The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robinhood of Korea (Aesop Prize (Awards)) - Hardcover

O'Brien, Anne Sibley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580893023 ISBN 13: 9781580893022

Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2006

Synopsis

In this classic tale from early seventeenth-century Korea, Hong Kil Dong, the son of a powerful minister, is not entitled to a birthright because his mother is a commoner. After studying the martial arts, divination, swordplay, the uses of magic, and the wisdom of the I Ching, the Book of Changes, Hong Kil Dong sets off on a quest for his destiny. He leads a band of men to right the injustices shown to the peasants by some powerful and corrupt merchants, ministers, and monks. Hong Kil Dong can then claim his rightful role and become a wise and just leader. This graphic book captures the drama and pageantry of sixteenth-century Korea during the Chosun dynasty and pays tribute to the adventure story that became the first novel written in the Korean language.

About this title

About the Author:

Anne Sibley O'Brien has illustrated more than twenty picture books, including WHAT WILL YOU BE, SARA MEE? and the Jamaica series by Juanita Havill. Anne has also illustrated a number of her own books, including THE LEGEND OF HONG KIL DONG: THE ROBINHOOD OF KOREA, AFTER GANDHI: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE, and A PATH OF STARS. She lives on Peaks Island, Maine.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3 Up–While Library of Congress places this book with graphic novels, it stands on its own as a traditional tale. Its possibly the first novel written in the Korean alphabet. OBrien has done her homework, using sources in Korean and English and researching her images to display the culture and time period accurately. Her references are well explained and documented. This is a book that demands that readers engage with the text and the art. Hong Kil Dong is successfully characterized from the beginning, and as he is the son of a maidservant and a powerful minister, it is easy to sympathize with his plight. Unable to be acknowledged or even to refer to his father as such, he must determine his own destiny. It is this pursuit that leads him to learn of the injustices toward common people brought on by corrupt officials. The layout alternates between full-page images that frequently include insets and text bubbles and a traditional frame-by-frame graphic format. This serves to heighten the action. The art, done in heavy black line and mostly pastel watercolors, will appeal to the comic-book crowd, but the story–with its magic, martial arts, and drama–will entice reluctant readers as well as adventure lovers.–Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library
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About this edition

• Publisher: Charlesbridge
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1580893023
• ISBN 13: 9781580893022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48