The village children don't have any money, but at least they can share the ripe, juicy mangoes that fall from the big tree in the marketplace. Then a crafty lady rigs a big net to trap every last mango for herself. She makes a small fortune in ill-gotten mangoes, but can her fancy new car outrace her guilty conscience? Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
With its memorable title character (inspired by a woman Pete Watson met while serving in the Peace Corps in West Africa) this exuberant tale, a first book by a husband-and-wife team, fits its jacket-flap description as an "original fable." It is, indeed, a fresh, spunky tale with a timeless message, lyrically narrated and deftly illustrated with realistic, warmly hued paintings. Market Lady, sensing an opportunity for easy profits, attempts to defy custom ("Everyone knew that the law of the tree is that once they have fallen, mangoes are free"). After she fashions "mango traps," the fruit drops right into her ample lap, allowing her a mango monopoly. With the money she makes from her "poaching and plunder," the greedy merchant buys a Mercedes Benz, in which she transports her goods (now priced too high for mere marketgoers) to wealthy jellymakers at a rustic factory. After she has a dream about other plunderers--huge, ravenous hippos that raid her caravan and drive her into a muddy river--Market Lady sees the evil of her ways. The final page shows the reformed rogue surrounded by children, sharing not just her mangoes, but her sound advice: "You can't earn a living by selling what's free." Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-A cautionary tale about the dangers of making a profit from what nature provides free of charge. In a village in West Africa, Market Lady, a keen business woman of ample girth, sits under the shade of a mango tree and sells her wares-mangoes, melons, coconuts, sugar-dipped dates. The children who have no money to buy food are accustomed to eating the mangoes when they fall to the ground. In her greed and selfishness, Market Lady rigs a net on the tree and catches the fruit as it falls. This contraption enables her to corner the market and to make so much money that she is able to buy a Mercedes Benz. But her sleep is not peaceful, and one night a dream causes her to allow the hungry children to eat the mangoes to their heart's content. Mary Watson's paintings are lovely, dramatic, and bold in design. The village and the main character come vividly to life. The text itself has a flowing, rhythmic quality that children should love. This is certainly a different kind of story, and it's one that many readers will enjoy.
Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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