Dragon Kites and Dragonflies

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

ting and illustrating this collection of Chinese nursery rhymes, Demi has turned out a joy-filled labor of love. Her interest in Asia has been apparent in the style of her previous work, and here it's in full blossom. Diminutive black-haired characters scamper across camelback bridges, dance beneath the robes of a dragon, fly kites several times their own size, and sing through the process of silk-making (it begins with the harvest of mulberry leaves for the silk worms). Slightly reminiscent of Anno, but really all Demi's own, the book will take readers through chants that beg to be sung to the beat of a jump rope, or spoken more gently at day's end. The delicate watercolors show architecture, plants and animals, perhaps of the past, but the nursery rhymes will easily be snapped up by contemporary readers. (4-8)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3 This collection of 22 Chinese nursery rhymes in translated adaptation is both interesting and problematic. Some rhymes tell of universal childhood activities: playing, celebrating holidays, visiting relatives. Others need explanations. A quatrain about Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang's great wall piques the curiosity but answers no questions. Most children will not understand references to the wall or to dangerous Tartars. The massive battle scene depicted will elicit still more questions. The rhymes themselves lack rhythmic punch and cleverness. The Oriental-style watercolors are intriguing. Tiny details and active figures are spread across the pages to form tableaux. In one, ten varied, dancing kites soar over a crowd of diminutive children dressed in bright colors. The absence of foreground and background clues or connective landscape is an effective stylistic device. The kites themselvesdragonfly, goldfish, and turnip, among others, are bright and attractive. Chinese conventions in stylistic devices and subject content are obvious throughout. This is an interesting introduction to the Chinese culture as well as a challenge for young readers. Whether that challenge will prove too frustrating is debatable. Dana Whitney Pinizzotto, The Parish Day School of the Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas