Mr. Semolina-Semolinus: A Greek Folktale

by Anthony L. Mann, Giselle Potter, Christodoula Mitakidou

Areti, a Greek princess, makes a man fit for her to love from almonds, sugar, and semolina, but when he is stolen away by a jealous queen, Areti searches the world for him

Genres: Picture Books, Folklore, Greece, Childrens, Love

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely allegory from Greece. Not sure that it is meant allegorically, but when the princess Areti can’t find her love, her prayers, care, and kindness create the perfect man, five times beautiful and ten times kind. And when he is stolen from her and then found again she sees him as 10 times beautiful and 20 times kind, because “that’s what love does”. When the evil queen trades to create her own man, her curses create on the right. So I think it works as an allegory for relationship: faith and kindness creates love and improvement; curses create ROY and spoil

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super wordy. Follows the tradition of things coming in threes, so there's a lot of repetition. A peasant woman bakes herself the perfect man out of almonds, sugar and semolima, but a jealous queen steals him. So the peasant woman goes on a quest to find him and when she finally does, she still has to figure out how to rescue him.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Greek folktale. Mr. Semolina-Semolinus sounds delicious.

[Gregory Jacks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read-aloud for fifth grade. It flows nicely and subtly hints at the possible effect of greediness.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are large parts of this that only make sense if one knows folktale tropes. Iron shoes, for instance; totally fine as part of a curse, but a little weird here as a voluntary sartorial choice.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This folktale reminds me of the Gingerbread man but with more purpose, more love and a better ending. My kids and I enjoyed reading this story as part of our European Fairy Tales tour.

[Nolan Brendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it because Mr. Semolina Semolinus escaped with his queen.

[Allie Mueller]

Type: Picture book
Literary genre: Folk literature
Summary: A princess is not interested in any of her suitors, so she decides to create her own man to love. She mixes him up in a bowl and makes him to be the most beautiful, kind man that anyone has ever met. She names him Mr. Semolina-Semolinus, after one of the ingredients used to create him. The princess is so happy with her new man, but others notice him too. A queen organizes the capture of Mr. Semolina-Semolinus, so she can have him for herself. The princess goes on a quest to find her love, and meets a few characters along the way who each give her a tool to help her when the time is right. The princess uses all of the gifts to get her man back, so the queen tries to make her own man, but she fails to create a worthy one.
Questions: Why do you think they all gave the princess nuts? Do you think the queen will keep Mr. Semolina-Semolinus? What would you have done if you were the queen? What would you have done if you were the princess? Do you think the queen learned her lesson?
Critique: I can't decide whether or not I like this book. It was difficult for me to extract meaning from the text and my interpretation could be completely incorrect or off target. I know that readers can interpret a text differently, but children's books often have a clear message. A child might take the same meaning from the text as I did, and learn the value of hard work and honesty. The princess took matters into her own hands when she was unhappy, and improved her own situation by creating a solution. The queen stole Mr. Semolina-Semolinus and forced him to live with her. She ended up with nothing and was unable to create her own beautiful, kind man. I don't think I would assign this book to students, and I probably wouldn't buy it, but if someone gave me this book, I would put it on my shelf as an option for students.

Craft elements: This story has clear sequencing and events that stand out. A teacher could read the story to students and have them retell it. He/she could extend this activity by asking students to write an alternate ending to the story

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collaboration (Manna & Mitakidou) is wonderful! Giselle Potter's illustrations are lovely.

"One time in a time" somewhere in Greece, Areti lived. She was the daughter of a king and wanted only the kindest and most beautiful of suitors, but was disappointed by the many who came to her door. So! She proceeded to create a marzipan of sorts, which responded to her prayers to God and . . . became that kindest, most beautiful suitor. By the way, Areti's name means virtuous.

Well, a good thing never lasts, especially in a Greek folktale, . . . any folktale for that mater. An evil queen hears of Mr. Semoliins-Semolinus and kidnaps him. Areti's efforts at finding him and saving him are marvelous to behold. She moves the sun and the moon and the stars to find him and bring him home!

[Aryehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice to read a story where the princess is the hero rather than the prince, though I felt that Mr. Semolina-Semolinus himself lacked personality and functioned more as an object to be fought/argued over rather than a person. I think slightly experienced readers have much to gain from the book's array of tier two language and rich plot. They may enjoy comparing this story to other fairy tales where the male is generally the hero or considering ways that Mr. Semolina-Semolinus and character like him could save themselves. The illustrations in this book were functional and not particulary attractive to me personally. Overall, the book was enjoyable, but missing something character wise...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a version of Mercer Mayer's story "East of the Sun West of the Moon." In this variation, Princess Areti creates the perfect man out of semolina, almonds and sugar. He is stolen away from her by an evil queen, so Areti (which means virtue in Greek) searches the whole world to find him. After receiving three gifts from the sun, moon and stars, she tries to win back her love and eventually succeeds. I love the illustrations from Giselle Potter, especially the end pages which feature elements from the story. Recommended for ages 4-8, 3 stars.

[Angela Bair]

A fun story that introduces children to Greek Folklore and allows them to experience the role reversal of a princess being the hero, rather than the prince. The illustrations within the book were created with colored ink and pencil. They capture an airy dreamlike world in which Areti seeks her beloved Mr. Semolina-Simolinus. Potter adds child-like, whimsical Greek design elements in the story, such as the soft muted powdery colors, village/maritime scenes, strange perspectives, and elongated figures in modern dress.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would help teach children to not be selfish and to not take what isn't yours. It is about a princess not making her own man and then a queen from a different place taking him away. The princess goes after him and has things that the queens wants and the queen ends up getting. In the end it shows that if you are patient and not selfish you will get what you want.

[Trace · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're currently studying Ancient Greece and this was a recommended title for additional reading. It is a Greek Folktale... it had elements of other traditional tales such as Rumpelstiltskin and The Gingerbread Man.

We enjoyed it. The illustrations are quite whimsical.

[Evelyn Saenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Greek Folktale that combines elements of many other folktales from around the world such as the numbers 3 and 7, gold, silver and bronze, and a version of the Rumpelstiltskin tale.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giuliana: What does this have to do with ancient Greece?

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story.