The book Tops and Bottoms, adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens, was one of the winners of the 1996 Caldecott Medal of Honor. The story is drawn from European folktales and South American slave tales, in which the tradition of jugglers is celebrated. the main character overcomes the difficulty (and strong figures) by using his wits. Stevens is best known for her award-winning illustrations of animals as well as her paintings of plants.
Several aspects of the book and its illustrations allow the child reader to make a connection with the narrator and the title, Tops and Bottoms. First, children can make a psychological connection with the title because the book and its pages are opened from bottom to top instead. right to left The title page also helps kids make a visual connection with the title. This two-page spread treats growth like flat ground and illustrates to children some plants and which parts of plants grow above ground and which grow below ground. Vegetables that grow underground (such as carrots and radishes) are drawn below the slit in the middle of the two pages, while the stems of these vegetables rise from the crease on the top page. The opposite is illustrated for vegetables that grow above ground (like lettuce).
Second, animal characters (bears and the rabbit family) are typically placed on the top or bottom pages depending on what happened in the story at the time. For example, when the Hare and the Bear made their first agreement with the Hare taking the bottom and the Bear taking the top, the following pages of the family showed the Hare doing all the work on the bottom page while the Bear was sleeping on the first page. The same must be said of the second agreement. The hare and his family, who were to be thought of as sums, all worked on the top page; meanwhile Ursus, who was to receive the extremities, slept on the bottom page. For the third contract, the Bear was highlighted on both the top and the bottom of the page, when he was about to receive both the tops and the bottoms.
Finally, the story involves two kinds of animals, the bear and the rabbit family, one of which lives above the ground and the other under the ground. This choice in animals is obviously referred to in the title, but it also has a deeper meaning. In history, it seems, there are more inferior rabbit families who live in a simple hole under the ground, which would indicate a less powerful or even “servant” status. But the bear lives in a beautiful house above the earth, has everything around the earth, and seems to be a more powerful creature under which the hares labor.
Stevens’s decision about dressing up animal characters and allowing the Bear to live in the house can be easily related to children . known in history Children can also relate the behavior to other aspects of the plot and illustration, such as the large size of the rabbit family, the poor state of the rabbit family, the rich state of the bear, and the price of labor. Animal characters were personified through their clothes. A rabbit wears a shirt, which happens to have a carrot on it; The bear wears a tie and shoes which are not resolved until the last page. The designs on the Bear’s bond are ironic to the Bear’s lazy attitude, because bees are working insects. However, bees can be equal to bear a quick temper, since bees also tend to have easy tempers. Examples that show how animals live like humans, or at least live from the same principles, may seem pretentious and tasteless to children.
Many pictures appear similar to those painted from the side of a hare with big bears always hanging on to them. This perspective emphasizes the concept of size as signifying the amount of potential. Despite the small size of the Bear and the Hare, the Hare is able to deceive the Bear and bring out its cowardly behavior in two well-known characteristics, which the Bear is motivated to his work. The lesson is for children work here, or a good work ethic, as long as laziness doesn’t pay. .
The second full page spread in the book shows the rabbit family in a small hole. Through this opening we see a view of the tunnels of the bear, a large house, and a very pleasant space of unused crops. Stevens’ use of human objects in the family’s rabbit house also helps children develop appropriate behaviors. Some of these include a table and a cloth, a candle, a newspaper, and probably a shoe for the bed.
Painted pictures create attractive models that effectively attract attention. Stevens’ animals are charming in the way they are painted with realistic, human and funny children and so little food. As the story progresses, Bear’s house becomes more and more degraded as Bear continues to sleep, neglecting his house, home, and land. Children will probably notice that the pages they turn will reveal more details about Bear’s house. In the last page spread, the Bear has learned his lesson, and now he does his job grudgingly. In the renewed house and land we see the fruits of labor: the pabo is on the right side, the shovel leans neatly against the side of the house, the shoes are tied, and everything is fixed in the house.
The last page spread shows the fruits of the rabbit family’s hard work: the family is happy, surrounded by a less chaotic (more manageable) supply of food, and their own vegetable business stands up. Also in this last spread of pages there is a fence that runs through the crack between the top and the bottom page. he separates his neighbors (the Bear and the Hare). This physical barrier between the neighbors indicates the freedom of the family of the hare from living in debt to the bear (as slaves who have obtained freedom); A fence, meanwhile, can also illustrate the idea that “good fences make good neighbors.”
Janet Stevens’ illustrations are effective and charming so that the story can be told without text. The vibrant color palette and dynamic animal characters challenge the child reader for both instruction and entertainment.
Works Cited
Stevens, Janet. Heads and ends
San Diego
: Harcourt Brace & Society, 1995.
