Book Review: Tops and Bottoms
Rating: 
This tale is derived from European folktales and slave stories of the American South. In it, the industrious but unscrupulous Hare is pitted against the profoundly lazy Bear. Hare proposes that he and his family work Bear’s land (some of which which had originally been his) in exchange for half of the crops produced, and Bear may have first choice of whether he gets the tops or bottoms of the crops. Bear agrees, chooses tops, and goes to sleep on the porch of his falling-apart house while Hare plants root vegetables. At harvest time, when he receives only inedible leaves, Bear chooses bottoms for the following year, then sleeps through Hare’s planting of broccoli, tomatoes, and other surface-growing vegetables. Roaring in fury at being tricked again, he demands a year of tops and bottoms — and Hare obliges with a corn crop, leaving Bear the tassels and stalks but keeping the corn cobs in the middle.
Trickster stories are moral tales, but not the kind in which a hero sets a good example. There is no hero in this story — rather, the lazy bear provides an example of how not to act, since his laziness makes him vulnerable to being cheated. He provides an excellent illustration for Proverbs 25:28, which states that a person without self-control is “like a city whose [defensive] walls are broken down.” The simple, repetitive humor is all at the foolish Bear’s expense, but after the third transaction he learns his lesson. From then on he farms his own land outside his well-maintained house), and never enters into another business deal with Hare.
There aren’t many funny books for children about the dangers of laziness, and this one is a keeper. The story is brilliantly illustrated with lively, detailed paintings that carry the story, and and rather than reading from left to right it opens vertically to be read from top to bottom. This feature complements the story theme, but does take a little getting used to for reading aloud.
Categories: 5 Stars, Age 04-08, Caldecott Honor
Tags: Animals, Bears, Diligence, Farming, Folklore, Food, Hares, Humor, Laziness, Plants, Trickster Tales, Vegetables, Work
Posted on October 5, 2009
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