Pulling the Lion's Tale by Jane Kurtz.
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. (1995) Reading Level: Ages 4-10. 32 pages.
Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0689803249.
The Lion’s Tail by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Eshetu Tiruneh and translated by Yohannes Gebregeorgis.
Jane's book Pulling the Lion's Tail has been translated and is now available as an English/Amharic Title.
All proceeds benefit Ethiopia Reads and its projects
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Pulling the Lion's Tail
by Jane Kurtz
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Pulling the Lion's Tail is a story about surviving
grief and also a story about learning patience for the things in life
that come slowly. Inspired by a traditional Ethiopian tale, it tells of
one girl's determination to pull the hair from a lion's tail that she
thinks will win her stepmother's love. In classrooms, it's nicely
paired with Newbery Award-winner,Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.
Honors/Reviews:
- NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, 1995
- (British version) One of Young Book Trust's 100 Best Books of 1996
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Classroom Connections
- Compare and contrast:
- Pulling the Lion's Tail by Jane Kurtz
- Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (HarperCollins, 1985)
- Black-Eyed Susan by Jennifer Armstong (Crown, 1995)
Kurtz's and MacLachlan's titles focus on two youngsters, in different
cultures, forging a relationship with a new mother. The ten-year-old
girl, in Armstrong's book, is in Dakota Territory, with a mother who is
struggling to overcome feelings of loneliness and isolation.
- Use Cinderella stories from all over the world to start a discussion on the idea of the wicked stepmother.
- Read about how Floyd Cooper creates his illustrations and then create your own illustrations. (See below)
- Compare Cooper's
illustrations in the English (only) edition to the illustrations
created by the Ethiopian illustrator, Eshetu Tiruneh. The English/Amharic title with Tirunceh's illustrations can be purchased
from Silver Chicks.zoovy.com.
- Compare and contrast other variations of the Lion's Tail Folktale.
- "The Lion's Whisker" in Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About by Margaret Read MacDonald (Linnet Books, 1992).
- "The Lion's Whisker" in The Lion's Whisker: Tales of High Africa by Brent Ashabranner and Russell Davis (Little Brown, 1959).
- "The Lion's Whisker" in African Village Folktales by Edna Mason Kaula (World, 1968).
- The Tiger's Whisker by Harold Courlander. (Harcourt, 1957).
The Art of Illustration -- About Floyd Cooper
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When Floyd Cooper visits bookstores or schools he often
demonstrates his illustrative technique. Here's how one librarian
described the illustrator and his technique.
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| "He was relatively soft spoken but so gentle and full of quiet
humor. He paints with very watery oil paint on an art board. The color
is that light brown he uses so much. It dries for about ten minutes. He
then takes a kneaded eraser (it's almost like putty) and begins to lift
off the paint with it -- using gentle strokes and touches. When the
paint is really dry, he begins to add the colors on top. It was so
amazing to observe." |
- More Books to Read
- Death and Coping with Loss -- The Carousel by Liz Rosenberg (Harcourt 1995).
- Stepparents -- When We Married Gary by Anna Grossnickle Hines (Greenwillow, 1996)
- Stepparents -- Mountain Weddingby Faye Gibbons (Morrow, 1996).
- Stepparents -- The Private Notebook of Katie Roberts, Age 11 by Amy Hest. Illustrated by Sonja Lamut. (Candlewick, 1995).
- Stepparents -- Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes, illustrated by Lloyd Bloom (Knopf, 1984)
- About Lions -- Who Comesby Deborah Chandra (Sierra Books, 1995).
- About Lions -- Lion by Caroline Arnold (Morrow, 1995)
- About Lions -- The Lion Family Book translated by Patricia Crampton (North South, 1988).
- Reviews and Comments
In a story about dealing with grief and adjusting to a new family,
Almaz goes looking for a way to gain her stepmother's love and finds
both patience and love. Almaz is a strong character who takes risks and
finds her own way, while supported by her wise grandfather, and this
story (based on an Ethiopian folktale) is full of the cultural details
of life in Ethiopia.
"Readers of all types will identify with Almaz's longing for love and acceptance and someone to care for her." -- Children's Book Review Magazine
"... for all who struggle with issues that require
patience, this tale is a balm to the spirit and to all the spirits that
move about." -- Five Owls
Young Book Trust's 100 Best Books of 1996 (British
version): "Glowing illustrations accompany this deceptively simple
traditional Ethiopian tale."
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