by
Alan Schroeder,
Todd L. Doney
(Illustrator)
ISBN: 068419578X
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publishers Weekly
Schroeder's ( Ragtime Tumpie ) atmospheric
rendering of a traditional Tibetan tale
receives sumptous illustrations from
newcomer Doney, whose paintings shimmer with
golden light and icy mountain peaks. An
allegory about greed, the story tells of
Drashi and Jarlo, two brothers who in turn
encounter an imposing stone lion at the top
of a mountain. In the manner of the Perrault
classic, ``Diamonds and Toads,'' the lion
fills the reverent Drashi's bucket with gold
and silver coins, but punishes the
avaricious, grasping Jarlo; unlike its
French counterpart (in which the wicked
sibling is permanently disgraced), however,
the Tibetan legend ends on a redemptive
note. Fortifying the authenticity of his
retelling, Schroeder comfortably and
convincingly incorporates regional details
(to show that Drashi is ``good-hearted,''
for example, the author explains that ``he
was never too busy to fill the water kang
for a neighbor or help his mother pound
barley at the bread trough''). Doney's
softly focused representational art captures
both the majesty of the mountainous land and
the intimacy of the characters' exchanges. A
welcome addition to the current crop of
multicultural tales. Ages 6-8. (Mar.)
School Library Journal
Gr 1-4-Set in ``the barren hills of
Tibet,'' this story is described as a
traditional tale, though no source is
cited. A greedy young man, exasperated
by his good-hearted younger brother's
honesty, drives the boy and their
widowed mother from his home. Mother and
son find refuge at the foot of a great
mountain. Searching the upper slopes for
dead wood, the boy meets a magic stone
lion who rewards him for his piety and
ecological awareness with a shower of
gold coins, and eventually punishes the
older brother for his greed. The writing
is clear and smooth, and the full-color,
painterly illustrations offer sweeping
vistas of the Himalayas as a backdrop to
the action. Many small details mar the
book's handsome surface, however.
Children will quickly note a discrepancy
between art and text on the second page,
when a scene described as taking place
inside a shop is pictured outside. Also,
characters' motivations are not
sufficiently explained. The outcasts eat
rice, which does not grow in the
highlands of Tibet. A showy but
nonessential addition to picture-book
folktale collections.-Margaret A. Chang,
North Adams State College, MA
