hiatus

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted to ABCCBA in a few weeks. I have reached the limits of my local public libraries, and I'm now figuring out how to extend my reach. I hope to resume regular posting soon. Meanwhile, thanks for your patience, and happy summer!

Delicious

Margaret and Raymond Chang (retelling)

David Johnson (illustrations)

The Beggar's Magic: A Chinese Tale

Simon and Schuster, 1997

When a Daoist beggar comes to the small village, it is only a matter of time before parsimonious Farmer Wu is served his just desserts. First to welcome the beggar, the young and the infirm are early witnesses to his unselfish magic. Fu Nan, especially, warms to the beggar's ways. At the August Moon Festival, when stingy Farmer Wu refuses to give the beggar a pear from the cartful he is selling, Fu Nan chooses to spend his kite-money to buy one for him. In consequence, the beggar treats the villagers to a magical, moralizing spectacle grown from a single pear seed. I found Margaret and Raymond Chang's retelling of a strange tale collected by Pu Songling (1640-1715) captivating. Their light touch is matched in David Johnson's illustrations.

Daoist immortal intervenes

Molly Bang
The Paper Crane
Greenwillow, 1987

When a new highway redirects local traffic patterns, a local restaurant suffers. Spending more and more of their time cleaning the dining room, the owner and his son are glad to serve a free meal to an old stranger. In return, the stranger gives them a gift, a paper crane. The crane's magic draws customers, and the restaurant flourishes once again. The stranger returns for a last dance, then, like a Daoist immortal, rides the crane into the night. Molly Bang's paper collages add to the story's magic realism.

Images of the mind

Ed Young
Beyond the Great Mountains:
A Visual Poem about China
Chronicle Books, 2005

Beyond the Great Mountains is a meditative, absorbing book. Like a Chinese landscape painting, Ed Young's aesthetic is sparing in words and images. We, too, must bring our discipline and restraint to reading this book. Only that way, will we appreciate its richness. Young brings his design sensibility to bear on a series of cascading paper collages that draw upon Chinese characters. "East" (dōng 東) is pictured as a great tree silhouetted against a tangerine sun. "Boulder" (shí 石) is a great waterfall plunging from the edge of a cliff. The collage papers are alternately richly dyed, fibrous, mottled, printed, and, if you excuse the pun, absorbing.

Author's website: http://edyoungart.com/

Write Chinese

Peggy Goldstein

Hu Is a Tiger: 

An Introduction to Chinese Writing

Scholastic, 1996

Peggy Goldstein is author of the similar book, Lóng Is a Dragon, which teaches the basics of Chinese language and writing to novices. Hu Is a Tiger uses the same engaging strategies for picturing, remembering, and reproducing characters and portions of character that may be combined to form new words. In this book, Goldstein includes numbers, zodiac animals, auspicious words, and a carefully selected range of vocabulary for forming sentences. She concludes with an important idea: 人人明白仁 rénrén míngbái rén. Everyone understands benevolence.

Pint-sized underdog exceeds all expectations, and gets the girl

Helen Smith (adaptation)
Junko Morimoto (illustrations)
The Inch Boy
Puffin, 1984

After an old couple ask the Buddha for a child, they discover a one-inch-long baby crying outside their home. They name him Issonboshi for his diminutive figure, but his ambitions are super-sized. Seeking to become a samurai to the Lord Sanjo, Issonboshi proves his mettle when facing down the red demon threatening Sanjo's daughter, Makiko. Predictable in plot and stereotype, The Inch Boy is nevertheless charming.

Why roosters crow at sunrise and chase after worms

Ed Young with Hilary Beckett

The Rooster's Horns: 

A Chinese puppet play to make and perform

Collins, 1978

This charming fable stars Dragon, Worm, and Rooster. In the beginning, Dragon admires Rooster's golden horns and wishes to have ones like them. Worm intercedes as the conniving advisor to Dragon, suggesting that Dragon ask to "borrow" them. Rooster is the affable, trusting soul. Through flattery and false promises, Rooster is persuaded lend his horns for a day. But come sunrise, when Dragon is due to return the horns, and every sunrise thereafter, Rooster cries in vain. As for the sneaky worm, he has little chance what Rooster spots him.

  Ed Young's lyrical, fan-shaped illustrations accompany the story, which is followed by instructions and patterns for creating a shadow puppet play. It seems like a fine project for a grade school class or a rainy day. 

How the Darumas earned their eyes

Winifred E. Wise (author)
Beverly Komoda (illustrator)
The Revolt of the Darumas
Parents' Magazine, 1970

  Kojima and his sisters have three roly-polys, or Darumas, which they call Big D. Middle D. and Little D. Following tradition, they draw in only one eye on each Daruma, promising that if the roly-polys grant their wishes, then they will draw in the other eye. The obedient children go out to play, and that is when the malicious Tengu with the big nose goes to work making mischief. When the children return, an uneasy scene awaits. Who made a hole in the paper door? Why is the Tengu mask on the floor? Where have the roly-polys disappeared to? But as the Darumas go to work making magic, disappointment gives way to happiness and generosity among the good, while the wicked only brings harm to himself. Winifried E. Wise's story, published in 1970, is well worth revisiting. The humorous charm of roly-poly beings is timeless. Those of you have seen them croaking and hopping about the queen's castle in Murasaki's Spirited Away know this. And, like Spirited Away, The Revolt of the Darumas has moments of transcendency, as when the roly-polys spend the night in the pond turning and drifting, sometimes able to see the fish through their one eye, other times seeing the stars. I would like to see a publisher step forward to update the content and prose, giving for example, names to the sisters. A new title, too, could highlight the resolution in the Darumas' action.
  I would also like to say a big thank you to a dear friend who has sent me this and several other children's books for this blog.
  Finally, can anyone speak to the accuracy of the practice of making wishes and drawing in Darumas' eyes?

Looking for less sun, more shine

Eric A. Kimmel (retelling)

Yongsheng Xuan (illustrator)

Ten Suns: A Chinese Legend

Holiday House, 1998

Indeed, the story of Hou Yi, the archer who shot down nine of ten suns to save the earth from being scorched, is, well, legendary in Chinese culture. And so, retelling such a story has its challenges. Eric A. Kimmel begins with a fantastic and compelling image of a wondrous palace atop a giant mulberry tree. But I found the following pages less interesting. The suns' personification as sons made it difficult to accept their being shot by arrows. And, it was little comfort that the shots didn't kill but merely transformed them into crows. Yongsheng Xuan's illustrations are an odd mixture of Soviet-influenced socialist realism (the image of the bare-chested Hu Yi is so hard-edged as to warrant literally the descriptive term "cut") and a Chinese vernacular taste for technicolor. His style gave Ten Suns for me a kind of artificiality. Further, without an image of a real person suffering from the ten-sun drought, I found the narrative's dramatic urgency false. 

It's a wonderful new year

Ying Chang Compestine (author)
Tungwai Chau (illustrator)
The Runaway Rice Cake
Simon and Schuster, 2001

The Chang family—Poppa, Momma, and three boys Ming, Cong, and Da—gather to celebrate the new year and share their impoverished meal of a single rice cake, or níangāo. But that dastardly cake (he must be related to the gingerbread man) jumps up and runs away. After giving chase through the town, the rice cake eventually consents to being captured and eaten not by the Chang family but by an old, hungry lady. The family sees that her need is greater than their own, and they return home rather dejectedly. But, surprise! Their compassion is repaid by neighbors who bring a little of this and a little of that to share. And when a magic bowl erupts with a feast, why, even Jimmy Stewart could have a place at the table. Ying Chang Compestine's story is fun and jubilant, and only a spoilsport (moi?) would point out that the upbeat action and rosy pictures undercut the Chang family's poverty. Recipes for níangāo follow the story.

Not Zhuangzi's happiness of fish

Nathan Zimelman (author)

Julie Downing (illustrator)

The Great Adventure of Wo Ti

Macmillan, 1992

For certain individuals, a life of ease generates its own un-ease. So it is for the biggest, fattest carp dwelling in the pond of the paradisiacal Summer Palace. Wo Ti's constant searching is a bother to the other fish, and it comes to an end only when Wo Ti hatches a plan to rid the pond of an intrusive cat, Kitty Ho. In a light and fanciful manner, Nathan Zimelman shows us how some (all?) of us need a little drama, adrenaline, and relief to nudge us into a satisfying state of mind.

Hopeful thinking

Niimi Nankichi (author)

Kuroi Ken (illustrator)

Judith Carol Huffman (translator)

Buying Mittens

University of Hawaii, 1999

Like a blanket of fresh snow, Kuroi Ken's soft, pastel images envelope the reader in a dreamy world. In this wintry dream world, the shape-shifting fox is not a threatening enchantress, but an innocent fox-child who suffers from cold paws. Its mother transforms one paw into a hand, and sends her babe to town with strict instructions to buy mittens. When the babe mistakenly shows its paw instead of its hand, humanity is put to a test. Will they or will they not choose to live in harmony with the fox?

perfectly imperfect

Mark Reibstein (author)
Ed Young (illustrator)
Wabi Sabi
Little Brown, 2008

In words and images, Wabi Sabi transcends our limited, typical notions of what a children's story and picture book can be. Poetry, philosophy, and art come together in a sumptuous feast. The images are colorful, but never cloying. The texts are simple, but never simplistic. The book's vertical orientation and large format invite the reader to take a brief refuge from the harried pace and endless demands of modern life. Young readers will warm to Mark Reibstein's story of Wabi Sabi, a cat with a quest to understand the meaning of her name. Ed Young's collages (some of his finest work) are studies in the wabi-sabi aesthetic. Enthusiasts of Japanese culture will appreciate the notes to Basho's poems, which appear throughout the book.

Double Fifth

Arlene Chan (author)
Song Nan Zhang (illustrator)
Awakening the Dragon: The Dragon Boat Festival
Tundra, 2004

  The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, Chinese around the world will celebrate the Dragon Boat festival. This year, the holiday falls on June 16, and I hope to be eating azuki bean dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves under a bright sun while thinking of Qu Yuan, the loyal minister who drowned himself in the Miluo River as an act of political protest.
  Arlene Chan's book introduces the symbols and activities related to the festival in a well-rounded if a bit static way. Song Nan Zhang's images add color and drama. His image of a theatrical portrayal of the eye-popping demon queller Zhongkui just about leaps off the page.

New Year primer

Demi

Happy, Happy Chinese New Year!

Crown, 1997

Demi's deep reservoir of talent for storytelling and illustrating goes untapped in this diminutive book that tries, it seems to me, to be all things to all readers. Various traditions and foods associated with the Chinese new year are covered in an obligatory manner. If you're looking for introductory knowledge about this holiday, you'll find it in Happy, Happy Chinese New Year!, but to appreciate Demi's gifts, I would urge you to try another of her many books, such as The Empty Pot or Su Dongpo. 

A game for the generations

Ginnie Lo (author)
Beth Lo (illustrator)
Mahjong All Day Long
Walker, 2005

With retro, Chinese-primer style illustrations and vernacular Chinese phrases, Mahjong All Day Long immediately transported me back in time to happy weekends when my parents and grandparents played round after round of májiàng 麻將. Ginnie Lo captures the memories of smells (tea and dumplings), tastes and textures (cracking roasted watermelon seeds), and sounds (slightly out-of-tune singing to the karaoke machine, thunderous shuffling of mahjong tiles, and exclamations of pòng! or húle!). At the book's end, there is a list of instructional books for those who would like to learn to play.

There is no them; there is only us

Andrea Cheng

Honeysuckle House

Front Street, 2004

Sarah Wu's best friend, Victoria, has suddenly moved away, leaving Sarah sad and confused. Ting "Tina" Liang has left her relatives and familiar world of Shanghai to join her mother in Cincinnati. The two girls overcome a host of social pressures and cultural stereotypes to form a young friendship. Along the way, Andrea Cheng invites us into the emotional lives of families with marital tensions, work-life pressures, and sibling rivalry. Her style is never dramatic, always authentic, which seemed to me to open up a space (like the "honeysuckle house" where Sarah and her friends plunge into imaginative play) to forgive oneself and one's family and to make more generous and loving choices.

For more on Andrea Cheng, click here to visit the author's website.

Globalized

Carolyn Marsden
Silk Umbrellas
Candlewick, 2004

The effects of globalization, however vaunted by some policy-makers, seem to me not all that different from those of imperialism. We see the impact in Carolyn Marsden's story of Noi and her family. When local, agricultural land has been sold to real estate developers, Noi's father can no longer farm. He becomes a bricklayer, whose uncertain cash income must be supplemented by her mother's mosquito nets and her grandmother's painted umbrellas. When even that proves insufficient, Noi's older sister Ting is sent to do factory work. Ting solders a minute part into a radio, hour after hour, day after day. Noi is horrified and frightened...and motivated. With help and encouragement from her grandmother, Noi learns to paint umbrellas, continuing a family tradition. Marsden weaves Thai words and culture into a thoughtful and engaging story of a young girl growing up in a changing world.

Wake me when my dream comes true

Dianne Snyder (author)

Allen Say (illustrator)

The Boy of the Three-Year Nap

Houghton Mifflin, 1988

  Set in pre-modern Japan, Dianne Snyder’s story of Taro and his widowed mother reminds us that even the most cunning of children may nevertheless be outwitted by their more experienced mothers. Taro’s laziness has earned him the nickname, “The Boy of the Three-Year Nap.” At the end of her patience and her resources, his mother urges Taro to work for the merchant. But slothful Taro would rather undertake a life of leisure and toward that end he masquerades as the ujigama, the town’s god, to take advantage of the merchant. Frightened, the merchant obeys the ujigama’s order to marry his daughter to Taro. But when he comes to ask the widow’s consent, she finds a way to cure Taro of his laziness.

  In their style, clarity, and narrative humor, Allen Say’s illustrations remind one of Hokusai’s woodblock prints.

Hunter, Guardian

Mary Casanova (retelling)

Ed Young (illustrations)

The Hunter

Atheneum, 2004

  Hunter Hai Li Bu wants nothing more than to provide the people of his village—children, young women, and white-haired elders—with food. When drought comes, his skills become critical to the village’s survival. As he searches for game, he chances upon a snake one day and rescues it from the clutches of a crane. As reward for saving his daughter, the Dragon King offers Hai Li Bu anything he wishes from his immense treasures. The hunter wants only to improves his skills, and so the Dragon King gives his the gift of understanding what the animals say. The gift, in the form of a pearly stone, must not be revealed, however, lest Hai Li Bu be himself transformed into stone. His hunting improves and the village flourishes until Hai Li Bu hears from the animals of an imminent flood. His love for and loyalty to his village are put to a fateful test.

  Ed Young’s ink and color illustrations powerfully capture the deep emotions and high stakes of this folktale.

Silly wisdom

Demi

The Donkey and the Rock

Henry Holt, 1999

A fable set in pre-modern Tibet, The Donkey and the Rock features two poor men each eking out a living as best he can to support large households. When one man’s donkey crashes into the other man’s jar of oil set upon a rock, their lives come to a impasse. Unable to resolve the dispute, the seek the king’s good judgement. The king sees the goodness and honesty of both men, and he lays blame instead on the donkey and the rock. Driven by curiosity, the community attends the spectacular trial. But tables are turned as the wise king penalizes the people for their succumbing to their folly. Really, everyone knows “...there is no law by which to judge a donkey and a rock.” Ten coins was a small price for a valuable lesson.

   If you have seen Demi’s charming illustrations, you know that they generally fit obediently into their spaces. She breaks this pattern to dramatic effect:  when the donkey tips the jar of oil, it is as if Jackson Pollock’s paint-laden brush dripped in for a visit.

Don't forget to dance

Allen Say
Music for Alice
Houghton Mifflin, 2004

I can't help but hear that popular, nostalgic song by the Kinks, even though it's an odd juxtaposition to Allen Say's tribute to Alice Sumida. Alice and her husband, Mark, were to be interned along with all other Japanese-Americans during World War II, when an opportunity for farm work came along. They were prisoners, still, to the Oregon desert; but they survived and thrived. Say's bright image of their successful gladiola farm stays with us, just as it lingered in Alice's memory. As Alice reflects on her long life, she is a model of grace, dancing through her days.

A family trilogy

Allen Say

Tree of Cranes (Houghton Mifflin, 1991)

Grandfather's Journey (Houghton Mifflin, 1993)
Tea with Milk (Houghton Mifflin, 1999)


Some of us are set fast-forward to the future. Others of us wonder about the past. Where did our parents and grandparents come from, we ask. And we use the answers to understand who we are and where we are going. Allen Say shares his family's story in three beautifully illustrated and and somewhat wistful books.
  In Tree of Cranes, Say is a young boy in Japan. His mother, who grew up in the United States, celebrates his return to good health and commemorates her own childhood with a hybrid Christmas tree.
  Grandfather's Journey memorializes the life of Say's grandfather, who may seem acculturated and settled with his family in California, returns to Japan.
  Tea with Milk concerns Say's mother, who is wrenched from the comforts of California when her father brings the family back to Japan. She eventually meets a fellow with unconventional tastes that match her own.
  All of the books speak thoughtfully and gently about the un-ease of being caught between cultures, an increasingly common experience in our post-modern, globally connected world. Say's family seems to have pioneered this path, and he is generous to share its intimacies and beauty with us.

Love Seen and Lost

Sumiko Yagawa (retelling)
Katherine Paterson (translation)
Kuekichi Akaba (illustrations)
The Crane Wife
William Morrow, 1981

Yohei, the Japanese everyman who was last encountered in this blog as a the son of a fishmonger, is in The Crane Wife a poor peasant in a mountain village. After he helps a wounded crane, a beautiful young woman knocks on his door and asks to become his wife. As the couple struggles to make it through the cold winter, she offers to weave cloth to sell in the market on the condition that Yohei refrain from watching her at the loom. Inevitably, predictably, and tragically he cannot restrain himself. In the end, Yohei is left with a bolt of gorgeous, unearthly cloth and no wife. Enthusiasts of Greek myths may hear in this Japanese folktale echoes of Psyche and Cupid. Kuekichi Akaba's illustrations are like the crane wife herself, delicate and enchanting and elusive. Beside her eloquent English rendering, Katherine Paterson gives us a note about the understandable popularity of the crane wife story in Japanese culture.

Kitchen Maid and One-eyed Steward Live Happily Ever After

Katherine Paterson (author)

Leo and Diane Dillon

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks

Lodestar, 1990

The gorgeous plumage of a male mandarin duck captures the attention of a Japanese lord who delights in the possession of beautiful things. The lord's one-eyed retainer, Shozo, however, sees more deeply. Shozo knows that the drake will languish and die in captivity, but his compassionate advice to let the bird go earns only the lord's scorn. Katherine Paterson crafts a classic tale pitting power and vanity against against charity. Inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, Leo and Diane Dillon's eye-catching illustrations lure us into this tale about sight and insight.

Ruby is growing up

Lenore Look (author)
Stef Choi (illustrator)
Ruby Lu: Star of the Show
Atheneum, 2011

With an epigraph from FDR's first inaugural speech, Lenore Look signals to us that the Great Recession has arrived at 20th Avenue South. But I was completely taken by Stef Choi's vaudeville cover illustration, and thus, it came as a shock when Ruby's father lost his job and the consequences of that loss quickly mounted. That gap between expectations and reality is all too depressingly familiar these days. But Ruby, her family, her friends and community rise to the challenges. Growing up entails losing things (no more show-and-tell), but also gaining things (haiku as a vehicle for expressing excitement, fear, and anger). The loss of steady income can lead to panic and despair, but it can also lead to creativity, pride, community spirit, and realization of one's humanity. It isn't easy, but Rudy earns rewards beyond riches for doing the right thing for the right reasons.

She saw using her seesaw

Linda Sue Park (author)
Jean and Mou-sien Tseng (illustrators)
Seesaw Girl
Clarion, 1999

Twelve-year-old Jade Blossom did not immediately grab my interest, but with each ensuing chapter, I found her more and more compelling. Born into an elite family (her father was an advisor to the Korean king), Jade enjoys tremendous advantages, a fine house, fine clothes, good food, and servants. But, her high status comes also with responsibilities and restrictions. She must wait on the men of her family, for example. When her closest friend and confident, her cousin Willow, marries into another family and moves away, Jade realizes just how difficult it is to hew to social expectations. She is desperate to escape the walls of her family's home, but this was forbidden to girls of her status. Jade must find a way to satisfy her curiosity and ambitions without bringing shame to her family. Linda Sue Park's story offers a glimpse into pre-modern Korean society, and while much is different for children growing up in many parts of the modern world, it nevertheless offers thoughtful instruction for meeting social challenges.

Peach-boy, superhero

Stephanie Wada (retelling)
Kano Naganobu (paintings)
Momotarō and the Island of Ogres
George Braziller, 2005

Since East Asian painting has long interested me, I was delighted to find this illustrated folktale. Stephanie Wada, a curator of Japanese art, illustrates her retelling of Momotarō with details taken from a set of two handscroll paintings by Kano Naganobu (1775-1828), a painter to the Tokugawa shogunate. The wide, skinny format of the book shows parts of the painting to their best advantage. As we follow the adopted Momotarō, born from a peach, along his journey to Onigashima (the island of ogres), we are treated to splendid landscapes of rivers and mountains, scenes of confrontation and battle, and views of triumph and celebration. The images are subtler than your run-of-the-mill picture book, and the prose more adult. Together, images and text demand and reward more careful engagement. If only we could have kibi-dango dumplings as part of our reward, too!

Follow that cat

Koko Nishizuka (author)

Rosanne Litzinger (illustrator)

The Beckoning Cat: Based on a Japanese Folktale

Holiday House, 2009

You know the one. The one that sits at restaurants and supermarkets and gift shops starting wide-eyed and raising a single paw at you. That's the one. They are everywhere, and apparently it all started with Yohei, a Japanese "everyboy." Yohei is a fishmonger who sells his fresh catch door-to-door. But when father falls ill, he must forego his work and meager earnings to look after his father at home. Despite the family's poverty, Yohei always shared some fish with a white cat, who now returns his generosity by beckoning customers to his home. Story and pictures are cute, and it's generally nice to reinforce the belief that goodness is rewarded, but there is not much more than that. I'm glad to have an explanation of the beckoning kitties, but now I'm left wondering, why do blue morning glories appear throughout the story?

3 stones + generosity = happiness

Jon J Muth
Stone Soup
Scholastic, 2003

With his quietly enchanting watercolors and light narrative touch, Jon J Muth transposes the European folk tale into a traditional Chinese setting. Three monks in lieu of soldiers arrive at the shuttered gates and windows of a town populated by villages who have long distrusted one another. Undisturbed, the monks set about gathering twigs and preparing stone soup. A young girl, curious and willing to open her heart, queries the monks and responds to their need for a bigger pot. Her action begins a virtuous cycle that leads to a communal feast. Get it, read it, share it, and keep the inspiration going.

Frightful fruit

Janie Jaehyun Park 

The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon

Groundwood Books, 2002

I always find it interesting to compare two or more versions of the same story, and so it was exciting to find another telling of this Korean folktale. What I like best about Janie Jaehyun Park's The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon are her illustrations. The stylized imagery of fungus-shaped clouds, layered hills, and downright goofy-looking tiger is drawn from traditional East Asian painting. Her colors and textures, though, are more of the Impressionist to Post-impression kinds. The combination (which is being explored by contemporary Chinese artists such as Zhang Hongtu) is anything but derivative. Park's prose pales next to her vivid pictures, and her telling demonstrates the key role played by the rabbit in Suzanne Crowder Han's version, but the pathetic tiger's face sticks. 

Not the Easter bunny

Suzanne Crowder Han (retelling)
Richard Wehrman (illustrator)
The Rabbit's Tail: A Story from Korea
Henry Holt, 1999

Readers familiar with this folktale will see the pun in the title—a tale about a tail. Some folktales convey a needed lesson for proper socialization; others are clever explanations for why things are the way they are. Suzanne Crowder Han's The Rabbit's Tail belongs to the latter category. A hilarious chain of misunderstandings begins with Tiger's unfamiliarity with dried persimmons. (And, just in case you don't know, it's a dried fruit, common in East Asia.) When he hears a baby hush at the mention of dried persimmons, Tiger imagines a being far more powerful than himself. Fearful, he seeks a hiding place in the barn. When a thief comes to steal an ox, he mistakes Tiger for a calf, which he ropes and then rides. Not seeing the thief, Tiger imagines that the dried persimmon has come after him. The thief soon realizes his error, and fears for his life. I am tempted to go on, but it would be too much of a spoiler. So, I'll just note that when the rabbit tries to spell out what is what, he probably didn't plan on losing his tail for it.

Dress up, fit in

Carolyn Marsden

The Gold-Threaded Dress

Candlewick, 2002

Kun Pa's outstanding Thai cooking earned Oy's family the opportunity to move to America. That's where Oy, who is known at school as Olivia, is trying to fit in. Liliandra, the school's "queen bee," chances to see a photograph of Oy dressed in a gold-threaded, pink silk dress, looking just like a princess. Already imbued with Oy's memory and identity, the dress becomes an object of desire, contention, and humiliation. With her parent's loving support, Oy perseveres and learns to distinguish between true and false friends. The Gold-Threaded Dress is a short read, and while it is not especially subtle, it does introduce some complexity in human experience. When we first meet the character of Frankie, for example, he erroneously teases Oy for her "Chinese" appearance; at the book's end, he introduces Oy to his Chinese grandfather, Yeh-Yeh.

binga-binga

Katherine Paterson (translator)
Momoko Issii (author)
Suekichi Akaba (illustrator)
The Tongue-cut Sparrow
Lonestar Books, E. F. Dutton, 1987

Binga-binga, or sparkling clean, is how the old man renders first an ox and then a horse as he seeks the home of the tongue-cut sparrow. After performing these menial tasks with care, he meets the sparrow and offers an apology for his wife's cruelty (she was the one who snipped its tongue). In return, the sparrow offers the man a fine meal and the choice of two baskets, large or small, to take home. But...he must not open the basket until he reaches home. Heeding the sparrow's caution, he returns home where he and his wife are astonished by the treasure inside the basket. The thought of more treasure fills the old woman with greed. Thus, she makes her own trek to the home of the tongue-cut sparrow, leaving in her wake, gosho-gosho, a poorly washed ox and a poorly washed horse. Although we all know she will get her just desserts, it is still great fun to read about it. A series of onomatopoetic Japanese terms gives our own tongues some fun, and the caricatured expressions in Suekichi Akaba's spare illustrations are cute, monstrous, and funny. Words and images work together to stamp this folktale and its moral into our memory.

Anticipating New Year

Catherine Gower (author)

He Zhihong (illustrator)

Long-Long's New Year

Tuttle, 2005

  In preparation for the new year, young Long-Long accompanies his grandfather to market to sell cabbages. As grandfather patiently waits for customers, Long-Long takes their bicycle for repair and earns one yuan for helping the repairman. His grandfather continues his marketplace vigil, as Long-Long considers whether to spend his yuan for steamed buns or rice soup with pickled vegetables. A fortuitous conversation with the cook ensues. Turns out, she needs cabbages. As she approaches Grandpa, she scolds his dubious competition, "I told you never to come back here! What are you selling this time? More holes and caterpillars?" After selling all his cabbages, Grandpa readies for the journey home, while Long-Long sifts through wares at the Hundred Goods Store for gifts for his mother and sister. The two return to Ma and Hong-Hong who step cheerfully over the threshold of their front gate, which is decorated with lucky red messages of the Spring Festival. 

  Catherine Gower's wholesome, rural story is less about new year, and more about rural life. The anticipation of new year gives initial momentum to the narrative, but really the book is about civility, sociality, and family. He Zhihong's charming ink and color images accompany the story. She has an eye for detail, and the reader will find an abundance of vernacular vignettes and material culture. Its effect reminded me of the Song-dynasty painting, Spring Festival on the River 清明上河圖. A glossary provides additional information about Chinese words used in this story.

Qilin-giraffe-Tweega

James Rumford
Chee-lin: A Giraffe's Journey
Houghton Mifflin, 2008

James Rumford previously wrote a journey-based story about the medieval North African traveller Ibn Battuta. This time, Rumford draws inspiration from an early Ming-dynasty painting of what the Chinese identified as a qilin 麒麟, a mythical beast with horns of a dragon, body of a deer, tail of an ox, and hooves of a horse. This qilin was, however, real. Rumford gives the creature a name, Tweega (Swahili for giraffe), and a life story. Young Tweega is born in East Africa, but hunters soon capture him and gift him to the sultan of Malindi. He, in turn, gifts Tweega to the sultan of Bengal, who then offers the beast to the Emperor of China. Throughout his life, Tweega receives good and bad care from humans, whom he aptly names Tall-Boy or Salt-Man, Chattering-Man or Whispering Girl. These encounters, along with the repetition of a phrase of future prediction, "But Chattering-Man could not have been more wrong," give this book more narrative heft and continuity compared to the book about Ibn Battuta. Rumford's artistic talents are everywhere visible, including the map of Tweega the Chee-lin's Journey (which is informed by Ming-dynasty map-making conventions) and his calligraphic transcription of the artist Shen Du's poetic description of the qilin.

Lunar New Year books

I'm a little late with this post, but better late than never, right?


I've already reviewed two version of the legend of the animals of the Chinese zodiac (Monica Chang's retelling, Story of the Chinese Zodiac and Ed Young's Cat and Rat), but of course there are many more to choose from. Dawn Casey's The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac gives a lively account by focusing on the side vignettes of the animals' racing strategies and styles. The animals speak to one another, "Come on, Ox!", and the anticipation grows as they near the finish line. Anne Wilson's illustrations are charming, colorful, and equally lively. We have to forgive her vaguely Mughal-looking Jade Emperor and ill-formed Chinese nine 九. A few notes at the end provide additional information about the lunar calendar and major holidays. Children and adults will enjoy looking up their zodiac animal and learning of their attributes, too.


You may be curious not only of the zodiac animal for this year (the Rabbit 兔), but of new year traditions. Grace Lin and Janet Wong both offer colorful introductions. In her typical way, Lin brings us into her immediate and extended family who prepare by cleaning and cooking, decorating and dancing. Wong's approach is more multi-cultural, with a main character who is half-Korean with friends who are likewise born of two cultures. A Franco-German friend celebrates Chinese new year by getting Thai food to go. Cleansing rituals are focused on hoping and dreaming of good luck. Both authors provide additional notes to readers.

Dawn Casey (author) and Anne Wilson (illustrator)

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac

Barefoot Books, 2006

Grace Lin

Bringing in the New Year

Alfred A. Knopf, 2008

Janet S. Wong (author) and Yangsook Choi (illustrator)
This Next New Year
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000

Remembering

Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford (authors)
Stuart Loughridge (illustrator)
Grandfather's Story Cloth
Shen's Books, 2008

A sensitive and creative boy, Chersheng lives with his brother, parents, and grandfather in the United States. His aging grandfather is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, and Chersheng must cope with Grandfather's unpredictable forgetfulness. When Grandfather gathers wood for a fire or leaves the bathroom faucet running, it isn't so bad. But, one night, Grandfather forgets who Chersheng is. To comfort him, Chersheng's mother shows him a story cloth that Grandfather made after the family along with other Hmong people fled Laos and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. The story cloth gives Chersheng a way to connect with his grandfather, and it inspires him to create new artwork connecting grandfather's story to his own.

American dream

Yin (author) and Chris Soentpiet (illustrator)

Brothers

Philomel, 2006

  A few weeks ago, I wrote about another book, Coolies, by this wife-and-husband team. Five years after that effort, Yin and Chris Soentpiet published this book Brothers. Like Coolies, Brothers features a pair of Chinese immigrant brothers, Shek and Ming. The story begins with Shek meeting his younger brother Ming who has just disembarked in San Francisco. When Shek finds extra work on a farm, Ming minds the store in Chinatown. Ming is not supposed to wander beyond the immediate neighborhood, but his curiosity gets the best of him. He meets a boy his age, Patrick O'Farrell, and their transcultural friendship eventually saves the family's store.
  Yin's story clearly chooses to focus on the possibilities of cooperative success (note the boys' excitement bursting in the illustration with a newly fashioned sign, "General Store, We Speak English"), instead of the dark stories of immigration and racism. It gives us reason to feel good, to hope, and to keep trying to make our world a better place. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are, like Yin's story, finely crafted. There is evidence of generosity and care on every page of this satisfying story.

Journey

James Rumford
Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354
Houghton Mifflin, 2001

  Marco Polo is more famous to American audiences but Ibn Battuta is the earlier and more traveled explorer. Born in Morroco, his initial motivation—piety—takes him on religious pilgrimage from north Africa through Egypt and down the Arabian peninsula to Mecca. From there, he continues onward to Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and China. Almost thirty years and 75,000 miles later (no frequent flyer awards in those days), he returns home.
  In choosing to cover the geographic distance and cultural variety of Ibn Battuta's travels, James Rumford must necessarily limit other aspects, such as character development and narrative complexity. What is left, though, is nevertheless inspiring. The book reads like excerpted from an illustrated travelogue, recording momentary impressions and immediate concerns. Around the text, Rumford provides rich and appropriately impressionistic images in watercolor. And, he illuminates the text with decorative borders of abstract designs, calligraphy, and whimsical figures. A meandering line of text gives direction and movement through the kaleidoscope of written and painted messages. I also like the "sepia" postcards Rumford adds to the endpapers. A glossary and map provide additional information at the book's end.

Keeping Count

It's April, and I thought it would be a good time to take account.

63 reviews in November and December.
26 in January
24 in February
12 in March

for 125 books in the first five months of this blog.

The pace of reviews has slowed, a reflection of both my time and the range of books in the public library collections in my area. I will keep posting, but the pace will be closer to weekly than daily.

Water-breathing dragon

Grace Chang (author)
Chong Chang (illustrator)
Jin Jin the Dragon
Enchanted Lion, 2007

Born of a 1000-year old egg, a young hatchling asks nearby animals who he is. They recognize parts of themselves in the creature whose golden color inspires them to dub him Jin Jin, but they cannot answer his question. Thus, Jin Jin begins a quest to learn his identity. Along the way, he encounters more friendly animals and deciphers clues in the form of early Chinese script. At tale's end, Jin Jin saves a village from drought and in the process realizes that he is a water-breathing dragon. Readers learn a little Chinese and the true, beneficent nature of Chinese long 龍, or dragons.

Stealthy bravura

J. C. Phillipps
Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to Be Noticed
Viking, 2000

Wink-chan has boundless energy and an exuberant personality, so the training to become a stealthy and invisible ninja proves an ill fit. By a chance encounter with a family of circus performers gives Wink his big opportunity. Bright collages give artistic flair to this charming adventure into martial entertainment.

Wish upon a Tree

Roseanne Thong (author)
Connie McLennan (illustrator)
The Wishing Tree
Shen's Books, 2004

Ming and his grandmother share a ritual, making a wish at the village's wishing tree, which blooms with brightly colored wishes tied to orange weights. As Ming grows up, we see the arc of his wishes shift from focusing on himself (growing big and strong) to concern for loved ones (a speedy recovery from illness for Grandmother). When the wishing tree disappoints him, Ming feels resentment. But, as he matures, he sees differently and returns to express gratitude to the tree. Roseanne Thong's story is based on a real wishing tree in Hong Kong.

More Compassion

Elizabeth Coatsworth (author)
Lynd Ward (illustrator)
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
MacMillan, 1958 (1st edition, 1930)

Elizabeth Coatsworth's tale of an old Japanese painter, his elderly housekeeper, and their sensitive cat, Good Fortune, is one of the most beautiful and deeply satisfying children's books I've read. Poor as they are, each member of this modest family demonstrates sincere concern for the others. After Good Fortune joins the household, a Buddhist priest comes to commission a painting on the subject of the death of Buddha. Over several days, the painter meditates, imagining himself as the Buddha, living a life of extraordinary privilege followed by strenuous seeking and finally awakening and teaching before expiring. Only after experiencing as fully as possible his subject, does the painter begin his artwork. In succeeding days, he imagines himself as the animals who come to witness Buddha's passage into nothingness. Again, the painter imagines himself as each creature before setting brush to silk. With each imagining, we are transported sympathetically into the world of sentient animals. At last, out of compassion for his dear cat Good Fortune, the painter adds the feline's image to the painting, going against tradition. When the priest sees the completed painting, he reacts with intense dissatisfaction. But ultimately, the painter's compassion is rewarded.

Coatsworth's writing, both poems in the housekeeper's voice and prose, is finely crafted, precise and loving. Here is a short excerpt: "He [the painter] thought of the fierceness and cruelty of tigers, he imagined them lying in the striped shadows of the jungle, with their eyes of fire. They were the danger by the water hole; the killers among the reeds." But soon, the painter sees a way to compassion for the beast. "It may be that this [the tiger's devotion to its cub] is the narrow pathway by which the tiger reaches to the Buddha. It may be that there is a fierceness in love, and love in fierceness." [51] Insights such as these abound in Coatsworth's wise and elegant words.

Enlightened One

Demi
Buddha
Henry Holt, 1996

Biographies of Prince Siddhartha who became the Buddha and founded one of the major religions of the world must inspire, and Demi's is no exception. Common anecdotes from the hagiography, like Queen Maya's dream of a white elephant, read alongside Demi's whimsical and rich illustrations. She does not shirk from the difficult parts about witnessing illness and death, which propel Siddhartha from the luxury of palace living to seek Truth in the wider world. Suffering and trials follow, but ultimately he achieves enlightenment, becoming the Buddha. Demi's biography does not end with this triumph, but continues with Buddha's teachings, and the last image of a multitude of monks accompanies a more general message to "be your own light."

Adoption stories

Janet Morgan Stoeke
Waiting for May
Dutton, 2005

Jean Davies Okimoto and Elaine M. Aoki (authors)
Meilo So (illustrator)
The White Swan Express: A Story about Adoption
Clarion, 2002

Janet Morgan Stoeke's story of adopting a Chinese girl is told from the point of view of a soon-to-be big brother. The boy's voice is yearning, patient, eager, and gentle. He is also inquisitive, asking his mother all sorts of questions about the adoption process, and he wonders about whether his sister is well cared for. His mother's answers are optimistic and thoughtful. Stoeke emphasizes the capacity to love someone you haven't yet met.

Jean Davies Okimoto and Elaine M. Aoki take a different approach. They simultaneously tell the stories of four Chinese girl orphans and the North Americans who will be adopting them. Apart from the joy experienced by all the characters, the authors pay special attention to diversity. Lewis and Beth Maynard are from Miami; Andrea Lee and Charlotte Appleford live on an island near Seattle; Rebecca Mandel hails from the midwest where she lives with her cat, Ralph; and Howard and Jessica Suzuki call Toronto home. The parents meet aboard the bus dubbed "White Swan Express," which takes them to the hotel where they are to meet their daughters, Wu Li, Li Shen, Qian Ye, and Chun Mei Ni. The families continue to correspond, celebrating their familial good fortune.

Not having experienced an adoption, I am unable to comment on the accuracy of these stories, whether the logistics of adopting or the emotional portions. Both of them were effective in tugging at my heart. I invite readers with more experience to comment.

HereKittyKitty

Lee Wardlaw (author)
Eugene Yelchin (illustrator)
Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku
Henry Holt, 2011

A sassy but sensitive stray kitty is adopted by a little boy who names it Won Ton. Playful and expressive illustrations accompany the story told entirely in senryu (a form of Japanese poetry) from Won Ton's point of view.

Hybrid alphabet

Maywan Shen Krach (author)
Hongbin Zhang (illustrator)
D is for Doufu: An Alphabet Book of Chinese Culture)
Shen's Books, 1997

Maywan Shen Krach's introduction to Chinese culture is organized like an alphabet book with a single entry per letter (excepting i, u, and v), but it would more appropriate to think of it as a very select and idiosyncratic encyclopedia. For each letter, we encounter a term, such as ai (love), naohuadeng (lantern parade), xiaoshun (filial piety), or zhongguo (China). The terms are given in Chinese (written in a red cartouche), in pinyin, and in English translation. Following that, the author sometimes offers an explanation of the visual components of the character, which is at times illuminating (che), at other times less so (wo). Two or more short paragraphs then explain the term. The content is uneven as when the author relates the pipa to the American blues guitar without recognizing that both trace their origins to a common middle eastern musical ancestor. I was also disappointed in the quality of the writing, which unfortunately did not enliven the subjects. The divergent illustrations, too, seemed in need of some editorial direction. Still, the concept is an interesting one, and perhaps worth another visit.

The great khan

Demi
Chingis Khan
Henry Holt, 1991

Demo's biography of the great khan, Chingis (in a later edition, the author uses Genghis; in some scholarly texts one finds yet other spellings), takes us from his birth in 1160 to the Yakka Mongol tribe to his death in 1227 when he ruled over a vast empire that encompassed the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, and China. (The conquest of South Asia would have to wait for a later generation.) His early accomplishments as a youth, typical of hagiography, foreshadow his future greatness. He demonstrates fearlessness and resolve in shooting his half-brother for stealing from the tribe. Such acts earn him the respect of loyal followers essential to the success of later military campaigns. Demi's biography is filled with drama and does not shy away from the violence in Chingis' life. It is an exciting read, and although I found Demi's charatericstically delicate and miniaturizing illustrations somewhat odd for this epic subject, I nevertheless thought it a good read for young audiences.

Kuai the Quick

Ying Chang Compestine (author)
YongSheng Xuan (illustrator)
The Story of Chopsticks
Holiday House, 2001

The youngest of three sons, Kuài, never gets enough to eat. One day he invents a solution to his dilemma. Two twigs will let him spear a chicken leg and a chunk of sweet potato, and he eats without burning his fingers and well before the rest of his family. Kuài's invention catches on quickly with his brothers, mother, and father, who name chopsticks in honor of him: kuaizi 筷子, or "quick sticks." Ying Chang Compestine's invented folk tale moves predictably from household to village to imperial court, and soon all Chinese eat with chopsticks. YongSheng Xuan's illustrations have an appropriately vernacular look, colorful and bold.

Giant Rice Cake Is Couple's Reward

Ann Tompert (author)
Demi (illustrator)
Bamboo Hats and a Rice Cake: a tale adapted from Japanese folklore
Crown, 1993

An old couple wish to have traditional rice cakes for the New Year, but they are very poor. Husband and wife agree to trade her 着物 (kimono) for 餅 (rice cakes). On his way to the market, the old man stops to brush the snow off six Jizo statues, promising to share 餅 on his return. Even before reaching the market, the old man begins to barter. First, the 着物 for some 扇 (fans), then 扇 for a gold 鈴 (bell), and so on until he leaves the market with five 笠 (bamboo hats). Along with his own, the old man gives the hats to the six Jizo before he returns home empty handed. His wife is not disappointed, but proud of her husband's kindness, and their virtues are rewarded. Ann Tompert's adaptation is moving, and incorporates kanji like rebuses. She carefully selects the characters so as to introduce readers to another language while reinforcing the narrative flow. Demi's illustrations are consistently delicate, sensitive, and alluring.

Pioneers

Yin (author)

Chris Soentpiet (illustrator)

Coolies

Philomel, 2001

Yin tells the story of the building of the transcontinental railroad through two brothers, Shek and Wong. The two flee the turmoil and famine of 19th-century China, cross the Pacific, and begin lives of bitter labor. Alongside hundreds of countrymen, they endure hardship and racism. Never losing their dignity or humanity, Shek and Wong help to complete the railroad, settle in San Francisco, and assist family to immigrate to the United States. Yin effectively uses the voices of later descendants—a young Chinese-American boy and his grandmother, PawPaw 婆婆—to capture our attention and transport us to the past. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are sumptuous, grand, dramatic, and deeply moving. 

How Lattimore Writes about Little Pear

Eleanor Frances Lattimore
Little Pear: The Story of a Little Chinese Boy
Harcourt, 2005 (first published in 1931)


Mischievous Little Pear wanders the Chinese countryside around his rural home and makes all manner of funny, endearing, and useful discoveries. Eleanor Frances Lattimore's stories of Little Pear were first published in 1931, accompanied by her charming ink drawings. With chapter titles like "How Little Pear Lit a Firecracker" and "Little Pear Falls into the River and Decides to Be Good," the stories have the feel of Winnie-the-Pooh tales, filled with warm, caring characters. With minimal oversight from parents, Little Pear (like Pooh bear) are given wide latitude for exploration in a world populated by benevolent neighbors. Little Pear indulges in modest luxuries like tang-hulur (糖葫蘆, candied hawthorn berries on a stick), and he suffers mild pains as when he impatiently eats green peaches. The stories are idealized and can be easy targets for criticism, but that would be to miss the gentleness and generosity of heart that are the center of Little Pear's world.