Stevens, J. (1995). Tops and Bottoms. [New York]: Harcourt.

Exposition:

Bear owned lots of land and was very wealthy, but also extremely lazy. Hare is poor, and he is looking for a way to support his family.

Conflict:

Hare makes a deal with Bear to do all of the work to farm Bear’s land and promises to split the crops, but his has to pick Top or Bottoms. Bear picks tops.

Rising Action:

First, Hare planted, watered, weeded, and harvested the crops while Bear slept. They gave him the unusable tops of the carrots, radishes, and beets.

Climax:

Next, Bear picks bottoms, but is still unhappy when Hare keeps the tops of the lettuce, broccoli, and celery.

Falling Action:

Finally, Bear decides to take the tops and bottoms, but is still upset when Hare keeps the middles of the corn.

Resolution:

Hare bought his land back, and Bear planted his own crops and decided to never bargain with Hare again.

Illustrations:

Janet Stevens has incredible illustrations to help readers understand the plot twists involving the various crops. Having a visual to see how the tops or bottoms were edible helped reinforce the text. The setting and character traits were also enhanced by the artistic details.