No Year of the Cat

by Mary Dodson Wade, Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Overview

The Emperor has a problem. He wants his people to remember the year in which his son was born. But there is no way to keep track of the years. So the Emperor devises a race in which animals will cross a river. The first twelve animals to reach the opposite side will have a year named after them. Thus, the people will be able to remember the years and the events that occurred. And so the race is set. Rat, knowing he is no match for the rushing water, schemes with Cat on how to cross the river. Together the two convince Ox to carry them across. But halfway across the river, Rat shows his true colors. Will Cat make it to the other side? Which animals will have a year named after them? Accompanied by exquisite watercolor artwork, this charming story explains the origins of the Chinese calendar.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627531191
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	06/01/2013
Series:	Myths, Legends, Fairy and Folktales
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 4—The story of the Chinese zodiac is a popular folktale of friendship and betrayal, retold again and again in picture-book format. Since no one in the kingdom remembers when important events have occurred, the emperor decides to create a 12-year calendar. The first 12 animals to win the race across the kingdom's rushing river will provide the nomenclature. Wong's creative use of the landscape highlights the dynastic setting while borders around the text showcase the white-water race, emphasizing the cyclical nature of the calendar. The watercolor illustrations' overall deftness, panoramic views, and traditional sensibility will please children. The dynamic, humorous storytelling spotlights the role of the advisors. Readers get a strong sense of the Han emperor's daily routine, palace, and costume-as well as of his mirthful personality. Various traits also shine forth from the animals-the magnanimity of Ox, the honesty of Pig, and, of course, the treachery of Rat. A beautiful visual touch at the race's finale is the elated emperor holding an outstretched scroll with the names of the 12 victorious animals in both English and Chinese characters, animals huddled around. Don't miss the wonderful ideas in the online teaching guide either. That said, Ed Young's calligraphy-inspired, more abstractly illustrated version of the folktale, Cat and Rat (Square Fish, 1998), has superior back matter, including a timetable to determine in which animal year readers were born. This version, along with Young's classic, would make a thought-provoking, contrastive pairing.—Sara Lissa Paulson, The American Sign Language and English Lower School, New York City

School Library Journal

A perennially popular pourquoi story gets a fresh, if not entirely necessary, update. Over the last two decades, many explanations of the Chinese calendar have been published. Bare-bones retellings contrast with others that offer embellishments like a framing story or list of the zodiac signs and their attributes. All, of course, wind up with the same 12 years. Despite the stiff competition, Wade manages to create an engaging narrative, one that feels traditional yet offers unique details. Her Jade Emperor wants to name the years so he can celebrate and remember the birth of his son. He has three amusing advisors who repeat his every utterance and who scurry to arrange the race of the animals. While the outcome is never in question, the perils of the race are clearly conveyed, along with the pride of those who triumph and the cat's (eternal) frustration at being tricked by the wily rat. Wong's watercolor illustrations offer lovely vistas and appealing portraits. The framing pictures that surround each animal's narrative are particularly effective, illuminating aspects of their journeys and evoking the movement of the waves. Both pictures and text offer enough variety to overcome the potential dullness of the repetitive aspects of the tale. Whether familiar with the tale or not, young readers and folklore students alike will enjoy this latest (but likely not last) retelling. (Picture book/folk tale. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews