The Tale of the Tiger Slippers By Jan Brett
Jan Brett reimagines a powerful Middle Eastern folk tale that celebrates hard work and appreciating your roots.
Set in India, this gorgeous reimagining of the classic Middle Eastern folk tale Abu Kassem's Slippers features a poor tiger cub who is a very hard worker. His mother weaves him slippers to protect his feet from stones and thorns, and they allowed him to prosper--first making bricks, then building houses, and eventually becoming very wealthy. He continues to wear them until someone questions why such a prominent person would wear such worn shoes. Feeling embarrassed, Tiger tries to get rid of the slippers, but fate keeps bringing them back.
Finally, Tiger sends them to his uncle, who weeps with pride when he sees the slippers his sister made and his nephew used to accomplish so much. He sets off right away to visit them, bringing the slippers along. Tiger can't believe the slippers are back again, but his little cub gives him an idea: honor the slippers by building a special place for them, to remind him of how far he's come.
Jan Brett's lush, vibrant version of this story will inspire fans of her international retellings to appreciate the hard work that leads to all of their successes. The Tale of the Tiger Slippers
Beautiful illustrations immerse you in a fantasy world of Indian wildlife and a re-imagined traditional fable about not forgetting your roots. 039917074X Celebrated picture-book author/artist Jan Brett turns her attention to the classic folktale concerning Abu Kassim's shoes in this new title, setting her story in Persia and peopling it with animals. Born into a poor family, the eponymous tiger works hard and rises in the world, wearing the slippers his loving mother made for him. Once he is grown and successful, he is prompted to get rid of his shoes by some of the other animals, who question why a wealthy tiger would wear such tattered footwear. No matter how many times he throws them away however, they always keep coming back, until finally the tiger accepts that they are a part of himself and his past that he cannot be rid of...
I was familiar with the Moroccan variant of this story, which can be found in picture-book form in Harold Berson's Kassim's Shoes, and I am also quite familiar with Jan Brett's work, so I was curious to see what she would do in The Tale of the Tiger Slippers. All in all I found the story moderately engaging, and thought the artwork was lovely. That said, although I am always happy to encounter variants of folktales I know from other cultural settings, I do wish that Brett has given her source for this Persian version. In the dust-jacket blurb it mentions that Brett read it in a longer work, but never specifies what work that is. I also found myself wondering about the decision to make this a story about tigers rather than humans, as the substitution just felt rather unnecessary, from a storytelling perspective. If she wanted to tell a story with tigers, why not create an original one? This isn't Brett's best work, but is still one I would recommend to her fans. 039917074X
I would like to thank Edelweiss and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It has been awhile since I last read a book by Jan Brett. I used to read many books by Jan Brett when I was little and for a while, I thought that Jan Brett had taken a break from writing books. But, lo and behold! I had just discovered her most recent book “The Tale of the Tiger Slippers” and it was such a wonderful book to read!
The story starts off with a wealthy tiger telling his friends the story of how he got his raggedy old slippers that is put in a display case in his garden. The tiger used to be poor as he had lived with his mother and he worked hard every day to make ends meet for him and his mother. One day, his mother noticed how the stones and thorns in the ground were hurting her son’s feet. So she decided to weave him a pair of beautiful slippers to protect his feet. The young tiger wore the slippers and as he continued working, he noticed some white clay near the river and he decided to use the white clay to build houses for the other animals, which made him into an extremely wealthy tiger. The tiger then continues wearing his slippers, until a couple of other animals would start questioning him about why he wears such “ugly and raggedy” slippers and the tiger would throw the slippers away. But every time the tiger threw the slippers away, they keep on coming back to him.
Can the Tiger get rid of his slippers or is there something more to his slippers that he does not realize yet?
Read this book to find out!
Wow! Jan Brett’s writing is still as beautiful and as intriguing as ever! I loved the fact that this is based off a folktale from India since I love reading folktales from other countries. I also loved the way that Jan Brett wrote this story as it is about a wealthy tiger trying to remember his roots through his old slippers that his mother had weaved for him. This story really resonates with me because I always liked to keep items from my childhood since I do not ever want to forget about my roots or about the fun times that I had as a child. Jan Brett’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as all the animal characters looks so realistic and beautiful. I especially loved the images of the tiger’s beautiful house as it conveys the essence of the culture of India and it is gorgeous to look at, especially with all the vegetation that surrounds his home.
Overall, “The Tale of the Tiger Slippers” is a truly wonderful story about the importance of remembering your roots that children and parents will enjoy reading for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.
Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog
039917074X Brett's version is very loosely based on a Persian folktale, Abu Kassem's Slippers, for Brett's tiger character never gets thrown into jail as Kassem does. Brett set her story in the world of the Mughal courts of northern India. Brett's signature paintings, in watercolor and gouache, are surrounded by bejeweled borders, and most pages include side panels with additional characters and action. 039917074X Mughal -inspired Jan Brett, rather than her usual Nordic scenes. 039917074X
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Jan Brett does such beautiful work, and her newest effort is no exception. This is book is gorgeous and rich with character, costume and design. It tells a good story about consequence and honoring the past, with kind and thoughtful main characters. Recommended. 039917074X Jan Brett’s new book is delightful. She is retelling a story set in an Indian court setting. The Bengal tiger is the center of our story. The colors are rich and vibrant. She uses the side windows on most pages, but they don’t seem to be as relevant to the story. There are finely dressed animals in the windows standing and observing.
This is a story within a story. The story is about a pair of worn out red slippers. It is about the cub being given them by his mother and the cub then does a whole lot of hard work and builds a fine life. He keeps the slippers to remember the path while he still moves forward.
This is one of my favorite stories by Jan. I just love it. I'm sure I've said this before, but I can't believe Jan hasn't been nominated for a Caldecott. She needs to win that and she also needs a Goodreads choice award. Her artwork is stunning.
The nephew thought it was a good story too. He thought the tiger was pretty cool and the fact he couldn’t get rid of his slippers cracked him up. Each time the slippers came back my nephew would say, ‘Nope’. He gave it 4 stars. 039917074X The Tale of the Tiger Slipper was a fantastic telling of a fable geared toward the younger reader. Jan Brett marvelously portrays the heart of the fable with engaging the target audience and me the adult reader as well. There is nothing better than picking up a great book to read with your children, except maybe picking one up with a meaningful message as well.
I received this ARC copy of The Tale of the Tiger Slippers from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers - Penguin Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Tale of the Tiger Slippers is set for publication September 17, 2019.
My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Jan Brett
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (September 17, 2019)
ISBN-10: 039917074X
ISBN-13: 978-0399170744
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Tiger-Sli...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-... 039917074X The Tale of the Tiger Slippers Hm.... I dunno.... not a favorite. I am not sure how true to the original tale Brett's version runs, but I was just a little uncomfortable with the way this one is told. The moral is something along the lines of never forgetting ones past, honoring where we have come from... I just didn't like The illustrations are typical Brett and even more lush and opulent given the Persian and Indian influences but, while she expresses her artistic influences, I feel she should have given more direct credit for the tale itself. My children asked for a reread of this so obviously it was a hit with them. 039917074X Absolutely gorgeous illustrations accompanying a meaningful Persian tale make for a delightful reading experience! 039917074X