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The Grasshopper & the Ants

By Jerry Pinkney

As fall silently and soulfully descends with its riot of foliage and scattering of larger than usual acorns, it’s also a reminder of not only the change of seasons …but of things to come.

Winter with its blowing snow, howling winds and scarcity of above ground food for the tenderest of creatures is just around the ant hill.

And Caldecott medalist, Jerry Pinkney, has previously delved richly and artistically into the world of Aesop’s fables in his picture books of “The Lion and the Mouse” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

Here, in his rendering of Aesop’s “The Grasshopper & the Ants,” prompted by Mr. Pinkney’s wanderings in his own woods, he relates the familiar story of the ant colonies that toil, store and prepare for the onset of bleaker days, while their fellow creature, the grasshopper, just fiddles away his time as a one grasshopper band!

Mr. Pinkney’s art beautifully captures the dogged determination and work ethic of the Ants, versus the rollicking rhythms of the freewheeling  Grasshopper, as the seasons pass.

The tale opens with spring. The joyful and just-in-the-moment Grasshopper beckons his pals, the ants, to join him in a frolic and go fishing.

               “No time to relax”

Said the Ants.

The Grasshopper pleads playfully again, come summer, and tempts them with the enticement of a picnic of feasting on “fresh, yummy leaves.”

               “No summer light to waste,”

                replied the Ants.

 

                Autumn will be here soon.”

Though the Grasshopper points out “the world is a playground of leaves,” the Ants toil on eschewing singing and dancing in Jerry Pinkney’s riot of fall color.

And as the inevitability of winter and its harder realities descend for animals, the Grasshopper is not deterred. He instead pleads:

 

“Wintertime is for making snow angels

and snow-hoppers.”

 

          And oh, how I love the sparkle

          of first snow. Come see!”

 

Alas, as the Grasshopper continues to beg:

           “If only someone would join me!”

But, heis left shivering in a winter white world!

Harsh reality does indeed set in for the Grasshopper, as below ground the Ants are snug as the proverbial bugs in a rug. Will they be oblivious to the Grasshopper that fiddled, while they toiled?

Or, is there a balance to be found between fiddling nonstop and foraging at the same tempo? Will these work horse Ants share what they have stored, and come to see that it is the infectious enthusiasm of the Grasshopper and his joyful music that will also FEED them through the winter with HIS gifts of song and story…or not?

Jerry Pinkney’s take on this timeless Aesop fable tale is wonderfully done. His picture book, has a neat fold out page allowing a view of Grasshopper freezing above ground, while below ground are the cozy Ants, lounging in leafy comfort amid the storehouses of food they have labored so hard to attain. This simultaneous view lends itself to a reader’s “What would you do?” query.

And this picture book’s lively back and forth reality of the practical and the poetic in life, perhaps allows that BOTH feed us, getting us through those “winters” in our lives.

It will be very interesting to see what your young reader takes from this classic Aesop tale brought to such vibrancy by Jerry Pinkney, and continues down the centuries to beg the question, “With what do we continually need to feed ourselves?”

Maybe Aesop is subtlety hinting that it not by mere food consumption that we are truly fed, but by a whole host of other things like nature, art, music….and the shared connection to others. And that this is how we make it through the seasons of life.

Do we also work hard? Parents reading this book to their young readers are living proof of that fact. But perhaps, as Mr. Pinkney, via Aesop points out, taking some balanced time to notice what is going on around us should be one of the reasons why we work so hard. And that is to enjoy our life journey through the seasons….of our lives. Each is unique and not to be missed.

Aesop’s tales always had morals. And the usual moral of this fable is:

 

     “Don’t put off till tomorrow,

what you can do today.”

Maybe the Grasshopper is not meant to be seen as such an indolent sloth after all, but someone who sees what needs feeding is the heart and soul, every bit as much as the body.

Just maybe Aesop continues today to say to parents and young readers, “Don’t put off  tomorrow’s responsibilities and joys too long, as the perfect time and season to do both, is now.”

Happy Picture Book Month! Author Katie Davis has collected wise words from several well-known writers for a video that addresses the following question: What is a Picture Book?

The video embedded above features artwork and quotes from Jerry Pinkney, Nick Bruel, Victoria Kann, and more. To date, it has drawn over 10,000 views on YouTube.

The Grasshopper & the Ants adds another title to Jerry Pinkney’s growing set of books based on fables by Aesop and Andersen. Unlike his Caldecott-winning The Lion & the Mouse (2009), this title has text, except for an extended wordless sequence in the middle.

But the Caldecott committee will not be comparing this to Pinkney’s other fable books, because they’re only allowed to discuss titles published in 2015.

Here, Pinkney’s adaptation softens the harsher elements of Aesop’s version, allowing the ants to show compassion and portraying the grasshopper as a guy who is devoted to his art rather than just a lazy freeloader. The action starts in the spring and moves quickly through the seasons as the grasshopper implores the ants to stop working and join him fishing, dancing, singing, etc. The ants don’t stop their rushing around to gather food before the snow covers it all up. Pinkney depicts his characters realistically (every leg segment, abdomen, and antenna in place), but dresses the ants in acorn caps and the grasshopper in a natty straw hat and vest.

When winter comes, the grasshopper finds himself surrounded by lots and lots of snow. What follows is a five-spread wordless sequence that juxtaposes the busy ants and the lonely grasshopper. In one especially effective spread, we see the ants in their cozy underground tunnels full of stored food, while a flap folds up to show the grasshopper, hungry and shivering in the snow above them.

Pinkney’s art is as intricate as ever, and it’s clear how much research and thought he put into this book. The endpapers, the illustrative lettering on the title page, and the dual jacket and cover are all exquisite. But to my eye, the pages illustrating the actual story are a little too detailed. They are so full of shapes that it can be hard to figure out what’s happening. This style works better for the ants, with their many dark legs making an interesting repeated design. This style is less successful with the grasshopper. It takes me a second to figure out what position he is sitting in and what he’s doing with all those legs. I also think the wings are too prominent. When I was a kid I spent many hours in the summer hunting and catching grasshoppers and crickets. Their wings stay folded against the abdomen until they jump, so that seems like one aspect Pinkney could have changed to make the character look simpler. I don’t think I’m alone in perceiving this art as overly busy. The first time through, readers will probably struggle to parse the images, but the payoff will come on subsequent readings when they will see more and more as they look again and again.

I don’t want to sound like a downer here. I am a fan of Pinkney’s work and love the texts he chooses to illustrate. Whenever a new book of his comes into the office, I want to drop everything and look at it. But I do think that his style is working against him in this instance.

But that’s just my opinion. I am ready to be convinced otherwise — and I have no doubt the Real Committee will be taking a good, hard look at this book.

The post The Grasshopper and the Ants appeared first on The Horn Book.

As we begin a season of reflection and celebration, we are pleased to share some of our favorite books on thankfulness and being grateful that will help young readers on their journey to understanding gratitude.

The New York Times Book Review has unveiled its annual list of the “10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books” of the year.

Shelf Awareness children’s editor Jennifer M. Brown, Caldecott Medal-winning artist Brian Floca, and Caldecott Medal recipient Jerry Pinkney sat on this year’s judging panel. See the complete list below.

Here’s more from the press release: “Since 1952, the Book Review has convened an independent panel of three judges from the world of children’s literature to select picture books on the basis of artistic merit. Each year, judges choose from among thousands of picture books for what is the only annual award of its kind. Lists of past winners of the Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award can be found on NYTimes.com/Books, along with a slide show of this year’s winners.”

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has revealed the honorees for the 2014 Carle Honors.  The honor pays tribute to four different children’s creators. Françoise Mouly, publisher and editorial director for TOON Books and art editor of The New Yorker won the "Bridge" honor. Jerry Pinkney, Children's book illustrator was honored with the "Artist" honor. Children's librarian Henrietta Smith was given the "Mentor" honor. Reach Out and Read, which is represented by Brian Gallagher and Dr. Perri Klass, was honored with the "Angel" honor for the efforts in early literacy. The organization will host its ninth annual awards ceremony in New York to celebrate the honors

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Here are some literary events to pencil in your calendar this week.

To get your event posted on our calendar, visit our Facebook Your Literary Event page. Please post your event at least one week prior to its date.

Heidi Boghosian will headline a conversation event about her new book, Spying on Democracy, at the Hillside Club. Join in on Tuesday, October 1st starting 8 p.m. (Berkeley, CA)

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

#37 The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (2009)
47 points

I love David Wiesner, but as funny as his wordless books are, none of them match this one for the combined power of the storytelling and sheer beauty of the drawings. One of the most deserving Caldecott winners ever. - Mark Flowers

I approach this book with such reverence when I pull it of the shelf. It’s a masterpiece. – Aaron Zenz

Stunning. – Stacy Dillon

Caldecott Award decisions are mysterious things.  No one on a given committee is allowed to talk about what was said or what went down.  I have no information about the 2010 committee that handed Jerry Pinkney his first, long overdue, Caldecott Medal.  If I were to hazard a guess I would have to believe that their deliberations must have been short.  Everyone in 2009 knew that Pinkney was the frontrunner.  If it hadn’t won, great torrents of blood would have been shed.

The plot as written in my review reads, “Set against the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, a single small mouse escapes the claws of a hungry owl, only to find herself trapped within the paw of a huge lion. On a whim, the lion lets the mouse go and then sets about his merry way. Unfortunately, poachers have been putting up traps, and before he knows it the lion is caught and bound in nasty ropes, high above the ground. To his rescue comes the little mouse, and she nibbles the ropes until they give way and free the lion. In her mouth she leaves with one of the knots of rope, which she gives her family of tiny babies at home to play with. On the final endpapers, the lion and his family of cubs prowl with the mouse and her family safely ensconced on the lion’s back.”

Smart, Mr. Pinkney.  Clever, Mr. Pinkney.  Little, Brown has a weakness for a titleless cover (see: Eggs) so I’m not surprised that they took a chance on this one.  The fact is, though, that without a title the cover is all the more impressive.  A great big gorgeous lion seen head-on in raucous waves of orange, yellow, brown, and gold.  Cleverer still is to turn it over and see the mouse on the back, blown up so that it fills the back cover just as the lion fills the front.  When the book is opened up, the two end up looking at one another, and both appear on the spine.  Nice.

Lest you forget, this book does NOT mark the first time Pinkney has illustrated this story. Recall well his illustrated story in the book Aesop’s Fables. You can see how similar his old lion and mouse team are to this new lion and mouse team here.

• Care to lion yourself?  100 Scope Notes shows you how.

PW said, “Pinkney has no need for words; his art speaks eloquently for itself.”

SLJ said, “The ambiguity that results from the lack of words in this version allows for a slower, subtle, and ultimately more satisfying read. Moments of humor and affection complement the drama. A classic tale from a consummate artist.”

Bookli

By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 13, 2011

If the phrase, “The better to eat you with!” struck terror in your childhood heart, fear not, these inventive retellings of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story will delight your little ones. The Brothers Grimm were especially gifted at creating dark and often haunting fairy tales, but these books below have a bit more gentle appeal. They also may serve as a great conversation starter with your children about the inherent danger of talking to strangers. As the moral of the folktale advises, children should beware of the charming and kind wolf perhaps most of all.

The Story of Little Red Riding Hood by those daring Grimm brothers (beautifully illustrated by Christopher Bing whose youngest daughter modeled for little Red) comes in an old-fashioned album meant to capture the timeless quality of the story. A cautionary tale, including the original black and white illustrated version from 1857, is inserted as a fold-out in the back of the book complete with the underlying moral.

In Betsy Red Hoodie by Gail Carson Levine, the talented author of Ella Enchanted, brings a new spin on the story. Accompanied by her wise-cracking sheep to Grandma’s house, Betsy encounters many obstacles and diversions on her path. Grandma has an unexpected surprise in store for Betsy when she finally arrives at her home. This is the second installment of Betsy’s plucky adventures (preceded by Betsy Who Cried Wolf!) with comic illustrations by Scott Nash.

Bernadette Watts paints a colorful, wondrous forest filled with wildflowers that tempt Little Red Riding Hood to pick a lovely bouquet for her grandmother. The wolf meets a gruesome end when the huntsman cuts him open to rescue them and they fill his belly full of stones. It almost makes one feel sorry for the wolf… so fiendish wolves better watch out for hunters with an ax to grind.

In his bold inventive book, acclaimed artist Daniel Egneus recreates a gothic wonderland for

Jerry Pinkney is speaking this morning! Here's a link to a slideshow of his book covers and a few quick questions with Jerry in addition to a link about his touring show, WITNESS.

Jerry's talk title, A Sense of Place: Real and Imagined, is as broad a title he could think of to cover what's so important to his work, environment, but Jerry's decided to change his title in honor of something his father used to say upon starting a job (he was a jack-of-all-trades for construction and remodeling.)

His dad would stand in a room he was about to fix or beautify and say:

 

......Jacqueline Davies and Jerry Pinkney as I prepare for not one, but two, author lunches this week. Ohhh....I could get used to this!

Previews, previews!  Lovely little previews!

And we find ourselves back at the Yale Club, across the street from Grand Central Station, and a whopping 10 minutes away, on foot, from my library.  There are advantages to living on a tiny island, I tell ya.

As per usual, Little Brown pulled out all the stops for the average children’s and YA librarian, in order to showcase their upcoming season.  There were white tablecloths and sandwiches consisting of brie and ham and apples.  The strange result of these previews is that I now seem to be under the mistaken understanding that Little Brown’s offices are located at the Yale Club.  They aren’t.  That would make no sense.  But that’s how my mind looks at things. When I am 95 and senile I will insist that this was the case.  Be warned.

A single day after my return from overseas I was able to feast my eyes on the feet of Victoria Stapleton (the Director of School and Library Marketing), bedecked in red sparkly shoes.  I would have taken a picture but my camera got busted in Bologna.  I was also slightly jet lagged, but was so grateful for the free water on the table (Europe, I love you, but you have to learn the wonders of ample FREE water) that it didn’t even matter.  Megan Tingley, fearless leader/publisher, began the festivities with a memory that involved a child’s story called “The Day I Wanted to Punch Daddy In the Face”.  Sounds like a companion piece to The Day Leo Said “I Hate You”, does it not?

But enough of that.  You didn’t come here for the name dropping.  You can for the books that are so ludicrously far away in terms of publication (some of these are January/February/March 2012 releases) that you just can’t resist giving them a peek.  To that end, the following:

Liza Baker

At these previews, each editor moves from table to table of librarians, hawking their wares.  In the case of the fabulous Ms. Baker (I tried to come up with a “Baker Street Irregulars” pun but it just wasn’t coming to me) the list could start with no one else but Nancy Tafuri.  Tafuri’s often a preschool storytime staple for me, all thanks to her Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails.  There’s a consistency to her work that a librarian can appreciate.  She’s also apparently the newest Little Brown “get”.  With a Caldecott Honor to her name (Have You Seen My Duckling?) the newest addition is All Kinds of Kisses.  It’s pretty cute.  Each animals gets kisses from parent to child with the animal sound accompanying.  You know what that means?  We’re in readaloud territory here, people.  There’s also a little bug or critter on each page that is identified on the copyright page for parents who have inquisitive children.

Next up, a treat for all you Grace Lin fans out there.  If you loved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat then you’ll probably be pleased as punch to hear that there’s a third

Stead, Philip C. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Illus. by Erin E. Stead.Roaring Brook, 2010. Ages 3-7.

This year’s 2011 Caldecott went to a sweet, whimsical story of kindness. Amos McGee works at the zoo and sets aside time each day for the animals; he would play chess with the elephant, run races with the tortoise, sit with the shy penguin, lend a handkerchief to the rhino, and read to the owl. Then one day Amos gets sick and stays in bed. The lonely animals decide to take action; that afternoon they make their way to Amos’s home. Throughout the book, Erin Stead’s pencil and woodblock illustrations sprinkle humorous details guaranteed to make readers smile. My favorite is the double spread showing the animals riding the bus, while others will be charmed by the last illustration, showing the quiet penguin gazing at the moon while the others snooze away after a busy afternoon taking care of their friend.

Looking for more kindness? For ages 4-7, try last year’s Caldecott winner, The Lion and the Mouse, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and, for Valentine’s Day, reach for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli. For older children, consider Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson and the Cinderella variations that focus on the protagonist’s kindness:  The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci, Papa Gatto by Ruth Sanderson, and Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Story by Judy Sierra. Also, see my December 27th post on being kind to animals.

What are your favorite children’s books featuring kindness? Please leave a comment!

2 Comments on Try a Little Tenderness, last added: 1/20/2011