Customer Reviews

The Old Country

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3 star:		(1)
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In the same vein as many of the original Hans Christian Anderson Tales, The Old Country provides an unexpected and often harsh view of a fairy tale existence. The story is not fanciful in a light hearted sense but offers the challenge of perceiving the paradigm of another existence. I loved the ending of the book, and thought that it offers, overall, a valuable message about our own assumptions of good and evil. It isn't necessarily suitable for the 3rd-6th grade mentioned on the Booklist Review, but would be a wonderful novella for children in middle school.

Mordicai Gerstein, winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal for THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS, has tapped into his childhood as well as his fruitful imagination to bring to life a fable told to him by Gisella, his great-grandmother.

Gisella lived in the old country on a small farm with her brother Tavido, Mother, Grandfather, Great-Aunt Tanteh, and many animals. Gisella's family had a dozen chickens, each named for a different month. Flame, a wily fox, stole April and May. Armed with a crossbow Gisella entered the forest to kill the fox. She encountered an owl-person who insisted there must be a trial to determine whether or not Flame was really guilty. It was a most unusual trial, with a jury composed only of birds and a white spider as judge. Flame was found innocent. Gisella stared too long into Flame's eyes, and as Great Aunt Tanteh had warned, Gisella and Flame switched bodies.

Thus begins a most unusual and magical tale. All the animals in this book can speak and understand humans. There is a war going on between the black army and the purple army. So much destruction is occurring that the magical, invisible world is rapidly disappearing. Even the ordinary, everyday world is in shambles. Gisella's family is being held captive in the Crystal Palace and are threatened with death. The emperor is trying to find out Great-Aunt Tanteh's secret: how she gets December to lay golden eggs. Gisella the fox and her animal friends create a bold and risky plan to try to save the family. Magic intertwines with reality often in this book, which has a surprise ending.

Mordicai Gerstein writes from the animals' point of view --- as he imagines it. This is in stark contrast to how humans think, he often suggests. A young child will be enchanted by the fairy tale quality of the book, while older children will enjoy the many twists and turns of the story. Adults will appreciate the timeless truths; for example, that war is always a battle for power and that, when confronted with a major decision, it is often difficult to know which path to choose. THE OLD COUNTRY is an excellent read-aloud book for all ages.

--- Reviewed by Carole Turner

A long time agon in the old country, a young girl named Gisell goes into the scary woods by herself one night, determined to kill the sneaky fox that has stolen 2 of her families 12 chickens from their henhouse. She takes a crossbow and arrows to do the job. But she is drawn into a magical but frightening society of animals that can speak, including the fox. They demand that Gisell prove that the fox is guilty in a court. But the Court judge is a spider. Gisell learns that there is a war in this magic world, and it is drawing her own world into it very fast. Her parents are kidnapped by one side of the combatants and she must join with the fox if she hopes to see them again. The story does not draw easy answers and plain teo sided good and evil, but rather shows there are good and bad on both sides of every conflict. This fairy tale world is mean and scary, and this may be a bit dark for kids below 4th or 5th grade, depending on the reader.

The story begins in a familiar folk-tale format but transmutes into a parable that tries to walk the edge between a children's fairy tale and an adult allegory, and it doesn't really succeed at being either. The political and racial proselytizing in particular got a bit heavy, especially for a fairy tale, and would have been better handled more tangentially. Though supposedly aimed at young children, it is more suited to the late elementary crowd--and it is a light, quick read for anyone who likes foxes. The overtly fantastic elements introduced in the latter half bothered me a little, but once I accepted the turn the writing had taken, I was able to get used to it.

The ending, however, made up for any faults encountered on the journey. It was a satisfying conclusion, and I have to say that I did not see it coming.

My 3rd grader was pretty bored with this book. It was dragging on for too long. then would get to an intereting part, and become dragged on again for the next few pages.