No Year of the Cat

November 15, 2012
A perennially popular pourquoi story gets a fresh, if not entirely necessary, update. Over the last two decades, many explanations of the Chinese calendar have been published. Bare-bones retellings contrast with others that offer embellishments like a framing story or list of the zodiac signs and their attributes. All, of course, wind up with the same 12 years. Despite the stiff competition, Wade manages to create an engaging narrative, one that feels traditional yet offers unique details. Her Jade Emperor wants to name the years so he can celebrate and remember the birth of his son. He has three amusing advisors who repeat his every utterance and who scurry to arrange the race of the animals. While the outcome is never in question, the perils of the race are clearly conveyed, along with the pride of those who triumph and the cat's (eternal) frustration at being tricked by the wily rat. Wong's watercolor illustrations offer lovely vistas and appealing portraits. The framing pictures that surround each animal's narrative are particularly effective, illuminating aspects of their journeys and evoking the movement of the waves. Both pictures and text offer enough variety to overcome the potential dullness of the repetitive aspects of the tale. Whether familiar with the tale or not, young readers and folklore students alike will enjoy this latest (but likely not last) retelling. (Picture book/folk tale. 5-8)

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January 1, 2013

K-Gr 4-The story of the Chinese zodiac is a popular folktale of friendship and betrayal, retold again and again in picture-book format. Since no one in the kingdom remembers when important events have occurred, the emperor decides to create a 12-year calendar. The first 12 animals to win the race across the kingdom's rushing river will provide the nomenclature. Wong's creative use of the landscape highlights the dynastic setting while borders around the text showcase the white-water race, emphasizing the cyclical nature of the calendar. The watercolor illustrations' overall deftness, panoramic views, and traditional sensibility will please children. The dynamic, humorous storytelling spotlights the role of the advisors. Readers get a strong sense of the Han emperor's daily routine, palace, and costume-as well as of his mirthful personality. Various traits also shine forth from the animals-the magnanimity of Ox, the honesty of Pig, and, of course, the treachery of Rat. A beautiful visual touch at the race's finale is the elated emperor holding an outstretched scroll with the names of the 12 victorious animals in both English and Chinese characters, animals huddled around. Don't miss the wonderful ideas in the online teaching guide either. That said, Ed Young's calligraphy-inspired, more abstractly illustrated version of the folktale, Cat and Rat (Square Fish, 1998), has superior back matter, including a timetable to determine in which animal year readers were born. This version, along with Young's classic, would make a thought-provoking, contrastive pairing.-Sara Lissa Paulson, The American Sign Language and English Lower School, New York City

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