Why Snails Have Shells: Minority and Han Folktales from China (A Kolowalu Book)

The twenty stories that comprise this collection reflect some of the ethnic diversity of China. Through a cast of familiar animals we get a glimpse of the cultures from which the stories emanate, and we see that the world is interconnected and the planet quite small. The tales show that our similarities are much greater than our differences. Besides their literary value, these tales convey moral instruction.
The second part of the book gives background information about the nationalities from which the tales have been selected. Carolyn Han describes the geographical area each group occupies and its social life and customs.
Each tale is enhanced with an illustration by Li Ji, an artist and lecturer at Yunnan Art Institute of Kunming, China. He brings to this volume his first-hand knowledge of minority peoples and a deep understanding and love for animals and the environment.

A very attractive collection of 17 animal fables and pourquoi tales, from a dozen of the 55 minorities that together comprise 7% (i.e., 67 million) of China's inhabitants, plus three from the majority Han (ethnic Chinese). Some tales resemble more familiar versions, e.g., Jataka stories; many involve trickster motifs. The adapter (who collected these stories during the three years she taught English in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces) retells them with a simplicity and easy informality that especially suit them for sharing aloud. The Chinese illustrator (who teaches at Yunnan Art Institute) uses vibrant, sophisticated colors for portrayals that are stylized, yet animated; his swirling continuous line, filled in with solid color to create animal figures, will intrigue children who have used a similar technique to make nonrepresentational designs. A map shows the distribution of these peoples (large areas of Mongols and Tibetans and a scattered patchwork of others, largely in China's mountainous southwest); the groups' cultural characteristics are summarized in the final pages. An unusual, and unusually interesting, contribution, handsomely and intelligently produced. (Folklore. 6+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4-6. Twenty stories reflecting the ethnic diversity of China are presented here, accompanied by colorful paintings and concluding source notes on the originating culture. As an American teaching English in China, Han became intrigued by the cultural plurality represented in her classes and began collecting folktales from her students. Many of the tales will strike a familiar chord. "The Flying Frog," about a frog unable to keep its mouth shut, is a Mongolian variant of a tale found in many cultures; the Tibetan "Rabbit Judge" tells of a wolf who breaks his promise not to eat the goat that rescues him from a pit, only to be outsmarted by a wily rabbit. Unusual as well as useful, the collection will be a handy resource for those looking for short stories to read or to tell, and the concluding notes lend insight into both the geography and the social customs of the countries represented. Janice Del Negro