grandmother dear, what big eyes you have!” “The better to see with, my child!” “Grandmother dear, what big teeth you have!” “The better to eat you with!”
With these words the wicked Wolf leaped upon Red Riding Hood and gobbled her up.

Here are three other fairy tales by Perrault that I read:
Sleeping Beauty
Puss in Boots
Cinderella

Jacobs Tales

These are Celtic Fairy Tales colleceted by Joseph Jacobs. 
I read these online and I found the online iformation for it.
Scanned and proofed by Phillip Brown. Formatted at sacred-texts.com, 2003 and 2009 by John Bruno Hare. This text is in the public domain in the US because it was published prior to 1923.
Here is the web page.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cft/index.htm

I really don't know how I feel about these stories or who I would recomend them to.  They just seemed weried and not to much like fairy tails.  I read the four of them and I have a really hard time following them and keeping track of all that was going on.  It is kind of hard to sit here and write something good and well about stories that I really did not enjoy.  These are children fairy tales but I do not think that I would share them with my kids, I will stick with the clasics and maybe a Grimm fairy tale here and there for my boy(s) (if I have any.)  I am one person though, so maybe read one of them, you could like them, but my oppion is they arent good, just to much all over the place. 
So if you enjoy stories like these, then you would like these fairy tales and should read them.

The Sea Maiden
There was an old fisherman and he was having no luck catching fish.  He met the sea maiden and she said that she would make it to were he would always have fish if she would give her his first born son.  He agreed.
When the time came for him to give her the son, he didn't.  The son set off on a jurney.  He came across a dog, a falcon, and an otter fighting over some food.  He split it up between them giving them all different shares.  These animals then promised their help to the boy in time of need for him.  The boy went to work for the king.  Thoughout the tale he fights a giant, a crone, and a three headed monster.  All witht he help of the animals.  This three headed monster is one with a bounty on it though.  Who ever kills this monster gets to marry the kings daughter, but someone is already set to kill this monster.  The boy kills it but the general takes all the credit for it, and the princess says that the general did kill the monster too, so the boy gets no credit for what he did.  Then there was a rule made that she had to marry the one who could take the heads ooff the knot, and the general could not and the boy could.  So they were to be married.  The sea maiden came to collect her boy, and this left the princess sad.  She went to the shore and began to play music and the sea maiden came out to listen.  She showed her him and then she took the princess instead.  He finds out the secerit of the sea maiden, that there is an island and on the island there is a trout with an egg in it, and that egg was the soul of the sea maiden.  So he sets off to destory the egg and with the help of the animals he is able to find the trout and destroy the egg.  Right before he broke the egg the sea maiden pleeded with him not to brake the egg and she will give him everything.  He took hold of both the princesses hands and steped on the egg, and the sea maiden died.

I also read these Jacobs Tales:
The Lad with the Goat-Skin
The Story-Teller at Fault
Jack and his Master

Grimm Tales

These stories are not clasic happily ever after stories, sadly enough I kinda enjoy them.  I do not see how they are supposed to be children stories though.  As a little girl I would not of watned to read about this, I want the prince to marry the princess and ride off into the sunset without all the little twists inside the story.  I would proble recommend these books to kids who are a little older, and boys, these are fairy tales that I think boys could enjoy, if they arent fans of normal Disney fairy tales.  So if you like the little twists that the Grimm Tales have in them you will love these stories, if you are more for the happily ever after stories, you wont enjoy these as much. 

I could not find the books so I read online and could not find the information.  BUT here is the link to the web page that I found a list of all the Brothers Grimm stories. 

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/

"in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life,but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes."

Rapunzel

The story starts out with a man and wife who want so bad a child, a beautiful daughter.  The wife longs for some rampion that she can see in the garden surrounded by a huge wall behind their house.  This wasnt any guarden though, this guarden belonged to an evil, powerful enchantress.  The woman longed for this rampion so much that she started getting sick and pale.  He husband would do anything for her and went to her to ask he what she wanted, and she told him, and so, for his wife, he would climb down the wall and get his wife some rampion.  Well his wife was not satisfied after the little bit she got, she wanted more and more.  He returned and got caught by the enchantress.  She made him promise to give her their first born child, and he agreed with everything she said.  So when they had their first born child, their daughter, the enchantress came to the and took her away and hid her up in a tower and called her Rapunzel.  So this tower had not stairs and no door, and when the enchantress wanted up she would call to Rapunzel "Reapunzel, Rapunzel let down your long hair"  She had beautiful long hair that she would let down the enchantress would climb up the hair to the window.  One day a Prince heard some singing and saw Rapunzel in the tower, but saw no way into the tower.  He one day hid and found saw how the enchantress got up into the tower and he called the same way that she did "Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your long hair" and she did, and he climbed up.  The price and Rapunzel fell in love.  They made plans for her to escape, he would bring her cloth every night that she might weave a ladder out of it and when she is done they can escape together.  Well Repunzel made the mistake of telling the enchantress that the prince could just climb right up her hair and it took her forever to climb up.  This did not make the enchantress happy that she was sneaking behind her back and took Rapunzels hair and cut it and took her to the desert and left her there.  When the prince came and called, the enchantress let down the hair she cut and the pricne climbed up.  To his suprise it was not his love at the end of the hair.  The enchantress told him he would never see her again and he jumped out the window to save his life, but fell upon thorn that stabed his eyes and he was blinde.  He wondered for years and one day heard a voice that sounded familluare to him and he followed it.  It lead him to Rapunzel and she cried and her tears healed his eyes and he could see again.  They road off to his kingdom where they lived for a long time, "happy and contented."

Three other Grimm Tales that I read:
Little Red-Cap
The Fisherman and His Wife
Cinderella

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

"Purple cat, Purple cat, What do you see?"

Brown, Brown Bear, What Do You See

Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

First published in 1967 in a slightly different form by the school Divison, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

First General Book edition - 1963

Newly illustrated edition published in 1992 by Henry and Company, Inc.

Copyright 1967, 1983 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Illustrations copyright 1992 by Eric Carle

Picture Book
24 Pages
Childrens Book Ages 2-4

Brown Bear, Brown Brown what do you see?  The story explores and teaches about different animals and colors.  Bear, bird, duck, horse, frog, cat, dog, sheep, fish and also a teacher and students.  Brown, red, yellow, blue, green, purple, white, black, gold.  The illistrator of the book did an amazing job for bring the words to life.  This story really is about the pictures and not the words.  It goes through the animals who are all different colors and that is what each animal they see is.  The goldfish says that it sees a teacher staring at it and the teacher has a children looking at them and the children see all the animals and colors. 

This story helps kids learn colors and animals and introduces them to being more awear of their serroundings.

This book is ment for the young kids and I would recommend it to parents to read to their kids.  The younder kids would love the pictures in the book and the animals.  All the colors in the book really pop out, it is perfect for those kids ages 2-4.

I really don't feel like there would be any problems with this book, unless someone does not really like the fact the the child page is children of all races (though that is one of my favorite parts.

Eric Carle is one of my all time favorite illustrators.  He uses such great colors and though the pictures are simple they show the words so well.  I love the colors and illustations in the story.  It is my favorite part of the book, and what is a picture book without the pictures.  I love this book!

The Eleventh Hour

"A book is read, a story ends, a telling tale is told.  But who can say what mysteries a single page may hold?  A maze of hidden codes and clues, a clock at ever turn, And only time will tell what other secerts you may learn..."

The Eleventh Hour

Graeme Base

First published in 1988 by Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Another edition published by Abrahams Books for Young Readers in 1993
Copyright Doublebase Pty Ltd, 1988
Picture Book
30 pages
Children of all ages

Horace is turning 11 and wants to throw a party for his birthday.  He based everything off the number of 11.  The 11th day of the 11th month,11 foods (that elaphants like best), and 11 different games to be played at the party.  When the guests arived on the day of the party they were amazed by the banquet that Horace made BUT to follow the theme of the number 11 the feast could not begin until 11, at the time it was only 8am.  They enjoyed games of all kinds while they waited for the time to be 11 so they could enjoy the wonderful food.  The clock stuck 11 and they all went back into the banquet hall but to their suprise all the food was gone, the table a mess, nothing left to eat.  They all get into an uproar and start accusing each other of eating the feast.  Each one would deney and have some kind of an alibi, so who ate the food?  They never found out but enjoyed some samwichs that Horace thought quick to put together and they had a picknick and enjoyed the cake that Horace made and had hidden away in the kitchen, so it was no eaten with the rest of the banquet.  BUT who ate the food?  It was one of the guests, it is up to the reader to find out who it was.  Following the hidden clues and messages on every page, or just randomly guessing on the note in the back of the book, or just cheating and reading the answer book in the back.  For me I know who ate the feast, but if you ask me to keep solving the mystery I have not, so I will leave you with one clue..."Not one mouse could eat it all."

This book would be great for readers of any age.  I read the book aloud to my roommates and we all got into tying to solve the mystery of who ate the feast.  We pulled out the compter and loged the clues and used excell to decode the letter on the back, ran back and forth from the bathroom to use the mirror to read some of the clues.  It is just not a book that children will enjoy, but that a family can read and together solve this mystery.

This book; however, could cause problems for those easily frustrated and for those who cannot think outside of the box.  If you donnot enjoy a good mystery and a book that makes you think then this book would not be for you.

I remember reading this book as a kid, and years later I had the same reaction, I would not stop until I found out the mystery of who ate the feast.  I have yet to open my answer book in the back of the book because I have not found all the clues and all the hidden messages.  Sooner or later I will cave, but for now, I am being stubborn and want to solve it myself.  I love this book!

Holes

"Mr. Pendanski looked from one boy to another. 'You're all special in your own way,' he said. 'You've all got something to offer. You have to think about what you want to do, then do it.'"

Holes

Louis Sachar

Published in association with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC

Text Copyright 1998 by Louis Sachar

233 pages

Children's Book Genre, Fiction
Reading Level: Unknown (couldn't find)

Stanley Yelnats IV is a good boy who just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  After being wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes by a famous baseball player, he is sentenced to serve time at Camp Green Lake, a Camp for juvenille boys.  However this Texas lake is not a pleasant one.  It is a dry bed that hasn't seen rain in over a hundred years.  The boys are required to dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep.  What the boys don't know is they're not just digging for character, they're digging for something that was buried by ancestors long ago.  While at camp, Stanley befriends a fellow digger, who goes by the nickname of Zero.  Together they help and learn from each other as they go on an adventure to escape the camp, and find out what they're really looking for at Camp Green Lake.  Their fates are intertwined as they not only learn from each other, but learn from themselves, as they realize that they can set their own destiny, and their lives are never the same again.  They get back to Camp Green Lake and find the treasure, which was buried by the infamous Kissin' Kate Barlow, who had stolen from Stanley's great grandfather, Stanley Yelnats I.  Stanley and Zero become rich and Camp Green Lake is closed.

I would recommend this book to an older group of children, about the age of 10 and up.  This is a very good children's book, and is even enjoyed by adults, however this is not a young child's story.  There is some mild violence in the story that may not be suitable for children under the age of 10.  Although this is a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book may not be suitable for people who do not enjoy adventure or children's stories.
I was impressed by the story, and I enjoyed myself while reading this book.  It is very entertaining and Louis Sachar has a talent of keeping his readers' attention, wondering what will happen next.  There is a good plot and follows through beginning, middle and end, and there is good character development which is identifiable and relatable to those who read it.

Winner of the Newery Medal
Winner of the National Book Award
Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Notable book
An ALA Quick Pick
Winner of the Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction
A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year
A Horn book Fanfare
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin Blue Ribbon book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

A girl read 62 books for one class in 14 weeks

62 books are to be read this semester and this is my blog for them.  I am pretty excited!!  So I hope you enjoy reading about these children books and maybe it will encourage you to read the books and share them with your families and share the books you love with them.

So here is to a wonderful book filled semester.

<3  Erin Christina