The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina

The evil bird who lives on top of the magic tree that grows in the Argentine pampas has the power to stop the rain, so one summer, a little boy risks everything to save his village from dying of thirst by taking a stand against the powerful bird.

Kindergarten-Grade 5AThis pourquoi tale from the Quechua people of Argentina tells of the first tree in the world, a carob. When drought comes to the pampas, a young boy named Topec goes in search of rain. The carob tree tells him that he must send away the Great Bird of the Underworld that roosts in its highest branches. Topec brings his people to make noise; the animals join in the racket, and the bird flies away allowing the gods to hear the people's prayers and send rain. As a reward, the carob sheds beans, which provide food for everyone; soon carob trees spread throughout Argentina. The theme of a small or weak animal or child who saves the people is eternally satisfying, and children can easily identify with the hero, although Topec's task is less arduous than some. Vidal's stylized paintings are dramatic and colorful, especially in the portrayal of the supernatural bird. One problematic element of this well-told tale is that although the carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is indeed so useful as to seem magical, it is not indigenous to the New World, and thus could not have been known to the Quechuas before the arrival of the Spanish. Also, the tree pictured often looks like a tamarind, also an Old World native.APam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-8. In the long ago of legend, one tree stood alone in the middle of the Argentine pampas. "Full of magic, the carob tree stretched toward the sky like a green umbrella." But the Life Giver has stopped sending the rain, and when the rest of the pampas is scorched, a young boy courageously sets out to bring back the rain. Blown beneath the leafy, green carob tree by the dry North Wind, Topec is told by the magic tree that he must scare away the Bird of the Underworld, who sleeps at night in the tree's top branches and who has been blocking the people's prayers for rain. With the help of his entire village, Topec leads the noise that frightens the evil bird from the treetop; the rains come, and the carob tree rewards the brave boy and his people with a shower of golden-red beans from which more carob trees will grow. Similar to her work for Aardema's Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (1981), Vidal's shimmering, folk art^-style paintings are well matched to the elegant simplicity and drama of Van Laan's retelling. A glossary and list of sources are included. Annie Ayres