Synopses & Reviews
There are important lessons to be learned, even by proud poets, in this innovative tale of a fox who thinks he's a great poet and a great poet who thinks he can outdo a fox! It is the 1600s in Japan. Basho is writing the lovely haiku for which he is famous to this day. Given three chances by the fox, he must write a poem that "needn't be great only good." Confident of his skill, he's sure he can win the challenge and its prize, the sweet cherries from the tree near his hut. But not all is what it seems as a newly humble Basho discovers! Delicate watercolors convey a truly Eastern sensibility that takes young readers back in time to feudal Japan while their playful perspectives reinforce the mischievous tone of the text.
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"Myers's original story uses familiar folktale and fable elements to good effect...The gently humorous story provides a palatable introduction to a centuries-old form of poetry and one of its greatest masters." The Horn Book
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"Han's precisely drafted watercolors place her figures in a leafy, semi-wild landscape bursting with inspiration...a poet who should be known to every poetry reader." Kirkus Reviews
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"Han's delicate watercolors trace the change of seasons from ripe summer to pallid winter and back to bursting spring." Booklist
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"This lively tale has good pacing, convincing characters, and a clever ending." School Library Journal
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"In this imaginative tale staring Basho, Myers cleverly places the renowned poet's own words at its heart
delivered with a light touch, in a lyrical narrative, Myerss cunning caper offers a sage lesson....Han's elegant, expressive watercolors capture the changing seasons and the setting's natural beauty as gracefully as classic Japanese silkscreen." Publishers Weekly