Swamp Angel


by Anne Isaacs
illustrated by Paul Zelinsky

An original tall tale about Angelica Longrider, aka Swamp Angel -- a sort of female Paul Bunyan. Born taller than her own mother, Angelica quickly became the greatest frontiers- woman in all of Tennessee, able to defeat a giant bear single-handed, drink an entire lake in one big gulp, even lasso a tornado. "This valiant heroine is certain to leave youngsters chuckling." (Amazon)

This "feisty tall tale" (Publisher's Weekly) is so winning that we are compelled to demand that you use in when teaching about the American frontier. No, just kidding...but we do LOVE this book. Isaac's story have everything you want in tall tale. Paul Zelinsky's 'American-primitive' style oil paintings are cleverly set on a background of wood--a perfect choice for a frontier tale!

Note: There's a sequel to this book--Dust Devil-- which we haven't had a chance to review yet, but have heard it's just as winning! We'll check it out soon!


Awards Won
  - Caldecott Honor Book 1995
  - American Library Association Notable Children's Book 1994
  - New York Times Best Illustrated Book 1994
  - School Library Journal and Booklist Best Book 1994
  - National Council of Teachers of English Notable Children's Book 1995
  - Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor 1995

Reading Levels
Interest Level: Gr. 2-5           DRA Level: 34                  Lexile Measure: 1020L         
Grade Equivalent: 5.3          Guided Reading: O 

See inside
Below are two spreads from inside this book.