Bartholomew and the Oobleck



Geisel, T. (1976).  Bartholomew and the oobleck. New York:  Random House.


Bartholomew and the Oobleck is an entertaining 1950 Caldecott Book about a King who becomes angry at the sky.  He is tired of only rain, sunshine, snow, and fog coming from the sky above his kingdom.  Therefore, he asks his magicians to create something new. 

Exposition:
The exposition introduces the characters of King Derwin and Bartholomew Cubbins, as well as the setting, which is the Kingdom of Didd.

Conflict:
King Derwin is angry at the sky for only producing four things, so he makes his magicians create something new.  The new creation, oobleck, causes the main conflict of the story.

Rising Action:
The story shows how the king is tired of rain, sunshine, fog, and snow, leading up to the demands he makes of the kingdom's magicians.  The rising action also includes the night leading up to when the oobleck falls.  When the oobleck begins falling, everything seems okay at first, but that begins to change when everyone gets stuck in the oobleck.  Bartholomew rushes around the kingdom trying to warn everyone, but soon he is the only one who is not stuck in the oobleck.

Climax:
Bartholomew realizes that he has forgotten about the king and goes back to find that he is also stuck in the oobleck. 

Falling Action:
The king tries to think of magic words to stop the oobleck.  Bartholomew shouts at the king and blames him for the mess the oobleck has created.

Resolution:
King Derwin apologizes for causing the mess with the oobleck, and the oobleck melts away.  Finally things are back to normal, and King Derwin declares a holiday in honor of rain, fog, sunshine, and snow.

Illustrations:
The illustrations are interesting and creative.  However, very little color is used in the illustrations.  The pictures are all in black and white, until the oobleck begins falling.  Then, the only color that it shown is green, the color of oobleck.