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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J 398.2 TSENG | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | J 398.2 Tseng 1999 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
From a poor, infertile region of China came a young boy named Kai to confront a ferocious white tiger, a monstrous blue serpent, and the greedy godess Qin - and by his heroism to win prosperity for his people.'
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-An original fantasy based on a folktale from China's Yunnan Province. Kai and his mother live on the barren shore of a raging river. Though a bridge leads across the water to a rich and fertile land, no one goes there, for a tiger and a serpent guard it for their mistress, a terrifying goddess. Kai's mother weaves beautiful silk brocades, which the boy trades for firewood and rice. Yearning to keep one for himself, he does the work of a man for a thousand days, becoming supernaturally agile, strong, and sharp-eyed as his mother weaves a magnificent design inspired by the forbidden landscape. When the cloth is finished, the goddess sends a wind that sweeps it into her realm. Undaunted, Kai uses his newfound strength to regain it. Grace Tseng's free retelling is firmly grounded in Chinese traditional literature. Similar versions of the story appear in He Liyi's The Spring of Butterflies (Lothrop, 1986; o.p.) and M. A. Jagendorf and Virginia Weng's The Magic Boat (Vanguard, 1980; o.p.); picture-book versions include Marilee Heyer's The Weaving of a Dream (Puffin, 1989) and Demi's The Magic Tapestry (Holt, 1995). Whether depicting crowd scenes, fantastic mountains, or the fearsome characters, the illustrators provide a fresh interpretation of classic Chinese painting that could serve as a bridge to Chinese art history. Libraries owning the Heyer title, which casts the Chinese mythic setting as science-fiction phantasmagoria, will certainly want this new story. Older children could compare the art in both books. Younger listeners will simply enjoy Kai's breathtaking adventures.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
First-time author Tseng, the daughter of the noted illustrators (Maples in the Mist), retells a folktale from southwest China. Kai and his mother work hard all day, Kai at fishing, his mother at weaving brocades that she barters for food and firewood. Kai loves the brocades, and convinces his mother to make just one for them to keep, promising to work even longer and harder to pay for it. But when the brocade is finished, the greedy goddess Qin steals it. Kai, drawing upon the heroic strength he has acquired from performing his extra work, defeats Qin's white tiger and blue serpent handily. Qin calls up a whirlwind to blow Kai away; not only does it send Kai back to his own land, but it blows the creatures off the brocade right along with him. Grace Tseng's formal tone combines immediacy with the timelessness of folklore ("A thousand of his mother's days and a thousand of her nights were in that brocade. He would not stand here and see it stolen!"). Jean and Mou-sien Tseng's watercolor paintings, said to be inspired by masterworks of the Ming Dynasty, are distinguished by both their delicacy of line and the fullness of the compositions. The formats are skillfully varied (some full bleeds, some bordered, some rendered in narrow panels reminiscent of Chinese scrolls) to quicken the pace and accentuate the drama of the tale. Ages 6-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A lush brocade of flowers and birds painstakingly woven by a peasant mother for her son is snatched away by a jealous goddess. But when the son chases after the brocade, its designs magically become real, showering a cornucopia of beauty onto the previously barren landscape. Adapted from a Chinese folktale, this story about dedication and hard work is illustrated with dramatic watercolors. From HORN BOOK Fall 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This lovely tale retold by the daughter of the illustrators comes from the Drung tribe of China's Yunnan Province. The story depicts two lands divided by a river, one of which is the bewitched and beautiful land of the jealous goddess Qin, protected by the white tiger and blue serpent and never visited by the people on the other side, humble peasants who count in their number a young boy named Kai and his mother, a master weaver. Kai would like to be able to keep one of her gorgeous brocades, and so he and his mother make a pact; she will weave the most glorious brocade, but during the thousand days she works on it, Kai will have to provide for them. By dint of hard work, Kai fulfills his promise, and so does his mother, but before they can enjoy the brocade, Qin works her wiles to snatch it away. Kai pursues it, facing the tiger and serpent, while the story folds back on itself in a delightful spray of magic. The narrative has an elegant, aged feeling to it, as though it has been burnished by so many retellings. The illustrators' Ming-influenced artwork works admirably as a setting for the story. (Picture book/folklore. 6-9)
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-8. Lush paintings in the manner of fifteenth-century Chinese art animate a full-bodied folktale retelling about the search for beauty. Growing up on the barren west bank of a great river, young peasant Kai is thrilled when his gifted mother weaves a splendid silk brocade, which she gives him, sacrificing the income this treasure would have brought. To compensate her loss, Kai grows strong, swift, and sharp-eyed as he works hard to support them. These special traits hold him in good stead when the jealous goddess Qin steals the beautiful brocade. Kai journeys to her palace on the gorgeous but treacherous east bank, where he battles with the White Tiger and Blue Serpent before bringing opulence to his homeland. The bright, vigorous watercolors feature such traditional elements as craggy mountains, rolling clouds, and red camellias. Double-page spreads and panels that resemble scrolls are set against lustrous backdrops in natural pigments that suggest silk. With the briefest of source notes, this lovely book is the heroic quest, Asian-style. --Julie Corsaro