Ahlberg, Allan. Previously. Illustrated by Bruce Ingman. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0763653040.
Author Website: None.
Illustrator Website: http://www.bruceingman.com/
Awards: North Carolina Children's Book Award
Media: Acrylic Paint on Paper.
Use of Repetition: (throughout the book) “Previously he / she / they had . . .,” “running like mad,”
Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List
Annotation: A reverse recitation of well-known fairytales begins with Goldilocks “running like mad” (p. 4) through the woods and ends with the book’s catchword, “previously.” Jack and Jill, the Frog Prince, Cinderella and others make appearances in this endings first story.
Personal Reaction: This clever compilation of familiar stories encourages readers to think in reverse and consider events from a fresh perspective. Ahlberg ties together a litany tales about Goldilocks, Jack, Jill, a frog, a prince, Cinderella and the Gingerbread Boy in delightful, reverse storytelling narrative. Readers are left with a group of babies, cubs, tadpoles, trees, and a sense of the power of looking at things from a fresh angle. Ahlberg doesn’t deviate from the original story content, but freshens up some of the stories with comments such as this one about Jack, “Previously, he has been playing soccer with his little pals. Previously, he had come tumbling down the high hill with his argumentative little sister . . . “ (p. 11). Ahlberg does a wonderful job pulling the stories together with seamless transitions. Ingman’s painterly illustrations are bright and contribute a cheerful continuity to the different stories. I enjoyed re-visiting these stories in reverse and would use this book for a creative writing assignment for upper grade elementary school students. Ahlberg demonstrates a flair for highlighting a storyline, as well as suggests how fun it can be to re-write a classic with your own twist.
