Review: WHEN APPLES GREW NOSES AND WHITE HORSES FLEW by Jan Andrews

 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, Jan. 2011. When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew. Ill. Dusan Petricic. Toronto: Groundwood Books ISBN-10: 0888999526.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew by Jan Andrews is a collection of three stories featuring the hero Ti-Jean, who is “a hero unlike any other.” Indeed, the author says that Ti-Jean is a changeable character who is a little bit like each of us. Ti-Jean, who is described as being both foolish and wise, manages to land himself in trouble time and again, and yet manages to work his way out of it.

In the first story, Ti-Jean and his two brothers inherit gifts with magical properties when their father dies. Ti-Jean gets tricked out of all three gifts by a greedy princess, but cleverly manages to get the better of her. In the second story, Ti-Jean is again a farmer’s son who would much rather play marbles than work in the fields. When he finds himself in trouble due to foolishly accepting a challenge, he must accept the help of the princess, to earn back his freedom. In the third story, Ti-Jean is not the one who lands in trouble, but instead rescues his two brothers when they are imprisoned for failing to win the hand of the siegneur’s daughter.

In each of these three stories, Ti-Jean must use his wits, good manners & work ethic to solve the problem and save the day.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This light-hearted book of stories brought a smile to my face as I read it. Ti-Jean is a loveable character who goofs up a lot and tries to fix it, a character trait which most of us can relate to. Jan Andrews explains in the source notes that the stories have their roots in oral traditions, and folklore of different regions of Canada. The “note on sources” at the back of the book tells where each one of Andrew’s re-told stories originates and lends authenticity to the tales. Andrews has sprinkled bits of French-Canadian language patterns throughout the text to further tie it to its French- Canadian roots.  The author’s introduction, “A Word About Ti-Jean sets the stage for the collection of stories and gives the reader a framework to build on. The comical cartoon illustrations by Dusan Petricic capture the personalities of the various characters and bring the text to life.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

CM MAGAZINE REVIEW: Delightfully rendered black and white cartoon-like illustrations add to the sense of frivolity of the retellings. Fully fleshed source notes round out this attractive book and end with Andrews' assertion that "the stories might need the history that is our own."

KIRKUS REVIEW: Il Ttait une fois... " French Canada's version of beanstalk-climbing Jack gets a rare outing in three tales refashioned from old sources by a veteran storyteller. Preserving the lightest touch of a French inflection—"Cric, crac, / Parli, parlons, parlo. / If you won't listen, / Out you go"—Andrews sets her nanve but teachable everylad up against a trio of opponents.

5. CONNECTIONS

When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew would be a great addition to the curriculum when students are studying folktales. They could compare Ti-Jean to Jack,(of beanstalk fame), or other Folktale characters.

The story could easily be used to inspire a writing prompt. Jan Andrews suggests that there might be a little bit of Ti-Jean in all of us due to the difficulties we get into. Students could write about what difficulties they have gotten themselves into, why they got into them, and how they solved the problems.

*Other books of adapted folktales by Jan Andrews:
Andrews, Jan. Stories at the Door. ISBN-13: 9781770499058
Andrews, Jan. Rude Stories. ISBN-13: 9780887769214