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Summary
Summary
Ella Kate Ewing was born in 1872. She started out small, but she just kept on growing. Soon she was too tall for her desk at school, too tall for her bed at home, too tall to fit anywhere. Ella Kate was a real-life giant, but she refused to hide herself away. Instead, she used her unusual height to achieve her equally large dreams.The masterful Klise sisters deliver a touching and inspiring true story about a strong-minded girl who finally embraced her differences. It's the perfect book for every child who has ever felt like an outsider.
Author Notes
Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise are sisters and co-creators of many award-winning books for children. Kate lives in Norwood, Missouri, and Sarah lives in Berkeley, California.
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-When she starts to grow at an alarming rate at the age of seven, no one can predict what life may have in store for Ella Kate, a country girl who becomes a "real, live giant." Self-conscious about her abnormal height, Ella hunches down to look smaller, tries unsuccessfully to place her long legs under her desk, and suffers the teasing of thoughtless classmates, feeling "too big for the world." By the time she reaches 8 feet, in 1889, 17-year-old Ella is invited to work as an attraction in a Chicago museum, and, despite her father's protective instincts, takes the offer. Thus begins a life of fame, fortune, and worldwide adventure for the girl once labeled a "freak." Told in first person, this is a delightful tale about an extraordinary young woman who embraced her difference. The story is well told in straightforward prose with lots of dialogue, and Ella's strength of character shines through. The stylized acrylic illustrations add much to the text, using bright colors and emphasizing Ella's height from various perspectives. A sepia-toned photo of the real Ella and an author's note are included. This is an excellent choice for youngsters who have ever had to deal with being different. It would also work well paired with a version of "Molly Whuppie," offering a point of comparison between the fantasy giant and the real-life Ella. Sure to be a hit.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Klise sisters (the Little Rabbit books) tell the story of Ella Kate Ewing, who turned what could have been a miserable existence into a life of dignity. Gigantism, not understood in the 19th century, made Ella a child who needed a specially made desk and wore size 12 shoes. The advice her parents gave her forms the title of the book, but Ella, 8'4" by age 22, suffered, and Kate Klise portrays her plight with sensitivity: "I was too big for the world." As a museum exhibit in Chicago, the discomfort of public display is offset by the phenomenal pay; at 18, she makes more in five months than her father's farm makes in five years. Wealth brings independence, a house, and a thirst for new experiences: "[T]he more I saw of the world, the more I wanted to see. Because as big as I was, the world was so much bigger. And I intended to see it all." M. Sarah Klise's acrylic paintings give a sense of the historical setting without drawing attention to themselves; modest colors and conventional forms echo Ella's humility. A quiet story with unexpected impact. Ages 6-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Kate Klise assumes the voice of real-life giantess Ella Kate Ewing (b. 1872), who, at eight feet, four inches tall, achieved financial independence as a traveling-circus attraction. The story's particulars are startling, but the book's message, best expressed by its title, applies to readers of all sizes. M. Sarah Klise's capable art shows an outsize woman with heart, grit, and grace. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Ella Kate Ewing had gigantism, a glandular disorder that gave her an adult height of 8 feet 4 inches and size 24 feet. Her story is told in the first person, recounting how troubled she was by teasing in her youth, but how she turned her condition into a jobappearing in circuses and museums and at fairsand a means to achieve independence and to help her family. She grew up in Missouri in a log cabin her father built, and the title comes from her mother's admonition as she tried to keep Ella Kate clothed properly. M. Sarah Klise's acrylic-onBristol board paintings are friendly and colorful, rendering the late-19th-century images with softly exaggerated gestures. The author's note is informative, but it does not include referencesa lamentable omission, as it makes further investigation of this fascinating subject difficult. Children will likely be captivated by both the story and Ella Kate's quiet and direct voice. (Picture book/biography. 5- 9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Born in 1872 and brought up on a farm in Missouri, Ella Kate Ewing begins to grow so quickly that she soon towers over her friends. Though her parents vow to protect Ella Kate from name-calling and taunts by keeping her at home, at 18 she ventures out to earn money as a museum exhibit in Chicago. Later, Ella Kate sees the world and makes her fortune by appearing in exhibitions and circuses as THE TALLEST LADY ON EARTH. When people are cruel, she maintains her dignity by remembering her parents' admonition to Stand straight, Ella Kate. Based on the real Ella Ewing and told from her point of view, this intriguing picture book ends with a page of information about her medical condition (gigantism) and her remarkable life. Although the book's well-paced, lightly fictionalized story underscores Ella Kate's dignity and generosity, it includes many height-related incidents that will intrigue and amuse children. The acrylic paintings reflect the tone of the text while illustrating the narrative with warmth, wit, and style. The book's factual basis makes its underlying message more powerful. Readers will enjoy watching this sympathetic character gradually come to accept her unusual height and make the most of it.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
WRITTEN especially for the vertically challenged, John Schwartz's "Short: Walking Tall When You're Not Tall at All" identifies a well-known coping strategy among those of us who were half-pints. In a world of alpha dogs (bullies at skating rinks, high school girls making slighting comments) we became the smart alecks, the sidekicks, the class clowns. Later in life, Schwartz observes, the related verbal skills can wonderfully pave the way to a career in, say, the upper echelons of journalism (Schwartz is the national legal correspondent for The New York Times and an occasional contributor to these pages). Given that logic, you may wonder whether the newspaper you are currently reading was prepared primarily by those known during their school days as "shrimp." In "Stand Straight, Ella Kate," she does. Born in the Huge State of Texas, Schwartz, like Stuart Little, was the runt of the family and forever remained the littlest guy in his class. Now, his own kids are taller than he is, and Schwartz, at 5-foot-3, still sometimes shops for clothes in the boys' department. This amusing and autobiographical chapter book is addressed to young readers who may be considering the purchase of elevator shoes. But it could also prove reassuring to their parents, who might have wondered whether a round of hormone injections could give their pipsqueak a boost - a dubious prospect at best, the book makes clear. Schwartz offers several reassurances, for example that growth spurts usually occur between the ages of 12 and 15, so those frustrated about their size may get a second chance to catch up, though genetics, alas, plays a fateful role. Famous people can be short (Picasso, Robert Reich), including a striking number of dictators (Caesar, Napoleon, Stalin, Franco). Any prejudices we might have that the tall are more likely to get the job and the girl are not supported by the evidence. And finally, while women may be attracted to "tall, dark and handsome," they really like people they can talk to -which (see above) favors the diminutive and witty. Humor, then, is Schwartz's route to self-esteem, and there are laughs aplenty. He promises not to "talk down" to his readers and thanks his family for making him feel he is "seven feet tall," even when they find it necessary to cut him "down to size now and then." He also indicates that his favorite film is "Time Bandits," an adventure story featuring intergalactic dwarfs. Surprisingly, no mention is made of the children's classic "The Little Engine That Could." By "short" Schwartz means those considerably below average height (5-foot-9 for American men and 5-foot-4 for women). Most of us cluster near the center of the bell curve. At either end are the jockeys and professional basketball players; Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger; R2-D2 and C-3PO. Gender, of course, complicates these issues. Smallness is a problem for boys but tallness, not so much; the opposite is the case for girls, though Michelle Obama may be changing that. WHICH brings us to the other end of the bell curve, with "Stand Straight, Ella Kate," a biographical picture book about Ella Kate Ewing (8-foot-4), written by Kate Klise. To picture the heroine's time (1872-1913), the author's sister, M. Sarah Klise, provides illustrations that could have been inspired by Garth Williams, if you can imagine an eight-foot character plopped down in the middle of his illustrations for the "Little House" books. In any event, the stage is set when Ella is 13 and a boy calls her a "freak," and Ella's mother insists that she never slouch -hence the title. So, at the age of 18, holding her head high, Ella, no slouch, applied for carny work and became an exhibit, getting to tour the world as the Tallest Lady on Earth and earning as much in a month as her pa earned in a year of farming. Little-guy humor may be Schwartz's path, but Klise suggests that being deferential had no place in Ella's life; instead, she embraced herself as a spectacle with a towering pride. With her sizable earnings, she paid off her parents' mortgage and bought a house for herself, which she outfitted with custom-made furniture. As a measure of Ella's confidence, Klise has her character boast, "I had the longest bed in town." Even so, let me add that one of the most satisfying features of "Stand Straight, Ella Kate" can be seen in the endpapers, where a drawing of Ella's glove appears actual size ("glove size 24"). As a way of measuring and understanding, you can put your own hand down on top of that outline. It's a humbling experience. Jerry Griswold teaches at San Diego State University. His most recent book is "Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature."