The Farmer and the Poor God

The Farmer and the Poor God: a folktale from Japan
Retold by Ruth Wells, Illustrated by Yoshi
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 1996
Pages: 24
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book

A long time ago in Japan there was a very poor farmer. He was not a very good farmer because he didn't work very hard. He was sad and his wife was sad and their children were loud and always fought. One day the farmer decided that they had a poor god in their attic, and this was true. People who had the Poor God living there could never truly be rich. They made a plan to leave that night while the Poor God was sleeping so they could escape their bad luck. But the Poor God heard them, and started making sandals out of stalks of rice for the journey. That night the farmer and his wife were very sad to find out that the Poor God found out about their plans, and they went back to bed. The Poor God kept on making sandals, for he thought it was a very good way to spend his time. He soon found ways to make dyes and make beautifully colored sandals. A man came by a commented on how beautiful the sandals were, so Poor God gave them some. Soon many people wanted them, and the farmer had the idea to charge for the sandals. He took them to the market and gave back with lots of rice and grain and chickens and things. He asked if Poor God could keep making sandals, and he said yes, but only if the family would bring him more rice stalks and make dye. The family began to work hard and became more and more happy, and the farmer learned how to make sandals and became an artist. On New Year's, the Poor God decided it was time to leave, for the family was becoming too rich for him. But they didn't want him to go, so when Rich God came to take his place, they pushed him out of their home. Eventually, Poor God simply faded away.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to learn a little more about Japanese culture.

Problems: This book could cause people to blame their “luck” on something else, and not work hard for what they want.

My reaction: This book is okay, but not my favorite.

My rating: ***