WHITE WAVE: A Chinese Tale

by Diane Wolkstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 1979

In this version of an old Chinese folk tale, a poor shy farmer finds a beautiful moon snail and takes it home. A ""beautiful girl"" then emerges secretly from the shell to prepare his dinner each night. The farmer knows that she is White Wave, the moon goddess, and that he must never try to touch her, but one evening he ""forgets what he knows"" and she departs. Wolkstein attaches a long-term happy ending for the farmer (though White Wave never returns) as well as an aphoristic afterthought, but they don't add to the story's impact. A stronger version appears in Kendall's Sweet and Sour (p. 198, J-54), where the romantic story makes more sense than in a picture book; and Young's black-and-white illustrations for the picture book are so breathless and gossamer that the story itself seems to drift away with White Wave.

Pub Date: May 11, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1979

Categories: CHILDREN'S