Rip Van Winkle

by Will Moses (Adapted/Illustrated by), Washington Irving

This is the story of Rip Van Winkle--that curious fellow, who with his dog, Wolf, ran away from a hard day's work to the Catskill Mountains only to discover in a forgotten valley a strange band of revelers who gave him a drink so powerful he slept for twenty years! His tale still haunts the Hudson River Valley. Indeed, the revelers' bowling pins can be heard in the thunder of the place to this very day.Here is an unforgettable retelling by Will Moses, an artist of the upper Hudson River, who knows the valley, knows the man Van Winkle, and brings Washington Irving's classic tale stunningly to life with breathtaking landscapes and his unmistakable folk style.

Genres: Picture Books, Folk Tales, 2nd Grade, Childrens, Classics

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 1999

About the author

Born and raised here, in Eagle Bridge, New York, Will Moses creates paintings that reflect the quiet beauty of this tiny community nestled close to the Vermont border. Will has created a vivid, delightful miniature world, peopled with villagers who have stepped out of the past to charm us with their simple, everyday pastimes.

As a fourth generation member of the renowned Moses family, painting is a natural tradition for Will, who began painting when he was four years old. Encouraged by his grandfather, a well-known folk painter in his own right, young Will was allowed to experiment freely with paints. Forrest K. Moses was totally committed to self-expression and passed this freedom of spirit along to his young grandson. Stimulated by his grandfather's confident approach, Will developed his own unique style of Americana.

Today, Will continues to carry on the family tradition. Although his style is reminiscent of that of his celebrated great-grandmother, it is more complex and sophisticated.

Read more...

Reviews

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little late to this classic. The artwork didn't make sense to me until I read that Will Moses is the great grandson of Grandma Moses.

[Nicholas & Megan Clinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful & well-told. This was part of our morning basket in October, just after reading about how the people who landed at Plymouth were aiming for the Hudson River. My 5 yr old immediately asked to read Sleepy Hollow next. #spookytimes

Reread after a picture book bio on Washington Irving during the summer. Intend to parallel read the original short story with A Gentleman in Moscow.

Third time’s a charm: the paintings by Will Moses are very accurate to the description of the old Dutch costumes described in the unabridged legend.

[Ali Cohen]

Title (italicize): Rip Van Winkle
Author: Washington Irving retold by Will Moses
Illustrator (if separate from author): Will Moses
Genre: Legend
Theme(s):
• Catskills Mountains
• Seasons
• Laziness
• Personalities
• Dogs
• Work
• Community
• Temptation
• Magic
• Politics
• Time
Opening line/sentence (type directly from text): Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson River must remember the Catskill Mountains, risking magnificently to the west of it.
Brief Book Summary (2-3 sentences in your own words): Rip Van Winkle is a lazy man who just enjoys idling and enjoying life, he was a nice man and would help anyone out and enjoyed the company of his neighbors but did not enjoy doing his own work. One autumn day, to escape his nagging wife he went to the woods with his dog, Wolf, and his gun and experienced some magic. There were men drinking and playing ninepin balls and when he was done and woke up he went back to his village and time had passed, it was now the revolutionary war, his children had grown, his wife had died, and he was at the age where doing nothing was finally acceptable.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1 (cut & paste):
Fern Kory (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, December 1999 (Vol. 53, No. 4))
Retold and illustrated in an appropriately folksy style by the great-grandson of Grandma Moses, this text-heavy picture-book adaptation of Washington Irving s 1820 tale about a man who sleeps through the Revolutionary War offers readers a look at the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley landscape in which the story takes place. The crude human figures and buildings depicted in the variously sized oil paintings reinforce the story s antiquity and to that extent exacerbate the reader s historical distance from this classic American tale. Modern attention spans and tastes make this a challenging readaloud, while the picture-book format may put off older readers. Some youngsters, though, may find this format more accessible and engaging than a text-only version and browsers will appreciate the natural beauty of the impressionistically detailed and richly colored fall landscape. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 1999, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1999, Philomel, 48p, $16.99. Grades 3-6.
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: 1999.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2 (cut & paste):
Carolyn Phelan (Booklist, November 1, 1999 (Vol. 96, No. 5))
A companion volume to Moses' edition of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1995), this book retells, in somewhat simplified language, Irving's classic tale of Rip Van Winkle, who fell asleep in the Catskills one evening and awoke 20 years later. Oil paintings appear on nearly every page of this large-format book, which includes a double-page spread portraying the hero's awakening. Like his great-grandmother Grandma Moses, the artist paints in a folk art style that may appeal to adults more than to children. Recommended for collections needing illustrated versions of the tale. Category: Middle Readers. 1999, Putnam/Philomel, $16.99. Gr. 3-5.
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: 1999.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words):
Both reviewers touch upon the beauty of the illustrations done to pair with this retelling of the famous legend of Rip Van Winkle. However, another concern mentioned is the style of the book and to what age level it would be appropriate for, although the beautiful illustrations may appeal to a more mature audience. In addition, the book is very text heavy for a read a-loud. I would agree, this book was not as enjoyable for me as other picture books are because it was not as fast paced and immediately exciting, however, it did tell a great story, that read in an intriguing way could engage a younger classroom.
Evaluation of Literary Elements (3-4 sentences in your own words):
As the reviewers said, this picture book is a bit text heavy, however, the pictures have a great, unique style of their own. The layout of the picture changes from page to page, sometimes it will take up half of the page, sometimes there is only a little picture in the corner, and on some spreads the illustration is the whole page without any text. This format allowed for the book to have a different kind of flow and on certain pages where there was more text there was an opportunity for the reader to really use their imagination, while on pages with just pictures it gave the reader a break from words and the opportunity to really take in the scene. The text was very descriptive and really set the scene and told a fantastic narrative.
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words):
While the reviewers said that this may be too mature to grasp young readers’ attentions, I think it could be done. I would read a-loud this story to my students, more likely in a couple day span, because it is text heavy and this will allow them to better understand and take in the text. I would also have the students act out the story to really engage them in the text and keep their minds from wandering. Of course, I will be the narrator with an exciting and interesting tone and pace to also help keep the engagement of my students.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Historical details abound in this skillful retelling of #Ripvanwinkles tale.#YoungReaders #PictureBook #BookReview #ChildrensBooks #amreading

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait to read with my son.