Terry Small

American author/illustrator Terry Small explores the story of the legendary 14th-century Swiss archer and rebel William Tell in this rhyming picture-book. The narrative opens in the Swiss village of Altdorf, where the evil Austrian viceroy Geller had established his brutal rule. His many unreasonable commands to the oppressed Swiss populace included the requirement that they kneel before his hat, mounted on a pole in the village square. A woodsman named William Tell, unaware of these developments, came down the mountain into the village with his young son, and proudly refused to kneel, either to Gessler or to his hat. His punishment for this defiance was a cruel archery test, one in which he was forced to shoot an apple off of his son's head...

Published in 1991, The Legend of William Tell is the first book I have read from Small, who appears to have retold the stories of a number of other celebrated folk heroes, in titles like The Legend of Pecos Bill and The Legend of John Henry. Although the first title I have read from Small, this is the third picture-book version of the William Tell story I have read recently, following upon Margaret Early's William Tell and Leonard Everett Fisher's William Tell. On the whole, I think it is the weakest of the three, lacking the historical authenticity and detail of the Early telling, and some of the immediacy of the Fisher. On the other hand, the rhyming text here flows fairly well, and might make for a good read-aloud, especially for child listeners with a longer attention span. The artwork is colorful and expressive, but although I liked some of the scenes - especially the ones depicting William Tell and his son in the forest - I found most of them unappealing. Something about the human figures and faces just felt off to me. Tastes vary, of course, so it is entirely possible other readers will find the artwork here beautiful, and the narrative more engrossing than I did.

Perhaps my reading of this simply suffered from the fact that I couldn't help comparing Small's book to other picture-book retellings of the William Tell legend, or perhaps I simply prefer a prose retelling. Whatever the case may be, I do recommend this one to picture-book readers interested in William Tell, although I would recommend the Early version, and to a lesser extent the Fisher one, more highly.… (mehr)

This tale is appropriate for 1st - 3rd grade. The Legend of John Henry is a tale about a workingman, John Henry, in West Virginia during a time when machinery was taking the jobs of men who needed the income to support their family. John Henry is remember as one of the strongest men who work on building the rails through the mountains and beating the steam machine that threaten John's job. When John bets his boss that he could beat the steam machine John, hits the track to swing his sledge to nail down the track and race the machine. John beats the machine to prove his boss wrong and win his freedom but the force that he used caused him to collapse on the tracks and die.
Teacher could use this book to
-talking about the creation of railroads in the late 1800s.
-showing students the difference between black and white during this time period.… (mehr)

This book is appropriate for 1st and 2nd graders. This books is about the tale of William Tell and family who live in a swiss village in Medieval times. Tell and his son would not obey the command of the new viceroy of Austria Gessler the Black. Gessler had everyone in the village filled with fear. Tell and his son went into town one day and refused to kneel to Gessler, Gessler was very angry and took Tell's son. For William to get his son back a marksman would have to shot a arow through an apple that was placed on top of tell's sons head. When the arow spilts the apple the town is in shock and excitied. The single shot chaged the lives of everyone in the town because Gessler lost his rule and was killed. Williams Tell and his son bravery open the door of freedom for all the people of the village.
This books could be used for
- showing students that books can be written in a poem and can use it as an example to make their own story in a form of a poem.
-Use the pictures in the book to write their own dialogue to what they think is happening.… (mehr)

There are several picture book versions of the John Henry legend written for young audiences, but Terry Small's contribution stands out among them. It sticks to the core of the legend, focusing on the impact of the steam drill on manual railroad laborers and builds up to the competition between man and machine very well. In this retelling, John Henry was born a slave in West Virginia and became a steel rod driver after emancipation, working alongside other laborers under a wealthy boss. He takes pride in his work and is certain that no machine can replace a man.

Small tells this story in rhythmic, rhyming verse, using southern Black American dialect reminiscent of the trackliner songs sung about John Henry. John Henry's spirituality and passion make the narrative emotionally moving and his death heartbreaking. The folk art-inspired illustrations, done in oil paint, are often rough and flat at the same time because of poor use of perspective and solid outlines. This is not outstanding artwork, but it suits the nature of this folk tale very well, grounding it in Appalachian folk culture. Some illustrations cover entire spreads with text laid over background areas, but most illustrations cover one full page facing a full page of text on a white background.

The Legend of John Henry, with its rhythm and dialect, is wonderful when read aloud, although repeated use of the word "Lawd" (Lord) and other references to God could make it problematic for reading this aloud in public schools and libraries. Nevertheless, it is an outstanding book that is recommended for elementary school and public libraries.… (mehr)