Nine-In-One, Grr! Grr!: A Folktale from the Hmong People of Laos

Xiong, Blia; Spagnoli, Cathy

ISBN 10: 0892390484 ISBN 13: 9780892390489

Publisher: Childrens Book Pr, 1989

Synopsis

Nine-in-one, Grr! Grr! sings Tiger happily as she returns from the kingdom of the great god Shao. Shao has told her she will have nine baby tigers every year as long as she remembers his words: "Nine-in-one." Bird is worried about the prospect of a world full of tigers (tigers who would eat birds!) and sets out to trick Tiger into forgetting her all-important song. Before long, poor Tiger has her song backward—"One-in-nine, Grr! Grr!"—and the balance of nature is ensured.

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreKindergarten-Grade 6-- Xiong and Spagnoli recount this Hmong folktale with compelling directness. In the beginning of the world, a lonely tiger journeys to the great god Shao to find out if she will have cubs. Shao replies that she will have nine cubs a year-- if she can remember his words. As she has a poor memory, the tiger creates a mnemonic chant to recite for the journey home, "Nine-in-one Grr! Grr!" The Eu (black) bird overhears her and asks Shao to change what he said, for "If Tiger has nine cubs each year, they will eat all of us. Soon there will be nothing but tigers in the land." But this cannot be done, so the bird flies back to the tiger, distracts her, and substitutes his own "one-in-nine," meaning one cub born in nine years, thereby altering the course of natural history and saving the rest of creation. At once realistic, fanciful, and clever, this tale compares favorably with the "Raven the Trickster" and "Just So" stories. Illustrations are innovative, yet faithful to Hmong culture. Long noted for brilliant embroidery, the Hmong's vicissitudes in and after the Vietnam War have inspired them to a new form of "narrative stitchery," stories told in needlework. Hom has captured this style to perfection in silkscreen, watercolor, and colored pencil, producing amazingly bright and beautiful pictures of great depth and originality while maintaining ethnic accuracy. Each picture is also framed in intricate borders, adding yet another facet of authenticity. Clearly this is a superior production and an important addition to folk literature for children. Unlike other books from Children's Book Press, the original language of the tale is not included, but this is a small quibble in the face of so magnificent an achievement.
- John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

When Tiger inquires of the great god Shao how many cubs she will have, she is admonished that only if she remembers his reply--nine cubs each year--will it hold true. "Nine-in-one, Grr! Grr!" she sings as she heads home. The clever Eu bird wishes a more favorable tiger-to-bird ratio and so tricks Tiger into singing, instead, "One-in-nine, Grr! Grr!"--and that is why the earth is not overrun with tigers today. This imaginative folktale provides a rare window into the lore of the Hmong people of Laos, yet is anything but parochial or arcane in its appeal. It embraces a range of universal qualities, from loneliness to joyful anticipation to deviousness and guile, and portrays its characters with sympathy and wit. Hom's strikingly colorful paintings, modeled on the appliqued "story cloths" of the Hmong, ably capture a sense of character and landscape and extend the fable's whimsy and good humor. Ages 4-10.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Childrens Book Pr
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0892390484
• ISBN 13: 9780892390489
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 30
• Illustrator: Hom Nancy