The Sweetest Fig (Module 2)

Summary
The Sweetest Fig is a story of dentist in Paris, France. He does not seem like the nicest man around and can be cruel to his dog when he does something wrong. One day, an old woman comes in begging for help with her tooth ache. The dentist helps her by pulling a tooth and she tells him she has no money, instead she gives him 2 figs that will make his dreams come true. The next day after eating a fig, he realizes she meant this quite literally as his dream of walking down the street in his underwear comes true! He begins to train himself to dream of being the richest man in the world and plans to eat a fig to make his dreams come true. Instead, his dog eats the fig and finally gets back at him for being a cruel owner!

Suggested Activities
This would be a great story to use at a story time event. It could be introduced by having kids share about their pets and maybe the things they do wrong. Then the story could be read to them and finally we could do an activity of what would happen if our pets dreams came true! Kids could draw pictures of what their pets dreams are or write a story about it. If kids don't have pets,they could write about animals at the zoo or at animal parks.

Reviews

Chris Van Allsburg's The Sweetest Fig (Houghton Mifflin, 1993) leads students to explore a powerful theme-empathy. When this work is paired with Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," a popular short story often included in ninth grade anthologies, students study the same theme across different genres.

In The Sweetest Fig, a self-centered dentist, Monsieur Bibot, is furious when a patient can pay for his services with only two figs and a promise that the figs will make his dreams come true. In anger, he ushers her out of the office, refusing to provide pain medication. After he eats the first fig, Bibot is shocked when the woman's promise is realized; however, Marcel, his ill-treated dog, devours the second fig before Bibot can reach it. As Marcel's dream of taking his master's place becomes a reality, the reader is led to believe that Bibot will learn, firsthand, how his callous behavior has affected those around him.

Matthews, R., Maria, C. M., Zuidema, L. A., Mascia, E. G., & al, e. (1999). What picture books do you recommend for use in the english language arts classroom? English Journal, 88(4), 27-33. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237279010?accountid=7113

My Thoughts
I have to admit I am biased about this book, as I was turning the pages the drawing of the dog shocked me. It looks exactly like my dog! I love my dog more than healthy amount and seeing a replica in a picture book got me very excited. (I included a picture of both in this blog entry. I might look for a framed print of the dog so that I can always have a picture of my dog in my home!)

                Twin dogs!

Chirs Van Allsburg books just simply amaze me. The artwork is just incredible. As I was reading through this I kept thinking, "How does he not win a Caldecott for every single book he creates?" I was a huge Jumangi and The Polar Express fan as a child. His artwork is just so realistic and beautiful. It really is the star of the show!

The story, I felt, might be a little hard to grasp for younger kids. There was some terminology that might be confusing for 2nd grade and under. However, it's a great way to teach older kids some new vocabulary. It's a funny story that makes us think about what our pets really think!!

Bibliography
Van Allsburg, C. (1993). The sweetest fig. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.