Chinese Fables Remembered (Asian Folktales Retold)

Miyoko Matsutani as told by Miwa Kurita
Stone Bridge Press (2006)
ISBN 0893469459
Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (3/07)

“Chinese Fables Remembered” tells of two fables.  The first fable is of two brothers.  One is grateful and humble.  The other is greedy and spoiled.  The grateful brother is helped by all those around him, because he is such a pleasure.  The greedy brother ends up falling to his death because of his envy and greed. 

The second fable is of two roosters.  One rooster is always trying to do better than the other rooster.  He brags a lot, also, and is rude and degrading to the nice rooster.  The moral of this fable is to know your limitations and to not boast.

My 3-year-old daughter, Parish, did not like this book.  I tried reading it to her several times.  I showed her the pictures, but she never could focus on the book.  Keep in mind that she loves to read.  In my last attempt to engage her, I retold the story in some of my words, some of the author’s words.  I had to condense the message.  This worked well.  She still does not ask to read it or carry it around like she does with her favorite books.

J.T., my 9-year-old, did not like “Chinese Fables Remembered.”  I had to make him read it.  He thought it was “boring.” 

“Chinese Fables Remembered” is well-written.  There are great morals to each fable that all children need to learn.  There are a total of 26 pages, which is too long for young readers.  It is long enough for those who have been reading for a few years.  The illustrations are not bold enough for young readers.  “Chinese Fables Remembered” may be an excellent book for those wanting to expose their children to part of the Chinese culture.  In general, I believe there are better books out there that teach the same lessons.

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