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
In an original story using Armenian folklore characters, the titular bird parlays the thorn a kind baker removes from its foot into items of increasing worth (bread, a sheep, a bride)--until the creature's satisfying comeuppance. In the well-defined illustrations, figures are outlined in black, then filled in with glowing textured color; each character vividly expresses his or her bemusement, guile, or resignation.
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