"Johnson and dePaola . . . work again in pleasing harmony to bring a Japanese folktale to life . . ."--Booklist, starred review. Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Johnston contributes a lively text and dePaola performs his customary artistry in this retelling of a cheerful Japanese folktale. A badger comes across three tengu (goblin) children playing with a magic fan that can make noses lengthen and then shrink. Disguising himself, the animal steals the fan and tests its powers on the daughter of a rich man. Sure enough, her nose grows to an embarrassing length, and her "vastly vexed" father summons doctors, a witch and wise thinkers to try to solve the problem. Finally, the distraught man offers his daughter's hand and half his fortune to anyone who can reduce the nose to its original size. Enter the crafty badger, who waves his fan and makes the girl beautiful again. He gets his reward--as well as a big surprise--when the tengu children appear to reclaim the fan. One of two books inaugurating a line of folktales from around the world, this is filled with magic and mischief--a winning combination sure to delight readers. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2 --In their latest collaboration, Johnston and dePaola present a new version of a classic Japanese folktale. A wickedly mischievous badger uses trickery to steal the tengu children's magic fan, which has the power to make noses grow and shrink. Of course, the badger uses the fan for his own nasty version of play. He stretches the nose of a wealthy, beautiful girl to a hideous length. Her powerful father turns to doctors, witches, and great thinkers for help, but only the badger can restore the girl's beauty. His reward--the girl's hand in marriage--is also his undoing. When he falls asleep after a filling wedding feast, the tengu children recapture the fan. Their revenge is to make badger's nose grow so long that the celestial workers believe it is a pole and pull the badger into the heavens. This conclusion isn't as satisfying as the traditional version in which the half-asleep badger does himself in by unwittingly fanning to keep cool, causing his nose to grow. The characters of witch and thinker are also new. Johnston's telling, while spry and animated, is somewhat overembellished. Frequent aside comments and sound effects are more distracting than emphatic. The story is illustrated in pastels decorated with Japanese elements. Each picture is framed, giving a sense of a stage-setting. dePaola's lighthearted treatment fits the retelling, but the stereotypical portrayals of orientals may offend contemporary readers. An entertaining story, if not a completely successful folktale adaption. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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