This is a very boring book about two step-sisters who are thrown in to poverty when their father dies. Diribani is very selfless, beautiful and determined. Her step-sister, Tana, is working very hard to support the family. She thinks she's selfless and just like Diribani, but in reality she is just jelous of her good looks and selfless nature. When Diribani meets a goddess, precious stones and flowers fall from her lips when she speaks. When Tana meets the same goddess, she starts spewing snakes and toads.
Toads and Diamonds
By Heather Tomlinson
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 8 | V | 5.8 | 73001 |
Diribani has come to the village well to get water for her family's scant meal of curry and rice. She never expected to meet a goddess there. Yet she is granted a remarkable gift: Flowers and precious jewels drop from her lips whenever she speaks.
It seems only right to Tana that the goddess judged her kind, lovely stepsister worthy of such riches. And when she encounters the goddess, she is not surprised to find herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward.
Blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem, however. Diribani's newfound wealth brings her a prince―and an attempt on her life. Tana is chased out of the village because the province's governor fears snakes, yet thousands are dying of a plague spread by rats. As the sisters' fates hang in the balance, each struggles to understand her gift. Will it bring her wisdom, good fortune, love . . . or death?
Toads and Diamonds is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ISBN-13: 9780805089684
ISBN-10: 0805089683
Published on 3/30/2010
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288