35. Clever Beatrice

Clever Beatrice: An Upper Peninsula Conte by Margaret Willey (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) 2001

Genre

Folklore

Honors

Treasure State Award, 2003, nominee
American Library Association Notable Books for Children, 2002, winner
Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2002, winner
Georgia Children's Picture StoryBook Award, 2003, nominee
Georgia Children's Book Award, 2003, nominee
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2005, nominee
Great Lakes' Great Books Award, 2003, nominee
North Carolina Children's Book Award, 2003, nominee

Review

Willey notes that the basic tale she tells is akin to the Canadian conte tales.  The primary exception is that she makes her wily trickster a little girl -- Beatrice (named for Willey's mother in law).  The tale is perhaps typical to folklore; wits are rewarded over muscle.  Beatrice devises a way to make money for herself and her destitute mother.  Her mother tells her that there are only two ways to get money: lumberjacking and besting Giants in bets on strength.  Beatrice chooses the second path.  In three different bets, she convinces a rich giant that she is likely to cause him mischief (her blow will destroy the door to his home, she'll rip out his entire well to carry more water than him, and her throwing of a railroad tie will likely either injure his relations or destroy his home).  The giant is convinced that simply paying Beatrice is more worthwhile than the risk that Beatrice might inconvenience him.

Opinion

The story is simple but fun, and it's brilliant appeal is that the hero is a small child.  This helps ensure its appeal for children.  They'll love seeing a child outwit an adult (especially an enormous oversized adult).  I also appreciated that the hero was a female figure, as many of the most well known U.S. folklore figures are men: Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed.

Ideas

The book would be good with a series of folktales or for a story time.  Because the basic trick Beatrice uses follows a standard formula, It might also be fun to have children come up with other bets she and the giant could make and how she could best him.