cover image The Umbrella Thief

The Umbrella Thief

Sybil Wettasinghe. Kane/Miller Book Publishers, $11.95 (25pp) ISBN 978-0-916291-12-9

This import from Sri Lanka tells a simple folktale, more notable for its exotic setting than its originality. Kiri Mama lives in a small village on the island of Sri Lanka. One day, he takes a bus trip to the big city, and there he discovers umbrellas! He buys one and brings it home, but when he leaves his purchase by the side of a coffee shop for a moment, it is stolen. Kiri Mama repeats this process until some 30-odd umbrellas have been stolen. Finally, he tracks down the thief, who turns out to be a monkey. The illustrations are interesting in as much as they depict a foreign culture, but they are busy and unfocused; it isn't always easy to tell which of the figures is Kiri Mama. Nor is it easy to believe that our hero could let his umbrella be stolen 30 times. Ages 3-8. (October)