Tops and Bottoms

Tops and Bottoms is a folktale adaptation presented in a vertical-format picture book that turns sideways to be read. A clever Hare and a wealthy but lazy Bear enter into a series of farming deals to help Hare feed his family. The story follows their partnership through multiple growing seasons, with Hare working the land while Bear sleeps. Each harvest brings new negotiations about how to split the crops between the two characters. The illustrations shift between aerial views of the farm fields and close-up scenes of the characters, using watercolor and colored pencil techniques. The visual storytelling emphasizes both the agricultural setting and the characters' contrasting personalities. This tale explores themes of hard work versus laziness, cleverness versus complacency, and the importance of being specific in business dealings. The story draws from American slave tales and trickster folktales.

Readers recommend this book for teaching children about working smart, keeping promises, and dealing with consequences. Parents and teachers report it engages kids with its vertical orientation and trickster tale format. Liked: - Clear moral lessons without being preachy - Interactive vertical layout makes kids turn the book - Detailed illustrations with expressive characters - Works well for classroom discussions about fairness - Teaches gardening/vegetables in an entertaining way Disliked: - Some find Hare's deception problematic for young children - A few note Bear's portrayal lacks depth - Several mention it's too long for very young kids Ratings: Goodreads: 4.3/5 (4,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.8/5 (1,100+ ratings) Barnes & Noble: 4.8/5 (40+ ratings) "Perfect for teaching work ethic," notes one teacher reviewer. "My kids ask for it repeatedly," reports a parent. "The vertical format is genius," comments a librarian.

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone This folk tale shares themes of hard work versus laziness and features farm animals who learn lessons about responsibility.

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown Three soldiers demonstrate creativity and cleverness to persuade townspeople to share their food, showing how ingenuity leads to success.

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry Animals in the rainforest use wit and persuasion to convince a logger to spare their tree home, incorporating environmental themes with clever problem-solving.

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola Magic pasta and consequences unfold when a helper fails to follow instructions, teaching similar lessons about responsibility and work ethic.

The Empty Pot by Demi A Chinese emperor tests his subjects with seeds in a competition that rewards honesty over deception, parallel to the themes of truth and fairness.

🔸 This clever tale is an adaptation of a traditional slave story from the American South, where enslaved people used trickster tales as a form of resistance and entertainment. 🔸 The book is uniquely designed to be read vertically (top to bottom) rather than horizontally, emphasizing the "tops and bottoms" theme throughout the story. 🔸 Author Janet Stevens created the character illustrations by combining watercolor with collage techniques, using photographs of real vegetables to add authenticity to the garden scenes. 🔸 The book earned a Caldecott Honor in 1996, recognizing its exceptional artistic merit and innovative design. 🔸 The story's protagonist, Hare, represents a classic trickster character found in many cultures' folktales, similar to Br'er Rabbit, Anansi the Spider, and Coyote.