The Fortune-Tellers

My kids all love this book and can retell it to others. It made an impression...really like a fairy tale in how it teaches a lesson without directly saying it, and even a proverb. Anyways, highly recommend this one!

Lloyd Alexander is so incredibly talented; I was thrilled when I stumbled upon this children's book, previously unknown to me. The Fortune-tellers is a story of an old fraud whose prophesies for every customer are identical and very tongue-in-cheek. For example, the young man who comes to hear his fortune is told that he will become rich provided he can earn a lot of money, live a long life assuming it is not cut short by an early demise, and will marry his true love on the condition that he meets her, proposes to her, and she accepts him. The young carpenter is overjoyed by the good news of his future and runs back with more questions; however, he finds the room empty and when others come in, they assume that he is the fortune-teller transformed into a younger body. As the carpenter had been wishing for another trade, he takes the place of the old man, giving out the same advice which had been given to him. When this advice proves very popular he, in fact, achieves the wealth, happiness, and long life which had been "foretold" and often thinks fondly of the man who had seen the future so clearly. We learn of the fate of the real fortune-teller as well, who fell out of a window and spent the remainder of his life plagued by troubles. The humour in this story is great and will be enjoyed the most by older elementary or middle-school children who "get" the jokes. I can't finish this review without commenting on the wonderful illustrations. The Caldecott medal-winning illustrator, Trina Schart Hyman, based them on her travels to Cameroon and they are truly exquisite. Rich and full of detail, each page is tapestry of colors and textures. This story is a perfect teaching tool and is a window for children onto the beauty of Africa and the bountiful humor and wisdom of its people. An entire unit could be developed from identifying and learning more about the foods, household items, clothing and fabrics, buildings, professions, landscape and animals shown in the amazing paintings found in this book. Even if you aren't able to develop such a unit, this book is an excellent choice to build interest and begin a discussion about West Africa.

I don't know how author Lloyd Alexander and illustrator Trina Schart Hyman found one another for this book. Perhaps Mars was rising in the Pisces and all the stars were in correct alignment when it happened. Perhaps it was predicted by a seer decades before it could actually occur. Or maybe it was just one of those strokes of luck that produce books of pure perfection without ever meaning to. Whatever the reason, in the end their collaborative "The Fortune Tellers" is what you would expect of two geniuses. It is perfect.The story concerns a young man who wishes to seek his fortune and escape the drudgery of carpentry. After visiting a fortune teller the young man is convinced he will someday attain wealth, love, and long life. But on returning to the fortune teller's lair later, he finds the old man gone and people mistaking HIM for a fortune teller. In the end, he gains everything he ever wanted by telling people a caveat-laden series of predictions.The story is nice and funny. It's told well and children will get the key to the fortunes easily on their own. But honestly, this book could have been made or broken by its illustrator. In the wrong hands it could easily have gone beyond poorly drawn into offensive. Therefore, we should all give a great big sigh of relief that it was instead placed in the capable and multi-talent hands of Ms. Hyman. Basing her pictures in Cameroon (a land where her son-in-law was originally from), Hyman has produced a plethora of drop-dead gorgeous drawings. Says Hyman in her bio about this creation, the book is illustrated with her, "memories of the incredible beauty, strength, and diversity of the landscape and people of Cameroon". Certainly the landscapes are lovely. From fields of grassland, mountain ranges, and wooded boulevards it stuns. But I was most taken with the people in this book. Honestly, I don't know how Hyman did it. Every single woman in this book is wearing several different printed cloths. Every man is different from every other. Every baby completely easy to distinguish from every other. If you want to be blown away, you don't even have to open the darned book. Just turn it over and look at the group of ten people standing on the back cover. From the coy baby to the pair of brothers to the girls that regard the viewer with matter-of-fact eye contact, I was just stunned. And I haven't even begun to tell you about the millions of tiny details in EVERY single picture. There are hundreds of things to discover. For example, the old fortune teller owns a French to English dictionary propped up in his bed. Small lizards are identifiable in almost every picture if you care to seek them out. Observe also the interactions between friends and neighbors. Amazing.My words are inadequate. This book deserves every drop of attention you have to spare. Kids will love it. Adults will feast their eyes on every scene. It is the most beautiful of Hyman's creations, and truly an effect

From the very first page and the very first (of many) readings this beautifully illustrated story had my granddaughter and I laughing, pointing, and noticing all sorts of details in both the story and illustrations. We admired the beautiful clothing worn by the women and children. We imagined how wonderful it would be to visit such a place, and we found a fortune telling ball at a local novelty store to play with. This humorously told, universally appealing story shows us how we tend to look outside ourselves for the good fortunes we really have to create from within, with our own imagination and hard work. We've travelled 40 miles to the city library several times over the last few years to check this book out. The last time, we had to wait for it to get back from the binders for repairs, and I realized I'd better find my own copy, because it could disappear, and it has become one of my personal "classics" for sharing with children. So I am ordering two; one for ourselves, and one for our little library here in town. (My granddaughter is seven years old now, and delights in reading the Fortune Teller herself, and will no doubt be reading it to her baby sister when she is old enough!) We highly recommend it!

This whimsical tale set in Cameroon is beautifully illustrated and told in such a fashion that children, as well as adults, will smile with delight as the events unfold. As an introduction to the different cultures of Africa, I read this one to my seventh graders and they were enthralled by the "predictions" of the old seer. A book that is perfect for the small set, it also has insight for more mature readers as to how we are so taken in by the allure of the psychic and his/her "revelations."

Hardcover, that is. This book has a place of honor in my small collection of picture books (I'm usually more of a chapter book person). The thing that really amazes me about it is that it's so universal it could have been set anywhere. Trina did a lovely job setting it in Cameroon, with her daughter's husband's family and their baby populating the illustrations. In one picture you can also see Lloyd Alexander sitting at a table in the background, with a vulture (or two?) perched above him (I hear he's a hypochondraic from way back). Trina and her ex-husband are also in the same picture.