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Searching... Salem Main Library | J 398.2 Morrison 2010 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | MORRISON | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Everyone knows that in the story of the Tortoise and the Hare the slow and steady tortoise wins always wins. Or does he? In this energetic retelling Hare wins but the Tortoise has the story to tell. So you decide, what makes a winner?
Author Notes
Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio on February 18, 1931. She received a B.A. in English from Howard University in 1953 and a master's degree in English from Cornell University in 1955 with her thesis on the theme of suicide in modern literature. She taught at several universities including Texas Southern University, Howard University, and Princeton University.
Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. Her other works include Sula, Tar Baby, Jazz, Paradise, Love, A Mercy, Home, and God Help the Child. She has won several awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Song of Solomon in 1977, the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988, the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, the Edward MacDowell Medal for her outstanding contribution to American culture in 2016, and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction in 2016. She also co-wrote children's books with her son, Slade Morrison, including The Big Box, The Book of Mean People, and Peeny Butter Fudge.
Toni Morrison passed away on August 5, 2019 at the age of 88, after a short illness.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Jimi Hare is fast and Jamey Tortoise is smart. Everyone avoids them, calls them names, and demeans their talents as tricks. When Jimi and Jamey sign up for a race, one practices while the other plans. The tortoise is told that reversals, such as the winner who loses, make the most satisfying newspaper story. The hare hears that the largest crowd gets more attention than the loudest cheers. On the day of the race, the tortoise travels on bus, train, and plane, while the hare dances, runs, and invents new stunts to draw the crowd. Though Jimi Hare crosses the finish line first, all who know Aesop's fable understand the headline-"WINNER LOSES! LOSER WINS!" Giving a new twist to an old tale, these two lonely and talented characters eventually become friends. Any reading of this tale will depend on knowledge of Aesop's fable. Illustrations are rendered in oil paints showing bright animated characters against textured backgrounds. Occasional rhymes ("Because he always won, they said he was no fun") enliven the text. This contemporary retelling should spark interesting discussions.-Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the Morrisons' updated version of this Aesop's fable, Jimi Hare and Jamey Tortoise try to spin their story with the media before the race. "But what story pleases your readers the most," Jamey asks a reporter, "the winner who loses or the loser who wins?" The reporter, an exuberant fox in a party dress, responds, "Oh, they're both important.... But for overall satisfaction, it's when the winner loses." After all the hype, the ending is remarkably anticlimactic-unlike in the original, Jimi comes in first, while Jamey plods in second. The traditional message about perseverance is lost to a murky idea about gaming the system to get what you want: the crown for Jimi, the headline for Jamey. Although the animals are portrayed as parallel misfits-outcast for their quick moves and quick mind-and would seem ideal companions, that development is left to a throwaway final scene. "It's not who wins," the authors conclude. "It's when the runners become good friends." The oil paintings by Cepeda (who illustrated the Morrisons' Peeny Butter Fudge) vibrate with life and color, providing much of the story's energy. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This mother-son writing team tackles the classic fable. Forget "slow and steady wins the race": Jimi Hare actually beats Jamey Tortoise. That this peculiar story is, per its last page, about friendship ("It's not the race. / It's not who wins. / It's when the runners become good friends") isn't prefigured. The disharmonious palette of Cepeda's textured oil paintings echoes the story line. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Peeny Butter Fudge, 2009). Neither Jimi Hare nor Jamey Tortoise is popular. J. Hare is too fast for anyone to keep up: His running is "too quick, / a trick!" J. Tortoise, on the other hand, is too smart: He's "too quick, / a trick!" In preparation for the coming race, Hare exercises and Tortoise strategizes. Both hold phone interviews with a foxy reporter, and then it's off to the starting line. J. Tortoise avails himself of trains and boats and planes while J. Hare performs stunts. There's no surprise at the finish line, only in the newspaper headline, which proclaims "Winner loses! Loser wins!" Both contestants are happy and go off hand in hand, because what matters is friendshipwhich, bafflingly, appears to erupt spontaneously at the end. The Morrisons seem to be sending messages about crafty news manipulation and the absurdity of athletic competition. But is this the appropriate audience? Cepeda's oil paintings are colorful and appropriately frenetic, but the story is just too diffuse and confusing. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The mother-son team here delivers another Aesop update, grappling with the loaded subjects of winning, losing, and getting good press coverage. Jimi the Hare is introduced as the fastest creature around and Jamey the Tortoise as the smartest. Everyone avoids them, calling them show-off, stuck-up, and stupid know-it-all, but Cepeda's exuberant, unfussy paintings feature the two animals as content loners. When a race is announced in the newspaper, though, they both sign up, get ready, and contact the paper, offering to give interviews. On race day, Jimi entertains the crowd with acrobatic stunts, while Jamey gets on a bus, a train, a boat, and a plane. Even with that help, Jimi Hare still wins. The paper's next-day headline reads Winner Loses! Loser Wins! because the reporter was expecting the outcome of the original Aesop fable. Fun stuff, though the feel-good ending Jimi and Jamey hold hands above text that reads, It's not who wins. It's when the runners become good friends seems a bit tacked on. When did they have a chance to bond?--Nolan, Abby Copyright 2010 Booklist