This is an odd and interesting story, but there is something very memorizing to me about it.
This is a story about a man who has lost both his parents and finds his long lost relatives; sadly they are not good people. The story is short, so there isn't any detail about his prior life. The man desires to belong, and he, despite some unfriendly encounters with his relatives, desires to stay with them. They make illegal liquor and shoot everything in site and are big and mean, but the man isn't anything like his relatives and they are always saying that "he ain't one of us". The role of his fiddle is woven through the story, as it gives him a chance from the beginning with his relatives and it gives him solace when he is lonely. The story takes a magical twist one night when he has to walk home alone and is afraid. He plays his fiddle and the animals come out to listen and dance. He tells his relatives about the experience and they come to watch the following night; in their wickedness they shoot all the animals. The fiddler walks off never to be seen again.
It is kind of a tragic story, but beautiful at the same time. I think the value in this book is that children will see that the bad guys are bad, and that acceptance by others is nice, but not the most important thing in life; standing for what is right is more important. I believe the fiddler learns that lesson by the end.
There are several good discussions that could come from this book 1. obeying the law(the man's relatives were always worried about the law because they were involved in illegal activity) 2. not being wasteful or selfish 3. standing up for what is right and good 4. why conservation is important
The illustrations are all black and white, but quite good, and several of the pages have beautiful landscapes.
It is a well written story and would be a good study in writing character's with accents.
*This book is not for children who would be disturbed by big mean people or the shooting of animals.
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