Review by Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. Delayed by an escaped goat, the Turkish folk hero Nasrettin Hoca attends a friend's banquet clad in a filthy, tattered coat. The host is embarrassed, the guests shun him, and no one serves him food. Nasrettin goes home home, bathes and dresses in his finest clothes, and returns to the banquet, where he stuffs food and wine into his coat. Asked why he feeds his coat, Nasrettin notes his earlier appearance and explains, This shows it was the coat and not me that you invited to your banquet. An afterword adds background on Hodja folklore but does not cite a source. The well-paced retelling retains the sly, wise humor of traditional Nasrettin tales. Inspired by Turkish art, Demi places miniature figures in frames filled with geometric patterns. It is difficult to distinguish the patches in Nasrettin's shabby coat, but the handsomely dressed Nasrettin stands tall on the only unframed page. An excellent choice for multicultural studies, this wry moral tale transcends time and culture. --Linda Perkins Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Demi's latest folktale, The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey, touched with gold foil, celebrates that nation's aesthetic with a story revolving around a wise man, Nasrettin Hoca. On his way to a dinner at the home of a rich friend, Nasrettin stops to help capture a runaway goat and has no time to change before the dinner; there his fellow diners reject him because of his appearance. When he returns dressed finely, they welcome him, and the hero uses the opportunity to teach them a lesson about the source of a man's true character. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Nasrettin Hoca was a renowned 13th-century Turkish philosopher respected for his wisdom, common sense, and humor, elements that are found in the many folktales about him. This story describes how he stopped to assist in the capture of a wayward goat and soiled his already patched coat in the process. He had no time to change before he headed off to a banquet at a rich friend's house, and everyone there avoided him because he was both shabby and smelly. Nasrettin went home, bathed, and dressed in a splendiferous outfit. He returned to the banquet and was greeted warmly. To everyone's astonishment, he proceeded to stuff food into his coat. When questioned, he replied that it was obvious that it was the coat that had been invited, not him. Demi's retelling of this tale is compelling and includes many details that help bring both time and place into focus. Her paint-and-ink illustrations are resplendent with her trademark gold leaf and intricate borders. However, Nasrettin's allegedly shabby coat is the same jewel-toned red as the finer one he later dons, and as the pictures are so small, it's easy to mistake the patches for daubs of gold. Although this minor problem lessens the effect of his transformation, this is still a well-told, visually enticing tale and a first purchase for most libraries. An informative afterword is included.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
mg (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Demi sprinkles droll humor and liberal doses of common sense throughout a traditional tale of Nasrettin Hoca, Turkey's most famous folk hero. On his way to a banquet given by a rich friend, Nasrettin stops to catch a goat. Now late for his dinner, he doesn't have time to change from his dirty, smelly clothes. Ignored by his friends, Nasrettin leaves and then returns after bathing and dressing in his most elegant clothing. Now greeted as a welcomed guest, Nasrettin feeds the finest banquet food to his coat--since it must have been his fine coat that his friends had wanted at the banquet, right? With the lesson learned, his friends cheer and toast his wisdom. The moral? "He who wears heaven in his heart is always well dressed." Characteristic of Demi's earlier work, the elegant illustrations are touched with golden accents, surrounded by ornate borders of tiny details, and filled with the rich colors and patterns of traditional Turkish paintings. Exquisite retelling; exquisite illustrations; exquisite choice. (afterword) (Picture book/folktale. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
