Swamp Angel

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Isaacs, Anne. 1994. Swamp Angel. Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN 0140559086

PLOT SUMMARY

Angelica Longrider, born in Tennessee in 1815, was unlike other girls. Given the nickname Swamp Angel, she exhibited strength and power uncharacteristic even for grown men. Her immense stature allowed her to conquer tasks none before her had accomplished. An unruly bear, known as Thundering Tarnation, terrorized the settlers. 

A competition was started to kill the bear. After the defeat of all the “Tennessee daredevils”, Swamp Angel had her turn to challenge Tarnation. She tossed, lassoed, and wrestled him for four days. After sleeping and snoring down most of the trees in the area, a final tree fell right on top of Tarnation, killing him. The settlers feasted on Tarnation, and stored up more for the winter. Swamp Angel was a heroine!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Swamp Angel features a strong female character comparable to Paul Bunyan. Her nemesis, Thundering Tarnation, is a hated black bear in the Appalachian Mountains. Isaacs gives descriptions of the setting—Tennessee, early 1800s, but Zelinsky’s illustrations fully detail the landscape, the settlers, as well as Angel and Tarnation.

This action-packed tale keeps the reader hooked with conflicts between Tarnation and the settlers, and more so, the competition between Tarnation and Angel. The quick-moving events include unrealistic scenarios that induce laughter with a satisfying ending, which leads to the formation of a landscape in Montana and the legend of a constellation.

Zelinsky’s oil paintings capture details and separate stories that the text excludes. An example is the heroic action of Angel putting out a fire at a home, which Isaacs only acknowledges as “eye-popping wonders”. The illustrations show features of the setting that are complemented by the wood grain frames around each page.

The story, which begins with background information about Angelica Longrider, evolves into a “once upon a time” story packed with drama and ending with origin stories. The author’s use of regional dialect adds to the authenticity of the story if not also adding slight stereotypical ideas about Southern settlers. Incorporated is a glimpse into the lifestyles of settlers of this time—occupations, dress, and mannerisms.

Overall, this humorous book is comparable to the incredibility of tall tales such as the aforementioned Paul Bunyan. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a creative story full of imagination and vibrant folk art.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

Caldecott Honor Book, 1995

“The pictures and words cavort across the page in perfect synchronization, revealing the heroine's feisty solution.”

—Wendy Lukehart, School Library Journal, Dec. 1994

“There are very few tall tales about extraordinary women in American folklore compared to those that extol the virtues of men, and this comic rendition about a gifted, powerful and helpful woman is in all ways superb.”

—Jack Zipes, The New York Times Book Review, Nov. 1994

CONNECTIONS

Related Books:

Isaacs, Anne. 2010. Dust Devil. Ill. by Paul. O. Zelinsky. New York: Schwartz & Wade. ISBN 0375867228

Kellogg, Steven. 1984. Paul Bunyan. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0688058000

Tall Tale Comparison: Read Paul Bunyan and compare Paul and Angel’s characteristics.

Dialect Definitions: Choose 3-5 regional phrases, similes, metaphors, or idioms used in Swamp Angels and give definitions for their meanings in simpler terms.

Write Your Own Historical Tall Tale: After studying regions of the US, select one region to research further. Study dialect, dress, mannerisms, occupations, etc. Use those elements to write your own tall tale about a citizen in that region.