Review of
Lon
Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China, by Ed Young ISBN
0590440691
Five out of five stars
I always find
folk tales from various cultures to be interesting, for they are a window into
the thought processes of the people as well as somewhat of a history of their
environment. For example, the folk tales of people that lived in arid areas are
quite different from those of people that lived in a very wet environment.
This story from
China is especially interesting in that it is very similar to the classic tale
of “Red-Riding Hood” in western cultures. One of the main differences is that
the wolf is the traveler rather than the child. Three children are left alone
when their mother visits their grandmother and the wolf pretends to be the grandmother
coming to visit them while she is gone. The children are clever and are able to
outwit the wolf, the wolf is a bit of a dullard, not knowing when to give up his
quest for a tasty meal.
Given the
somewhat washed out and indistinct features of the images, this is not a book
where children will study the images looking for non-obvious characteristics.
This makes the book a bit scary for young children, so parents need to be a
little cautious when it is in the presence of the youngest children.
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