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Title: Tops & Bottoms (Caldecott Honor Book)
ISBN: 0152928510
Author:
Janet Stevens
Publicate Date: 1995-03-29
Publish: 1995-03-29
List Price: $17.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.77
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.71
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.56
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Excellent children's story!
Very unusual and very funny storyline with a great moral...."if you don't work, you don't eat." The illustrations are wonderful, too! This is a family favorite that we will hang on to for years down the road when we can read it to our grandchildren.
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2: A simple trickster tale :)
Rabbit needs to earn some money, so he decides to cheat his lazy neighbor, Bear.
He borrows Bear's field with an agreement to split the harvest - tops or bottoms?
Well, of course, when Bear picks tops Rabbit plants root crops; and when Bear picks bottoms Rabbit picks non-root crops; and when Bear insists on a season of *both* tops and bottoms Rabbit plants *corn* and takes the middle.
Fairly lighthearted fare.
There are a few notes.
First, the book opens sideways, with one page on top and one page on the bottom. This can be a little awkward to read. Second, it's very tall, which makes it a little difficult to shelve. And finally (and really, this is minor, but it niggles at me every time), Rabbit gives the "worthless" beet tops to Bear, but beet greens are actually edible and very healthful! (Think chard, but a heck of a lot cheaper, and you get beetroot as well!)
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3: Teach how to trick
This is a good book for teaching your child how to be dishonest and trick people. I do not recommend it.
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4: Clever... Witty... Humorous... Must Have for Teachers
Stevens, J. (1995). Tops and bottoms. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Synopsis: When Hare loses everything he owns to a risky bet with a persistent tortoise, his family's lives are in danger of starvation. While Hare's family is in danger of starving, his neighbor, Bear, lies around lazily as his richly fertile farm fields lay untouched. Being a sly trickster, Hare devises a plan outsmart his slothful neighbor. Hare offers to plant, water, weed, and harvest his Bear's fields and split the profits 50/50. What Bear doesn't know is that Hare has a trick up his sleeve. Hare plants roots crops and gives Bear the tops. Then he plants leaf and stem vegetables and gives Bear the bottoms. Finally, Bear demands a season of both tops and bottoms. Hare plants the trickiest vegetable of all which really surprises Bear and the readers. In the end, Hare is able to buy back his own land and open a vegetable stand.
Evaluation: Can Hare outsmart the son of a brainy business bear? Readers will recognize this jovial trickster who triumphs by virtue of his quick wit. Stevens notes that his tale is adapted from European folktales and slave stories of the American South. This tale also has similarities with African Anansi stories. Although the author does not indicate any actual sources from which she adapted this tale, it is wildly humorous and worthy of reading for many years to come. Stevens' humorous extension of the Tortoise and Hare tale leaves young children wondering. However, older children and adults can clearly see the humor in the connection. In addition, most children do not see the humor in the fact that Hare and Mrs. Hare have hordes of small bunnies at home. Stevens' bold watercolor, pencil and gesso illustrations cover every inch of each vertically oriented double page spreads draw readers into this sharp tale. The vertical format allowed Stevens to create a tall canvas on which to illustrate succulent vegetables growing in the fields. Each page is full of exuberant details and simple boxed text. Educators will continue pulling this text out for students during spring planting and fall harvesting as a read aloud year after year. Children ages 5-10 will love hearing this tale for many years.
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5: cute story
great book for young boys, the story tells of a great lesson in life
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