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Overview
This original folktale set in Cameroon is full of adventure and sly humor. Lloyd Alexander's story of a young man visiting — and then becoming — the village fortune-teller is brought to vibrant life with some of Caldecott Medalist Trina Schart Hyman's most memorable artwork. Both children and adults will relish The Fortune-tellers. "A funny, playful story that evokes the irony of the human condition." — Booklist,starred review "Alexander narrates his original tale with folkloric verve and his own mellow brand of irony;Hyman realizes the African setting in...splendid illustrations. A winning tale, superlatively presented." — Kirkus Reviews,pointer review Lloyd Alexander's many achievements include a Newbery Medal, a Newbery Honor Medal, and the National Book Award.Trina Schart Hyman won the Caldecott Medal for Saint George and the Dragon and a Caldecott Honor Medal for Little Red Riding Hood, among numerous other awards.
A carpenter in the West African country of Cameroon goes to a fortune teller and finds the predictions about his future coming true in an unusual way.
Synopsis
Traveling down the Ohio River in 1793, Amos, Clara, and Jonathan are separated from their father during a brutal Indian attack. The three children are swept down the river, and must make their way back through the wilderness in the direction of the Marietta settlement, hoping to find their father there. Their plight becomes still more dramatic-and dangerous-when Amos rescues a wounded Indian boy from the river. Though the boy mistrusts them and his condition slows them down, Amos refuses to leave him behind to die. Now more than ever, it seems they'll never make it back to their father and to safety.
Publishers Weekly
The hands of fate deftly propel this original folktale. A seedy fortune-teller profits from gullible and sometimes desperate villagers who seek predictions for a rosier future. One unhappy carpenter takes to heart the seer's hardly helpful advice--``Rich you will surely be, on one condition: that you earn large sums of money''--and looks forward to a prosperous life. Most surprising to the craftsman, he ends up in the right place at the right time and the prediction comes true. Alexander's chipper text has a jaunty and infectious ``just so'' tone. Amazing coincidences fuse the plot elements, but the story's logic remains intact, successfully suspending the reader's disbelief. Hyman's acrylic, ink and crayon illustrations capture the landscape and people of West Africa in vivid detail. Indigenous plants and animals--including comically placed lizards--dot each scene, and the villagers' lushly textured apparel is spectacular. Especially opulent are spreads featuring the fortune-teller's cluttered quarters and the market stalls with their baskets and pottery. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)