THE GREATEST OF ALL: A JAPANESE FOLKTALE Book Review

 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kimmel, Eric A. The Greatest of All: A Japanese Folktale. Ill. by Giora Carmi. New York: Holiday House, Inc., 1991. ISBN 082340885X

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Eric Kimmel retells the Japanese folktale, The Wedding Mouse, in which a field mouse desires to marry a palace mouse. Considering his family high-status for living in the corner of the emperor’s palace, this is a classic tale of a father who only wants the very best husband for his beautiful daughter.

When Father Mouse finds out that a field mouse wishes to marry his daughter, he exclaims, "My daughter marry a mouse? A humble field mouse! That will never be! You, Chuko, deserve the best. Your husband must be the greatest of all." He rushes off to tell the emperor that they have chosen him to marry his daughter, but the emperor tells the mouse that he cannot as the sun is the greatest, "When the sun beats hot at noon, even an emperor must seek shade." Father Mouse sets out to ask the sun to marry his daughter, but the sun denies he is the greatest by saying, "When Cloud covers the sky, even the sun must hide his face." The story continues as he asks the cloud, the wind, and the wall. Finally, the field mouse is named as the greatest, and Father Mouse grants the famous field mouse permission to marry his daughter. The emperor writes a haiku poem for the couple celebrating the marriage of the mice. Father Mouse exclaims to his wife that he knew all along that, “We mice are the greatest of all!”.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The illustrations interpret Japanese dress and style throughout the pages with warm watercolors and pen. Each page’s text is set in rectangular, side text boxes with the beginning letter of the first word in bold, black slanted lines. The home of Father Mouse and his family is on the palace corner shown with rectangular lines displaying textured, bumpy, yellow blocks that mirror the image of blocks of cheese.

As the story develops, Father Mouse is seen wearing blue and purple robes with traditional geta footwear and is standing very determined holding a block of cheese and a staff. His daughter wears a traditional kimono and the blues and yellows of the shoji screens decorate their home. This sets the stage for the reader to interpret that Father Mouse is supposedly a very affluent Japanese mouse. He is an amusing character as he is seen marching up the palace stairs to speak with the emperor. As Father Mouse continues on his quest seeking the greatest one for his daughter, he appears doll-like beside the emperor, the sun, the cloud, the wind, and the wall. The emperor's dress is a warm, orange as he holds the mouse in his palm. Smiling down on Father Mouse is the sun's bright, yellow face covering three quarters of the page. The cloud is a billowy, dark thunder cloud that almost looks like an old man with puffy cheeks and a mustache! Covering the top half of a double page with his blue mane blowing behind him is the wind and his darker blue mustache is plastered across his air filled cheeks. Finally, the wall resembling a growling lion with bushes sprouting as his mane, names the field mouse as the greatest. Children will ooh and ahh at the faces of each. When the reader meets the field mouse, he is wearing a rice hat and a medium blue uniform, looking quiet and meek compared to the boisterous elements. On their wedding day, the mice are dressed in soft blues and pinks carrying flowers as the mystical, smiling faces of the sun, the cloud, the wind, and the wall look down on them with only the emperor’s feet in view. The folktale ends with Father Mouse atop his palace corner as he declares, "We mice are the greatest of all!"

This classic folktale teaches children about humility and equality as the reader travels with the proud father seeking the best when all along he finds out that the best had always been right in front of him. This is reflected in the emperor’s haiku when he expresses that the very best “for a pretty little mouse is another mouse”. Children will delight in retelling the sequence of events with the repeating lines throughout the story. As the emperor, the sun, the cloud, the wind, and the wall explain to Father Mouse that they cannot marry his daughter, each say, "I cannot marry Chuko. There is one who is greater than I." Father Mouse responds with, "Thank you for telling me," as he goes off to ask another. This is a beautifully illustrated tale to capture children visually and invite them to join Father Mouse as he seeks the greatest of all.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

“Carmi's earthly elements are ferocious yet friendly, and Kimmel's Father Mouse is comical rather than tragic. A good choice for story hours, folklore units, or the study of Japan.” From Booklist, October 15, 1991

“In the end, of course, the mouse discovers that it is not these powerful forces but the hard-working field mouse who deserves his daughter's hand. Warm colors and distinctive texture mark Carmi's illustrations, which include effective renderings of the anthropomorphic natural elements.” From Publishers Weekly, November 01, 1991

“Simply told, with a charming haiku from the emperor for a wedding present. Warmly colored, amusing illustrations.” From Horn Book Guide, March 01, 1992

5. CONNECTIONS

Allow children to read a similar folktale from Kids Web Japan, http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/yomeiri/yomeiri01.html or explore other folktales from Kids Web Japan at http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/index.html and make comparisons of the characters, setting, and outcome. 

Have children make comparisons of illustrations from The Greatest of All and The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka. 

Have students learn about the Japanese art of origami and create their own design using the website http://www.origami-fun.com/ as a guide.

Have students create their own haiku poems.

Have students create a reader's theater to retell the story in sequence.