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Yakov and the Seven Thieves Hardcover – June 1, 2004

by Madonna (Author), Gennady Spirin (Illustrator)

4.7 69 ratings

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Yakov, the kindly cobbler, and his wife, Olga, are heartbroken because their son, Mikhail, is very ill. They seek advice from a wise old man, who enlists the help of seven thieves and proves that miracles can occur if we do good deeds.

Reading age

5 - 6 years
Print length

32 pages
Language

English
Lexile measure

AD850L
Dimensions

8.5 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
Publisher

Callaway Editions
Publication date

June 1, 2004
ISBN-10

0670058874
ISBN-13

978-0670058877
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Madonna Ritchie was born in Bay City, Michigan, and has seven brothers and sisters. She has sold two hundred million albums worldwide and has had more than 25 Top Ten singles. She is the recipient of three Grammys, as well as a Golden Globe award for her performance in Evita. She lives with her husband, movie director Guy Ritchie, and her two children, Lola and Rocco, in London and Los Angeles. Her previous children's books, The English Roses and Mr. Peabody's Apples -- released in 40 languages in more than 100 countries -- are international bestsellers.

Gennady Spirin was born on Christmas day in a small city near Moscow. He has previously illustrated 33 children's books. He has received four gold medals from the Society of Illustrators, the Golden Apple and the Grand Prix from the Bratislava and Barcelona International Biennials, respectively, and the first prize at the Bologna International Book Fair. Mr. Spirin lives in New Jersey with his wife and three sons.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Callaway Editions; First Edition (June 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670058874
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670058877
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 6 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD850L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #667,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #544 in Children's Europe Books
- #10,956 in Children's Humor
- #25,384 in Children's Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 69 ratings

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Gennady Spirin
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Gennady Spirin was classically educated at the Moscow Art School at the Academy of Arts and at the Moscow Stroganov Institute. Influenced by Russian Renaissance painters, Mr. Spirin has developed his own unique style of illustration using traditional Russian art techniques. His work appeared four times on the annual New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year list. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

69 global ratings

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P. M. McCarty

Madonna's book

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2010

Verified Purchase

This little but lovely book was read to me by my granddaughter - she had chosen it from the library. But she enjoyed it so much that I purchased it so I could read it over and over. I had not noticed the author was Madonna and was quite impressed with her simplicity and charm

One person found this helpful

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JK

Beautifully illustrated but poorly written

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2004

Verified Purchase

If the text had matched the classic illustrations in this book, it would have deserved ten stars. The storyline and message are wonderful. Unfortunately the style is uneven. The author switches back and forth between an older and appropriate storytelling style and smarty ("When they had all finished belching and farting and behaving like twits, they grew very quiet.") modern ("Yakov's heart was broken, and I felt his pain") language. I appreciate the author's efforts to bring stories with moral messages to children, and I hope that she will get some help with her writing skills.

24 people found this helpful

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GBS Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2017

Verified Purchase

Beautifully written, tale of working and uniting for a common cause...

One person found this helpful

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D.Watson

Loved this as a 2nd grade teacher!

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

Wonderful lesson!

One person found this helpful

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CAPTAIN Pirate Jon Watson

Artwork ok, story better than others of hers...

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Better than others from Madonna, as there is actually a storyline/plot...not for toddlers, more for the tweens.

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2017

nice

I was slightly touched (for the very first time)

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2004

To say that "Yakov and the Seven Thieves" is the best book Madonna has written to date is much like saying, "Ibberty flibberty gibberty goo". Which is to say, it's not saying much. Now, it is very difficult for a reviewer such as myself to read and review this book without pounds of prejudice weighing on my head. I'll be perfectly honest with you: I am a librarian. One of the thousands that took offense when Madonna announced that her reason for writing children was as follows: "Now I'm starting to read to my son, but I couldn't believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were". Presumably Madonna must've been reading the latest "Dora the Explorer" to her son. Or perhaps she had been given a copy of "Love You Forever". In any case, this inane reason for writing some picture books of her own spawned some of the foulest bits of treacle ever to grace the shelves of bookstores and libraries worldwide. If you think "Rainbow Fish" sends a poorly spelled out message, I assure you that it has NOTHING when compared to Madonna's hokey schmaltz-fest "Mr. Peabody's Apples".

So as you can see, I'm not exactly an unbiased reader. Still, "Yakov and the Seven Thieves" looked different from her other stories. Unlike "The English Roses" (moral: Pretty people are nice too) and "Mr. Peabody's Apples" (moral: In small town America, gossip is naughty) this story looked a little classier. It was written as a fable (good), with a delightful illustrator at the helm (good) and some really original elements in terms of characters and descriptions (very good). Then I got to the end of the tale and the whole kerschmazzle blew up in my face. Though she definitely starts strong and has a good idea of what her plot shoudl be, in the end "Yakov and the Seven Thieves" is still weakety weak weak.

In this tale, there was once a poor cobbler named Yakov. Yakov had a single son whom he loved very very much. Unfortunately the boy was often sickly and weak. In desperation, Yakov searched out the wisest man in town, an older gentleman who lived with his grandson alone. The wise man hears Yakov's problem and attempts to pray to God to save Yakov's son. This doesn't go particularly well and Yakov is distraught. In a moment of inspiration, the wise man tells his grandson to gather the most despicable thieves in town and bring them to his home. The seven thieves comes (apparently thieves are religious at heart) and when asked by the old man to pray for Yakov's son. They do so, the son is miraculously cured, and a sappy message about how the thieves were symbolically opening the gates of heaven sums the book up. Then there's an odd tacked on ending in which a thief named Boris the Barefoot Midget returns the grandson's stolen shoes and, when told he can keep them, scurries down the road. The end.

I'm a big big fan of a well told folktale and for quite some time Madonna was doing really well on this story. She has a nice section at the beginning about how Yakov enjoyed the scenery of his home, "the magical forests, the crystal-clear streams, and the majestic snowcapped mountains that rose before him in the distance". She does especially well when describing the different thieves (with the possible exception of the somewhat offensive Boris the Barefoot Midget). But Madonna isn't particularly good at summarizing the morals of her tales. Though it sounds funny to hear it, Madonna is the preachiest children's author I've ever read, outside of Christian fiction itself. If you're into incredibly didactic religious picture books, methinks "Yakov" is for you. The book ends happily because the thieves, afraid that the wise old man is magical and potentially dangerous ("Was he a wizard?... Did he have magical powers?") suddenly decide that because he's sincere (they're bad guys... but not too bad) they should pray for a little sick boy they've never seen.

Some people will be very touched by this tale. Others will find themselves stumbling a little over the stilted language employed (I dare you to find a single contraction in this entire book). Still more will enjoy the book, get to the ending, and find themselves uncomfortable with its overly earnest preaching. Now, the illustrations in this puppy are fan-freakin'-tastic, no question. They're beautifully rendered and bring a lifelike vibrancy to the various sundry thieves. My favorite shot in this tale, bar none, is the picture of the Angel of Death hovering over the sleeping sick lad. This is a gorgeous tale to flip through. If you'd like to just buy the book and cut out the pictures to frame on your wall, that would undoubtedly be the best use of this creation. Just don't bother reading it or anything.

I'm being rather harsh, I admit. As I mentioned before, I'm biased. I don't know how much a biased review is worth to you. But as long as you understand exactly where I'm coming from, this review should give you some kind of an indication as to how good or bad Madonna's third book is. I have said that it's the best of the three she's written so far. Still, if you want a picture book that tells a didactic fable about faith in a cold Russian land, try the Caldecott winning (and mind-blowingly illustrated) "Baboushka and the Three Kings" by R. Robbins. If you want a picture book that tells an amusing and original folktale, try the outrageous "Swamp Angel" by Anne Isaacs (more of a tall tale than a folktale admittedly) or the fabulous "It Could Always Be Worse" by Margot Zemach. And if you want a picture book written by a pop star with seemingly little experience writing good books for children but that is just a tinge more saccharine than is comfortable, try the tepid, "Yakov and the Seven Thieves".

83 people found this helpful

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Energy

Was for a gift

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2012

Verified Purchase

Waste of money. Just made Madonna reachier. But that is ok. Book was for a gift, so no worries, as longest someone is happy, right? That is what counts the most!

One person found this helpful

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Atharva

Awesome illustrations and good moral from a story

Reviewed in India on November 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

This retelling of a 18th Century Ukranian story by Madonna in her words.
In her own words :
"It is a story about how all of us have the ability to unlock the gates of Heaven - no matter how unworthy we think we are. For when we go against our selfish natures, we make miracles happen, in our lives and in the lives of others."

Indeed a very great moral from a picture which is adored by the awesome illustrations of Gennady Spirin. Use the look inside feature of this book to get the feel of the illustrations. A true gift for children.

This review is for hardcover edition by Puffin (ISBN : 978-0141380490)

JMCARRON

Fun Story

Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Someone gave this book to my daughter when she was a child. We just purchased it for another little person. Its has a great message for kids and adults alike and a fun read at story time.

One person found this helpful

An Mak

Gorgeous story and illustration

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Please republish it

Susan Marwick

Great book, lovely illustrations.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Book arrived in good condition and is a good story in traditional format with lovely illustrations. Would recomend for children who enjoy traditional tales and books in general.

Elise T.

Zur Zeit, Qualität ist gut

Reviewed in Germany on April 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

Was Madonna schreibt ist uberhaupt nicht wichtig, wenn Bilder so schön sind

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