Title: Heckety Peg
Author: Audrey
Wood
Illustrator: Don Wood
I was already a fan of the (husband &
wife) illustrator & author team of Don & Audrey Woods, from
having used the Spanish version of The Napping House often in
language therapy activities. We just accidentally stumbled on to Heckedy Peg at the library, from one quick look at it, I knew it was one we had to take home.
Heckedy Peg tells the story of a family whose world is turned
upside-down when a witch visits their cottage, and turns the children
into food.
The beautiful illustrations are immediately enchanting, depicting life in a non-modern, agricultural world-- a nice change of rhythm for children being raised in an urban or sub-urban environment. Don Wood also managed to perfectly capture the characters' emotions of joy, terror, and despair in his oil-paintings.
Here are some areas of expressive language that can be targeted with this story:
Basic academic concepts
The seven children are named after the days of the week, which makes for a nice, indirect way to incorporate this functional, academic concept. And your child's teacher would also be pleased!
Semantic associations
As the mother breaks the witch's spell by matching her children [turned into food] with the food each has asked for, there is a great opportunity for discussion with your child as to how the items go together. For example:
- "bread wants butter". Why does bread go with butter? Because we spread butter on bread.
- "pie wants knife". Why does pie go with a knife? Because we use a knife to cut the pie.
Sequencing and prepositions of location
Audrey Wood, the author, divides Heckedy Peg's journey into distinct parts, which Don Wood illustrates beautifully. It is beneficial expressive language practice for your child to use prepositional phrases in the correct order to describe the witch's journey home-- "... down the road, over the bridge, through the town, across the field, and deep into the woods."
The beautiful illustrations are immediately enchanting, depicting life in a non-modern, agricultural world-- a nice change of rhythm for children being raised in an urban or sub-urban environment. Don Wood also managed to perfectly capture the characters' emotions of joy, terror, and despair in his oil-paintings.
Here are some areas of expressive language that can be targeted with this story:
Basic academic concepts
The seven children are named after the days of the week, which makes for a nice, indirect way to incorporate this functional, academic concept. And your child's teacher would also be pleased!
Semantic associations
As the mother breaks the witch's spell by matching her children [turned into food] with the food each has asked for, there is a great opportunity for discussion with your child as to how the items go together. For example:
- "bread wants butter". Why does bread go with butter? Because we spread butter on bread.
- "pie wants knife". Why does pie go with a knife? Because we use a knife to cut the pie.
Sequencing and prepositions of location
Audrey Wood, the author, divides Heckedy Peg's journey into distinct parts, which Don Wood illustrates beautifully. It is beneficial expressive language practice for your child to use prepositional phrases in the correct order to describe the witch's journey home-- "... down the road, over the bridge, through the town, across the field, and deep into the woods."
Perspective-taking
For children who would benefit from practice with social language, adults can take time to discuss what the characters are thinking and feeling, and what each person or animal knows, in relation to the others. Here are some ideas:
- First-order false beliefs-- The understanding of one person's beliefs about something. For example, in Heckedy Peg, since the little bird was witness to the witch casting her spell, he knows where she has taken the children. The mother does not know where her children are since she was out at the market. Different characters think, know, and feel different things, and it can be worthwhile to actually discuss this with your children as you read the story.
- Second-order false beliefs-- The ability to understand one person’s beliefs about another person’s beliefs. For example, the witch knows that the children in the story think that she is just an old lady in need of a light for her pipe. Readers who have difficulty interpreting others' feelings and guessing their thoughts may really need an adult to talk about this in as simple terms as possible, even drawing simple pictures with "thought bubbles" to make it clearer.
- First-order false beliefs-- The understanding of one person's beliefs about something. For example, in Heckedy Peg, since the little bird was witness to the witch casting her spell, he knows where she has taken the children. The mother does not know where her children are since she was out at the market. Different characters think, know, and feel different things, and it can be worthwhile to actually discuss this with your children as you read the story.
- Second-order false beliefs-- The ability to understand one person’s beliefs about another person’s beliefs. For example, the witch knows that the children in the story think that she is just an old lady in need of a light for her pipe. Readers who have difficulty interpreting others' feelings and guessing their thoughts may really need an adult to talk about this in as simple terms as possible, even drawing simple pictures with "thought bubbles" to make it clearer.
Finally, mothers will especially love this one, since the main "moral" would be...
LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!!!!!
Find Heckedy Peg at the Singapore NLB under Fairy Tales, Witches Fiction.
Enjoy the story!
Written in Singapore, April 2013
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