A CHINESE ZOO: Fables and Proverbs

by Demi--Adapt. & Illus. ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 1987

In one of her most striking designs, Demi illustrates each of this baker's dozen of traditional stories on the surface of a fan spread over two large, square pages on which the backgrounds intensify from pale tints at the gutters to brilliant origami colors at the outer edges. The terse fables frame the fans; the morals appear in Chinese characters as well as in English. Some of the fables are variants of the more familiar Aesop or Jatakas; others have a uniquely Chinese flavor--pandas in hell, given three-foot chopsticks, quarrel, but in heaven a parallel group solves the problem by feeding one another across their large table; an artist paints a beautiful portrait of the Dragon Queen ""in a flash,"" but only because he has spent a year practicing. The delicate drawings, accented with more flamboyant figures, do honor to the Chinese style that Demi so much admires. A beautiful book, with pleasing variety in both story and illustration; sure to be useful.

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S