[BOOK REVIEW] One Grain of Rice by Demi

Title:  One Grain of Rice

Author:  Demi

Genre:  Math / India / Folktale / Royalty

Year Published: 1997

Year Read:  2011

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many books by world-renowned children’s book author, Demi, but I have not gotten around to reviewing any of Demi’s books yet.  “One Grain of Rice” is the first book by Demi that I am reviewing and it is a folktale from India that is about a young woman named Rani who tries to trick the raja of India into giving her more rice than is needed during a famine.  “One Grain of Rice” is truly a worthy folktale that will be loads of fun for children!

When Demi stated in the title of this book that this is a clever tale, she was not kidding!  Demi has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this clever story that is full of pure wit!  What really stood out for me in Demi’s writing was how Demi portrayed the main character Rani as a clever and independent heroine of the story as Rani uses her wits and her talented use of mathematics as a way to teach the raja a lesson he will never forget! I also loved the way that Demi uses mathematics as a major plot device in this book as it helps children learn more about mathematics and Demi made this book even more helpful for children by providing a chart at the back of the book about how Rani doubled each number per day, so you do not have to necessarily use a calculator to work out the formula used by Rani, but you can use a calculator if you want to teach your child about how to work out the problems on their own.  Demi’s illustrations are extremely beautiful in this book as she uses watercolor painting to illustrate the characters and the landscapes.  My favorite images in this book are of Rani herself as she is a truly beautiful looking character as she wears a gorgeous Indian red dress and has flowing black hair that touches her back.  I also enjoyed the images of all the animals that were being used when they were delivering the rice to Rani and the image that truly stood out for me was the image of the elephants bring Rani the rice in baskets as the page is folded out and you can see hundreds of elephants waking across the page.

Overall, “One Grain of Rice” is a truly wonderful and clever folktale for children who love folktales from India and want to learn about mathematics in a creative way!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the mathematical approach in this story might be too difficult for smaller children to understand.

  

[BOOK REVIEW] The Artist and the Architect by Demi

Title:  The Artist and the Architect

Author:  Demi

Genre: China / Rivalry / Trickery

Year Published: 1991

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 

I have read many books by Demi and I always loved the fact that Demi is always exploring different cultures with her works.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon another one of Demi’s works called “The Artist and the Architect,” which is a tale that takes place in China.  Man, did I end up enjoying this mesmerizing tale of deceit and cunning!

In Ancient China, there lived a wise and fair Emperor who had two experienced men, an architect and an artist who would create various buildings and artwork for the Emperor. Unfortunately, the artist was always jealous of the architect and he decided to plot the demise of the architect.  The artist then tells the Emperor about how the Emperor’s deceased father wanted an architect to build him a palace in Heaven and in order to do that, they must gather a large pile of wood and set it on fire with the architect standing in the middle of the fire until he rises up to Heaven.

I have always loved reading folktales from different countries, especially China and I was so delighted in finding another folktale from China retold by none other than Demi!  I loved the way that Demi retold this tale as it was full of drama and magical elements at the same time!   I was amazed at the fact that this is a tale about the artist deceiving the Emperor in order to get rid of the architect, which is a subject that I find so common in many folktales where the main antagonist wishes to get rid of the protagonist through any means possible and that is what made this story so interesting to read!  I also loved the Chinese influence of this tale as it made this story even more exotic in tone and I have always enjoyed checking out folktales from different countries!  But, probably the best part of this entire book was Demi’s illustrations as they were truly beautiful and creative to look at!  I loved the way that Demi drew the palaces in China as they look so beautiful and I also loved the clothing worn by the Emperor and his subjects as they truly look so distinguished!

The only problem I had with this book was that the ending seemed a bit too ambiguous, since I was not able to figure out what became of the artist at the end of the book.

SPOILER ALERT!

The only thing I gathered from the ending of the book was this little proverb that was mentioned:

“The small man harbors an envious spirit; the great man rejoices in the talents of others.”

It is sort of unknown if the architect forgave the artist for his deceit or not, although it looked like they were making up at the end, judging by the image of them shaking hands.

SPOILER ENDED!

Overall, “The Artist and the Architect” is a fantastic folktale from China that fans of Chinese folklore would enjoy immensely!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the book might be too complex for some smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Firebird by Demi

Title:  The Firebird

Author:  Demi

Genre: Fantasy / Folktale / Romance / Animal / Magic


Year Published: 1994


Year Read:  2011

Publisher:  Owlet Paperbacks

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Threats of Death)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

 

I have actually first heard of this tale from Rabbit Ears’ version of "The Firebird," which was narrated by Susan Sarandon, but now I have finally stumbled upon Demi’s version of the classic Russian folktale, “The Firebird.”  “The Firebird” is about a young archer named Dimitri who finds a firebird feather and goes on an adventure of a lifetime in fulfilling the Tsar’s greedy needs!  “The Firebird” is a truly wonderful classic folktale that children everywhere will love for many years!!

I am a huge fan of various folktales around the world and reading this version of the classic Russian folktale is definitely no exception!  Demi has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this fantastic folktale about the importance of not throwing caution to the wind.  What I really loved about Demi’s writing is how she based this version on Arthur Ransome’s popular book “Old Peter’s Russian Tales,” which is extremely interesting to know since I have heard about “Old Peter’s Russian Tales” so much from other reviewers.  I also loved the way that Demi made the book extremely dramatic and exciting at the same time as I was literally drawn into how Dimitri would be able to get out of the troubling situation he has thrown himself into and I also loved how Demi made the Tsar’s greed for power into something that can make a person corruptive, which is true.  It was also interesting seeing how Dimitri and Princess Vassilissa met each other through a sea of flames, which is an interesting way to meet your true love since it is not everyday that you get to meet the person you love at the edge of the world! Demi’s illustrations are extremely beautiful and creative as Demi uses traditional Chinese paints, inks and brushes and watercolor paints and paper to create the illustrations for this book.  My favorite illustration in this book was of Dimitri jumping into the cauldron of boiling water and I loved how the fire was drawn as the fire seems like it is literally licking at Dimitri and has golden, orange and yellow colors that truly show how effective this scene really is.

Parents should know that there are some threatening situations in this book which includes Dimitri being threatened with death numerous times throughout the book and that might scare smaller children.  Parents might want to talk to their children about being bullied into doing something they do not want to do before they read them this book.

All in all, “The Firebird” is a truly brilliant classic that children who love reading Russian folktales will definitely get a kick out for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to the length of this book and because the threatening situations might scare smaller children.