Tops & Bottoms

Abstract

Here is a delightful presentation of the age-old story of outwitting a partner by offering--at the right time--tops or bottoms or both. One of the exceptional things about this book is that it positions itself so that the book opens from the bottom to the top, not from side to side. The victim here is the lazy bear who has land but no energy. Hare and his family have lost their land and now offer the bear a partnership, with all the work on their side. Bear has only to choose whether he will take tops or bottoms. When he has made his choice, the hares go about planting and watering and weeding. At harvest time, the hares dig up the carrots, radishes, and beets that they have planted, and they give all the useless tops to Bear. Bear, angered, demands the bottoms in the next crop--and gets them--the bottoms of lettuce, broccoli, and celery. Come the next season, Bear demands both tops and bottoms--and gets the roots and tassels of corn stalks, while Hare collects all the ears of corn in the middle in his own pile. Bear gets mad enough to work during the season, and Hare buys land with his profits. He and Mrs. Hare open a vegetable stand. They live happily as neighbors, but they will never be business partners again! Stevens' work with the younger rabbits playing tricks and having fun is especially good. I am delighted that she has continued with fables over the years.