Title: Tops & Bottoms
Author: Janet Stevens
Illustrator: Janet Stevens
Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company
Copyright: 1995

Hare, hardworking and poor, derives a master plan to outsmart Bear, who is lazy and rich.

Comments:

Janet Stevens story about beating hardship by using ones wit is full of imagination and many comical scenes. Using simple, but expressive language (ex. hollered) Stevens produces a story that all children will sit up and pay attention to. The watercolor illustrations deserve a second glance. Perfect line placement and extensive shadowing create natural dimension and a sense of realism in the story. The most unique feature of this book is that it is laid out in a portrait format, rather than a landscape format like most other children’s books.

Genre: FL (Folklore)
Age Range: 6 – 11

Award : Caldecott Medal Honor