![]() However, after the fox has gotten his duck and arrives home, there is a stark contrast between the fox at the end of the story and the one at the beginning. In the beginning of the book the fox seems to be the antagonist attacking the town at night to steal and kill. There doesn't seem to be a pattern, but creates a sense of pause now ans then in the story line. Spiers switches throughout this work between color and black and white. This Spier work was different in that his illustrations were paired to lyrics of an old song, so it read like a long illustrated lyrical poem. Maybe not to buy, but even if you have to beg permission to read it at the library instead of taking it home, do so. And it wouldn't be wise, I would think, to leave the buckets exposed in all weather. But syrup is drawn in early spring, generally March. I do wonder about one image - I see syrup buckets hanging from some trees on an early page. Note that the Giggle-Gaggles and all their poultry live in town (at least on the edge) - they're not actual farmers. Note the text on the Statue in the Town Square, and that the memorial is specifically for Civil War dead, not a generic statue. Looks like someone's going to get a cutter for Christmas - see the page from the catalog on the second 'grease my chin' page, and note all the details that signify this is Autumn. Meanwhile, there's *lots* of detail in the pictures. Then I recommend you read the text aloud, in that rhythm, singing if you can, or at least chanting. Not a quick read! First I recommend you read the music in the back, if you know how, or at least find a video on youtube, so you know how to read the text. Wonderfully detailed ink sketches in black and white alternate with vivid water-colored ones. Giggle Gaggle, a name that also appears on a tombstone in the cemetery, because old mother Giggle-Gaggle is the citizen that raise the alarm about the raid, causing the fox to get out of town fast, and home to his family feast in a den furnished remarkably like those of the town’s residents. ![]() The book is filled with details of grinning foxes, startled geese, the autumn countryside in moonlight, shocks of corn drying in the field, a covered bridge, tobacco drying in barns, an old graveyard, the town square with its civil war memorial inscribed with the town’s old family names, names like like Andrews, Jones, Perkins, and Giggle Gaggle. The result is a lively mixture of realism and humorous fantasy. This American folk song about a fox’s raid on a poultry house in town is illustrated in lush detail by Spier based on extensive sketches he made on a field trip to southern New England.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |