Where Does the Trouble Take These Books?

Week of July 1, 2012: We’ve Got Trouble!

Tuesday, July 3—Where Does the Trouble Take These Books?

We’ve established that having trouble (or a problem) in a picture book is essential, and that the trouble has to be on a big scale for the main character. But it’s not enough to have trouble at the beginning of a picture book. The trouble has to grow and grow, and the situation must become worse and worse for the main character. Often the worsening situation leads to a black moment when it seems all is lost, the situation is hopeless, and the character is going to be defeated by the trouble. Then, of course, the trouble/problem is solved and the story is resolved.

Today we’re going to look at the same set of books we examined yesterday, and we’ll see how the trouble grows and grows and grows in each of these examples.

!From Comes A Wind by Linda Arms White and Tom Curry:

Trouble/Problem: Mama wants her squabbling boys to get along on her birthday.

Escalation:

XThe boys arrive and immediately begin to try to outdo each other

            XClyde tells a tall tale about the wind/Clement tries to outdo

            XMama nearly catches the boys arguing

            XClyde and Clem trade wind tales again

            XThey stop as Mama comes out

            XThen the real wind comes up—blowing the animals, the barn, and everything

                        else all around the farm

Black moment:

Finally the wind blows Mama all the way up to the weathervane where she gets stuck

Climax:

The boys have to work together to save Mama and her birthday

!From The Curious Garden by Peter Brown:

Trouble/Problem: A green-less world

Escalation:

            XThe boy discovers a dark, abandoned railroad and a small patch of wildflowers

                        on the top of the tracks

            XThe boy tends the flowers and they grow—then winter comes and the garden is

                        gone

            X(NOTE: Illustrations throughout the book amp up the problem by showing

                        factories, abandoned buildings, smoke stacks, abandoned cars, litter, etc.)

            XThe boy spends winter preparing for gardening/Winter takes a toll on the garden

            XThe boy works the garden back into shape/The garden begins to spread

            XPlants begin popping up all over town—and so do gardeners

Climax/Resolution:

Years later the city is abloom

!From: Cowboy Camp by Tammi Sauer and Mike Reed:

Trouble/Problem: Not fitting in at Cowboy Camp

Escalation:

            XAvery’s name wasn’t like the other cowboys

            XCan’t eat cowboy food

            XAllergic to horses

            XGets rope burns from the lasso

Black Moment:

A bad cowboy arrives at night to destroy Cowboy Camp

Climax:

Avery uses all of his cowboy inadequacies to convince the bad cowboy that this is

not Cowboy Camp—thus saving the camp

!From: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows Can Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

                       

Trouble/Problem: Typing cows

Escalation:

XThe cows demand electric blankets/farmer refuses/cows refuse to give milk

XCows type again/The cows say the hens want electric blankets, too

XFarmer types a letter/no blankets/demands milk and eggs

Black Moment:

Cows and chickens don’t know what to do/send letter and offer to trade typewriter for electric blankets/Duck delivers message

Climax/Resolution:

Ducks keep typewriter and demand a diving board

!From: Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse and Jon J. Muth

Trouble/Problem: The lack of rain

Escalation:

            XSees clouds in the distance/“Come on, rain!”

            XMama says not to put on swim suit/little girl convinces Mama rain is

                        coming/puts on suit/“Come on, rain!”

            XRain comes

            XGirls play in the rain/make so much noise they disturb neighbors

Climax:

Neighbor throws shoe at girls/but the neighbor women are actually taking off hose and shoes/ and join the girls in the rain (including Mama)

Resolution:

Mama and girl walk home together as rain ends and sun comes out

!From Cowlick by Christin Ditchfield and Rosalind Bearshaw

Trouble/Problem: Someone or something is clomping down the hall at night

Escalation: (NOTE: A lot of the escalation comes through the illustrations)

   XThe cow slowly turns the doorknob

            XHe lifts the covers and sees the sleeping boy

            XQuickly and quietly the cow bends to give the boy a kiss

            XThen kisses everyone else

Black moment:

SLURP! Cowlick!

Resolution:

In the morning they try to brush their hair, but how can you get rid of a cowlick?

What do these examples show us?

R The trouble can get worse in a variety ways.

R Worse doesn’t have to always mean pain and agony—it can mean humor, it can mean an escalation of events, it can mean one calamity after another, and more.

R Trouble can be shown through words, through illustrations, or through a combination of both.

It’s Your Turn!
uGrab your stack of picture books from yesterday and see what escalation in trouble you can find in each book.

vBe sure to look at the illustrations as well as the text for the trouble.