Dust Devil

As tall tales go, this one was exceptional. I really liked the story. It was entertaining and over the top just as any good tall should be. Very nicely written and impressively told. ( )

Summary: Angelica Longrider (Swamp Angel) moves to Montana and sets out to tame the a giant dust storm that turns out to be a really big horse she names Dust Devil. The altercation between the two create the Grand Canyon. They then chase Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes across Montana and create the Sawtooth Range.



Personal Reaction: The story line was very original and creative. The author was about to create a story as to how natural landmark were made. The author also created a theme in the story that demonstrates good versus bad and how good wins out. Angelica Longrider is also a character that shows girls that they can be strong and independent.



Classroom Extension:

1) Assign students to create a story about how a natural landmark was created. Have the students pick a landmark by pulling one from a jar.

2) Have students draw a famous natural landmark. ( )

I'd give 4 1/2 stars to this tall tale if I could. Swamp Angel is one of my all-time favortie picture books, so I have lofty expectations for any sequel. This is a wonderfully entertaining tall tale with gorgeous illustrations by Zelinsky, but it's not got the magic of Swamp Angel. ( )

This rip roaring tall tale is the continuing story of Angelica Longrider, first started in the Caldecott Honor Book, Swamp Angel. Now a resident of Montana, larger-than-life Angel befriends her neighbors and sets about taming the Wild West. She tames a dust storm that turns out to be a gigantic horse she names Dust Devil. Their tussle creates the Grand Canyon. Angel and Dust Devil go on to chase an evil band of terrorizing robbers, Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes, across the whole of Montana, thus creating the Sawtooth Range. Although this book is the sequel to Swamp Angel, it can be read as a stand alone book as well.

This original tall tale is full of exaggerated plot points and larger-than-life characters. Frequently the events of the story are said to create particular geographical land markers, such as the Grand Canyon and the buttes of Montana. Taming the Wild West is the theme of this good versus evil story, which leads to a rewarding resolution. Although some characters in the story question Angel’s ability to do things based on her gender, Angel is not a woman to take no for an answer. She is a strong female protagonist, cut from the same cloth as her male counterparts such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-60-dust-devil-by-anne-isaacs.ht...

Isaacs, A., & Zelinsky, P. O. (2010). Dust devil. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

In this long-awaited sequel to Isaacs/Zelinsky’s Swamp Angel, the reader once again gets an eyeful and earful of tall tales—this time set in the West. The same protagonist, Angelica Longrider, takes us on a romp—this time leaving Tennessee (which the large gal outgrew) for Montana. Right off the bat she invents buttes—by lifting up mountains and placing them on the flat landscape to create shade. She admires her handiwork by referring to them as “beauts.” Along the way she creates the Grand Canyon and geysers. Dust Devil provides students with an excellent example of the tall tale genre--outlandish explanations of how certain phenomena were created. There are also very amusing explanations of how the Sawtooth Mountains and the gold discovered in California came to be. The text, written using western jargon, is hard to read in anything but a “howdy pardner” cadence. The rich, colorful illustrations evoke American primitive style, and Zelinsky brings out the pioneer quality of the story and main character by using a wood grain background throughout the story—including the endpapers. An amusing read aloud most effective for ages 7-9. No awards found. ( )