Dust Devil

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Isaacs, Anne. 2010. DUST DEVIL. Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 978-0-375-86722-4

AWARD(S) and STARS

Irma S. Black and James H. Black Award, 2010

Booklist Book Review Stars, 2010

Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2010

Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, 2010

School Library Journal Book Review Stars, 2010

PLOT SUMMARY

Featuring the spunky folktale character, Angelica Longrider, known as Swamp Angel, Dust Devil takes its readers back to 1835. Set in the wilds of spacious Montana, Swamp Angel wrestles a raging dust storm which magically turns into a sidekick, her horse Dust Devil. Then enters the bandit Backward Bart and his gang on over-sized mosquitoes causing havoc throughout Montana. Riding her rollicking stead and hurling lightning bolts, Swamp Angel drives the Flying Desperados to halfway to Kansas. Here her Aunt Essie Bell helps by providing biscuits hard as rocks for Swamp Angel to throw at the greedy outlaws breaking their teeth and leading them to a “maximum security” jail. In the end, readers are left wondering if a new tale is in the making as the bandits’ gold teeth wash down the mountain streams to California perhaps inciting the gold rush.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In true tall tale form, Anne Isaacs reintroduces the feisty and courageous character Swamp Angel originally from Tennessee. Throughout the tall tale, with hints of pour quoi tale aspects, Isaacs humorously “explains” the origins of the Buttes of Montana, the Grand Canyon, the Sawtooth Mountains and hot water geysers. Her antagonistic character Backwards Bart will have children trying to talk backwards like he does repeating phrases like, “Up hurry!” or “Best the who’s?” Isaacs uses the elements of exaggeration and playing on words to entertain readers of all ages.

Painting on cedar, aspen and maple veneers, Paul O. Zelinsky depicts the Old West through detailed illustrations. Each oil-painted illustration outlined in red on the wood grain is rustic and filled with minute details adding to the author’s tale. Most of the pages are large illustrations of the text, yet a few of the pages look like stained glass windows representing smaller elements in the plot.

Although lengthier than an average picture book, readers will be so enthralled with the harrowing tale of the heroine and antics of the outlaws they’ll still sit through the whole book. As Backward Bart would say, “Book good a what!”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Kirkus (2010) – “Zelinsky's rustic oil illustrations offer a gallery of comic faces, frozen in exaggerated surprise, shock and frustration. Artfully crude, comedic artwork, friendly, understated narration and a wildly hyperbolic story combine to create a new classic.”
• Booklist (Sept. 2010) – “Once again, Isaacs’ story and Zelinsky’s oil-paint-on-wood artwork create a laugh-out-loud tall tale with folksy phrasing and slapstick exaggeration. There are really two adventures in one here, which makes for a lengthy read-aloud, but children will delight in the deadpan, Old West narration and every gleefully silly, expertly rendered visual detail, from Bart’s steed (a saloon-sized mosquito) to Angel’s full-branched pine-tree knitting needles. A few pourqoui elements wrap up this handsomely designed, thoroughly entertaining stand-alone sequel.”

CONNECTIONS

• Read the Caldecott Honor Book Swamp Angel, the prequel to Dust Devil.
• Compare and contrast other tall tales with similar elements such as extraordinary animal friends, landmark creations, and exaggeration:
• PAUL BUNYAN retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg, ISBN 978-0688058005
• AMERICAN TALL TALES retold by Mary Pope Osborne, ISBN 978-0679800897
• SALLY AN THUNDER ANN WHIRLWIND CROCKETT retold by Steven Kellogg, ISBN 978-0688140427
• JOHN HENRY: AN AMERICAN LEGEND retold by Ezra Jack Keats, ISBN 978-0394890524
• In Dust Devil, Isaacs talks about a number of geographic areas of Montana. Students can connect to the text by researching the Rocky Mountains, the Sawtooth mountain range, Billings, Montana’s buttes and geysers.