Lon PoPo

A: Lon Po Po
B: Young, Ed
D: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1989
E: Picture Book, Asian Folktale, and Winner of the 1990 Caldecott Medal
F: K-2
G: This book starts with a dedication to all of the wolves of the world, thanking them for lending their good name for our symbol of darkness. The story starts as a Mother is going away to see the Grandmother (PoPo) on her birthday. She left her three daughters behind with instructions to lock the door at sunset and latch it. That night, a wolf sneaks up to the house and convinces that children that it is their PoPo. The wolf says that it did not pass their mother and convinces the children to let him in. When the wolf is inside, he blows out the candle quickly, so that the children cannot see his face. They then get in bed, but the children notice something different about their Grandmother. The comment on her tail (which they think is a brush) and her claws (which they think are thorns). The wolf diverts that questions but Sang, the oldest girl, quickly light a light and see the wolf before he blows out the light. She then tells that wolf that the nuts of gingko will make her live-forever. The wolf believes this and lets them climb the tree to pick some. The girls climb the tree than say that the wolf must pick them for himself, so they start to pull him up, however the keep dropping him until he dies and they are safe. When their mother gets back, they tell he the whole story.
H: I remember reading this story when I was very young and I remember how I thought it was so much better than our story of little red ridding hood. I will start by talking about the illustrations. I love the imagery crated by the tone of them. Like the darkness that follows the wolf inside. I do not, however, like the way the illustrations are sectioned on the pages. I feel like this takes away from their effectiveness.
This story captures the fear that children have when staying by themselves. I remember when I was smaller, I was always scared at night, and that was when my parents were home. This book also does a wonderful job of capturing the creativeness of children. This is at its peak when Sang decides to trick the Wolf with the Gingko tree. It is also wonderful when the children all work together to defeat the Wolf. This is a great book, but it does have its fallbacks for me.
I: This book would be great to use in a kindergarten class when talking about family. The way the sisters bonded together would be a great way to talk about sibling connection. This would also be a great way to show creative thinking in action. It shows how quick thinking can solve problems, or give you enough time to solve the problems. It also shows teamwork between the sisters.