1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kimmel, Eric A. 1991. THE GREATEST OF ALL: JAPANESE FOLKTALE. by Giora Carmi. New York: Holiday House, Inc. ISBN 082340885
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Eric Kimmel retells an old Japanese folktale called THE GREATEST OF ALL which is based on THE WEDDING MOUSE. As a young mouse comes to her father to ask if she can get married the father begins his journey to find the perfect mate for his daughter. Since the mouse lives in the emperors’ palace the mouse father believes that his daughter deserves to marry the greatest of all in the country. After speaking with the emperor, the sun, cloud, wind and wall the father finally meets the perfect match for his daughter.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This old folktale is a great story about realizing the best thing for you is not always what you expect. As Father Mouse hears from his daughter that she wants to marry a field mouse the pride of the father gets in the way of his daughters wishes. Throughout the adventure of Father Mouse he comes to realize that even who he thinks is most powerful has objects that are greater then him. For example, the sun must hide his face when the clouds appear. As father mouse encounters each great object the same rhyme is said by each, “I am sorry, Father Mouse I cannot marry Chuko. There is one who is greater than I.”
The illustrations by Giora Carmi use traditional Japanese clothing for the mouse’s and bright colors of red, yellows and blues. There is also a personal touch with the sun, cloud, wind and wall giving them faces to make them feel real. I also enjoyed how the illustrator would give a small preview of the picture on the page before. This will allow students to predict what they think is going to happen next.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Publisher’s Weekly- “Warm colors and distinctive texture mark Carmi's illustrations, which include effective renderings of the anthropomorphic natural elements.”
*Children’s Literature- “Superb details abound in the full-page sketches providing the particulars on ancient Japanese architecture, costume, and design.”
5. CONNECTIONS
* Have students read the original folktale of THE WEDDING MOUSE in Yochiko Uchida’s collection of stories, and compare and contrast that version to Eric Kimmel’s version. THE DANCING KETTLE by Yochiko Uchida’s ISBN-13 9780887390142
* Read other book about the Japanese culture from Eric Kimmel: SWORD OF THE SAMURAI: ADVENTURE STORIES FROM JAPAN. IBN 0152019852 THREE SAMURAI CATS ISBN 0439692563
*Learn more about Haiku poems like the one the emperor wrote on the wedding day.
No comments:
Post a Comment