The Keeper of Wisdom

When an old beggar woman arrives at a prosperous city with twelve books containing all the wisdom in the world, the mayor laughs at her. What need has he for these ancient books? The city is flourishing and its people have everything that money can buy. Each summer, the old woman returns to the city and each summer she is turned away. But on winter nights, the mayor dreams of the woman and of the books he has rejected. When hard times hit the city he knows he has made a mistake. Almost too late, he realizes what he must do to restore the city's good fortune.Laura Berkeley's thought-provoking allegory shows how we cannot afford to become complacent when times are good, and take either prosperity or happiness for granted. Alison Dexter's spiraling illustrations conjure up the bustling streets and exotic domes and spires of a foreign, yet familiar, land, where gold is bright and plentiful, but where wisdom is the brightest jewel of all.

K-Gr 3-An old woman and her donkey come to the marketplace of a prosperous city. She unpacks 12 ancient books said to contain all the wisdom in the world and offers them for sale to the mayor. He isn't interested, but he later dreams about another city buying half of the volumes. The following year, the old woman offers the remaining texts, but again the mayor turns her down and has a similar dream. In the end, there is only one book left, and the city has fallen on hard times. The mayor buys it, then becomes a pilgrim in search of the other city, "-so that we can learn to live like its people." This preachy tale falls flat, and its heavy-handed message may confuse children. While the prosperity of one city, whose only crime seems to be that of complacency, foreshadows its doom, the city that purchases the old woman's wisdom is rewarded with-prosperity. Just in case readers don't get it (and they probably won't), the message is spelled out in an overlong publisher's note. Dexter's jewel-toned, mosaiclike watercolors are attractive but cluttered, a look that is not enhanced by the Bradley Hand typeface. It's wise to pass on this one.-Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA

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