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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J 398.2 YEP | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Author Notes
Laurence Yep was born in San Francisco, California on June 14, 1948. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1970 and received a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
He primarily writes fiction for young adults, but has also written and edited several works for adults. His first novel, Sweetwater, was published in 1973. His other books include Dragonwings, Dragon's Gate, Shadow Lord, Child of the Owl, The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island. He has won numerous awards for his work including the Newbery Medal Honor Book, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Honest Little Chou sees a rich man leave a basket of silver in the forest, but when he tries to return it, the man denies ownership. Taking possession of the silver, the boy finds a small snake wound around his leg. After failed attempts to get rid of it, he and his mother learn that it is a ku snake, which, they are told, will bring treasure but also death. Little Chou reacts by eating the reptile. The snake, however, keeps duplicating itself until there are thousands. Yep resolves this situation in an ingenious way with the good ending happily and the bad getting their just deserts. Highly entertaining, morally relevant, told with gusto, wry wit, and a social conscience, this original story (CIP classification notwithstanding) is one of Yep's finest books. The Tsengs match his prose, page by page, with verve and insight in their ink and watercolor paintings that exhibit great beauty and cleverness. Especially notable are Little Chou's facial expressions, which faithfully and insouciantly mirror every nuance of the text. Not to be missed.- John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Little Chou leads a poor but honest life with his widowed mother. When he comes across a basket of silver, he tries to return it, but the owner refuses, knowing that the silver is tainted by the curse of an evil ku snake. Determined not to inflict the snake on others, Little Chou bravely swallows it. But more snakes spring from him, lighting up the sky like meteors--followed by more eating and still more snakes. Finally the reptiles visit their judgment on their greedy previous owner, while Little Chou and his mother reap the fruits of his unselfishness and courage. Yep's original folktale neatly balances magic and mystery with sprightly humor: as Little Chou dutifully gathers the multiplying snakes for consumption one evening, his mother hands him a rice bowl and chopsticks, commenting tartly, ``Evil or not, you might as well eat them like a civilized person.'' The Tsengs follow suit: their expressive watercolors capture both the spooky iridescence of the slithery creatures and the comic aspects of the boy's matter-of-fact determination to eat as many of them as he must. For the reader, as for Little Chou, this proves rewarding fare indeed. Ages 5-9. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
When Little Chou finds a basket of silver and is unable to return it to its owner, he takes it to his mother, only to discover an evil snake attached to his leg. Wishing no harm to come to anyone, Little Chou finds a way to survive the snake's evil magic. However, when the snake's master seeks to reclaim it, the greedy man receives the reward he deserves. Delightful, expressive watercolors extend the humorous tale. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Puzzlingly described as an ``original folktale'' (LC classifies it in 398.2), the bizarre story of Little Chou, a poor Chinese boy who finds, hidden in a basket of silver, an evil ku snake that kills people and takes their money to its master. When the snake proves indestructible, Little Chou swallows it in hopes of being rid of its evil, but that night a mysterious light emanating from his stomach becomes two ku snakes, which he also resolutely eats. The next night there are fifty dancing, luminous snakes, then a hundred, and finally so many that it appears that ``the stars had fallen from the sky and emptied into the courtyard.'' When the greedy master of the original ku snake comes to reclaim his abandoned ``pet,'' Little Chou tricks him into eating it and the man dies horribly. Good and evil receive their just deserts in this cautionary tale, but the snakes are a grotesquely ambiguous symbol, described as lethal yet also beautiful and almost innocently playful (in the end, Little Chou actually misses the creatures he's been at such pains to destroy). Further, the story's logic collapses at a crucial juncture: why, if the rich man was so fearful of the ku snake that he tried to get rid of it, would he wish to reclaim it when it had multiplied a thousandfold? The Tsengs' watercolors range from exotically colorful to murkily mysterious, with the characters' expressions and poses dramatically exaggerated. (Picture book. 6-9)
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Little Chou discovers a poisonous ku snake in a basket of silver coins, and to make sure no one is injured by it, he swallows it. The wise woman assures him he will die a horrible death. Instead, each night as Chou's stomach begins to glow, the snake reappears, then multiplies itself during each nightly manifestation. Finally, the deadly snake winds up where it needs to be to fulfill its destiny--in the house of the greedy wealthy man who abandoned it in the first place. The story is rich in elements that will appeal to children. Its comedy is reflected not only in the text, but also in the accompanying watercolors--especially in the characters' facial expressions and in the happy-go-lucky movements. This is an interesting morality tale, suitable for reading aloud as well as storytelling to older children who think picture books are "too babyish." ~--Janice Del Negro