The Keeper of Wisdom

by Laura Berkeley

Each year, a beggar woman offers 12 books of wisdom to a prosperous city. And each year, the mayor laughs in her face. Then the city falls onto hard times, and it's almost too late when the mayor realizes he needs the old woman's wisdom to restore the city's good fortune. Full-color illustrations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 184148203X
• ISBN13: 9781841482033
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Barefoot Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.9" x 10.7"
• Age Range: 4 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 7

Customer Reviews

KEEPER OF WISDOM

Set in a faraway land that looks Arabian by the architecture, a town learns a lesson about the value of wisdom. A wise old woman travels to their town to sell them 12 wisdom books containing all of the knowledge of the world, but they decline. "We have everything money can buy." So, the woman sells her wisdom to others. But the town soon learns that wealth is ephemeral and money cannot keep the world from changing. Famine hits the country, and the mayor regrets his mistake of not investing in wisdom. The wise woman returns and sells the mayor her last book of wisdom. He then goes on a quest to the city that acquired the other 11 books of wisdom in order to learn to live wisely. The illustrations give it a dreamlike quality, and the tale may be a springboard for reflection on material values.