The Contest

by Nonny Hogrogian (Adaptor, Illustrator)

Two robbers, Hmayag and Hrahad, meet by accident under a pomegranate tree, each having decided it was time for lunch. To their amazement, they find their bokhjahs contain identical lunches. It does not take long before they discover that they are engaged to the same girl, Ehleezah, who, of course, prepared the food for each of them. Since neither robber is willing to give her up, they agree to hold a contest with Ehleezah as the prize. The one who proves himself the cleverer at his trade will be the winner. The resulting trials are truly a test of theives. But the outcome is not what the robbers had intended, nor does the story end as the reader might expect. Nonny Hogrogian has used the intricate, highly decorative motifs of Oriental rugs to frame her pictures, and has placed brilliant black and white drawings to create a dazzling stage set for Hmayag's and Hrahad's good-natured rivalry and skillful sleight of hand.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Folklore, Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Kids, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Nonny Hogrogian is an Armenian-American writer and illustrator, known best for children's picture books. She has won two annual Caldecott Medals for U.S. children's book illustrations. Since childhood she prefers folk and fairy tales, poetry, fantasy and stories.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting tale about robbers and a deceiving wife. One man robs by day and the other robs by night and they both live with the same woman. One day they are traveling together and they realize this. They have a contest to see who is the best robber. They are each so clever and they like the new land they are in they decide to stay and the last page we see the wife with a new husband.

This is a very strange tale indeed; very different than the stories we are used too. I can’t really find a moral in this or a point. I had help understanding the other day with a story, so maybe someone will help me out today. Now, the artwork was interesting in this one. I enjoyed all the borders and symbols on the sides. It was interesting and beautiful art work. I think it had an Armenian flavor; just an assumption.

The kids had a lot of questions about this story. Why are they robbers? Why does the woman not tell the men about the other one? Why does she end up with a new husband at the end of the story? They were confused by this and I really didn’t have much to say, but ‘they shouldn’t do that should they.’ Strange. The nephew thought the pranks the robbers pulled were pretty funny. He gave this 4 stars while the niece didn’t really like the message and she gave this 2 stars.

[Robert Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

**** Caldecott Honor (1977) ****

I was not very impressed with either the storytelling of this Armenian folktake, or the colored pencil drawings. neither is bad, but not very exceptional either.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat older Caldecott Honor picture book, but felt older than it really was. Thieves and liars. Not a big fan of the art or the writing. But there's just something clever about the story, that definitely sold it as an authentic folktale. Definitely worth reading aloud once.

[SamZ · Rating 2 out of 5]

1977 Caldecott Honor - Favorite Illustration: When the two robbers stop to eat lunch together and find that their lunches consist of the same items.
This is an Armenian Folktale retelling of a story that I was not familiar with. I didn't love the tale, but I could see where a few different areas would be humorous. I guess my biggest thing is that I'm not sure what the point of the story is, and I'm not sure if there is an audience for this story that holds up over time. It would be interesting to read several other Armenian folktales so that I had some more background to this story.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for rhe intricate and delicate illustrations. A very culture centric folktale which to most North American readers won't make sense. However, I enjoyed Hogrogian's wit and the "situational ethics" of the tale. There is a moral to the story.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Contest is an Armenian folktale adapted and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian. The book was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1977. This colorful book tells the tale of two robbers, Hmayag and Hrahad who meet by accident under a pomegranate tree. As they begin to talk and eat their lunches, they see that they each have identical items in their pouches. And then they discover that they share a line of work. And that's not all they share--they are both engaged to the same girl, Ehleezah, who has prepared those identical lunches. Obviously, they both can't have her, so they devise a contest with the winner maintaining his engagement to Ehleezah. The tasks they set themselves truly test their thieving mettle. But the results of the contest and the decisions they make at the end are not quite what they expect. Both the thieves and the reader are surprised.

Beautiful illustrations set the stage for the story and children of all ages will be delighted.

[T. Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a colorful book that was absolutely charming! Author Nonny Hogrogian tells the story of two robbers who discover that they are engaged to the same woman. They decide to have a contest to determine who will be the sole fiance of Ehleezha.

The ending (which I won't spoil) is surprising, and even more impressive are the illustrations. Hogrogian is also the illustrator of this Caldecott winning book that is decorated with beautiful Oriental rugs and black and white sketches that are artistic and humorous.

The only drawback to the book is the lack of common knowledge about the Armenian culture. (What is an Ishkhan again?)

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rather odd story, and the difficult-to-pronounce Armenian names really distracted me, making it hard to finish. In this story based on a Armenian folktale, two robbers are engaged to the same woman, though neither of them knows it. One day while on the road, they run into each other and find out, and so create a contest to see who is the best and most clever robber. One operates only during the day, and the other only at night. The winner will get the girl. Only they don't really determine who is the best, but instead decide to keep robbing the area as it is very profitable. Their girl ends up moving on to someone else. Recommended for ages 7-10, 2 stars.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and engaging folktale, but probably not the best choice for a children's book. Hogrogian's illustrations - looks like all pencil - are a mix of black & white on a large white field or color bordered by various oriental-rug motifs. The story line features two thieves engaged to the same woman, who discover the benefits of collaboration with each other and end up better off working together than either one with the future bride.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 1 out of 5]

• 1977 Caldecott Honor Book •

This whole book is so weird for a children's book. Two thieves find out they're engaged to the same woman, so they have a thieving contest. I didn't like either of the thieves, nor the fiancé. The drawings are decent but I don't like whatever medium they're in - colored pencil, crayon? But the better question is: how did this win a Caldecott Honor??

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two robbers are engaged to the same woman and find out when they cross paths. The decide that whoever is the most clever robber will win the woman's hand in marriage. Both robbers fool unwilling victims and decide they are better off without the woman. Artwrok looks like colored pencils. Some drawings are just black and white line drawings. Key moments are ornately framed.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

... there lived two robbers...
Hmayag did his robbing by day and spent his evenings with Ehleezah, his betrothed.
Hrahad did his robbing by night and spent his days with his future wife, whose name too, was Ehleezah.

Great way to start a story.

Caldecott honor

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations do a spectacular job of evoking the tone and the culture. This book is a pleasure to look at. I enjoyed the clever story, though it certainly leaves a lot of room for discussing honesty and consequences.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hogrogian is a favorite of mine, and this story is a delightful, engaging, funny folktale with an unexpected ending.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

based on an Armenian folktale, so maybe some of the charm is lost in translation? it's a weird story. interesting artwork.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Contest by Nony Hogrogain- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates an Armerian folktale. It is the story of two robbers from Erzingah are in love with the same girl Ehleezah. Hmayag robs during the day and remains with Ehleezah during the night while Hrahad robs during the night and remains with Ehleezah during the day. Once the two robbers, Hmayag and Hrahad meet each other by accident under a pomegranate tree, each having decided it was time for lunch. To their amazement, they find their bokhjahs (tiffiin) contains identical items for lunch. Thus, they become aware that they are engaged to the same girl, Ehleezah, who, of course, prepared the food for each of them. Both decide to compete with each other in robbery so that the more talented may marry Ehleezah. Both find an old man with jewels going to sell them to a jeweler. Both are able to steal the jewels from the old man. When the bag is opened in the jeweler’s shop, the jewels are missing. Both are able to replace the bag of the old man with original jewels. Next, both move to a neighbouring city to rob. They enter the capital gate silently so that the guard is not able to detect them. They steal a cock, cook it, eat it and leave the bones at the same place. They wake up the sleeping Administrator Isakhan and narrate him the story. Isakhan decides that the night thief is more competent. Both decide that living in the new territory is better than life in Erzingah. Here Ehleezh finds a new man in her life. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the contents of the story.

[Sarah Childs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: In this Armenian folktale, two robbers, Hmayag and Hrahad, were to be married to the same woman. They were both unaware of this until they met up in their journeys and discovered the similarities between them. They decided to have a contest to see who was the most clever and who should end up with the wife. They both came up with some tricks and in the end, decided they were better off without the woman.

Review: I thought this was an interesting story and humorous in some parts. I would read this to upper elementary students because it is a little longer and hard to follow in some parts. It would be a great book to teach about traditional folktales and other cultures.

Books to pair: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola, and The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey by Demi

'Delicious' quote: "As it turned out, the two robbers met at noon under a pomegranate tree where each of them had stopped for lunch. They introduced themselves and opened their bokhjahs to see what Ehleezah had packed for them."

[ElleryS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traditional children's literature
3rd-4th grade reading level
The writing in this book didn't feel like anything special. I liked the illustrations, but they didn't strike me especially either. There wasn't anything wrong with either the storytelling or the illustrations, just not amazing either. I also would be slightly concerned about reading this to a particularly young child, because it's about two robbers and their fiancée who has been lying to them both. Questionable morals, so before recommending this to a child, I would want to be sure that they had a firm grasp on right and wrong.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on an Armenian folktale, a story of two robbers. One robs by day, the other by night. They discover they are engaged to the same woman. They engage in series of feats to "win" her and in the end discover they are better off without her and become friends. This is a really weird story. The illustrations are nice but I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

[Kirsten Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor Book - 1972
Art medium used: colored pencil and ink

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixture of black and white line drawings and full color panels - favorite is the two robbers running off on their horses. As for the story, best read aloud.

[MaryAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Caldecott Honor Book, the front cover deserves to be on Goodreads. This is an okay tale about two robbers who try to outdo each other after discovering they are betrothed to the same woman.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was perfectly fine right up until the end, and then I got really confused. The way the story was set up, I expected Ehleezah to be punished in some way for her duplicity concerning the two robbers. I have no idea how to read that final image, other than as a happy ending, and that didn’t really work for me within the context of the story. If the focus of the entire book is on the contest between the two robbers, why include Ehleezah at all? Why should we care what happens to her? It would have been much more interesting if she either wound up alone, or if she found herself another set of willing victims and conned them all over again. Perhaps we’re supposed to read it as a positive thing that she ditches the robbers, but I see nothing in the story itself to suggest that. A strange book.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did think the illustrations were very detailed and quite beautiful, I did not care for this story. It is a tale of two robbers who find out they have the same fiancé and their quest to prove who deserves to marry her. I don't like the way their dishonest and unkind trickery and robbery are portrayed as clever and funny. I really don't care for the fiancé. This was definitely not the book for me.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Armenian folktale illustrated beautifully by Nonny Hogrogian which won a Caldecott Honor Award in 1977. While the book does not mention what the illustrations are created with they could be colored pencil. They are beautifully rendered with some appearing as if the are framed paintings or perhaps
rugs and all half have a very middle eastern folklore feeling. And who wins this trickery game the young woman with two suitors or do the two suitors reject her?

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining tale about two robbers who discover they are betrothed to the same woman. They decide to have a contest: whichever of the two of them can commit the more clever crime wins Ehleezah. One keeps replacing a man's bag of jewels with stones, and the other one helps them break into a place and eat a chicken. I liked what they decided at the ending.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty illustrations

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor Book, 1977

Art Medium: colored pencil and ink

[ReadingWench · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd. Weird. This is a strange book. Two men are engaged to the same woman. I would not read this to a child.

AR: unknown

[Brindi Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

1977 Caldecott Honor

I think this is an awful folktale....