Puss Reboots: Blog: September 2010: The Magic Gourd

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Reviews
The Adventures of the Hotsy Totsy by Clive Cussler
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
As Long as He Needs Me by Mary Verdick
Bone: The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith
Bone: Old Man's Cave by Jeff Smith
Bone: Rock Jaw by Jeff Smith
Cat and Canary by Michael Foreman
Celestine, Drama Queen by Penny Ives
Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin
Gentleman Takes a Chance by Sarah A. Hoyt
Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance by Paul Park
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Halloween Town by Lucius Shepard
Iris by Nancy Springer
Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
Kiss My Math by Danica McKelar
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King
The Last Ember by Daniel Levin
The Magic Gourd by Baba Wagué Diakité
Monster Motel by Douglas Florian
Mr. Darcy Vampyre by Amanda Grange
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
The Princess Test by Gail Carson Levine
Queen of Candesce by Karl Schroeder
The Revolutionary Paul Revere by Joel Miller
The Talking Baby by Jeremy and Karina Sweet
Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27) by Mary Pope Osborne
Treehorn's Wish by Florence Parry Heide

The Magic Gourd: 09/01/10

The Magic Gourd by Baba Wagué Diakité was a recent library book find. I can't remember if it was my son or my daughter who checked it out. I read it to both of them.

The book retells a fable from Mali. Rabbit helps Chameleon out of a tight spot. As payment for his help, Chameleon gives Rabbit a magic gourd that will always provide him with a good meal. A greedy king (there's always a greedy king) hears about this magical gourd and decides he has to have it. Rabbit and Chameleon have to trick the king to teach him about sharing.

The kids and I liked the illustrations. Each piece of the story is told in the bottom of the bowl shaped gourd. The pictures are interesting and worth enjoying.

What my kids had trouble though was the pacing of the story. It's a little long winded for such a short story. Although the kids stuck around to see the pictures the story didn't hold their attention.