The Three Golden Oranges - Hardcover

Ada, Alma Flor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689807759 ISBN 13: 9780689807756

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1999

Synopsis

Three brothers desire different types of wives and so seek the advice of a wise old woman who tells them that their wishes can be granted if they are able to pick the correct oranges off the special tree and bring them to her.

About this title

About the Author

 Alma Flor Ada, an authority on multicultural and bilingual education, is the recipient of the 2012 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award. She is the author of numerous award-winning books for young readers, including Dancing Home with Gabriel Zubizarreta, My Name is Maria Isabel, Under the Royal Palms, (Pura BelprÉ Medal), Where the Flame Trees Bloom, and The Gold Coin (Christopher Award Medal). She lives in California, and you can visit her at almaflorada.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5-In this well-known Spanish folktale, three brothers are instructed by their mother to find wives. An old woman advises them that they must work together and tells them to travel to a castle grove, pick three golden oranges, and together bring them back to her. The two older brothers, who are vain and shallow, disregard her advice and are put into the castle's prison, where they are rescued by Mat!as, the compassionate youngest son who follows the woman's directions and gets the fruit. On the way home, the older brothers open their oranges and once again find themselves in the dungeon. When Mat!as brings his fruit back to the old woman, she cuts it open and a dove flies out. Later, he removes a thorn from the bird's neck and it turns into a young woman named Blancaflor. They return to the castle and free her family from a spell. Mat!as marries Blancaflor, but her sisters refuse to marry his brothers. Cartwright's flat, folk-art style characters wear traditional Spanish costumes. The yellows, greens, and oranges in the rounded patchwork countryside contrast with the black of the brothers' clothing and bright blue skies. Full-page illustrations alternate with smaller pictures to move the eye and relieve the long text. Ada keeps the story as simple as its many twists and turns allow, but this is still a complicated tale. An author's note discusses variations of the folktale and how oranges fit into Spain's history.
Sally Bates Goodroe, Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0689807759
• ISBN 13: 9780689807756
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Cartwright Reg