INTRODUCTION
The three beginner chapter books below, Fox and Friends, Frog and Toad are Friends, and George and Martha: Tons of Fun, use personification in their illustrations to show animals acting as humans in likely and unlikely humorous situations involving friends and family.
Marshall, E. (1982). Fox and his friends. New York: Scholastic.
SUMMARY
This funny book about friends and family contains three chapters: Fox in Trouble; Fox all Wet; Fox on Duty. In the first story Fox is forced to look after his little sister Louise and almost loses her in a dangerous high place. He bribes her with ice cream so that she will not report the incident to their mother. Marshall uses allusion in his drawings on page 15 to suggest where Louise is hiding by showing only the tip of her little fox tail. In the second story Fox has to take care of his sister again. But this time he tries to abandon her at the pool and hang out with his friends. In a repeat performance Louise hides in a high place, and Fox is talked into doing something he doesn’t want to do to retrieve her. In the last story Fox ditches his job as a safety patrol crossing guard to go swimming with his friends. But while relaxing and building sand castles he has visions of the old animals that are stranded on the corner unable to cross because he is not there. He goes back to help one grandpa dog cross the street.
CHARACTERS
Marshall makes Fox and his animal family and friends seem like animated people and children who make funny mistakes and have a conscience.
QUALITY
These stories convey humorous scenarios about family obligations and the pull of fun and freedom with friends.
CONFLICT
All three stories are full of the conflict Fox feels when he has to care for his sister or attend to his job versus hanging out with is buddies.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Edward Marshall, who also wrote as James Edward Marshall, uses line drawings and a few basic colors to illustrate sullenness, unhappiness, mischievousness, and delight. It is not the characters’ faces that convey their actions, but the humorous placement of their bodies on the page.
INTEREST LEVEL
2nd grade
LEXILE
200
Level J
Lobel, A. (1970). Frog and Toad are friends. New York: Harper Collins.
SUMMARY
Frog and Toad are best friends who do everything together. This book includes five stories. First, Frog tries to wake Toad from his long winter nap. When Frog is sick Toad tells him stories. When Toad loses a button, Frog helps him find it. When Toad wears a funny bathing suit while swimming, Frog tries not to laugh. And Frog knows just what to do when Toad complains about never receiving any mail. He writes Toad a note and gives it to a snail that is the letter carrier. Then Frog goes over to Toad’s house and wakes him up and says, “I think you should get up and wait for the mail some more.” But Toad doesn’t think he will ever get a letter. Finally, Frog cannot keep it to himself any longer. He tells Toad that there will be a letter, because he wrote Toad a special letter that says, “Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my best friend.” The two friends wait happily on the porch for the letter that arrives four days later by snail mail.
CHARACTERS
In this book Frog takes the lead in helping out his friend Toad. Toad reciprocates by being unwaveringly loyal and faithful to Frog.
QUALITY
It is hard to beat Frog and Toad books for their depiction of friendship. These two best buddies always aid each other.
CONFLICT
All five stories contain challenges that must be conquered: over-sleeping and needing to wake up; turning green with illness and needing help to get better; losing a button and needing assistance finding it; getting over feeling embarrassed about a bathing suit; and receiving mail and feeling loved rather than left out.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Frog and Toad are Friends received the Caldecott medal in 1971 for its simple, funny brown and green illustrations.
INTEREST LEVEL
2nd grade
LEXILE
400
Level K
Marshall, J. (1980). George and Martha: Tons of fun. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
SUMMARY
This is also a chapter book. George and Martha are rotund hippos. Marshall uses hyperbole—the exaggerated large size of the hippos—to convey the unlikely plot of hippopotamuses acting like humans who live in houses. The first story is called “The Misunderstanding,” in which George can’t pay attention to Martha because he is standing on his head. The second story, “The Sweet Tooth,” depicts George and Martha ruining their health with cigar smoking and sugar consumption. “The Photograph” is the third story, and Martha sits in a photo booth. The resulting hilarious photo on page 25 foreshadows an event later in the book. In “The Hypnotist” George hypnotizes Martha so that she does not catch him sneaking to the cookie jar. But Martha catches him and eats all the cookies herself. In “The Special Gift” Martha loses George’s birthday gift while playing hopscotch. Instead she gives George the photo of herself from story two and he falls off the chair laughing uproariously.
QUALITY
Young grade schoolers (and adults) find these hippopotamuses very funny. They play little tricks on one another and have mishaps. These stories are perfect for slapstick second graders and for discussing friendship, caring, foibles, forgiveness, and tolerance.
CONFLICT
The problems in these stories are often solved by George and Martha laughing at themselves. Disagreements early are often resolved by George and Martha partaking in further calamities together.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Marshall again uses his pen sparingly to draw original, funny characters without a lot of facial expression. He conveys humor by emphasizing the characters’ largeness and putting them in unlikely places, like in the photo booth.
INTEREST LEVEL
Grade 2
LEXILE
420
Level L
MINI-LESSON
These beginning chapter books could be taught together to a class with different levels of readers in small group settings. They are all about animal families and friends who take care of one another. These books satisfy young children’s desire to read about characters in absurd situations (Norton, 2011, p. 182). Before reading, the covers of the books could be examined. “What do you think these animals are going to act like in the stories?” A child will probably say that the animals are going to do what people do: Fox swings on a swing set on the cover of Fox and Friends. The teacher could validate this response and check for student prior knowledge by asking children if they have read other books about animals that are like humans and have funny things happen to them.
Frog and Toad are Friends contains a table of contents that could be examined and discussed. “On what page could we find the story entitled, “A Lost Button?” The teacher asks. The inside of the books could be further examined before reading to identify common cite words that the children are familiar with. Hard words could also be defined: “hypnotize” appears on page 28 of George and Martha, and children could be challenged to break this word into parts for ease of pronunciation.
After reading, the mini-lesson could focus on the literary element of personification. The characters in these books are not inanimate objects, but they are also not realistic looking animals. They more closely resemble children’s stuffed toys. They have acquired human characteristics. “What human emotions or feelings have the animals taken on?” The teacher asks the children. A mental list could be developed based on student input. In Fox and Friends Fox doesn’t want to care for his sister. He would rather be with his friends. He is scared when his sister disappears. Toad feels sad when no one writes to him. Frog feels bad for his friend. Frog kindly writes to his friend Toad to cheer him up. Martha is sometimes disgusted with George. “What other human things are the characters doing in these stories?” All of the animals wear clothes. Martha gets her picture taken in the photo booth.
The next reading mini-lesson could extend the idea of personification to inanimate objects such as the steam shovel Mary Anne in Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, or The Gingerbread Man.
Norton, D. (2011). Through the eyes of a child: An introduction to children’s literature. Boston: Pearson.
