The Magic Boat

A young Chinese woodcutter's good deed earns him a magic boat that can change its size, which he uses to his own misfortune when he saves a wicked man from drowning

Grade 1-4-- In this Chinese tale, a young hero named Chang receives a magic boat from a grateful old man whose life he has saved. When a flood devastates Chang's village, he rescues his mother and his cat in the dragon boat and successively saves an ant, a queen bee, a crane, and a man from the flood waters. The man tricks Chang into giving him the boat and is made Prime Minister for presenting such a miraculous gift to the Emperor. Chang, after much hardship, retrieves the vessel with the assistance of his dedicated animal friends. Notable among the many similarities between this and Demi's Liang and the Magic Paintbrush (Holt, 1988) is the success of a kind and courageous boy who battles corrupt authority and triumphs without adult help, and then continues to share his gift with the needy. The story is illustrated in Demi's distinctive oriental style. The gold of the dragon boat shimmers, and the brilliance of the vermillon is stunning. The bright colors of the intricate and stylized illustrations that appear in fan-shaped ovals stand out on the stark white of the pages, contributing to their impact. Demi's straightforward narrative combined with the ornate illustrations make this an attractive addition to library collections. --Susan Middleton, LaJolla Country Day School,
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.