Bearhide and Crow - Hardcover

Johnson, Paul Brett

3.41

17 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823414701 ISBN 13: 9780823414703

Publisher: Holiday House, 2000

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Enjoying the thrill of trade, Amos agrees to take Sam's magical bearhide in place of his prizewinning gourd, yet things don't turn out as planned and Amos is in for some surprises, in a colorfully illustrated Appalachian trickster tale.

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About the Author:

Author/Illustrator Paul Brett Johnson is a native of Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains. He has published over twenty books for children. His work has garnered numerous honors including two Kentucky Bluegrass Awards and a California Young Readers’ Medal. Many of his books have been selected to noteworthy lists in School Library Journal, American Bookseller, Bulletin, Smithsonian magazine, the New York Public Library’s "100", and the IRA/CBC children’s choices. Paul currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-5-A good-natured spin on the traditional tale of a simpleton tricked into a foolish trade. Amos has a penchant for swapping, and this time he swaps one of his wife's blue-ribbon gourds for a fly-ridden bearhide. Now, "Amos should have figured anything he got from the likes of Sam Hankins wouldn't be worth chicken teeth." Right away he gets into trouble, scaring Nell as he appears in the bearhide. As he flees from his angry wife, Amos has a chance encounter during which he overhears two robbers discussing a sack of gold they have buried beneath greedy Sam Hankins's rain barrel. He then outwits his swapping partner with the help of a crow that he claims told him about the gold. Most of the story plays out between Amos and Sam as further fibs are traded, and Amos eventually manages to swap the smelly bearskin and the crow for the gold. "Amos went to the city and bought his wife a whole poke full of pretties.-Sam Hankins never did learn crow." Grumpy Sam, outdone by his own lies and his gullibility, is a funny sight, and the well-told tale begs sharing. The jacket painting of cheerful Amos marching down an Appalachian road draped in the mangy bearhide and clutching a crow tied to a string is a deft introduction to the lucky young man. Johnson comfortably threads familiar bits of story into a comic scenario amply extended in energetic cartoon sketches dappled in sunny acrylic. A great read-aloud or storytelling choice, sure to tickle children of many ages.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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