The Tale of the Tiger Slippers
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- $139.00
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- $139.00
Descripción editorial
Jan Brett reimagines a powerful Middle Eastern folk tale that celebrates hard work and appreciating your roots.
Set in India, this gorgeous reimagining of the classic Middle Eastern folk tale "Abu Kassem's Slippers" features a poor tiger cub who is a very hard worker. His mother weaves him slippers to protect his feet from stones and thorns, and they allowed him to prosper--first making bricks, then building houses, and eventually becoming very wealthy. He continues to wear them until someone questions why such a prominent person would wear such worn shoes. Feeling embarrassed, Tiger tries to get rid of the slippers, but fate keeps bringing them back.
Finally, Tiger sends them to his uncle, who weeps with pride when he sees the slippers his sister made and his nephew used to accomplish so much. He sets off right away to visit them, bringing the slippers along. Tiger can't believe the slippers are back again, but his little cub gives him an idea: honor the slippers by building a special place for them, to remind him of how far he's come.
Jan Brett's lush, vibrant version of this story will inspire fans of her international retellings to appreciate the hard work that leads to all of their successes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a graphically sumptuous tale, Brett (The Mitten) puts her own creative hallmark on a Persian folktale, "Abu Kassem's Slippers." The mother of a bighearted Bengal tiger stitches him a pair of slippers to spare his feet as he works tirelessly around their makeshift home under a banyan tree. Her pledge that the shoes "will protect and guide you" proves true: while wearing them, the tiger spies a bank of white clay, which he molds into bricks to build a house for his mother, later making his fortune constructing clay structures "all over the land," including a beautiful edifice for his future bride. Brett's understated narrative belies the opulence of her watercolor and gouache paintings, which feature detailed images of elegantly clad animals, lush vegetation, and the tiger's arresting architecture (including the diminutive tabernacle he builds as a final resting spot for his enchanted slippers). Gemstones and intricate patterns adorn Brett's signature sidebar art and borders, capping off this visual extravaganza, whose pi ce de r sistance is a peacock fanning dazzling plumage. A richly imagined tale of love, diligence, and kindness rewarded. Ages 4 8.
