Other editions of book The Greedy One

An unusual pet and one of Japan's traditional days are two factors that blend into the sort of story that supplements study units on foreign countries. ""The Greedy One"" is a cormorant. He is kept as a pet by Kenji, a young boy who lives in a rural village of Japan. When the cormorant got loose, he ate the fish that was being prepared for the celebration of Boys' Day which requires a carp kite on the flagpole of every home which has a son, as well as fish for the main meal. Because the fishermen's catches had been small, Kenji could not buy a replacement and he finally took The Greedy One out and used him as a fish retriever. This interesting fishing technique is thoroughly explored and explained as well as the rituals that attach to Boys' Day. The introduction of a blind boy, a friend of Kenji's, into the plot rather weakens it, momentarily dividing the interest and the emotional response without adding new facts to what could have been simply straightforward informational fiction. The illustrations are humorously drawn without cartoons and make excellent use of color.