The Magic Plum Tree

by Freya Littledale, Enrico Arno

Because each of the three princes sees the plum tree at a different season, he forms a different impression of what it looks like.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 1984

About the author

Freya Littledale (1929 - 1992) was a children's book author, adapter, and editor. Most of her works were retold fairytales.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice classic fable; good to find something from a non-Euro culture. This edition rather lackluster compared to most modern picture-books, but I would have loved it when I was 7 or 8.

The story does end abruptly, leaving the reader to figure out the 'lesson' - assuming there is one.... I do have a current interest in Jataka stories so maybe I'll learn whether or not that's typical... as opposed to Aesop's fables in which the moral is usually explicitly stated at the end.

The text is interesting: it's slightly simplified and patterned, as intended for a developing early reader, but not at such a low level that it doesn't appeal to fluent readers... in fact, the effect of the style adds to the folklore vibe.

There is a note referencing The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births.

[Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Reminds me of the tale of the 7(?) blind men and the elephant.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tale retold from the Buddist Jataka. The boys and I enjoyed reading it and looking at the illustrations by Enrico Arno. In this tale, the king's three sons see a plum tree during different seasons. They have differing opinions of its beauty and usefulness. Later, the wise king takes them all to partake of the plum tree's fruit in its season. I gathered from this tale that people too are like the plum tree: barren (cold, inactive, bored), changeable (busy, especially preparing for different changes that come with life), flowering (full of hidden promise and budding talent), fruiting (providing something useful or sustaining to others).