Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook - Hardcover

Yee, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566569931 ISBN 13: 9781566569934

Publisher: Crocodile Books, 2014

Synopsis

A fun book for parents and children to enjoy and treasure

The fairy tales and folklore of China—like stories told throughout the ages everywhere- bring the fantastic world of ghosts and demons into our everyday lives. So it is not surprising that food makes an appearance here- each story is followed by a simple recipe.

Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts is a creative book which folds fairy tales into a cookbook of kid-friendly recipes. Most of the thirteen fairy tales included in the book have been adapted and retold from original sources by master storyteller, Paul Yee- a few are original to this text, but remain true to the spirit of the collection. They are accompanied by an introduction by Jane Yolen, one our most celebrated folklorists. The splendid illustrations by Shaoli Wang bring the collection to life.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Yee is one of North America’s finest writers for young people. His first book for Crocodile Books was The Jade Necklace (illustrated by Grace Lin), followed by Bamboo, (illustrated by Shaoli Wang). Dead Man’s Gold and Other Stories was a Kiriyama Prize Notable Book. Ghost Train won Canada’s Governor General’s Award. Paul Yee lives in Toronto.

Born and raised in Qing Dao, China, Shaoli Wang now lives in British Columbia where she teaches art to children. Her first book for children, Bamboo, written by Paul Yee, was short-listed for the BC Book Prize.

Reviews

Gr 4 Up—This is a fine collection of quintessential Chinese fairy tales and recipes. The stories are told with tangy and intriguing details that invite American readers to consider the Chinese perspective. The symbiosis between the recipes and the stories is impressive; paired with each dish is a traditional tale. Yee and Wang share the Chinese characters that go with proverbs that pair traditionally with dishes. The stories are short, requiring only 15 or 20 minutes to read aloud. The renditions of the tales are impressive and will be appreciated by a wide age range; they are easy to read but not oversimplified. While this work has the potential for broad appeal, it does not have an obvious niche in most K—12 collections; librarians would be wise to promote and display this unique offering in order to get it into the right hands. VERDICT Educators may find this valuable for geography units or lesson plans involving Chinese culture.—Amy Thurow, New Glarus School District, WI

Edition details

• Publisher: Crocodile Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566569931
• ISBN 13: 9781566569934
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Wang Shaoli
• Number of pages: 160