Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs

                                                                    Swamp Angel

Bibliography
Isaacs, Anne.  1994.  Swamp Angel.  Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky.  New York, NY:  Dutton Children's Books. ISBN 9780525452713

Plot Summary
Angelia Longrider was born a giant in Tennessee. As a tween, she got her name “Swamp Angel” when she rescued a wagon train that was stuck in a foggy swamp, easily plucking them out of the mud.  Angel entered a contest to trap and kill the giant bear, Thundering Tarnation, who was stealing food from the settlers.  She was up against a large number of “Tennessee Daredevils” who also wanted the bear’s huge pelt as their prize, but they were all outsmarted or overpowered by the bear.  Angel and Tarnation were an even match, and they fought for days on land, in the sky, and under water, after which they were so tired that they both fell asleep.  Their snores were so loud and powerful that they cleared the forest around them.  When the last tree fell, it landed on Tarnation and killed him.  While a bit remorseful after all the time they spent fighting, Angel claimed her prize, the bear’s pelt, and fed the settlers with his meat.

Critical Analysis
This story uses humor and irony to tell the exaggerated tale of Swamp Angel.  Everything about her is larger than life, such as being  “a full two years old before she built her first log cabin” and being able to effortlessly lift wagons out of the mud at age 12.  Angel is an inspiration for women to be strong, as she defies the typical pioneer women’s roles of sewing and baking in the home and goes up against the strongest men in the land to fight the bear.  After the bear is beat, every part of him is used up for food or some other way to benefit the settlers—this is not a tale of trophy hunting that happens today.  The town was fed with “bear steaks and bear cakes, bear muffins and bear stuffin,’ bear roast and bear toast.”  The author even incorporated a clever play on the word “bear” and had the characters drinking “berry wine.”
In terms of illustrations, the first thing that stood out was the incorporation of detailed wood-grain on every page.  Zelinsky also created incredibly detailed background settings that are sometimes reminiscent of a Magritte painting in his depiction of the sky and the colors that look as if they are coated in aged varnish.  The pictures show how Angel really towers over the landscape and all the people around it.  There are lots of details that add humor to the story, such as the cougar playing with the huge ball of yarn Angel uses to knit as if it were a kitten, the fishing line tangled around her toe after she drinks the lake dry and strands a fisherman, and the baby swinging off the strap of her bag towards the end of the story.  Also, her bare feet often take a prominent role in the pictures.

Review Excerpts

This book won the 1996 Caldecott Award.

School Library Journal, 11/01/1997
“Thundering Tarnation! With its good-natured, larger-than-life heroine and broad, fanciful paintings, this original Tennessee tall tale is exhilarating and side-splittingly funny.”
Publishers Weekly, 10/03/1994

“Zelinsky's stunning American-primitive oil paintings, set against an unusual background of cherry, maple and birch veneers, frankly steal the show here. Their success, however, does not diminish the accomplishment of Isaacs, whose feisty tall tale marks an impressive picture-book debut”

Connections
I think this book is a great story for girls; most tall tales are about men, but Swamp Angel has a female hero and goes against stereotypical women’s roles in the 1800’s.  Readers that enjoyed this book may want to read Dust Devil, the companion book to Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs and Paul O. Zelinsky ISBN 9780375867224.  Other tall tales that may interest readers include Johnny Appleseed:  A Tall Tale by Steven Kellogg  ISBN 9780688064174 or Johnny Kaw: A Tall Tale by Devin Scillian ISBN 9781585367917.