Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by oliviasuzanne
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Title: Lon Po Po: a Red Riding Story from China
Author: Ed Young
Illustrator: Ed Young
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Folklore, Sisters, Wolves, Little Red Riding Hood
Opening line/sentence: “Once long ago, there was a woman who lived alone in the country with her three children, Shang, Tao, and Paotze.”
Brief Book Summary: Typical to the original Little Red Riding Hood story, three sisters (instead of one) are going to visit their grandmother. A wolf is lurking in the woods behind them; they notice that their grandmother has some startling new qualities. The girls then proceed to outsmart the wolf and rescue their grandmother, Po Po.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: CCBC (CooperativeChildren's Book Center Choices, 1989) Leaving her three children home alone in the country, a woman departs to spend the day with their grandmother Po Po. Although instructed by their mother to latch the door at sunset, the children are persuaded by a wolf disguised as their grandmother to open the door. Chinese panel art is recognizable in the book's overall design and in the layout of the watercolor and pastel art created to illustrate the more than thousand-year-old tale. The wolf symbolizes an ominous side of human nature and appears as either a shadowlike possibility or presence in each double-page spread of this suspenseful book. CCBC Category: Folklore, Mythology And Traditional Literature. 1989, Philomel, 32 pages., $14.95. Ages 5-9.
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1989.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly) This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young (The Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: ``To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness.'' Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8. (Nov.)
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1989.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviewers discuss the type of illustrations in this book. The illustrations also help tell a large part of the story, especially as a read aloud. Children can focus on the step by step illustrations of the panels. The reviewers also summarize the story and comparisons to the original Little Red Riding Hood story are obvious.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The reviews looked strongly at the illustrations of this text. The layout is based on traditional Chinese panel art. Each panel focuses on a different even of the story, a typical view, a close up, and a preview of what is to come. There is also a bit of symbolism that is shown through the eyes of the wolf. The wolf symbolizes the bad in the world and how easily it can manipulate the good and innocent young minds.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Since this book is based on the original Little Red Riding Hood story, I would use this during a unit on fractured fairytales. I would read this story aloud after reading the traditional story aloud as well. Then have the students create a compare and contrast graphic organizer much like we did in class. This activity would be appropriate for first and second graders.
Author: Ed Young
Illustrator: Ed Young
Genre: Non-European Folktale
Theme(s): Folklore, Sisters, Wolves, Little Red Riding Hood
Opening line/sentence: “Once long ago, there was a woman who lived alone in the country with her three children, Shang, Tao, and Paotze.”
Brief Book Summary: Typical to the original Little Red Riding Hood story, three sisters (instead of one) are going to visit their grandmother. A wolf is lurking in the woods behind them; they notice that their grandmother has some startling new qualities. The girls then proceed to outsmart the wolf and rescue their grandmother, Po Po.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: CCBC (CooperativeChildren's Book Center Choices, 1989) Leaving her three children home alone in the country, a woman departs to spend the day with their grandmother Po Po. Although instructed by their mother to latch the door at sunset, the children are persuaded by a wolf disguised as their grandmother to open the door. Chinese panel art is recognizable in the book's overall design and in the layout of the watercolor and pastel art created to illustrate the more than thousand-year-old tale. The wolf symbolizes an ominous side of human nature and appears as either a shadowlike possibility or presence in each double-page spread of this suspenseful book. CCBC Category: Folklore, Mythology And Traditional Literature. 1989, Philomel, 32 pages., $14.95. Ages 5-9.
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1989.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly) This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young (The Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: ``To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness.'' Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8. (Nov.)
(PUBLISHER: Philomel Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1989.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviewers discuss the type of illustrations in this book. The illustrations also help tell a large part of the story, especially as a read aloud. Children can focus on the step by step illustrations of the panels. The reviewers also summarize the story and comparisons to the original Little Red Riding Hood story are obvious.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The reviews looked strongly at the illustrations of this text. The layout is based on traditional Chinese panel art. Each panel focuses on a different even of the story, a typical view, a close up, and a preview of what is to come. There is also a bit of symbolism that is shown through the eyes of the wolf. The wolf symbolizes the bad in the world and how easily it can manipulate the good and innocent young minds.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Since this book is based on the original Little Red Riding Hood story, I would use this during a unit on fractured fairytales. I would read this story aloud after reading the traditional story aloud as well. Then have the students create a compare and contrast graphic organizer much like we did in class. This activity would be appropriate for first and second graders.