Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue (Paperback)

~ (Author) "One day his mother said when Pierre climbed out of bed, "Good morning, darling boy, you are my only joy..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Oh, that naughty boy! No matter what his parents say, Pierre just doesn't care.

"What would you like to eat?"
"I don't care!"
"Some lovely cream of wheat?"
"I don't care!"
Don't sit backwards on your chair."
"I don't care!"
"Or pour syrup on your hair."
"I don't care!"

Even when a hungry lion comes to pay a call, Pierre won't snap out of his ennui. Every child has one of these days sometimes. Mix in a stubborn nature, a touch of apathy, and a haughty pout, and it can turn noxious. Parents may cajole, scold, bribe, threaten--all to no avail. When this mood strikes, the Pierres of the world will not budge, even for the carnivorous king of beasts. Created by one of the best-loved author-illustrators of children's books, Maurice Sendak, this 1962 cautionary tale is hardly a pedantic diatribe against children who misbehave. Still, by the end of the lilting, witty story, most children will take the moral (Care!) to heart. Pierre's downward-turned eyebrows, his parents' pleading faces, and the lion's almost sympathetic demeanor as he explains that he will soon eat Pierre, make the package perfect. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Pierre’s ‘I don’t care!’ intrigues a hungry lion.‘A story with a moral air about Pierre, who learned to care.’

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st Harper Trophy Edition. edition (March 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064432521
• ISBN-13: 978-0064432528
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,670 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I care for Pierre, April 18, 2004

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In my family, there is a sin for which there is no name. If someone asks you to state an opinion one way or another, whether you're asked if you'd like a slice of cake or how you would like your hamburger cooked, you give an answer. If you chose to say, "I don't care", however, you are to be subjected to unending torments. For two minutes. The classic Sendakian classic, "Pierre", understands the horrendous nature of this sin. Taking a sort of "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" type of extremist cure (in this case, getting eaten by a lion) the book examines Pierre's sin of noncommittalness and treats him accordingly.

Pierre is a well dressed lad. Sporting a jaunty blue suit and no shoes or socks whatsoever, he lives with his respectable mama and pop. In the first chapter, Pierre's mother attempts to elicit some sort of a decision from her son aside from, "I don't care!". Failing to do so, chapter two follows Pierre's father, who attempts the same thing. In chapter three a lion appears and the oblivious Pierre is eaten, after much dialogue with the aforementioned feline. By chapter four the parents have discovered the sickly lion (Pierre didn't go down so well, I suppose) and swiftly take the lion to the hospital. Happy ending, chapter five, the doctor merely shakes the lion and out pops Pierre. From then on, Pierre cares.

The book has much in common with the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale. Fortunately, rather than cutting Pierre out, the doctor (looking like nothing so much as a slightly modified Mr. Magoo) removes Pierre by upending the lion. The lion has seemingly learned his lesson as well, and serves as a mode of transportation for the transformed Pierre and his loving, well dressed parents. The story is small, simple, and easy to read. It's also one of the odder morals out there. But then again, maybe it's a lesson that we all should have learned long ago. It is better to care than to remain indifferent. A difficult thing to teach, but by no means impossible. In my opinion, one of Sendak's best books ever.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! TEACHER'S PLEASE READ!, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pierre : A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue (Hardcover)

I am the school librarian in an elementary school in California. (a wonderful, if not well paying job) At the end of every school year, I SING this book to EVERY class for their last library visit...the children get to sing the I Don't CARE! parts. (Watch the video "Really Rosie" with lyrics and music by Carol King to learn the way it is sung) It is a JOY. The next year, all the kids want to know.."Can I check out Pierre?" Not to mention that it is a somewhat autobiographical account of Sendaks own childhood...He IS Pierre! You will love it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh boy: INTERACTIVE reading!, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

Here's a way to get America's little couch spuds back into books. Get ones that can be sung as songs. And ones where the rotten little boy gets gobbled up by a lion (of course, he's okay in the end). "Pierre" is a great little tale with Sendak's usual great little drawings.

I always get choked up at the part where the mother tells her boy that he is "her only joy" and Pierre said, "I don't care."