Module 13: Red Ted and the Lost Things

Red Ted and the Lost Things

Book Summary:

Red Ted is a graphic novel about a stuffed toy bear who is accidently left on a train by his owner, Stevie.  He is then placed in a room upon a shelf with all the other items that have been lost, discarded or left behind on the train.  Red Ted is confident that Stevie will come back for him, but Crocodile, the lost toy next to him on the shelf, assured him that his owner will never come back.  So, Red Ted decides that he will set off and find Stevie!  With a little help from Crocodile and a cat that they meet along the way, Red Ted is reunited with his owner.  Crocodile also finds a new home with Stevie. 

APA Reference of Book:

Rosen, M. (2009). Red Ted and the lost things. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Impressions:

I find graphic novels very difficult to read and follow.  Through discussions with my peers, this book was recommended as it is directed for younger students and they thought that my kindergarten students would enjoy it.  Overall, I enjoyed this story.  It is a very sweet tale that most readers can relate to as we have all misplaced or lost something at one time or another.  I believe this is an excellent story to use when introducing young readers to graphic novels as it is not overcrowded with text and pictures.  They are simple and easy to understand.  

Professional Review:

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

When Red Ted (a small, reddish-brown stuffed teddy) is accidentally left behind on a train, he is taken to "the Place of Lost Things." He isn't too worried at first ("Stevie will come and find me. She loves me as much as she loves cheese"), but the musings of a skeptical stuffed crocodile ("I've been here a very long time, and no one has ever come to get me") soon provoke him into action, and he decides to go looking for Stevie. Crocodile wants to come along, and so the two escape together. With the help of a friendly, cheese-loving cat (clearly prompted to help in part by her expectation of a cheesy reward), the two stuffed animals overcome obstacles until they finally manage to find their way to Red Ted's home and to happiness. The storyline is simple and familiar (Vulliamy's Small, BCCB 10/02, is a stellar recent example), but Rosen gives it new life through the engaging and distinct personalities of his animal characters: optimistic Red Ted, gloomy Crocodile ("We're still lost, aren't we? I knew things would go wrong"), and the wise, practical cat ("You want to go home, but you don't know the way. Ah, that's how it is sometimes, my dears"). The book intermixes traditional picture-book format with the paneled narrative of a graphic novel, with much of the text in dialogue bubbles, a format that makes the book suitable for reading alone or aloud. Stewart's mixed-media illustrations are quiet and enchanting. Backgrounds and lesser characters (such as Stevie's mom and, more mysteriously, the cat) are rendered mistily in muted tones, while the two stuffed animals and Stevie are crisply delineated with thin, dark outlines and brighter hues, a look that suggests their figures and dialogue balloons are separately layered onto the backdrops. The style is English cozy in the vein of Shepard and Fortnum (illustrator of the Paddington Bear books); Red Ted is adorably clad in an oversized sweater, while the tiny-limbed Crocodile has an amusingly plump, green corduroy body. Age-appropriate pathos and humor make this a winner for the preschool and early elementary set and, undoubtedly, for their fond adults as well.

Source:

Hulick, J. (2010). Red Ted and the lost things [Review of the book Red Ted and the lost things,

by M, Rosen.]. Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 63(5), 214. Retrieved from http://bccb.ischool.illinois.edu

Found through UNT’s Library Database- Project Muse

Library Uses:

During and after reading Red Ted and the Lost Things, the librarian should discuss the style of writing author Michael Rosen used to tell this story.  The librarian and students should note the speech bubbles that he used to give each character throughout the story a voice and how he used squares to inform readers of what the characters were doing.  The librarian could then allow the students to create their own story using speech bubbles.  For younger students, the librarian may provide a piece of paper in which there is one speech bubble already provided for the students to use.  The students would simply need to create their character and write what he/she is saying.  For more advanced students, the librarian could provide a paper with premade boxes in which the students draw multiple illustrations and speech bubbles for their text.