TITLE: Just Plain Fancy
AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR: Patricia Polacco
GENRE: General /fiction
THEME: Culture and DiversityAWARDS: None
CHARACTERS: Naomi, Ruth, Dad, Fancy, and Martha
PUBLISHING DATE AND COMPANY: A Bantam Little Rooster Book, October 1990
SUMMARY: This book is set in Pennsylvania where there is a high population of Amish and Mennonites. I like that this story can help children (in a fun and interesting way) learn about the Amish/Mennonite culture (while they are different cultures, they have some very similar basics). This book is about one little girl who doesn't understand why everything has to be so plain, she just wants one fancy thing. It is said in the book that it is almost time that she gets her white kapp (the little white bonnet that pre-teen and teen Amish wear), all she has to do is wait until the frolic and see if it happens. In the mean time she has to care of the chickens to prove that she is being a responsible citizen and helping out her family and community. Part of caring for the chickens is going out into the little field behind the chicken coop and collecting any eggs that may have been laid out side of the nests. This is when she finds an egg that is fancy, and doesn't look like a chicken egg. Naomi and Ruth decide to take it into the chicken house and put it in one of the nests. They look after the chickens, and after a while, the eggs start to hatch. They have the normal chickens and then there is the chicken that came from the funny looking egg, and they decide to call it Fancy, since it is different than all the other chickens. Towards the end of the book, Fancy shows her true colors and it makes the girls nervous that she is going to be shunned (not allowed to speak with the Amish any more).
I think that this is a good book to read, especially in the south, because it sort of teaches about the Amish/Mennonites. While it doesn't get in depth it presents a good level of understanding of how the Amish/Mennonite community works.
No comments:
Post a Comment