Merchant and the Thief

March 19, 2012
Prolific author and founder of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Zacharias (Can Man Live Without God?) retells an Indian folktale. Raj, a wealthy merchant, and Mohan, a poor seller of fruit and vegetables, live in the same town. Both have happy families, but Mohan is eaten up by envy of his wealthy neighbor. Mohan vows to follow Raj to market and steal his jewels. Under the guise of companionship, Mohan draws near to Raj. They travel together, and share rooms at night. Every night Mohan searches for Raj’s jewels but never finds them because Raj has hidden them the one place Mohan never looks. One day Raj confronts Mohan, saying he knows that Mohan wants his jewels. “When we have our eyes on other people’s treasure, we cannot see how close we are to the greatest treasure there is,” Raj says. God’s love makes you “rich on the inside,” he tells Mohan. Raj’s forgiveness restores Mohan’s faith in himself and he returns to his family a changed man. Fournier’s
illustrations, inspired by her work in bronze sculpture, depict the landscape, architecture, and clothing of India with lush earth tones kissed by gentle highlights of yellow and blue. Ages 4–up. Agent: Wolgemuth and Associates.

April 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 2-An earnest but envious man, Mohan resorts to petty theft to supplement his desire to be rich. To further his ambition, he decides to join a rich man on his travels and steal his jewels. But each night Mohan searches their room and comes up empty-handed. After a while, the rich man confides to Mohan that he has known his intentions all along and shows him that the treasure has been hidden each night beneath Mohan's own pillow. "When we have our eyes on other people's treasure, we cannot see how close we are to the greatest treasure there is." The treasure to which the man refers is the love of God. This time, Mohan returns home with the treasure of God's love in his heart. Exquisite illustrations highlight the lively marketplaces and stunning architecture of India in this tale of a wise merchant and a misguided thief. Bold colors outlined in fine pen-and-ink augment each page with great detail and intricacy. A simple story with an obvious Christian message, this adaptation of an Indian folktale is greatly enhanced by Fournier's art.-C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2012
A canny merchant outwits a would-be thief trying to steal his jewels, then with help from the Bible gives him a greater treasure. First issued by a small publisher in 1999 with illustrations by Lad Odell, the story pairs wealthy Raj, on an annual journey to visit his family, and a light-fingered fruit seller, Mohan, who is bent on stealing his precious cargo. Though Mohan searches Raj's bags every night along the way, he finds nothing--because, as Raj at last reveals, he had been wise to Mohan's scheme all along and hid his jewels under Mohan's own pillow. "When we have our eyes on other people's treasure, we cannot see how close we are to the greatest treasure there is." Taking out a New Testament, Raj then explains that giving his life to Jesus will make him God's child, and the repentant thief returns to his own loving family, resolved to look to God for his future needs. Fournier's carefully detailed depictions of generic Indian street scenes and benign-looking figures in traditional dress give the explicitly Christian message, which Zacharias has tacked on to what he claims is an old parable, an unlikely but not impossible setting. Uri Shulevitz's Caldecott-winning The Treasure presents a more winning take on the original theme, but Christian educators may find a use for this repurposed version. (no source note) (Picture book. 7-10)

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May 1, 2012
Grades 1-3 When prosperous jeweler Raj heads out of town with his gems in tow, a cagey produce seller named Mohan decides to accompany him and make off with his fortune when the opportunity arises. Raj soon recognizes that something is afoot, however, so when he beds down each night, he hides the jewels in the one place Mohan will never think to lookunder his own pillow. Compassionate Raj eventually reveals that the jewels and a far more valuable thingthe love and blessings of Godhave been under the thief's nose the entire time, and he explains that God's love makes you a rich man on the inside. Originally published in 1999 with illustrations by Lad Odell, Zacharias' fresh retelling of a purported Indian folktale adds cultural details to the simple, competent text, and Fournier's polished illustrationsfeaturing brilliant colors and affable figures in an appealing, if idealized, settingfurther the charm of this picture book for Christian collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)