Brainy Bird Saves the Day!: Henny Penny Retold is another book in Steck-Vaughn's Point of View Series.

In the classic tale, we find the tale of Henny Penny who comes to believe the sky is falling after being hit on the head with an acorn. She sets off on an adventure to tell the King about the danger. She convinces her friends with her hysteria and they all are tricked into a fox's cave when he offers to show them a short cut to King. This tale has been told for years as a cautionary tale about panic and chaos being created by people coming to the wrong conclusions based on minimal evidence.

The alternate tale is Henny Penny's version of the story. She insists she never thought the sky was falling. She clearly understood she was hit on the head by an acorn. However, do to the increased number of falling acorns she sensed an impending danger to the population and decides that as a reporter it is her job to tell the King. She meets her friends along the way and they join her on her mission. She is not fooled by the fox's trick and she and her friends send the farmer's dog after the fox.

Henny Penny makes a convincing case for herself and against the concept of bird brains not being empty headed.

Just a Friendly Old Troll

The Three Billy Goats Gruff/Just a Friendly Old Troll (Another Point of View)is another Point of View tale from Dr. Alvin Granowsky.

In the traditional tale, we find the three billy goats named Gruff who live in a green meadow where over eating has started to create a demand for more grass. The youngest goat decides to seek better grass on a hillside. His invites his brothers and they agree to come, but not until they have finished their chores. The only way to access, the hillside was across a rickety, wooden bridge. Underneath the bridge lived a goat-eating troll. As the Little Billy Goat Gruff crossed the bridge his hoofs trip-trap-trip-trap trip-trap sound alerted the troll that a potential meal was on its way. The troll tells the young goat he plans to eat him and the goat tells him he would be better off waiting for Middle Billy Goat, his brother who would make a more satisfying meal. The troll agrees and Little Billy Goat is on his way. When Middle Billy Goat arrives, he offers his big brother as a more appetizing meal and he too goes across to the other side. When the troll sees Big Billy Goat Gruff, he is thrilled that dinner has arrived. However, Big Billy Goat Gruff is more than a match for him and knocks him flying off the bridge. The goats celebrate happily on the other side of the bridge. The troll is never seen again.

In the alternate version, we meet the troll in the hospital. He discusses coming from a long line of hospitable people. He tells the reader he is known everywhere for his bridge hospitality. The goats’ reaction puzzles him. His only explanation is a failure to communicate. He was confused by each goat’s reaction to his invitation to share his dinner with him. He was even going to serve lemonade. His only explanation is that they did not understand when he said he was having them for dinner it was an invitation to eat with him, not to eat them.

The author does make a case for cultural misunderstandings. The troll presents a strong history of hospitality and comfort to travelers. Since the first two goats did pass without being eaten, it does seem questionable that he would have harmed the third. After all, goats would keep for more than one day. He could have killed the whole family. This would have provided the troll with food for several days if that had been his intention. The goat's account does seem a bit thin.

Help Yourself Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen/Help Yourself, Little Red Hen (Another Point of View)is another Point of View story written by Dr. Alvin Granowsky.

As with all the books in this series, the first side tells the traditional story, in this case The Little Red Hen. In the traditional tale, the Little Red Hen tries to gather the farm animals to help her grow wheat so they can all enjoy the bread that will be made from it. They all refuse to help and when the bread is made, they all want to eat it, but she refuses to share since they refused to work. Wendy Edelson has beautiful illustrations in the traditional tale. As I mentioned before two different styles of illustrations and fonts are used to distinguish the stories. This is the first time I have checked and realized there are two illustrators for the stories although one author for both stories.

In the alternate version, the pigs in the story begin by telling the story of a spoiled red hen who has been enabled by her friends. She always comes to them for help and as a result, they find themselves doing the work instead of helping her to complete the task. As a group, they decide it is time for her to become more independent. When the issue with the wheat arises, they practice tough love and force her to learn to handle tasks for herself. They are proud and supportive of her as she overcomes each obstacle. Instead of being upset, they are supportive when she chooses to enjoy the fruits of her labor instead of sharing it with the others.

This is an interesting take on the story of the Little Red Hen. I know I have encountered people who left me doing the chore after telling me I would only be helping with it. Therefore, I found the second story was believable. As far as the original story of the Red Hen, I thought she was free to grow her own food and eat it herself. However, she had no right to be angry the others were not interested in raising food and they had no right to the food she grew. I always thought the focus was on the benefits of being able to have control of one's food source and not be dependent on others for food.

Mind Your Manners BB Wolf

Amidst all his financial worries over the money he owes for settlements to various fairy tale characters, BB Wolf receives a welcome distraction in Judy Sierra's Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf.

The local librarian has invited the Big Bad Wolf to tea. Never having been to a formal tea he asks his best friend at the Villain Villa, the crocodile if he should go. After all, the wolf is not a fan of tea. The crocodile informs him one does not go for tea, but for the cookies. Before he heads off the crocodile gives him a list of rules to remember and the wolf creates a song as a memory technique.

The wolf is first thrown when he realizes that not only Red Riding Hood, but the Three Pigs, and several other characters he has hurt in the past are present. However, he holds on waiting for the cookies. His stomach starts to get upset after his third cup of tea and he forgets the rules regarding burping. He rushes to the computer to find a book on etiquette. He finds the word he seeks just in time as his burp nearly blows down the library. While the three pigs tease him and the gingerbread man flees in terror the librarian is impressed with his manners. She tests his will power once more when the only cookies she serves are gingerbread men. He refuses to eat them, but promises to return and tell her the real stories of the books she has on her table.

This was a cute Big Bad Wolf Story and it is part of a character series. The second book deals with telling the truth. It gets the message across in a cute way that will entertain children and perhaps even get them to remember the rules.

Giants Have Feelings, Too

Giants Have Feelings, Too: Jack and the Beanstalk Retold (Another Point of View)is another Dr. Alvin Granowsky Point of View book published by Steck-Vaughn. The format continues with the traditional Jack in the Beanstalk Story told on one side and the giant's story told when you flip the book upside down.

One thing I noticed as I reviewed this book is the font and the illustrations are very different for the two stories. The illustrations in Jack's stories are bright and vivid. The font is very traditional. The Giant's story has more of a cartoon style and a different font designed to set the story apart.

Any child who has heard the story of Jack in the Beanstalk will be familiar with the traditional version. The second tale ponders questions that have been raised for generations. Is Jack a hero or a thief? Was it OK for Jack to steal from the Giants and because they were giants? Since the story is told from the Giant's perspective, it does not begin with the magic beans and the cow, but with the first encounter between Jack and the Giants. The Giant's wife makes a very clear case that she and her husband Herbert were taken advantage of by Jack and as a result lost all of the treasures they accumulated through hard work and sacrifice. She even expresses hope at one point in the story that Jack's mother will not want her boy to prosper from stealing and have him return what he has stolen.

This book would be the basis for a very lively debate even among older children who may believe they are past the age for reading fairy tales. The issues are very interesting and some students may never have considered the questions raised by the Giant's wife.