[ 책 소개 ]

* ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Awards 수상작
* Arizona Young Readers’ Award
* Colorado Children’s Book Award


명작 그림책인 Stellaluna와 Verdi의 저자인 Janell Cannon의 작품입니다. 국내에는 "똑똑한 핀둘리"라는 제목으로 번역서가 출간된 명작 그림책입니다.

엄마 하이에나의 눈에는 어린 하이에나 핀둘리가 이 세상에서 가장 아름답습니다. 엄마가 먹이 사냥을 나간 후 혼자 남겨진 핀둘리는 혼자서 돌아 다니다가 여러 동물들을 만납니다. 들개는 핀둘리의 커다란 귀를 보고 놀리고, 사자는 핀둘리의 부실부실한 갈기털을 보고 놀렸으며, 얼룩말은 핀둘리의 흐릿한 얼룩줄 무늬를 보고 놀려댑니다.

다른 동물들의 놀림 때문에 낙심한 핀둘리는 하얀 먼지밭에서 온 몸이 하얗게 변할 때까지 뒹굴었습니다. 하얀 모습을 한 핀둘리가 나타나자 동물들은 모두 귀신이 나타났다고 무서워 합니다. 핀둘리를 유령으로 착각한 개와 사자, 얼룩말은 유령 핀둘리에게 용서를 빕니다. 그러고는 핀둘리를 놀려 댄 이유를 말하는데, 알고 보니 그들도 다른 동물들에게 놀림을 받았기 때문이었어요. 게다가 그들을 놀린 다른 동물들은 또 다른 동물들에게 놀림을 받았던 것이었지요.

똑똑한 유령 핀둘리 덕분에 아프리카 초원의 동물들은 이번 사건이 사슬처럼 연결되어 있다는 걸 알게 되고, 나아가 작은 놀림의 말 몇 마디가 얼마나 큰일을 빚어 내는지 깨닫게 됩니다. 남에게 상처를 주는 말은 결국 더 큰 상처가 되어 돌아온다는 교훈을 주는 내용입니다.

집으로 돌아온 하얗게 변한 핀둘리를 엄마 하이에나는 한 눈에 알아 보네요... (엄마 하이에나가 먹이를 구하러 나가서 곤욕을 치르는 코믹한 모습은 각 페이지의 왼쪽에 흑백의 펜화 그림으로 보여줍니다. 엄마 핀둘리의 하루 일과를 따라가면서 보는 것은 이 책이 주는 또 하나의 재미입니다.)

이 책을 만든 작가 자넬 캐넌은 이 책을 쓰고 그리는 데, 많은 동물원 스텝들과 학자들의 도움을 받았습니다. 지식 그림책이라 할 수 있을 만큼 세밀하고 과학적인 그림에는 아프리카 사바나의 동물들, 특히 하이에나를 자세히 연구하고 공부한 작가의 정성이 오롯이 담겨 있습니다. 게다가 동물들 하나하나의 살아 있는 표정은 그림에 재미와 생동감을 불어넣어 줍니다. 또한 그림과 함께 펼쳐지는 놀랍고 탄탄한 이야기는 우리 아이들에게 감동을 주기에 충분합니다.






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Edition: Paperback, 48 pages
ISBN-13: 9781328740502
책 크기: 25.4 cm x 25.4 cm



[ 영문 서평 ]

Book Description
Pinduli's mama has always told her that she's the most beautiful hyena ever. But Dog, Lion, and Zebra don't think so. Why else would they make her feel so rotten about her big ears, her fuzzy mane, and her wiggly stripes? Poor Pinduli just wants to disappear--and she tries everything she can think of to make that happen. Yet nothing goes her way. Nothing, that is, until a case of mistaken identity lets her show the creatures of the African savanna how a few tiny words--bad or good--can create something enormous.
Janell Cannon, the creator of the bestselling Stellaluna, introduces yet another endearing character in this triumphant story about self-image, self-acceptance, and treating others with respect.


Publishers Weekly
Cannon (Stellaluna) applies her familiar formula to the animals of the African savanna in this rambling tale of a striped hyena who learns about how cruel insults can be. Once again, Cannon combines an anthropomorphic story with factual endnotes about the wildlife, and the engaging artwork succeeds in making an unappealing creature sympathetic. The illustrations mix Audubon verisimilitude with Disney-like sentimentality. When Dog, Lion and Zebra insult young Pinduli, her ears droop as if she were a sad-eyed, lovable cartoon rabbit; and when the animals think dust-covered Pinduli is a ghost, their suddenly yellow eyes bulge like startled characters in a Halloween movie. The text often grows ponderous ("Please spare us your wrath!," says Lion to the ghost, "I, too, have spread discord, by insulting a young hyena's mane"), and the plot mushrooms in complexity as readers learn that each animal has insulted Pinduli because they were insulted themselves. (With a nod to Stellaluna, Fennac Fox explains, "I guess I was having a bad day. Serval Cat said I looked like a little fuzzy bat without wings.") By the time the insults multiply and apologies go around, the message has been underscored a dozen times. Nonetheless, this disappointingly didactic effort may well appeal to Cannon fans.


Children's Literature
Out on the East African savanna Pinduli, a young hyena, finds her self-image under siege. Her mother has always assured her that she is "the most beautiful hyena ever." But as she encounters dogs, lion, and zebras and they make critical comments about her ears, mane, and stripes, she feels more and more humiliated. The fable takes an unusual turn, however, when Panduli, covered in gray dust, appears to be a ghost to the other animals. Frightened, they seek to appease her. As the clever hyena makes everything turn out well, the moral of the story becomes clear. No one likes to be teased about appearance, but taking it out on someone else is really a poor choice. We are introduced to the spunky heroine on the jacket with the other animal characters in the background. The front end-papers' vignette drawings demonstrate the initial nastiness between animal pairs while the back end-papers show them being nice to each other, a summary of Pinduli's magic. Stunning full-page naturalistic acrylic paintings with colored pencils focus on key episodes with an emphasis on the emotions of the animals. On the bottoms of the text pages we are offered a parallel story told in black-line vignettes. The engaging tale includes great natural history, as in Stellaluna and the author's similar other works. 2004, Harcourt, Ages 5 to 8.


School Library Journal
After sleeping through the hot East African afternoon, it is time for Mama Hyena and her child to go hunting. Pinduli promises to stay close by, but then trots off. She comes across a pack of wild dogs, a lion, and a zebra, and all tease her about her looks. She rolls in the dirt until her striped coat is a pallid gray and her ears are pinned back. The animals think that she is a "ghost" that has come for them. All of the creatures then confess that they teased the young hyena because another animal had made fun of them. The "ghost" understands and advises them to "find your tormentors and make peace-. And always leave a bit of every meal as an offering." By story's end, the animals have reconciled, and with all the food offerings left, Pinduli and her mother never have to scrounge around looking for meals. The animals' expressions and antics are hilarious and endearing; Cannon has pulled off quite a feat in creating a cuddly hyena protagonist. This touching book about personal growth and self-acceptance gently demonstrates how the actions of one can have far-reaching effects on many others. An appealing and worthwhile purchase.


Kirkus Reviews
After being ridiculed for her big ears, her fuzzy fur, and her uneven stripes, a little hyena tries to change herself into something else, but learns an amazing secret about the power of words to hurt and to heal. When she covers herself in pale thick dust, the other animals on the savanna believe that Pinduli's a spirit sent to extract penance for their unkindness. Turns out that each of the animals was ridiculed for their own individuality, making them in turn tease another animal. Finding freedom in this revelation, Pinduli (a Swahili word for catalyst) extracts promises of apologies and throws in a request for food, knowing that it will ease her mother's burden. Graphic paintings illustrate the stark savanna and its variety of inhabitants. Appendices introduce hyenas and the reason that some animals lack fur or feathers. Preachy, but Cannon fans will lap it up. (Picture book. 5-8)