Swamp Angel

Image from: Anne Isaacs

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Isaacs, Anne. 1994. Swamp Angel. Ill. by Paul Zelinsky. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN 0-525-45271-0.

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

In this tall tale, Angelica Longrider, born in 1815, “scarcely taller than her mother”, grows up to become the greatest woodswoman in Tennessee. From the beginning, Angelica performs fantastic feats, building a log cabin at the age of two, saving cabins from fire, stopping a flood, and rescuing a wagon train from a swamp, which earns her the nickname of “Swamp Angel” at the age of twelve.  Time passes quickly as she performs these heroic acts, bypassing quilting, which she sees as men’s work, and culminating in an all-out battle with her nemesis, Thundering Tarnation, the bear who threaten the winter food supply for the entire state of Tennessee. Their wrestling brawl lasts for several months, with some high-flying, tornado-whirling, lake-drinking, loud-snoring action. Her snores finally best the bear, felling a humongous tree, which flattens the bear, providing a feast for all the settlers and enough food to last the winter.

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Anne Isaacs’s writing is colorful and full of rustic expressions, such as “as plentiful as dewdrops on corn,” “I’m much obliged,” and “That was mighty refreshing,” which authentically convey the feeling and atmosphere of the 1800’s, the time of Angelica’s epic adventures. The words chosen to impart her daring feats, such as “powerful reputation” and “lasting impression,” will help to expand the vocabulary of a young reader, ages 8 through 12, as well as young listeners, age 4 and up. Isaac’s style is clear and straightforward, telling a big story in a big way, with Angelica as the larger than life, feminist heroine. This tall tale is also a pour quoi tale explaining the origin of the Great Smoky Mountains, the constellation of Ursa Major, and the Shortgrass Prairie in Montana. Isaac’s uses irony effectively in comments such as “her father gave her a shiny new ax to play with in the cradle, like any good Tennessee father would.” Also, Isaac adds that stories about Swamp Angel continue to spring up even today and “every one is true,” creating a flavor of high exaggeration. 

Caldecott-award winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky has painted vibrant, folksy illustrations that add depth and understanding to the tall tale, helping readers to see and imagine the enormity of Swamp Angel and her escapades. He captures Angelica’s good nature as she helps those in need and her strength as she wrestles tornados and bears. From the opening of the book with its wood paneled end pages, Zelinsky’s artistry gives the book a woodsy, homespun feeling, contributing to the story’s 1800’s atmosphere. He painted on wood veneers of cherry, maple, and birch, as the copyright page states, giving each picture a wooden frame. Each two page spread helps express the beauty and ruggedness of the American Frontier, in the mountains and foothills of Tennessee. His paintings show the scale and size of Angelica in proportion to normal human beings, yet they also contain a lot of small details of animals and people, which adds humor, such as mountain lions playing with balls of yarn. These details will cause readers to pause over each page, to search out some new small detail, enriching their reading experience in the process.

Angelica’s exploits will encourage children to stand up to the challenges in their lives and be heroic like Swamp Angel, a role model for both boys and girls. Angelica’s final admonishment to the dead bear, “Confound it, varmint. If you weren’t the most wondrous heap of trouble I ever come to grips with,” speaks to her persistence in the face of trouble, a valuable lesson to the audience, even if they cannot drink a lake dry. This story, Anne Isaac’s first, along with Zelinsky’s supporting artwork, is a wonderful modern tall tale that will please readers.

4. AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*1994 Caldecott Honor Book
*1995 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
*1994 ALA Notable Book
*New York Public Library, 100 Books Every Child Should Read
*New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 1994
*School Library Journal Best Books of 1994
*Booklist Children's Editors Choices 1994
*Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 1994
*Time Magazine's 8 Best Children's Books, 1994
*Parenting Magazine Reading-Magic Award, 10 Best Books of 1994
*1995 Notable Trade Book in Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English
*Book of the Month Club featured selection
*featured on Storytime, PBS

Starred Review in Horn Book: “Move over, Paul Bunyan, you are about to meet Swamp Angel, an original creation in the tall-tale tradition whose exploits are guaranteed to amaze and amuse a wide swath of readers. . . Visually exciting, wonderful to read aloud, this is a picture book to remember.”

Starred Review in Kirkus: “It is impossible to convey the sheer pleasure, the exaggerated loopiness, of newcomer Isaacs's wonderful story. Matching the superb text stride for stride are Zelinsky's altered-state, American primitive paintings--gems that provide new pleasures, reading after reading.”

Starred Review in Booklist: “Isaacs tells her original story with the glorious exaggeration and uproarious farce of the traditional tall tale and with its typical laconic idiom. You just can't help reading it aloud. . . Zelinsky's detailed oil paintings in folk-art style are exquisite, framed in cherry, maple, and birch wood grains. They are also hilarious, making brilliant use of perspective to extend the mischief and the droll understatement.”

5. CONNECTIONS

*Have children explore live on the American Frontier. Have them answer questions such as: How did people live? What did their houses look like? What food did they eat? Was it an easy life or a lot of hard work? What were the benefits and disadvantages of living on the Frontier? Would you like to live then and there?

*Investigate the elements that make up a tall tale. Have children create their own tall tales.

*Compare and contrast Swamp Angel  to other tall tales. How are they alike or different? 

*Other tall tales with female protagonists:

Kellogg, Steve. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett. ISBN 978-0-688-14042-7

Nelson, Jerdine. Thunder Rose. ISBN 978-0-152-06006-0

San Souci, Robert D. Cut from the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale. ISBN 978-0-698-11811-9

*Other related tall tale books:

Kellogg, Steve. Paul Bunyan 20^th Anniversary Edition. ISBN 978-0-688-05800-5

Kellogg, Steve.  Pecos Bill. ISBN 978-0-688-09924-4

Lester, Julius. John Henry. ISBN 978-0-140-56622-2

Osborne, Mary Pope. American Tall Tales. ISBN 978-0-679-80089-7