A Bowl of Mischief - Hardcover

McKenzie, Ellen Kindt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080502090X ISBN 13: 9780805020908

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 1992

Synopsis

Left to survive on his own after the death of his foster father, a mischievous boy finds himself in a battle of wits against a fierce villain and soon regrets the years he refused to heed his father's wise advice.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-7-- In this earnest tale, young Ranji, ``born an imp and a scamp and full of mischief,'' fulfills several vows while tricking a great ruler into happiness. Having learned legerdemain and the beginnings of wisdom from his beloved master, Phufadia, Ranji is forced to entertain a petulant, hugely fat Superus, whose gigantic appetite has beggared the realm. The boy fools the Supertus into believing that he must live as his peasants do, on 37 grains of rice a day plus an occasional burned carrot or other treat for 300 days, or die. To everyone's surprise, by the end of that time the Superus has shrunk to a superb physical specimen, lost most of his appetite, and fallen in love with his wife, imprisoned 20 years earlier for calling him a fatso. The painful reward of greed, and the difference between real and empty wealth are spelled out didactically by Ranji and Phufadia; these themes are served by a contrived plot and characters who show only rudimentary differentiations. Readers are more likely to respond to the story's mild humor than its lessons. --John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 080502090X
• ISBN 13: 9780805020908
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 131