Lavish illustrations elevate this adaptation of a classic.
In this retelling of an ancient Chinese poem, a writer imagines the doomed love between the earthly and heavenly in this oversized picture book for older readers.
Returning from a visit with the emperor, poet Cao Zhi passes by the River Luo. “As the ancient tale goes, underneath the river lives a beautiful goddess”—so, as a writer, Cao decides to put forth his own story of a different goddess of the majestic river. Cao’s goddess is ethereal: “she dazzles like the sun rising in the morning…she’s as luminous as the lotus that grows in the shallows.” Love is instant between poet and goddess, but with love comes hesitation and worry. Ultimately, the goddess concludes that “the world of humans and gods could never exist together.” Readers unfamiliar with the poem will likely find the level of narrative detail insufficient, and consequently the melancholy ebbs rather than flows forth. Ye’s illustrations, however, are lush in detail and lovely in strangeness. The illustrator injects traditional elements of Chinese paintings with a modern playfulness and whimsy. Big-eyed fish, fantastical creatures, and odd flora and fauna fill the pages. Elements of the natural world adorn the Goddess of Luo to evoke the otherworldly. Instead of being enrobed by traditional Chinese clothing, a flowing cape ending in a fish tail drapes over her body. Strands of pearls surround her and come to life as fairies. Four multipage gatefolds stunningly capture both the movement in the illustrations and the scale of the tale.
Lavish illustrations elevate this adaptation of a classic. (glossary, notes) (Picture book. 9-14)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-988-8341-94-8
Page Count: 78
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Weaving together architectural, engineering and Native American history, Weitzman tells the fascinating story of how Mohawk Indian ironworkers helped construct the sprawling bridges and towering skyscrapers that dominate our urban landscape. The book begins with a brief but informative history of the Kanien'kéhaka—People of the Flint. Leaders in establishing the League of the Iroquois, a confederation of Indian nations in the New York region, Mohawks had a longstanding reputation for their sense of tight-knit community, attraction to danger and love for physical challenge, qualities that served them well when hired in the late 1800s to do the most arduous work in railroad and bridge construction. With the advent of the skyscraper, Mohawks possessing agility that seemed gravity-defying worked hundreds of feet above the ground. They were not immune to tragedy, and the author discusses in detail the collapse of the Québec Bridge that killed 31 Mohawk workers. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that capture the daring spirit of these heroic workers, the concise, captivating account offers great insight into the little-known but considerable role Native Americans played in our architectural and engineering achievements. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-162-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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