Product Description

In this witty book based on an African folk tale, Thulani prefers sitting in the sun to doing his chores. Tired of milking the cow, he trades her in for a goat. When the goat gets into the corn seed, he trades it for a sheep. Sick of shearing, he buys some geese, which then get exchanged for some sunflower seeds. With each trade, his hard-working wife gets more and more exasperated. Can Thulani redeem himself and still have time for his favorite hobby, doing nothing? Droll text and lively illustrations make this book ideal for repeated readings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #225466 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781845077877
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The South African creators of The Dove turn out a lighthearted story about a husband and wife and their small farm. Trying to reduce his workload so as to spend more time basking in the sun, Thulani decides to sell their cow and buy a goat instead ("I'm tired of all this milking," he says to himself). When the goat eats the couple's entire store of dried corn, Thulani sells it and gets a sheep instead. This sequential tale has the fellow replacing one animal after another, until finally he trades three geese for some sunflower seeds that unexpectedly change the farm's fortunes and cure Thulani of his lazy ways. Kids will be pleased as the story comes satisfyingly full-circle with Thulani's reform effected without any didacticism. Creatively tinkering with traditional perspective and scale, Daly's comically detailed, folk art-like pictures have the same playfulness as Stewart's storytelling. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?Thulani loves to spend his days sitting in the sun and hates to have his leisure interrupted by chores. Tired of milking the cow, he trades her in for a goat. When the goat gets into the corn seed, he exchanges it for a sheep. When shearing it is too much trouble, he buys some geese. With each trade, his hard-working wife becomes more and more exasperated. Thinking to please her, the man exchanges the geese for a bag of seeds. But when they sprout, Dora is more upset than ever. It seems that he won't ever make her happy. However, when Thulani feeds the sunflower seeds to the chickens, the hens begin to lay more eggs, and, in the end, the story has come full circle. Dora is delighted, and Thulani is now busy trading animals. His favorite time of day is milking time?when he can finally sit down and have a quiet think. Daly's paintings add to the charm of this story. Bright gold end papers scattered with seeds introduce the good-humored mood. The color scheme of soft greens and golds emphasizes the warm pastoral setting. This is a fresh, funny variation on the "Lazy Jack" theme, with illustrations done in a folkart style and filled with little details of South African rural life.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 3^-6. The South African author and illustrator who did The Dove (1993) again tell a gentle story rooted in folk tradition and contemporary country life. Like many lazy fools, Thulani is well meaning; he wants to please his wife, Dora, but he loves to bask in the sun all day. Milking the cow makes him tired, so he sells the cow and buys a goat. But the goat eats up all the corn seed, so Dora makes him exchange the goat for a sheep, but shearing the sheep tires him out, and so on, until Dora sends him off to buy seed for corn. But the seeds grow into sunflowers, and things seem hopeless until the seeds feed the hens, which lay lots of eggs Thulani can sell to buy a cow. The telling is simple and rhythmic, and Daly's delicate folk-art pictures show wonderfully detailed domestic scenes on the curve of the rolling earth. The pictures extend the connections that are the heart of this funny story. Hazel Rochman

Customer Reviews

Wonderful book
I read the Swedish translation of the book in the fall of 1997. This was one of the best childrens books I have read for my 7 year old daughter Kimia. We both liked it. I must admit though that I liked the book more than she did. I had no choice but to start translating it to Persian. I just visited www.amazon.com to purchase the English version of the book.

The message in the book in my opinion is that Thulani is not really lazy. It just appears so. The story shows how an apparently lazy person who aimlessly sits in the sun is a wonderful loving individual full of life, energy and ideas. I'd like to see the story as applicable to most of us humans. We are all full of life, energy and ideas. We just have to try. Hopefully, our love, for someone like Dora, will lead us to the right place and time.

Gift of The Sun is heartwarming!
In South Africa, Thulani is tired of milking his cow every dayso he exchanges it at the store for a goat. That doesn't work - toomuch trouble so he makes some more exchanges ending up with a pocketful of seeds. As his wife Dora tends the fields of growing sunflowers, Thulani goes back to dozing beneath the hot sun. When the sunflowers drop their seeds & he feeds them to his chickens - ah! amazing things begin to happen & Dora is happy! Lively story & lovely pictures with some good ideas about work & play, labor & results. A treasure! Great gift material...

A sweet and engaging tale.
I have relatives in South Africa so I have bought several "South African" children's books for my son over the years (he is now almost five), but this is definitely our favorite. The folk-art-style illustrations are beautiful -- every page is a gem. They are realistic, too, in the way that they depict the characters, their house, and possessions -- accurately capturing the simple poverty.
The wording of the story is poetic and engaging.
My son really likes this story and will read it with me night after night.
It is just a very appealing book overall and a nice way of introducing little ones to Africa. (Too bad it is no longer widely available.)