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The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale
2013 Nautilus Awards Silver Winner in the Children's Picture Books Category Once there was a sparrow who caught a thorn in his foot. When a kind baker removes the thorn, the sparrow tricks her into giving him some bread. Each time the sparrow meets new people, he tricks them out of bigger and better things. Will the sparrow’s greed get the best of him? Through this endearing Armenian folktale illustrated with mixed media, readers will learn that people who engage in dishonest or selfish behavior may end up losing whatever they gained because of that behavior. The Greedy Sparrow was selected as a 2012 Honor Book by the Storytelling World Awards Committee.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 6, 2011
As a children’s librarian in New York City I am expected to have a full knowledge of existing children’s literature as it pertains, not just to the American publishing industry, but to the world at large. If a group of unusually tall Norwegian women come in asking for children’s books by their countrymen, I am supposed to know how to locate the nearest Jo Nesbo/P.C. Abjorsen title. I have gaps, though. Whole swaths of continents where my knowledge is lacking or useless. For example, let’s say you walked up to my desk and asked me to produce as many Armenian children’s folktales as possible. I could do it, I suppose, if I did a catalog search. We might have some. But I wouldn’t be able to name them off the top of my head. The Greedy Sparrow fills in that gap nicely. An original composition based on a classic Armenian oral tale, author Lucine Kasbarian and Russian illustrator Maria Zaikina bring to life a story unfamiliar but to a few Americans. Want to bulk up your Armenian folklore for a spell? Seek ye no further than this.
A little Author’s Note appears on the publication page of this book, which I appreciated. It states right from the start, “Armenian fables begin with ‘Once there was and was not’.” After we read these words we begin our tale. A sparrow with a thorn in its foot asks a baker to remove it. The woman does so gladly, burning it up afterwards, but when the sparrow returns and asks for his thorn back she has nothing to give him. Pleased, he takes some bread instead. Next, he visits a shepherd with a flock and asks the man to look after his bread. The fellow does for a time, but eats the bread when hunger overtakes him. As payment, the sparrow takes a sheep. Through these sneaky methods the sparrow exchanges a sheep for a human bride, a human bride for a lute, and finally he loses the lute, his ultimate prize, when he falls from a thorn tree. Lute gone. New thorn in his foot.
I have a tendency to lament the death of the picture book folktale on a nice and regular bi-annual schedule. Compared to the last few decades, folktales and fables are publishing at the lowest ebb seen in years. Each season I scramble to find as many as I can, often disappointed by the results. Maybe that’s why I glommed onto The Greedy Sparrow as quickly as I did. Here we have an honest-to-goodness folktale, retold for contemporary audiences, and unknown to a whole chunk of them. Kasbarian says in her bookflap that she learned to recite this story from her father who learned it from his grandmother, an Armenian storyteller. Clearly such talents are genetic since Kasbarian’s writing flows easily. You leap effortlessly from situation to situation until the end. Happily, the author sees no need to put some kind of moral capper on the tale. All she needs to write is the final sentence: “But as the sparrow rocked in glee, he lost his footing, and the lute fell, too, leaving the sparrow as he began ... with nothing but a thorn in his foot!” Batta bing, batta boom. Nothing more need be said.
Part of what I find intriguing in this story is that at the beginning the sparrow is entirely in the wrong and the baker woman completely in the right. A thorn in the sparrow’s foot is removed by the woman, which in most stories would constitute a good deed. Many a story would reward the woman for her kindness, maybe granting her a wish or two. This story, in contrast, repays good with ill. The sparrow, perhaps seeing an opportunity to improve his lot by whatever means necessary, asks for the thorn back. There is no reason for this. In fact, I’m pretty sure the crafty bird knew from the start that the woman would have gotten rid of it. But using the logic that she took something of his so he may take something of hers, she is forced to comply. What’s more, we never hear or see of her again. Though the sparrow does receive a kind of comeuppance by the end, it’s of the minor variety. Sure some of the people who take advantage of the sparrow’s lending are to blame, but since you get the feeling that the sparrow is just running a long con you’re just sort of waiting for it to overstep itself. This is a folktale for those who want to feel good when avarice gets thwarted.
Writing a good story is all well and good, but if your art is subpar then don’t bother getting me out of bed. In a picture book the quality of the art makes or breaks the reading experience. You can pour ambrosia-dipped words from pen to paper, captivating all who read and hear them, but throw in some awful art and the experience is instantly tainted. I was unfamiliar with the work of Russian artist Maria Zaikina until now, but having discovered her I can only hope to see more of her work in the future. According to her bio, Zaikina “researched Armenian costumes, culture, and customs before she completed the illustrations for this book.” Well played there. For the art, she then rendered it with layers of wax and oil paint. After that the layers were “cut away to reveal the colors underneath”. As a result, we’ve paintings that have a rough textured feel to them, spotted with bits of unexpected black paint. Such a technique would inevitably lead to images that were dull or static, but this is not the case. In fact, I found myself really seriously amused by what Zaikina has done here. First off, there are the speech bubbles in the text. They work perfectly in the story, but considering the classic feel of the artistic style, they are by no means a given.
Then there’s the visual humor that Zaikina’s so good at producing. It’s hard not to find the image of a tiny sparrow lugging a large, morose, doomed sheep through the air. Even better is when he takes a human bride (though, to suspend at least a little disbelief, the woman just rides a horse with the sparrow perched on her head). Take a look at the sparrow too. Until the end of the book it always appears from the side, never from the front or the back. On the side of its head is a single unpitying eye. Only at the end when the sparrow falls from the tree with his lute and a new thorn in his foot, do we see that eye widen in surprise. Just desserts accompany a truly shocked antihero. A perfect pairing of the two.
Parents tend to ask librarians for recommendations of one version or another of the fairy and folktales they already know. “Can you recommend a good Hansel and Gretel?” That sort of thing. It’s the clever ‘rents who think to expand their offsprings’ horizons beyond the usual Grimm/Galdone fare. And once in a rare while I will get a parent who asks for “folktales”. That needlessly vague term is all the invitation I need. I like to keep track of my favorites from one year or another, and this year The Greedy Sparrow will be topping the list. Fun to read. Fun to look at. This one’s a beauty through and through that’ll sink into obscurity unless you pluck it up yourself. Give it a gander, won’t you?
For ages 4-8.
A little Author’s Note appears on the publication page of this book, which I appreciated. It states right from the start, “Armenian fables begin with ‘Once there was and was not’.” After we read these words we begin our tale. A sparrow with a thorn in its foot asks a baker to remove it. The woman does so gladly, burning it up afterwards, but when the sparrow returns and asks for his thorn back she has nothing to give him. Pleased, he takes some bread instead. Next, he visits a shepherd with a flock and asks the man to look after his bread. The fellow does for a time, but eats the bread when hunger overtakes him. As payment, the sparrow takes a sheep. Through these sneaky methods the sparrow exchanges a sheep for a human bride, a human bride for a lute, and finally he loses the lute, his ultimate prize, when he falls from a thorn tree. Lute gone. New thorn in his foot.
I have a tendency to lament the death of the picture book folktale on a nice and regular bi-annual schedule. Compared to the last few decades, folktales and fables are publishing at the lowest ebb seen in years. Each season I scramble to find as many as I can, often disappointed by the results. Maybe that’s why I glommed onto The Greedy Sparrow as quickly as I did. Here we have an honest-to-goodness folktale, retold for contemporary audiences, and unknown to a whole chunk of them. Kasbarian says in her bookflap that she learned to recite this story from her father who learned it from his grandmother, an Armenian storyteller. Clearly such talents are genetic since Kasbarian’s writing flows easily. You leap effortlessly from situation to situation until the end. Happily, the author sees no need to put some kind of moral capper on the tale. All she needs to write is the final sentence: “But as the sparrow rocked in glee, he lost his footing, and the lute fell, too, leaving the sparrow as he began ... with nothing but a thorn in his foot!” Batta bing, batta boom. Nothing more need be said.
Part of what I find intriguing in this story is that at the beginning the sparrow is entirely in the wrong and the baker woman completely in the right. A thorn in the sparrow’s foot is removed by the woman, which in most stories would constitute a good deed. Many a story would reward the woman for her kindness, maybe granting her a wish or two. This story, in contrast, repays good with ill. The sparrow, perhaps seeing an opportunity to improve his lot by whatever means necessary, asks for the thorn back. There is no reason for this. In fact, I’m pretty sure the crafty bird knew from the start that the woman would have gotten rid of it. But using the logic that she took something of his so he may take something of hers, she is forced to comply. What’s more, we never hear or see of her again. Though the sparrow does receive a kind of comeuppance by the end, it’s of the minor variety. Sure some of the people who take advantage of the sparrow’s lending are to blame, but since you get the feeling that the sparrow is just running a long con you’re just sort of waiting for it to overstep itself. This is a folktale for those who want to feel good when avarice gets thwarted.
Writing a good story is all well and good, but if your art is subpar then don’t bother getting me out of bed. In a picture book the quality of the art makes or breaks the reading experience. You can pour ambrosia-dipped words from pen to paper, captivating all who read and hear them, but throw in some awful art and the experience is instantly tainted. I was unfamiliar with the work of Russian artist Maria Zaikina until now, but having discovered her I can only hope to see more of her work in the future. According to her bio, Zaikina “researched Armenian costumes, culture, and customs before she completed the illustrations for this book.” Well played there. For the art, she then rendered it with layers of wax and oil paint. After that the layers were “cut away to reveal the colors underneath”. As a result, we’ve paintings that have a rough textured feel to them, spotted with bits of unexpected black paint. Such a technique would inevitably lead to images that were dull or static, but this is not the case. In fact, I found myself really seriously amused by what Zaikina has done here. First off, there are the speech bubbles in the text. They work perfectly in the story, but considering the classic feel of the artistic style, they are by no means a given.
Then there’s the visual humor that Zaikina’s so good at producing. It’s hard not to find the image of a tiny sparrow lugging a large, morose, doomed sheep through the air. Even better is when he takes a human bride (though, to suspend at least a little disbelief, the woman just rides a horse with the sparrow perched on her head). Take a look at the sparrow too. Until the end of the book it always appears from the side, never from the front or the back. On the side of its head is a single unpitying eye. Only at the end when the sparrow falls from the tree with his lute and a new thorn in his foot, do we see that eye widen in surprise. Just desserts accompany a truly shocked antihero. A perfect pairing of the two.
Parents tend to ask librarians for recommendations of one version or another of the fairy and folktales they already know. “Can you recommend a good Hansel and Gretel?” That sort of thing. It’s the clever ‘rents who think to expand their offsprings’ horizons beyond the usual Grimm/Galdone fare. And once in a rare while I will get a parent who asks for “folktales”. That needlessly vague term is all the invitation I need. I like to keep track of my favorites from one year or another, and this year The Greedy Sparrow will be topping the list. Fun to read. Fun to look at. This one’s a beauty through and through that’ll sink into obscurity unless you pluck it up yourself. Give it a gander, won’t you?
For ages 4-8.
April 21, 2011
Simple, accessbile fable about dishonesty and selfishness.
October 24, 2016
"Guide the seed carefully
and the tree will go upright."
- Armenian Proverb
and the tree will go upright."
- Armenian Proverb
May 28, 2011
A classic Armenian folktale finds new life in this picture book adaptation. When a sparrow with a thorn in its foot finds itself capable of fooling a variety of gentle farmfolk into giving up their wares, his greed leads ultimately to his own downfall at the hands of a lute. Gorgeous illustrations and some really fun storytelling establish this as one of those picture books that will work with storytimes just as well as one-on-one reading. Plus its one of the rare folktales being produced today. Two thumbs up. - B
May 3, 2011
Multicultural style illustrations are fun, story is unique.
June 4, 2014
This is a book about entitlement and greediness! I think this is a good book to talk about because there is a lot of entitlement going around. The pictures are okay AND It is a good message!
October 31, 2020
The Greedy Sparrow is a retelling of a folk tale from Armenia which the author, Lucine Kasbarian, learned from her father. The story begins with a sparrow who has a thorn stuck in his foot. A woman baking bread removes the thorn for him, and the bird goes on his way. Later, though, he returns, demanding the thorn, and when he learns that the woman disposed of it, he demands something else in exchange. As the story progresses, the sparrow makes more and more demands on more and more strangers, always demanding something in exchange for an item that isn't really his to begin with. In the end, his greed gets the better of him and he ends the story no better off than when he began.
I really loved this book. The story, whose moral is, essentially, "what goes around comes around" or perhaps "you reap what you sow" has a unique flair, and there aren't many other folk tales or fables that it reminded me of. I loved that the story mentioned specific locations, such as Mount Ararat, because it grounds the tale in the culture from which it came, and provides opportunities for children to learn about a new country as they read. The illustrations, which absolutely consume every inch of white space, are beautiful, and I loved seeing the Armenian style of dress represented on each page. The sheep in this book also have wonderful facial expressions, which gave them unexpected personality.
According to a note on the copyright page inside the book, the art for this book was created with wax and oil paint, and layers were literally cut away to reveal the colors underneath the wax. Knowing this gave me a new appreciation for the illustrations, where you can actually see the strokes the artist made as she worked on each page. It's just so appealing to look at, and even the smallest details, which must have been the most difficult, appear flawless.
This book is simple enough, certainly, to be shared with preschoolers, but would also work well for an elementary school unit about folk tales or Armenian culture. I really hope my library system will purchase a copy so that I can share it at story time and beyond.
I really loved this book. The story, whose moral is, essentially, "what goes around comes around" or perhaps "you reap what you sow" has a unique flair, and there aren't many other folk tales or fables that it reminded me of. I loved that the story mentioned specific locations, such as Mount Ararat, because it grounds the tale in the culture from which it came, and provides opportunities for children to learn about a new country as they read. The illustrations, which absolutely consume every inch of white space, are beautiful, and I loved seeing the Armenian style of dress represented on each page. The sheep in this book also have wonderful facial expressions, which gave them unexpected personality.
According to a note on the copyright page inside the book, the art for this book was created with wax and oil paint, and layers were literally cut away to reveal the colors underneath the wax. Knowing this gave me a new appreciation for the illustrations, where you can actually see the strokes the artist made as she worked on each page. It's just so appealing to look at, and even the smallest details, which must have been the most difficult, appear flawless.
This book is simple enough, certainly, to be shared with preschoolers, but would also work well for an elementary school unit about folk tales or Armenian culture. I really hope my library system will purchase a copy so that I can share it at story time and beyond.
January 2, 2017
Armenia
It's somewhat unclear as to whether this is a telling of a traditional Armenian folktale. It seems that there is a folktale (often called The Sparrow) that was first written down by Hovhannes Toumanian (read it at http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hovhannes_Tumanian:_The_Sparrow), but the author calls her book "an original composition."
In an interview at http://armenianweekly.com/2011/03/04/%E2%80%98greedy-sparrow%E2%80%99-author-kasbarian-rekindles-armenia%E2%80%99s-past/ she talks about how "The original tale of the sparrow contained the same lesson as The Greedy Sparrow, my original composition, yet I chose to present a variant of this tale — which was also in the oral tradition — because it most clearly conveyed that manipulation and dishonesty have their consequences. And unlike how the tale has been told orally, my version incorporates native Armenian landmarks to introduce readers to our patrimony." So it seems that the story, even the ending where the sparrow gets his comeuppance, is traditional but the specific references were inserted by the author?
The illustrations are absolutely wonderful, kind of gritty with dirt spilling over into the margins. They fit the mood of the story perfectly. They were done with wax and oil paint. The colors are bright and vibrant with strong contrasts. I'm not entirely sold on the choice of fonts for the little speech bubbles - they seem too modern for this old tale. I love the facial expressions, especially the use of eyebrows - even on sheep!
This is such a ridiculous story and it is so well presented that one might almost overlook the instructive moral, but it is definitely there and has been expressed by such sentiments as "No good deed goes unpunished."
It's somewhat unclear as to whether this is a telling of a traditional Armenian folktale. It seems that there is a folktale (often called The Sparrow) that was first written down by Hovhannes Toumanian (read it at http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hovhannes_Tumanian:_The_Sparrow), but the author calls her book "an original composition."
In an interview at http://armenianweekly.com/2011/03/04/%E2%80%98greedy-sparrow%E2%80%99-author-kasbarian-rekindles-armenia%E2%80%99s-past/ she talks about how "The original tale of the sparrow contained the same lesson as The Greedy Sparrow, my original composition, yet I chose to present a variant of this tale — which was also in the oral tradition — because it most clearly conveyed that manipulation and dishonesty have their consequences. And unlike how the tale has been told orally, my version incorporates native Armenian landmarks to introduce readers to our patrimony." So it seems that the story, even the ending where the sparrow gets his comeuppance, is traditional but the specific references were inserted by the author?
The illustrations are absolutely wonderful, kind of gritty with dirt spilling over into the margins. They fit the mood of the story perfectly. They were done with wax and oil paint. The colors are bright and vibrant with strong contrasts. I'm not entirely sold on the choice of fonts for the little speech bubbles - they seem too modern for this old tale. I love the facial expressions, especially the use of eyebrows - even on sheep!
This is such a ridiculous story and it is so well presented that one might almost overlook the instructive moral, but it is definitely there and has been expressed by such sentiments as "No good deed goes unpunished."
April 2, 2011
"The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale", written by Lucine Kasbarian and illustrated by Maria Zaikina, is an Armenian fable. A fable is a story that teaches a lesson about life.
The sparrow in this story has a thorn in his foot. He takes advantage of a woman baking a loaf of bread and tricks her into giving him the bread. The trickster repeats this behavior over and over again, never satisfied with what he has. He finally ends up losing everything and finds himself with another thorn stuck in his foot. The author states, "we learn that people who engage in dishonest or selfish behavior may end up losing whatever they gained because of that behavior."
The book illustrations were rendered with layers of wax and oil paint, and then the layers were cut away to reveal the colors underneath. The illustrations do an excellent job portraying the Armenian culture and landscape. The pictures are colorful and cheerful. The animal's expressions are delightful and humorous.
I think children today need to understand that crime doesn't pay. There will always be consequences for bad behavior. I also like the way the story and the illustrations teach about a far-away place with a strange sounding name. Most American children are probably not familiar with the Republic of Armenia. This would be a wonderful opportunity to get out the globe and talk about people who live on the other side of the world.
The author provides an excellent study guide and activities on her web site. There are so many lessons that can be taught from this book. Great for children of all ages!
I want to thank Ms. Kasbarian for sending me a digital copy of this book to read and review. It was a real pleasure.
The sparrow in this story has a thorn in his foot. He takes advantage of a woman baking a loaf of bread and tricks her into giving him the bread. The trickster repeats this behavior over and over again, never satisfied with what he has. He finally ends up losing everything and finds himself with another thorn stuck in his foot. The author states, "we learn that people who engage in dishonest or selfish behavior may end up losing whatever they gained because of that behavior."
The book illustrations were rendered with layers of wax and oil paint, and then the layers were cut away to reveal the colors underneath. The illustrations do an excellent job portraying the Armenian culture and landscape. The pictures are colorful and cheerful. The animal's expressions are delightful and humorous.
I think children today need to understand that crime doesn't pay. There will always be consequences for bad behavior. I also like the way the story and the illustrations teach about a far-away place with a strange sounding name. Most American children are probably not familiar with the Republic of Armenia. This would be a wonderful opportunity to get out the globe and talk about people who live on the other side of the world.
The author provides an excellent study guide and activities on her web site. There are so many lessons that can be taught from this book. Great for children of all ages!
I want to thank Ms. Kasbarian for sending me a digital copy of this book to read and review. It was a real pleasure.
March 24, 2015
Kasbarian, Lucine. Zaikina, Maria. The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale. (2011). The book provides an explanation of typical Armenian tales, and that they begin with “Once there was and was not,” implying that it could be a real or it could not. A sparrow has a thorn stuck on its feet, and asks a kind lady who was baking bread to remove the thorn, which she does kindly. The lady throws away the torn into the fire, but the sparrow later returns to claim the thorn which the lady had already burned, In return for the destroyed thorn, the sparrow demands a piece of bread. The sparrow plays this same trick on a shepard, a married couple, and finally on a minstrel (musician); every time using the item that it took from the previous person. The sparrow takes the bread, then a sheep, then a bride, and a lute (type of Armenian guitar) to finalize its evil scheme. The sparrow ends up on a tree playing the lute, on top a of thorny branch of a peach tree, it loses its footing, which causes to end on the floor with a thorn in its feet. The illustrations are very colorful and are detailed, which provides a good vision for the reader. The story was a little slow in action, and did not really capture my interest, it was a book I did not enjoy reading. The story line needed more excitement, which could have been generated with more enthusiasm of the retold story. It is a folktale with a very rich history of oral transcendency for the Armenian culture, which could interest a reader that is Armenian. Target audience: ages 4-8.
April 26, 2011
I picked this book up because the drawings and colors reminded me of Medieval pictures. It ended up being an Armenian tale, so it wasn't Medieval in any way, but I still enjoyed it.
The story is about a sparrow who has a thorn in his foot and asks a woman who is baking bread to remove it for him...she does, and then she tosses it into the oven. When the sparrow wants it back, she obviously can't give it back to him, so he demands some bread as compensation. He next asks a shepherd to watch his bread for him while he does something else...however, he's gone so long that the shepherd gets hungry and then eats the bread. When the sparrow returns, the shepherd obviously can't give it back, so the sparrow demands a sheep as compensation...and so the story goes. It ends up coming full circle, as he gets another thorn in his foot at the end.
An author's note explains part of the first line to the story 'Once there was and was not', meaning that "fantastical tales may be real or imagined" (copyright page). It's nice that this bit was included because I questioned that very line.
I liked this story about the greedy sparrow and am glad I picked it up. It's nice to read alone or in pairs, but is too long for a storytime.
The story is about a sparrow who has a thorn in his foot and asks a woman who is baking bread to remove it for him...she does, and then she tosses it into the oven. When the sparrow wants it back, she obviously can't give it back to him, so he demands some bread as compensation. He next asks a shepherd to watch his bread for him while he does something else...however, he's gone so long that the shepherd gets hungry and then eats the bread. When the sparrow returns, the shepherd obviously can't give it back, so the sparrow demands a sheep as compensation...and so the story goes. It ends up coming full circle, as he gets another thorn in his foot at the end.
An author's note explains part of the first line to the story 'Once there was and was not', meaning that "fantastical tales may be real or imagined" (copyright page). It's nice that this bit was included because I questioned that very line.
I liked this story about the greedy sparrow and am glad I picked it up. It's nice to read alone or in pairs, but is too long for a storytime.
March 30, 2011
Sparrow is a fable meant to teach readers the consequences of greed. In the story, a sparrow demands progressively larger favors until he finally gets too big for his britches, and loses all.
The artwork is created in a style reminiscent of stained glass.
Veg*n Parents Note: There’s a pretty major speed bump in the story that veg*n parents will want to be aware of. The greedy sparrow demands a sheep from a shepherd. He carries of the sheep and leaves her at a wedding party, where he requests that the celebrants watch the animal while he is gone. In the meantime, the group gets hungry and slaughters the sheep to make shish kebabs. The killing is not shown, but the celebrants are depicted staring at the nervous-looking sheep and the next page depicts chunks of meat on skewers. So there’s a major animal-unfriendly element that may inspire veg families to look elsewhere.
I also have to say that the sparrow’s kidnapping of the bride at the wedding hearkens back to a less enlightened time for gender relations.
The artwork is created in a style reminiscent of stained glass.
Veg*n Parents Note: There’s a pretty major speed bump in the story that veg*n parents will want to be aware of. The greedy sparrow demands a sheep from a shepherd. He carries of the sheep and leaves her at a wedding party, where he requests that the celebrants watch the animal while he is gone. In the meantime, the group gets hungry and slaughters the sheep to make shish kebabs. The killing is not shown, but the celebrants are depicted staring at the nervous-looking sheep and the next page depicts chunks of meat on skewers. So there’s a major animal-unfriendly element that may inspire veg families to look elsewhere.
I also have to say that the sparrow’s kidnapping of the bride at the wedding hearkens back to a less enlightened time for gender relations.
Read
July 31, 2019Our child initially focused on the rustic drawings and didn't like them. There were times when she would laugh and get excited about what would happen next, and then times she "came back down" because of what happened (e.g., the sheep being slaughtered).
It is easy to tell where the story is going, and even gets silly (the sparrow flies off with a bride!). I had just concluded that the sparrow “won,” when fate intervened.
To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.
It is easy to tell where the story is going, and even gets silly (the sparrow flies off with a bride!). I had just concluded that the sparrow “won,” when fate intervened.
To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.
August 28, 2013
The Greedy Sparrow was an interesting book about a sparrow who stared out with a thorn in his food. A nice lady helped him but as the story went on the sparrow only wanted more and more from the people who helped him. In the end the sparrow is left alone and back to where he started.
I did like the images and pictures in this book however although it was an easy reader. I found some of the events in the book to be strange for a child to understand. I don't know if I would recommend reading this book to children because of some of the animal deaths and activities.
I did like the images and pictures in this book however although it was an easy reader. I found some of the events in the book to be strange for a child to understand. I don't know if I would recommend reading this book to children because of some of the animal deaths and activities.
June 16, 2012
The story begins with a sparrow asking a friendly baker to take a thorn from his foot. The sparrow then takes advantage of the bakers kindness and persuades him to give him some bread. From here, the story continues with the sparrow tricking lots of people into taking pity on him and his winnings become increasingly more valuable than the one before.
The sparrow is met with misfortune at the end and the moral of the story is that wrongdoing will never bring you good.
The sparrow is met with misfortune at the end and the moral of the story is that wrongdoing will never bring you good.
July 15, 2013
This is the retelling of an Armenian fable that is told simply and is beautifully illustrated. Young children might find some humor in the tale of a bird who asks characters to mind his objects as he manages to trade up in every instance. It could be used as the basis for a lesson on friendship, fairness, or on when is enough enough. I'm sure I will read it aloud in my classroom in the years to come. Yet, the book is lovely enough to read with no ulterior lesson motive.
July 26, 2014
I wonder if translation fails this tale. I found it confusing and struggled to really get the point of the tale. I have studied much folklore and I know there are deeper meanings and idioms are important to folklore. Something is this tale is missing. While the artwork is interesting it is to enough to carry the tale. I will not be buying this one for my school library.
April 24, 2011
A sparrow with a thorn in his foot tricks a baker into giving him some bread, and then exchanges the bread for grander and grander things. But the story circles back to where it began, leavng the greedy sparrow with nothing but a thorn in his foot.
What a delightful circular tale!
What a delightful circular tale!
January 21, 2016
Sparrow gives a variety items to different characters to watch over for the sparrow. The sparrow returns to find the character has used it so they must give the sparrow something to replace the used item.
January 28, 2019
Great illustrations but the greedy sparrow didn't resonate with me. Aside from the kind baker who helped him out, he asked favors of everyone and they didn't keep up their end of the bargain. The sparrow (a total Slytherin, if you ask me) reminded me of Anansi. Clever, misunderstood.
March 27, 2011
It is similar to Malachy Doyle's The Bold Boy.
May 27, 2011
Good Armenian folktale for 2011 Summer reading program.
June 14, 2011
A good circular folktale to add to your "stories around the world" collection.
July 4, 2011
The illustrations are perfect, full of ethnic detail. The story itself is a bit grim (the adorable sheep on the cover becomes shish kabobs).
May 2, 2016
A classic folktale about always wanting more.
November 17, 2011
I liked the simple story and its lesson about being greedy, but the best part of this book is the illustrations!
December 1, 2011
Another wonderful circular story. You always want justice in the end.
December 7, 2011
A great book that teaches about a sparrow that is greedy and and he learns a hard lesson at the end. Nick helps me read this one.
March 10, 2012
Interesting circular story, with a predictable pattern, rich illustration, and reflection of Armenian culture.
July 22, 2012
I like the artwork.
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