The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale

by Lucine Kasbarian, Maria Zaikina (Illustrator)

Overview

Nautilus Awards Silver Winner in the Children’s Picture Books Category

Once there was a sparrow who caught a thorn in his foot. When a kind baker removes the thorn, the sparrow tricks her into giving him some bread. Each time the sparrow meets new people, he tricks them out of bigger and better things. Will the sparrow’s greed get the best of him? Through this endearing Armenian folktale illustrated with mixed media, readers will learn that people who engage in dishonest or selfish behavior may end up losing whatever they gained because of that behavior. The Greedy Sparrow was selected as an Honor Book by the Storytelling World Awards Committee.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761458210
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	01/05/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lucine Kasbarian lives in Massachusetts and New Jersey. She is also the author of Armenia: A Rugged Land, an Enduring People (Dillon Press/Simon & Schuster).

Editorial Reviews

When a sparrow with a thorn in his foot receives kindnesses from strangers, he intimidates each of them into giving him something he desires. By book's end, the sparrow sings about his wheeling and dealing: "In place of a thorn, I got some bread. In place of some bread, I got a sheep. In place of a sheep, I got a bride. In place of a bride, I got a lute." But as he sits in a tree, "rock in glee, he lost his footing... leaving the sparrow as he began... with nothing but a thorn in his foot." Zaikinas's lost-wax illustrations resemble thick-lined woodcuts and adroitly portray events that might daunt modern readers, as when the bridegroom decides to slaughter the dolefully funny sheep for kebabs, or agrees to give up his bride to the sparrow—a scene in which the sparrow carries the sheep while flying is sure to draw laughs. The one-dimensional characters all give the bully what he wants for the same reason—because "it was no use arguing"—making this a story about poetic justice more than anything else. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This story about a trickster who is out-tricked is a good choice for reading aloud...The humor and action in the bright illustrations will appeal to young children, as will the triumph of kindness over cheating.” —Booklist Online

“This classic Armenian fable (Crime never pays! is the lesson at the end) is retold to the accompaniment of richly chromatic, folkloric scenes by a Moscow native that bring to mind Ukrainian Easter eggs.” —ForeWord Reviews

“Armenian folk attire and references to places in Armenia authenticate the tale. It’s a rhythmic read-aloud beginning readers can share.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

K-Gr 3—A homely sparrow turns a thorn in his foot to fine advantage in this simple spin on the familiar folktale of the rising fortunes and eventual downfall of one who overreaches. Revisiting the obliging baker who removed the thorn, sparrow asks for its return. Alas...she has thrown it in the oven. The tale moves forward in alternate bits of narrative atop or below each full-page scene and dialogue set in speech balloons. "Either give me my thorn or give me some bread." The sparrow journeys far, conning the folks he encounters and parlaying the loaf of bread into a sheep, which in turn yields a bride from a countryside wedding. The sparrow's trade-ups involve leaving each of his gains for safekeeping with someone along the way who then ends up having to pay a forfeit. "Either you give me the bride or give me the lute." Zaikina's expressive portrayals of both animal and human characters, rendered in bold outline and rich color, beautifully convey the tale's goofy fun. Her use of wax and oil paint in a kind of scratchboard technique smartly blends folk and cartoon styles. Though some may find the cartoon arrangement of conversation intrusive for reading aloud, others will find that it moves smoothly, adding nicely to the character portrayals. In the end, of course, sparrow's cockiness results in a fall (literally) from glory "with nothing but a thorn in his foot."—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

Victim becomes victimizer in this tale inspired by an Armenian fable. A sparrow catches a thorn in his foot and asks a baker to remove it. She obliges and throws it in the oven. Later, the sparrow returns to ask for the thorn and, audaciously demands bread in its place. He tricks the shepherd in the same way, giving him the bread to watch and when the shepherd eatsit,thesparrow demands a sheep. Flying over a wedding feast,he asks the groom to mind the sheep, but the groom feeds the wedding guestsshish kabobsand the sparrowwants the bride in payment! The sparrow continues his escalation until he ends up with a lute—until, sitting on a thorny branch, he loses his footing. The lute falls, andhe is as he began, with nothing but a thorn in his foot. The author notes this is based on a centuries-old Armenian tale.In Zaikina's bold, folk-style illustrations, both characters and landscape are heavily outlined in black, andthe characters' dialogue is in speech balloons.Pictures are lightened with bright, textured colors (they were made with oil paint and layers of wax) and have an appealing, vigorous heft. Armenian folk attire and references to places in Armenia authenticate the tale. It's a rhythmicread-aloudbeginning readerscan share.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews