Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5-7. In his introduction, McDermott explains that the tortoise Jabuti, a trickster, is "a central figure in the tribal lore of the Amazon rain forest though his origins may lie in West Africa. Here, Jabuti yearns to join the birds as they fly up to a festival in heaven and to play his flute for the King of Heaven. Treacherous Vulture, who cannot sing and is jealous of Jabuti's music, offers him a ride. He drops the tortoise from a great height, cracking his shell into many pieces, so the King of Heaven sends birds down to mend Jabuti's shell. As they touch the multicolored shell, helpful Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird become brilliantly colored themselves. The story ends with Jabuti playing his flute, to the displeasure of Vulture, who still has no song and no colors. Certainly there's no lack of colors in McDermott's latest picture book. From the hot pink backgrounds to the shaded greens of the forest to the many hues of the birds and beasts, color springs from the pages, which feature bold, accessible composition of forms. Simply written and well paced, this will make an imaginative read-aloud choice for classroom units on the rain forest. Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With its shocking-pink jacket and swirls of brilliant designs, McDermott's retelling of this rain forest tale is visually arresting but narratively a bit colorless. The reputed trickster Jabut! gets his comeuppance when a jealous Vulture offers to fly the tortoise and his flute to the King of Heaven's festival of song, then wickedly drops his passenger down from the skies. The King of Heaven chastises the vulture, and the birds who put Jabut!'s smooth shell back together again gain new feathers as their reward. Though Jabut!'s shell is "cracked and patched," his "song is sweet." Oddly, Jabut! doesn't possess a trickster's lively intelligence or cleverness, and the story's plot is resolved by the God of Heaven's intervention rather than by the protagonist's cunning. The story begins with the animals that Jabut! has tricked, but they all disappear immediately in favor of a pourquoi tale about how the tortoise got the cracks on his shell. McDermott's illustrations, on the other hand, vibrate with electric colors and patterns. Jabuti's huge eyes and geometric smile, and the interior, brightly colored birds are startling when silhouetted against the pink sky. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Jabut' the tortoise enchants the birds of the Amazon rain forest with the sweet song of his flute. Still, not every forest creature can forgive him for his chicanery or his talent, and somber Vulture is so jealous over Jabut''s song that he himself turns trickster by offering to fly the tortoise to heaven so he can play for the King of Heaven. Jabut' foolishly accepts the offer and is purposely tossed off Vulture's back, tumbling through the air and landing on his smooth shell, which shatters upon a rock. The King commands the birds to search for him, and upon finding him, they piece his shattered shell back together, forming a handsome new design. In turn, the small creature thanks them with a song and they are given brilliant new colors, while Vulture remains both dull and songless. Combining various traditional story elements indigenous to the Amazon rain forest with more ubiquitous folkloric themes, McDermott offers a simple yet lyrical tale that is as satisfying to hear as it is to read. While Jabut' appears less a cunning trickster than a beloved songster, the story succeeds by embracing what McDermott refers to as a universal trickster theme, namely, "Creation comes from chaos." Utilizing a radiant palette to evoke the brilliance and vitality of the region, McDermott's spreads feature his familiar geometrically drawn characters that seem to vibrate against the lush-green stylized foliage set upon hot-pink backgrounds. The result is a worthy addition to the artist's impressive series of trickster tales.-Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles (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
In this retelling of a South American folktale, Jabutí the Tortoise wants to play his flute for the King of Heaven and Vulture offers to give him a ride, but on the way there, jealous Vulture drops him and breaks his shell. The other birds put Jabutí back together. The telling is clean and well shaped, and the iconic artwork uses large geometric blocks against vivid pink skies. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Jabuti, the flute-playing tortoise, may not be as well known in North America as some of his fellow tricksters like Coyote or Ananse, but there are many stories about him in Amazonian folklore, first recorded as long ago as 1875. McDermott (Musicians of the Sun, 1997, etc.) gives readers a useful background note on the Brazilian stories about the tortoise and then refers to similar tales from the Panchatantra and Aesop. When the King of Heaven, Tupan, calls the birds to sing at a special feast, Jabuti wants to play the musical accompaniment for the birds' songs. The problem is that Jabuti can't fly. Although most birds are his friends, Vulture is envious of the tortoise's musical talents. He hates Jabuti and want to destroy him. He offers to fly the unsuspecting tortoise to the feast, but during the flight, he purposely drops him and poor Jabuti cracks his colorful shell on the rock below. The King of Heaven sends the birds to rescue the tortoise and Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird work together to patch him up. These three faithful friends gain beautiful new colors as a result of their good deed, but the vulture retains his dull plumage and has no singing voice to this day. McDermott's succinct text makes this an easy story for children and adults to retell. His simple, bold forms and bright tropical colors on a hot pink ground will keep all eyes on the book during picture-book sessions or individual reading. A fine addition to the body of work by a proven master. (Picture book/folktale. 5-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
