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?

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.

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. 

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.

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

Happiest Birthday Book

Chihiro Nakagawa (author)

Junji Koyose (illustrator)

Who Made This Cake?

Front Street, 2007

There is nothing obviously East Asian about this book, still, the precision and attention to detail reminds me of Japanese style. It is the same kind of care and engineering that goes into, say, miniature sushi pencil erasers or Tomica toy cars (my favorite is the Yamazaki bread truck). Junji Koyose's lilliputian workers creatively control a variety of construction vehicles and heavy machinery to crack eggs, mix batter, spray and smooth frosting, and lift strawberries into place. The result: the perfect birthday cake made with child-like imagination. This is, hands-down, my favorite birthday book. 

Happy New Year

Marcia Vaughan (author) and Stanley Wong Hoo Foon (illustrator)

The Dancing Dragon

Mondo, 1996

Gonghe xinxi 恭賀新禧! That is the new year's greeting gracing the inside cover of The Dancing Dragon. Paired couplets describe the preparations and excitement that take place in the Chinese community to celebrate the new year. While the first eight pages show a series of activities taking place one after the other (decorating storefronts, arriving at the parade, watching the lion dance), the second half of the book expands accordion-style to reveal a single dancing dragon that zigs and zags through the entire town. The simple but clever design makes this book memorable and fun.

Holiday stories and fun

Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, & The Children's Museum, Boston (authors)

Meilo So (illustrator)

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: 

A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

This kind of anthology is generally not my favorite type of book, but if you are looking for a single book about Chinese holidays, their associated folk tales, and traditions, this one is a good one. Too often, anthologies overwhelm and flatten their subject. Fortunately, rather than going with an encyclopedic approach, these authors have exercised care in their selection of topics and related stories, activities, and recipes.  

  The book is divided into four chapters according to four major holidays (counting New Year and the Lantern Festival as one). Folk tales include less common ones. I enjoyed the one of Dongfang Shuo whose cleverness saved Chang'an and makes sense of new year's show of firecrackers, fireworks, and lanterns. The tale of Jie Zitui, which involves an episode of self-sacrificing cuisine, is not for the squeamish and reminds us of how bracing folk tales really are. While I didn't try out the crafts and recipes, I can imagine that parents and teachers, as well as children, will enjoy them. The list of resources is excellent, and the guide to pronunciation is just about the best I have encountered.

Comfort food

Grace Lin
Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Knopf, 2010

Grace Lin is now my go-to author for comfort food, especially those seasonal yummies that say holiday. Thanking the Moon follows her sisters and parents to a park where together they set up an altar with delicious offerings to the harvest moon, which appears sometime in September or October according to the lunar calendar. Lin's cheerful colors and easy patterns, as always, invite the reader to share in the community celebration.

Another whirl around the sun

Ed Young
Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac
Holt, 1995

Pondering about the new year, resolutions, and traditions, I thought that Ed Young's Cat and Rat would be a fitting book to begin 2011. Young's retelling of the Chinese zodiac story comes closest to my mother's version, which focused on explaining the antagonistic relationship between felines and rodents. Once they were friends, but the legendary race that pitted hare against horse and feathers against scales, killed that camaraderie. The flying and the fleet were no match for the cunning and unscrupulous. Young's prose focuses on the competition and the count as each animal crosses the finish: Number one! Number two! and so forth. His illustrations are replete with movement and intensity, flaring nostrils and wide-eyed effort, but they are also quite dark and rather hazy with charcoal smudges. And the black background adds to the darkness. In my mind's eye, the race should take place under brilliant sun and festive atmosphere. But given the rat's treachery, Young's interpretation may be more appropriate. The guide to the zodiac at the book's beginning reveals your personal traits.

Speaking of counting, I thought it was a good time to mark my progress toward 365 books.

45 reviews in November plus 18 reviews in December make 63 book reviews in 2010. This is review #64.

X-cultural X-mas

Pauline Chen
Peiling and the Chicken-fried Christmas
Bloomsbury, 2007

'Tis the season for lots of folly. It's a joyful time, sure, but we get a lot of mixed messages about what to want, what to give, how to feel, and so on. Pauline Chen's fifth-grade heroine, Peiling, longs to have Christmas, like everyone else. She convinces her Taiwanese-American family to celebrate the holiday for the first time, and predictably, it doesn't quite live up to her expectations. The theme of Chen's sympathetic story is identity, and readers with a literary bent will appreciate the embedded play, "The Prince and the Pauper," in which Peiling co-stars. Plot and characters are somewhat conventional, even the quirkiness of Peiling's teacher Miss Rosenweig is conventional. I also have an overly keen radar for things my mom would say, think, or want—that's just the baggage that comes with being an ABC—and there were moments when Peiling set it off. Perhaps this was deliberate, as Chen may get her tween audience to think about their parents' point of view, flawed but motivated by their best intentions. Light and warm and comforting...like a cup of instant milk tea.

D is for Double

In 2006, two alphabet books sharing the theme of Chinese culture were respectively titled, D Is for Dragon Dance and D Is for Dancing Dragon: A Chinese Alphabet. Coincidence? Despite the near duplication of titles and some of the entries (A is for acrobats and Z is for Zodiac, among them) the two books have different content.

Carol Crane's D Is for Dancing Dragon resides in the non-fiction section. For each entry, she gives a short rhyme describing the selection. Thus, "C is for Chopsticks/an ancient eating skill./Bamboo sticks called 'quick little fellows.'/How do you eat and not spill?" Beside the rhyme, a sidebar provides substantial commentary on sites, people, animals, events, ideas, and things. Her alphabet ranges widely and is remarkably inclusive, as it includes the Himalayas, Mongolians, the Silk Road, alongside the more common Great Wall. Other entries don't seem particularly Chinese (transportation and umbrellas, for example) but those, too, may be seen as a positive feature, defending against exoticizing China as the Other. Illustrations by Zong-Zhou Wang are colorful, but not especially memorable, as they serve a more documentary function.

By contrast, Ying Chang Compestine's D Is for Dragon Dance resides with other picture books in the fiction area. The book also has a more narrow scope, focusing specifically on things that may be linked to the Chinese New Year holiday. Compestine's text is pared down, and Yongsheng Xuan's illustrations more imaginative and more unified in palette and style. We know less about China at the end of this ABC, but we feel more immersed in a single, significant Chinese event.


Carol Crane (author) and Zong-Zhou Wang (illustrator)
D Is for Dancing Dragon: A Chinese Alphabet
Thomas Gale, 2006

Ying Chang Compestine (author) and Yongsheng Xuan (illustrator)
D Is for Dragon Dance
Holiday House, 2006