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Jabutí the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon – A Vibrant Folktale About Music in the Rain Forest for Children
Of all the animals in the rain forest, Jabutí was the favorite. His shell was smooth and shiny, and the songs he played on his flute were sweet.
But his music was a reminder, too, of the mischievous pranks Jabutí sometimes played. His song reminded Tapir of being tricked, Jaguar of being fooled, and time and again it reminded Vulture that he had no song at all. When a concert takes place in heaven, Vulture offers to fly Jabutí there . . . all the while plotting a trick of his own.
Gerald McDermott makes myths new again for readers of all ages, using language as vibrant and colorful as his bold illustrations. Jabutí is an unusual tale of a trickster’s fall from grace, and of how creation can sometimes come from chaos.
But his music was a reminder, too, of the mischievous pranks Jabutí sometimes played. His song reminded Tapir of being tricked, Jaguar of being fooled, and time and again it reminded Vulture that he had no song at all. When a concert takes place in heaven, Vulture offers to fly Jabutí there . . . all the while plotting a trick of his own.
Gerald McDermott makes myths new again for readers of all ages, using language as vibrant and colorful as his bold illustrations. Jabutí is an unusual tale of a trickster’s fall from grace, and of how creation can sometimes come from chaos.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
6 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Gerald McDermott
65 books77 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Gerald McDermott is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and an expert on mythology. His work often combines bright colors and styles with ancient imagery.
He has created more than 25 books and animated films. His first book, Anansi the Spider, was awarded a Caldecott Honor, and he’s since won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun and another Caldecott Honor.
Gerald McDermott is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and an expert on mythology. His work often combines bright colors and styles with ancient imagery.
He has created more than 25 books and animated films. His first book, Anansi the Spider, was awarded a Caldecott Honor, and he’s since won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun and another Caldecott Honor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
August 8, 2019
This is a folktale from the tribes of the Amazon that were written down and transcribed in the 1870’s. Jabuti the tortoise is a trickster and many of the animals remember his music rather sourly. But the birds love his music. All except Vulture who wants to eat him. The birds are gathering for the Lord of the heavens and Jabuti wants to play for him. Vulture offers to carry him up there and Jabuti accepts. As Vulture flies up to the heavens, he drops Jabuti and he falls. His smooth shell cracks apart. Vulture is quickly in trouble for not bringing Jabuti to heaven and the birds go find him and put him back together. This is how some of the birds get their magnificent colors of feathers and beaks, like the Toucan and the Macaw.
I don’t know that there is necessarily a moral here accept to explain how birds get there colors. Maybe the moral is, be careful who you trust, maybe not. It also sounds like it might be good not to be a trickster and get all kinds of bad feelings toward you from other people.
I love the artwork. It’s rich and colorful and highly stylized.
The niece loved this story and she was glad it turned out ok for Jabuti. She liked that he played music. She gave this 4 stars. The nephew thought the story was ok. He did like the flute playing turtle, but he didn’t like what happened to the turtle as much. He gave this 3 stars. My nephew has some trickster in him, well, so does my niece at times.
I don’t know that there is necessarily a moral here accept to explain how birds get there colors. Maybe the moral is, be careful who you trust, maybe not. It also sounds like it might be good not to be a trickster and get all kinds of bad feelings toward you from other people.
I love the artwork. It’s rich and colorful and highly stylized.
The niece loved this story and she was glad it turned out ok for Jabuti. She liked that he played music. She gave this 4 stars. The nephew thought the story was ok. He did like the flute playing turtle, but he didn’t like what happened to the turtle as much. He gave this 3 stars. My nephew has some trickster in him, well, so does my niece at times.
January 10, 2017
Talented Jabuti's tricks and taunts come back to bite him on the ass shell when he needs a ride to heaven from embittered Vulture.
The illustrations are on the lurid side but not as trippy as the Gerald McDermott books I had as a kid.
The illustrations are on the lurid side but not as trippy as the Gerald McDermott books I had as a kid.
November 4, 2020
Can you tell that I really enjoyed this book? Gerald McDermott definitely knocked this one out of the park! Jabuti is such a beautiful character. I think any young or emerging reader will enjoy the message and beauty of both the story and illustrations.
Read it. Share it. Read it again.
Read it. Share it. Read it again.
February 6, 2013
For this charming tale, Gerald McDermott used a common and recurring character from the tribal lore of the Tupi-Guarini along with other Amazon rainforest peoples. McDermott's research traced Jabuti- the venerable and invincible trickster tortoise- back to 1875 where he first appeared in writing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Depictions of Jabuti also appear in storytelling circles of the southwestern United States. In addition, there appears to be a link from this character back to the fertile lands of West Africa- a part of the world from which McDermott has derived many of the stories for his picture books across the years.
Published in 2001, this marvelous book is alive with the vibrant colors and lifeforms of the Amazon Rainforest. At first, the gorgeous flute music played by Jabuti clashed with the feelings it mustered in the previous victims of Jabuti's ridicule and torturous trickery. Only the birds seemed to delight in Jabuti's joyous music- even those birds not known for their singing or their kaleidoscopic rainforest colors... When the tables are turned, and Jabuti instead ends up being the one who is tricked, his misfortune ends up providing an explantion for the seemingly unpredictable and random throes of Mother Nature.
Children will surely enjoy the nuanced sense of humor, the bright and life-like illustrations, and the universal themes of good vs. evil juxtaposed with darkness vs. light. Older children will likely dig even deeper and see this story as an allegory for stereotyping or trying to step beyond the boundaries created through one's deserved reputation. Of the numerous Gerald McDermott books I have read, this ranks as a personal favorite. It should probably be a part of every classroom library from (at least) grades 2 through 7 for this reason alone: from wounded souls and utter chaos, much goodness can still arise...
Published in 2001, this marvelous book is alive with the vibrant colors and lifeforms of the Amazon Rainforest. At first, the gorgeous flute music played by Jabuti clashed with the feelings it mustered in the previous victims of Jabuti's ridicule and torturous trickery. Only the birds seemed to delight in Jabuti's joyous music- even those birds not known for their singing or their kaleidoscopic rainforest colors... When the tables are turned, and Jabuti instead ends up being the one who is tricked, his misfortune ends up providing an explantion for the seemingly unpredictable and random throes of Mother Nature.
Children will surely enjoy the nuanced sense of humor, the bright and life-like illustrations, and the universal themes of good vs. evil juxtaposed with darkness vs. light. Older children will likely dig even deeper and see this story as an allegory for stereotyping or trying to step beyond the boundaries created through one's deserved reputation. Of the numerous Gerald McDermott books I have read, this ranks as a personal favorite. It should probably be a part of every classroom library from (at least) grades 2 through 7 for this reason alone: from wounded souls and utter chaos, much goodness can still arise...
December 23, 2017
Winter break bookaday #2. Creation tale of how turtle and some birds got their colors. Like how McDermott includes sources for the folktale. I always enjoy McDermott’s bold geometric art style.
June 17, 2014
Jabuti the tortoise has a smooth, shiny shell and plays sweet music on his flute all day long. One day, the birds are all invited to a celebration in the heavens. Jabuti wanted to go play his flute for the King of Heaven. He asks Vulture to carry him up to heaven. Vulture wanted to eat the tortoise. He flew with the tortoise on his back up to the heavens and then flipped over to make Jabuti fall off. When he hit the ground, his shell broke in pieces. The King of Heaven wanted to hear Jabuti play the flute, so he asked the birds to go find him. The Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird all found the tortoise. They put the pieces of his shell back together. Wherever they had touched the shell, they gained a new color on themselves. The Toucan's beak got bright stripes of yellow and red. The Macaw got yellow and red feathers at the tips of his wings. The Hummingbird's belly turned emerald green.
Okay for preschool storytimes.
Okay for preschool storytimes.
February 8, 2009
This is the story of a musically inclined, prank playing turtle named Jabuti (pronounced zha-boo-chee). While most birds admired Jabuti and his music, vulture was jealous and waited for his chance to eat him. After being tricked by vulture and left broken and alone on the forest floor, toucan, macaw, and hummingbird found Jabuti and helped to piece together his shell.
Where the helpful birds touched Jabuti, they took on a beautiful new color--So its a story of how toucan got his red and yellow beak, macaw his orange feathers, and hummingbird his emerald belly...I would have liked if the story focused on how the turtle got his patterned shell. Before Jabuti's accident, his shell was "smooth and shiny" and illustrated to have circles of color. After Jabuti's accident, his shell is "cracked and patched" and illustrated looking much like a kaleidoscope design.....
Where the helpful birds touched Jabuti, they took on a beautiful new color--So its a story of how toucan got his red and yellow beak, macaw his orange feathers, and hummingbird his emerald belly...I would have liked if the story focused on how the turtle got his patterned shell. Before Jabuti's accident, his shell was "smooth and shiny" and illustrated to have circles of color. After Jabuti's accident, his shell is "cracked and patched" and illustrated looking much like a kaleidoscope design.....
September 4, 2016
8/29/2016 ** In the next few weeks, I'll be working with third graders on research related to the settings and cultures of various Cinderella tales. I decided to use one of McDermott's trickster tales as the model text for my own "research project" - the one I do as a model /mentor process. Sadly, this was the only volume my library had.
I rated it lower because it didn't seem to have some of the elements of traditional trickster tales - with Jabuti leading the trick. In this case, he seemed to be the one tricked. This did have elements of a porquoi - explaining why several birds have different colored feathers.
I look forward to learning more about the rainforest as I research ways the setting influenced this tale.
I rated it lower because it didn't seem to have some of the elements of traditional trickster tales - with Jabuti leading the trick. In this case, he seemed to be the one tricked. This did have elements of a porquoi - explaining why several birds have different colored feathers.
I look forward to learning more about the rainforest as I research ways the setting influenced this tale.
May 23, 2011
Before reading this story you can show the children pictures of a real tortoise and talk about the pattern on it's shell. I also exhibited a large map and showed them where in the world the Amazon is. We discussed how a pourquoi tale explains why something is the way it is. I brought a Peruvian flute shaped exactly like the one in the book illustrations, and the Kindergarten students were amazed at my playing ability. (Little do they know how poor it was. Ahhh--to be more accepting and uncritical!) Also read this to the special ed classes. They also enjoyed the tale and told me all sorts of things they knew about tortoises.
February 23, 2012
This pourqoui tale from the Amazon tells how tortoise shells became "cracked" and how several tropical birds (the toucan, macaw, and hummingbird) became colorful. It also tells how Jabuti the Tortoise, a famed trickster, got tricked himself--though all is set right in the end.
The book is also aided by McDermott's used of bright colors and his distinct representations of the animal characters.
Overall, Jabuti the Tortoise was an enjoyable read that I recommend.
The book is also aided by McDermott's used of bright colors and his distinct representations of the animal characters.
Overall, Jabuti the Tortoise was an enjoyable read that I recommend.
July 30, 2018
This is a short fable about a trickster from the Amazon. It follows a flute playing tortoise whose musical expressions annoy many creatures yet please the birds of the rainforest. The story's resolution also contains a pourquoi explanation of how the tropical birds received their colorations. There's no clear moral to be learned other than perhaps keeping one's word, but the artwork alone makes this an enriching children's picture book.
May 26, 2008
Pronounced "zja-bu-chee," another cute trickster tale that Gerald McDermott read to us. It's also a "pourquoi story," explaining why things are the way they are. In this case, the people of the Amazon have created this tale to explain why the tortoise's shell is cracked. Wonderful illustrations again, and a fun story.
October 10, 2009
Grade/Interest Level: K-3
This folktale from the Amazon features Jabuti the tortoise, and makes reference to his trickster history through a beautiful interplay of text and illustration. The focus of this tale, however, is an explaination of why tortoises have cracked shells and how the birds of the Amazon became so colorful.
This folktale from the Amazon features Jabuti the tortoise, and makes reference to his trickster history through a beautiful interplay of text and illustration. The focus of this tale, however, is an explaination of why tortoises have cracked shells and how the birds of the Amazon became so colorful.
September 29, 2011
I liked this book because there is a good moral to the book: If you are mean to someone because of any reason, someone with more power is going to find out and you will pay for what you have done. It also was a good example of friendship because Jabuti's friends stayed true to him and helped him up when he was hurt.
August 14, 2015
Jabuti is a South American trickster tale from the Amazon. I purchased it to use in my myth class to evaluate cultural folktales.
The illustrations are full of color, which children will enjoy, and the art work is signature McDermott.
As for the story--it is a fun tale of why vultures are birds that do not sing and are not colorful.
The illustrations are full of color, which children will enjoy, and the art work is signature McDermott.
As for the story--it is a fun tale of why vultures are birds that do not sing and are not colorful.
Read
December 6, 2016This is a story about a trickster tortoise who goes around and pulls pranks on the other animals, but plays great on a flute. A vulture seeking to end him, tells him he can carry him up to heaven to play a concert and drops him on a rock. The gods pity him and rebuild his shell more beautiful than ever.
January 24, 2019
This story needs some kindof intro. I know it's a kids picture book, I know it's not a scholarly work, but it's subtitle is "an amazonian story" and it's near word for word one I've heard from west africa/ Was Jabuti a character before Africans arrived? Did the West African story meld with an existing Amazonian story? I am left with a lot of questions, here.
February 22, 2012
Recommended Ages: grades K and up
"All the birds enjoy the song-like flute music of Jabuti, the tortoise, except Vulture who, jealous because he cannot sing, tricks Jabuti into riding his back toward a festival planned by the King of Heaven."
"All the birds enjoy the song-like flute music of Jabuti, the tortoise, except Vulture who, jealous because he cannot sing, tricks Jabuti into riding his back toward a festival planned by the King of Heaven."
October 9, 2011
The art wasn't the best, but this was the first trickster tale I've read where the author acknowledges the fact that sometimes, tricksters are total jerks.
January 15, 2012
Another classic trickster tale with beautiful artwork. My 5-year-old loved it.
February 22, 2012
I thought this was a beautifully illustrated tale. LJ didn't sit for the whole thing, but I liked it a lot!
June 3, 2013
The jealous vulture shatters Jabuti's shell.
January 4, 2017
brightly colored images, nice simple story.
December 7, 2017
this would be a fun read-aloud book to read during story time
April 22, 2018
Not an #ownvoices book, but classical Children's illustrator/author Gerald McDermott. Beautiful illustrated paintings/collage like images of "Jabuti the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon."
December 2, 2017
Title: Jabuti the Tortoise
Author: Gerald McDermott
Genre: Non-European Folktales
Themes: Trickster, Amazon, folktales
Opening line/sentence: "Jabuti the tortoise played a song on his flute."
Brief Book Summary: Jabuti the tortoise loves to play music on his flute, and all the birds around love to hear it, except for Vulture who can’t sing and is jealous of Jabuti. One day, the God invites all of the bird up to sing to him, and Jabuti wants to go too, but since he has no wings, he can’t. This gives Vulture a chance to offer to help him, with the plan of hurting Jabuti instead of helping him. After dropping Jabuti on a rock and cracking his shell, Vulture gets in trouble with god, and Jabuti gets his shell fixed by the other birds, spreading his beautiful colors to them in the process.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Reviews, https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...
In this retelling of a South American folktale, Jabutf the Tortoise wants to play his flute for the King of Heaven and Vulture offers to give him a ride, but on the way there, jealous Vulture drops him and breaks his shell. The other birds put Jabutf back together. The telling is clean and well shaped, and the iconic artwork uses large geometric blocks against vivid pink skies.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Booklist Monthly Selections , https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...
Ages 5-7. In his introduction, McDermott explains that the tortoise Jabuti, a trickster, is "a central figure in the tribal lore of the Amazon rain forest though his origins may lie in West Africa. Here, Jabuti yearns to join the birds as they fly up to a festival in heaven and to play his flute for the King of Heaven. Treacherous Vulture, who cannot sing and is jealous of Jabuti's music, offers him a ride. He drops the tortoise from a great height, cracking his shell into many pieces, so the King of Heaven sends birds down to mend Jabuti's shell. As they touch the multicolored shell, helpful Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird become brilliantly colored themselves. The story ends with Jabuti playing his flute, to the displeasure of Vulture, who still has no song and no colors. Certainly there's no lack of colors in McDermott's latest picture book. From the hot pink backgrounds to the shaded greens of the forest to the many hues of the birds and beasts, color springs from the pages, which feature bold, accessible composition of forms. Simply written and well paced, this will make an imaginative read-aloud choice for classroom units on the rain forest.
Response to Two Professional Reviews
I agree with the reviews about the colors in the story being bold and vibrant, which makes them seem to come off of the page. It also is written in a very simple way with good pacing, which makes it easy for young children to follow along to the plot.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
I tried not to touch on this too much in my response to the reviews, but when it comes to the colors of this book, they’re extremely important considering that at the end, Jabuti ends up spreading his colors, making readers see that he had more than just music to give. A big part of the story is that he ends up sharing his colors with other animals, and that’s how they got to be the vibrant animals we know today, so it would only make sense for the author to use such loud colors. When it comes to the way the story is told, the author made sure to tell the story plain, simple, and straightforwardly. This will help children be able to follow the story, as well as make if more likely for them to be able to remember it.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
Since this book is for younger children and involves the use of color, I would have them draw/color pictures of Jabuti, then the animals that were colorless before him. Then, I would have them color him again with his new, cracked shell and the animals that got new colors from him. That way they could easily see the colors that spread from him to them.
Author: Gerald McDermott
Genre: Non-European Folktales
Themes: Trickster, Amazon, folktales
Opening line/sentence: "Jabuti the tortoise played a song on his flute."
Brief Book Summary: Jabuti the tortoise loves to play music on his flute, and all the birds around love to hear it, except for Vulture who can’t sing and is jealous of Jabuti. One day, the God invites all of the bird up to sing to him, and Jabuti wants to go too, but since he has no wings, he can’t. This gives Vulture a chance to offer to help him, with the plan of hurting Jabuti instead of helping him. After dropping Jabuti on a rock and cracking his shell, Vulture gets in trouble with god, and Jabuti gets his shell fixed by the other birds, spreading his beautiful colors to them in the process.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Reviews, https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...
In this retelling of a South American folktale, Jabutf the Tortoise wants to play his flute for the King of Heaven and Vulture offers to give him a ride, but on the way there, jealous Vulture drops him and breaks his shell. The other birds put Jabutf back together. The telling is clean and well shaped, and the iconic artwork uses large geometric blocks against vivid pink skies.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Booklist Monthly Selections , https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...
Ages 5-7. In his introduction, McDermott explains that the tortoise Jabuti, a trickster, is "a central figure in the tribal lore of the Amazon rain forest though his origins may lie in West Africa. Here, Jabuti yearns to join the birds as they fly up to a festival in heaven and to play his flute for the King of Heaven. Treacherous Vulture, who cannot sing and is jealous of Jabuti's music, offers him a ride. He drops the tortoise from a great height, cracking his shell into many pieces, so the King of Heaven sends birds down to mend Jabuti's shell. As they touch the multicolored shell, helpful Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird become brilliantly colored themselves. The story ends with Jabuti playing his flute, to the displeasure of Vulture, who still has no song and no colors. Certainly there's no lack of colors in McDermott's latest picture book. From the hot pink backgrounds to the shaded greens of the forest to the many hues of the birds and beasts, color springs from the pages, which feature bold, accessible composition of forms. Simply written and well paced, this will make an imaginative read-aloud choice for classroom units on the rain forest.
Response to Two Professional Reviews
I agree with the reviews about the colors in the story being bold and vibrant, which makes them seem to come off of the page. It also is written in a very simple way with good pacing, which makes it easy for young children to follow along to the plot.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
I tried not to touch on this too much in my response to the reviews, but when it comes to the colors of this book, they’re extremely important considering that at the end, Jabuti ends up spreading his colors, making readers see that he had more than just music to give. A big part of the story is that he ends up sharing his colors with other animals, and that’s how they got to be the vibrant animals we know today, so it would only make sense for the author to use such loud colors. When it comes to the way the story is told, the author made sure to tell the story plain, simple, and straightforwardly. This will help children be able to follow the story, as well as make if more likely for them to be able to remember it.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
Since this book is for younger children and involves the use of color, I would have them draw/color pictures of Jabuti, then the animals that were colorless before him. Then, I would have them color him again with his new, cracked shell and the animals that got new colors from him. That way they could easily see the colors that spread from him to them.
October 7, 2025
This book was a trickster tale about a tortoise in the Amazon. Jabuti was everyone's favorite in the rainforest because of his musical talents, but he was known for his tricks that he would play on a lot of the animals. However, Vulture is very jealous of Jabuti because he has no song. One day, he offers Jabuti a ride up to the music festival in heaven, and purposefully drops him, causing his shell to crack. Vulture is then not permitted to the festival, and all the birds are ordered to search for Jabuti. Once they find him, they all help him fix his shell and they all rejoice. This book could be used as a read aloud to teach students about irony, as there is a lot of irony in this book.
September 26, 2024
I loved this "trickster tale" Gerald McDermott has written about a tortoise named Jabuti. The vibrant and colorful illustrations caught my eye, and I enjoyed this retelling of an age-old myth. Jabuti the tortoise has a reputation in the Amazon as being a trickster, and always playing tricks on the other animals. One day, a trick was played on him. When the roles are now reversed, this causes Jabuti to learn a lesson, and change his ways. I can see myself using this in my classroom as a way to introduce folk literature through a class read-aloud.
June 16, 2019
Good story book based in the Amazon exploring themes such as feelings of kindness, jealousy and unkind ness. This is a great book for young children as it uses very simple and accessible language with bright coloured illustrations. I saw this used with a year one class exploring prefixes to describe the characters and their actions. It was great for learning in context and allowed the children to broaden their understanding and use of vocabulary.
November 26, 2019
This South American folktale reflects the saying "every dark cloud has a silver lining." When a trickster tortoise gets tricked himself by a vulture, other birds fly to help him. Amidst the chaos, they gain beautiful colorful designs on their beaks or feathers, and the tortoise learns a valuable lesson. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and geometric.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews