Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook (Fairy Tale Feasts)
by Paul Yee (Author) Shaoli Wang (Illustrator)
A fun book for parents and children to enjoy and treasure The fairy tales and folklore of China--like stories told throughout the ages everywhere- bring the fantastic world of ghosts and demons into our everyday lives. So it is not surprising that food makes an appearance here- each story is followed by a simple recipe.
Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts is a creative book which folds fairy tales into a cookbook of kid-friendly recipes. Most of the thirteen fairy tales included in the book have been adapted and retold from original sources by master storyteller, Paul Yee- a few are original to this text, but remain true to the spirit of the collection.
They are accompanied by an introduction by Jane Yolen, one our most celebrated folklorists. The splendid illustrations by Shaoli Wang bring the collection to life.
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Publishers Weekly
This collection of original stories and adapted Chinese folklore (a companion to Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple's Fairy Tale Feasts and Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts) features noblemen, peasants, animals, gods, and ghosts in tales that frequently address themes of greed, poverty, hunger, and atonement. Each tale, in some fashion, symbolically incorporates food and concludes with a recipe (congee, green onion pancakes, and won-ton soup are among the offerings). Wang's cartoons, a mix of full-page illustrations and spot art, evoke Chinese folk art with bright colors, ornamental prints, and naive figures. In addition to the recipes and details about cuisine, Yee includes proverbs, information about the origins of the stories, and brief insights into Chinese history and culture, making this a collection to feed the mind and the body. Ages 5-11. (Feb.)
Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
Gr 4 - Up—This is a fine collection of quintessential Chinese fairy tales and recipes. The stories are told with tangy and intriguing details that invite American readers to consider the Chinese perspective. The symbiosis between the recipes and the stories is impressive; paired with each dish is a traditional tale. Yee and Wang share the Chinese characters that go with proverbs that pair traditionally with dishes. The stories are short, requiring only 15 or 20 minutes to read aloud. The renditions of the tales are impressive and will be appreciated by a wide age range; they are easy to read but not oversimplified. While this work has the potential for broad appeal, it does not have an obvious niche in most K—12 collections; librarians would be wise to promote and display this unique offering in order to get it into the right hands. VERDICT Educators may find this valuable for geography units or lesson plans involving Chinese culture.—Amy Thurow, New Glarus School District, WI
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Tales
Food
China
Folk literature
Folk tales
Cooking, Chinese
Folk literature, Chinese
