Jabut¡ the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon - Hardcover

McDermott, Gerald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152004963 ISBN 13: 9780152004965

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001

Synopsis

All the birds enjoy the song-like flute music of Jabutf, the tortoise, except Vulture who, jealous because he cannot sing, tricks Jabutf into riding his back toward a festival planned by the King of Heaven. By the creator of Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

GERALD MCDERMOTT (1941-2012) was an internationally acclaimed author-illustrator of books for children. A graduate of Pratt Institute in New York City and a lifelong artist, he began his career as an animated filmmaker before moving into the creation of children's books based on storytelling traditions from around the world. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal and two Caldecott Honors; his extensive and influential body of work includes six popular picture books focusing on the trickster motif. Devoted to oral tradition and the transformative power of mythology, he was the first Fellow of the Joseph Campbell Foundation and served as a consultant on mythology in education. www.geraldmcdermott.com

Reviews

K-Gr 2-Jabut' the tortoise enchants the birds of the Amazon rain forest with the sweet song of his flute. Still, not every forest creature can forgive him for his chicanery or his talent, and somber Vulture is so jealous over Jabut''s song that he himself turns trickster by offering to fly the tortoise to heaven so he can play for the King of Heaven. Jabut' foolishly accepts the offer and is purposely tossed off Vulture's back, tumbling through the air and landing on his smooth shell, which shatters upon a rock. The King commands the birds to search for him, and upon finding him, they piece his shattered shell back together, forming a handsome new design. In turn, the small creature thanks them with a song and they are given brilliant new colors, while Vulture remains both dull and songless. Combining various traditional story elements indigenous to the Amazon rain forest with more ubiquitous folkloric themes, McDermott offers a simple yet lyrical tale that is as satisfying to hear as it is to read. While Jabut' appears less a cunning trickster than a beloved songster, the story succeeds by embracing what McDermott refers to as a universal trickster theme, namely, "Creation comes from chaos." Utilizing a radiant palette to evoke the brilliance and vitality of the region, McDermott's spreads feature his familiar geometrically drawn characters that seem to vibrate against the lush-green stylized foliage set upon hot-pink backgrounds. The result is a worthy addition to the artist's impressive series of trickster tales.

Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

With its shocking-pink jacket and swirls of brilliant designs, McDermott's retelling of this rain forest tale is visually arresting but narratively a bit colorless. The reputed trickster Jabut¡ gets his comeuppance when a jealous Vulture offers to fly the tortoise and his flute to the King of Heaven's festival of song, then wickedly drops his passenger down from the skies. The King of Heaven chastises the vulture, and the birds who put Jabut¡'s smooth shell back together again gain new feathers as their reward. Though Jabut¡'s shell is "cracked and patched," his "song is sweet." Oddly, Jabut¡ doesn't possess a trickster's lively intelligence or cleverness, and the story's plot is resolved by the God of Heaven's intervention rather than by the protagonist's cunning. The story begins with the animals that Jabut¡ has tricked, but they all disappear immediately in favor of a pourquoi tale about how the tortoise got the cracks on his shell. McDermott's illustrations, on the other hand, vibrate with electric colors and patterns. Jabuti's huge eyes and geometric smile, and the interior, brightly colored birds are startling when silhouetted against the pink sky. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-7. In his introduction, McDermott explains that the tortoise Jabuti, a trickster, is "a central figure in the tribal lore of the Amazon rain forest though his origins may lie in West Africa. Here, Jabuti yearns to join the birds as they fly up to a festival in heaven and to play his flute for the King of Heaven. Treacherous Vulture, who cannot sing and is jealous of Jabuti's music, offers him a ride. He drops the tortoise from a great height, cracking his shell into many pieces, so the King of Heaven sends birds down to mend Jabuti's shell. As they touch the multicolored shell, helpful Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird become brilliantly colored themselves. The story ends with Jabuti playing his flute, to the displeasure of Vulture, who still has no song and no colors. Certainly there's no lack of colors in McDermott's latest picture book. From the hot pink backgrounds to the shaded greens of the forest to the many hues of the birds and beasts, color springs from the pages, which feature bold, accessible composition of forms. Simply written and well paced, this will make an imaginative read-aloud choice for classroom units on the rain forest. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152004963
• ISBN 13: 9780152004965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32