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Overview
Hai Li Bu is a good hunter, but not even he can find enough food for his village when the drought comes. The people grow thin and weak, the children rarely laugh — but worst of all, they begin to argue and stop listening to one another.
Out on a hunt one day, Hai Li Bu saves a small snake from the beak of a crane. He is surprised to learn that he has rescued the daughter of the Dragon King of the Sea. The Dragon King offers Hai Li Bu the reward of his choice. Hai Li Bu asks only to know the language of animals. Then he can be a better hunter for his village. His wish is granted with a provision: He must never reveal the secret of his gift to anyone.
Hai Li Bu's people are saved from famine, but when he hears from the animals that a flood is coming that will destroy everything in his village, the people do not listen to him. "You ask us to leave our homes. How can we know what you say is true?" a village elder asks him. Now Hai Li Bu is faced with a terrible choice: to let the people of his village die in the flood or to reveal his secret, knowing the dire consequences for himself.
Caldecott Medal and Honor-winner Ed Young's magnificent illustrations bring this poignant traditional folktale to life.
After learning to understand the language of animals, Hai Li Bu the hunter sacrifices himself to save his village.
Synopsis
Hai Li Bu is a good hunter, but not even he can find enough food for his village when the drought comes. The people grow thin and weak, the children rarely laugh — but worst of all, they begin to argue and stop listening to one another.
Out on a hunt one day, Hai Li Bu saves a small snake from the beak of a crane. He is surprised to learn that he has rescued the daughter of the Dragon King of the Sea. The Dragon King offers Hai Li Bu the reward of his choice. Hai Li Bu asks only to know the language of animals. Then he can be a better hunter for his village. His wish is granted with a provision: He must never reveal the secret of his gift to anyone.
Hai Li Bu's people are saved from famine, but when he hears from the animals that a flood is coming that will destroy everything in his village, the people do not listen to him. "You ask us to leave our homes. How can we know what you say is true?" a village elder asks him. Now Hai Li Bu is faced with a terrible choice: to let the people of his village die in the flood or to reveal his secret, knowing the dire consequences for himself.
Caldecott Medal and Honor-winner Ed Young's magnificent illustrations bring this poignant traditional folktale to life.
The Five Owls
The Hunter is a Chinese folktale that Mary Casanova first heard from a foreign exchange student staying in her home. It is the story of Hai Li Bu, a hunter whose small village is suffering from a severe drought. Hai Li Bu desperately seeks food for the starving villagers, who have not only grown weak from hunger, but have begun to argue among themselves and have ceased to listen to one another. While searching for food, the hunter rescues a small snake from an attacking crane. The snake turns out to be the daughter of the Dragon King who offers to reward the hunter by fulfilling a wish. Hai Li Bu, in his typically selfless fashion, asks for the gift of understanding the language of the animals. His wish is granted with the condition that he must never tell anyone about it lest he be turned to stone. With his new abilities, Hai Li Bu provides handsomely for the needs of the villagers and all are restored to health and happiness. However, one day the hunter learns from the animals that heavy rains are coming that will bring a devastating flood to the village. But when Hai Li Bu tries to warn the villagers to abandon their homes, they refuse to believe him. Hai Li Bu is now faced with the most difficult of choices. If he does not reveal how he learned of the flood, the villagers will not leave and they will die. If he does reveal the information, he will die. True to his nature, he reveals the secret and, as the villagers watch in sorrow, he turns to stone. When the villagers return to the ruins after the flood, they recover the stone body of their hero and carry it to the mountaintop to stand as a reminder that they must always take time to listen to one another. Casanova has retold thestory in clear and simple language, avoiding heavy-handed didacticism. The illustrations by Caldecott-Award winning artist and native of China, Ed Young, are done in pastel and gouache. The colors are subdued, suitably capturing the bittersweet mood of the tale. The drawings on a cinnamon-colored background are expressionistic rather than representational; often a page will contain only the outline of a figure and the perspective varies from page to page, heightening the dramatic effect. Young includes numerous Chinese elements, including Chinese written characters on each page, representing an idea specific to concepts presented on the page. The union of a moving and simply told tale and subtly evocative illustrations make this an especially beautiful picture book—one that deserves to be treasured. 2000, Atheneum, $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: David Russell — The Five Owls, March/April 2001 (Vol. 15 No. 4)