Stephanie’s Ponytail.
What I love the most about Robert Munsch is his ability to take something so simple and turn it into something outrageous. Stephanie’s Ponytail is one such book.
A Ponytail coming out the back.
One morning before school, Stephanie asks her mum for a ponytail, because nobody at school has a ponytail. When she gets to school, all the kids say her ponytail is ugly – Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!
However, Stephanie is such a wonderfully strong character. She doesn’t care about the kids’ teasing and decides she is keeping it. The next day all the other kids have a ponytail coming out the back.
A Ponytail coming out the side
Stephanie doesn’t want to look like all the other kids at school, so she asks her mum for a ponytail coming out the side of her head. Again, the kids say it’s ugly – Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! But, the next day they all have a ponytail coming out the side.
So annoying!
Stephanie wears her ponytail in a different place each day, even out the front of her head to be original. However, every kid in the school, and even the teachers, copy her.
Stephanie needs a plan!
Stephanie is one of my favourite Munsch characters. I love her individuality and the fact that she sets the trends. She doesn’t care if others tease her, she is super confident in herself, even with a ponytail coming right out the front and over her eyes. However, Stephanie still can’t be original while everyone is copying her. So, she comes up with a very funny plan and a wonderful ending to such a great book that kids want to read over and over again.
Marchenko Magic
Another thing to enjoy about this book is Marchenko’s style behind the text. He’s a master illustrator at working his own humour behind Munsch’s outrageous text. Including the teacher who’s trying to be cool, but is always a day behind the trends.
From the Robert Munsch Classics Collection
Robert Munsch is my absolute favourite storyteller. His stories are so quirky and amazing fun to read aloud, especially if you’ve ever heard him read his own stories. If you get a chance head over to his website where he reads many of his wonderfully funny stories, and hear a master storyteller in action! http://robertmunsch.com/
Details:
Author: Robert Munsch
Illustrator: Michael Martchenko
Publisher: Annick Press, 1996