Monkey King

by Ed Young

From a fantastic explosion is born the legendary Monkey King, the clever and courageous hero of one of the best-known stories from China. Ambitious Monkey travels to Square Inch Mountain, where he trains with Master Putt to perfect the art of turning cloud somersaults, riding the wind, changing shape, and disappearing in the blink of an eye.Then Monkey eagerly shows off his magic skills by tricking Dragon King and battling Jade Emperor. Monkey is so arrogant, he even gets into trouble with Buddha himself. Caldecott Award-winning author-illustrator Ed Young has created colorful and lively collages and specially designed two fold-out pages to animate the story of Monkey King and his acrobatic, high-spirited adventures. This unprecedented picture-book adaptation introduces just the beginning of the classic epic Journey to the West, about the mission to bring Buddhist scriptures to China. Monkey is only one of its many characters, but he is undeniably the most beloved of them all.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, China, Animals, Mythology, Asian Literature

Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Ed Young is the illustrator of more than eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written. Among his books is the Caldecott Medal winner Lon Po Po, which he both wrote and illustrated. He says that his work is inspired by the philosophy of Chinese painting. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

[Mylinh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gorgeous rendition of the classic Chinese tale of the Monkey King. Because of the depth of the original tale, this simplified rendition is a little bit confusing and complex for younger readers (even for some older readers) Could be used in a study on Chinese culture or folktales (would be great to use on a project on tricksters!).


Kindergarten-Grade 3-A rock explodes, a monkey emerges, and thus begins a very abbreviated version of the first part of the Chinese epic, Journey to the West. Following his dramatic creation, Monkey evolves into a trickster and entangles himself in many adventures, outwitting numerous adversaries and falling out of grace with others. His encounters with mortals, animals, and deities reveal his multifaceted character; at times, greedy and conniving, he can also be resourceful and loyal. And as he serves as a disciple to holy monk Tang, he learns a lesson about admitting to weakness-but "Did Monkey's humility last? That's another story for another book." Vibrant paper collages set against purple and gold backgrounds swirl and plunge with energetic Monkey and reinforce his quicksilver nature. However, the sheer number of characters he meets, and escapades in which he indulges, can be overwhelming, especially since they are, of necessity, briefly introduced. Even the striking illustrations (including an extravagant double gatefold) are confusing at times. The typestyle is large but the vocabulary will challenge readers attracted to the open format. The author provides a helpful list of major characters with a one or two sentence summary of their roles in the saga as well as a more detailed history of the epic itself. This is a simplified and serviceable introduction to a long and complex Chinese tale but its staccato presentation is likely to leave young listeners confused and more than a bit breathless.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story: 3 stars
Illustrations: 3 stars

Picture book adapting the Chinese folk tale of The Monkey King. The author/illustrator attempted to stay true to the original story, which is lengthy and complex; therefore, this version isn't simplified enough for the young target audience. It meanders quite a bit and contains too many plot points for a picture book. The Eastern concepts are deep and abstract to begin with, so I'm not sure how much of it can be absorbed by the picture book crowd. The paper-cut illustrations are lovely, but don't help to clarify the story.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey King is Chinese fable about a money born from a rock with magical powers and about the mischief he gets into and the lessons he learns. This book would be good for a reader who is more advanced due to language use and the understanding it would take, but would be a magical book to read little kids. Reading it to little kids would get them into different types of stories and the colors of the pictures would keep them interested. It is a good story to show kids that it is okay to ask for help and to not be afraid to ask for it. Again it takes an advanced reader to really understand this and even then they may have some questions about what happened in the story.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monkey King by Ed Young is a short version of the Monkey King story. So, some parts of the story are off for me. The collages in the book may increase the vivid and life actions of the Monkey King. But it also enhances the disruption of concentrating on the story. I think I could follow the storyline as I know the characters in this story. Without background knowledge, I am unsure I could enjoy this book with many characters with unfamiliar names.

[superawesomekt · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I'm kind of torn on this one because I think I could have liked it, but I wasn't crazy about the illustrations, and while it's true to the Monkey King book to be very episodic, It's simply too much for a picture book. (I think it would have been better to have a series of picture books with each one focusing on 1-2 of his adventures at a time). Overall, I can't recommend it.

[Josef Alexandr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is condensed but is still a pleasant read. The colorful and soft illustrations allow for an easy entrance to the very dense mythology of this text. I like how the troublemaking nature of the Monkey King is still present instead of being adopted out.

[Bobby Adkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kwas just okay for me. It was kind of wierd for a young kid. I felt that they would struggle to understand it. The pictures were also very messy. It overall was a very hard book to understand.

[Gina Pecoraro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Format: Picture Book
Award: NSSTB 2002 (Notable Social Studies Trade Book)
This award is given to books that emphasize human relations and represent a diversirty of groups. These books are also sensitive to cultural experiences.

In this Chinese tale, the Monkey King was born from a rock. The tale of the Monkey King is one of the best known tales from China. This tale introduces the beginning of the "Journey to the West".

This book was reviewed for K-2nd but I feel that it is more appropriate for 3rd and 4th graders. The story and vocabulary are complex.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book to use to expose my kids to the Monkey King myth. I think it will give them a basic overview of the story...and then I can piece in with some longer accounts of parts of the story.

Read this aloud today...the kids loved it!!!! What really tickled me was one of my students...who clearly had heard this story before....clapped her hands in anticipation of reading it aloud. They really liked it and, when I showed them the other longer story book version, they all wanted to check it out.

I do love adding the literature piece to my social studies lessons.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it helps to be a Buddhist or at least embrace an Eastern cosmology or be fan of the Monkey King story to really get into this. I felt like I was missing something. That said, Young's telling with his use of found or created papers is stunning, especially the gauzy paper for the clouds, and the ornamental paper for the robe. His translation of motion into cut paper is striking and the surprises of the open-fold pages to reveal a wider and taller scene are delightful.

[Emma Biays · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy reading Monkey King because the story was slightly difficult to follow for young readers, and it used some fairly difficult language, such as fray, contemplate, and misdeed. The illustrations were also hard to understand, and did not add to the story. I did, however, like that it would give the reader a diverse experience because it is set in China and talks about Hinduism. I would not use this book in my classroom.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is a good book if you need an Oriental or Buddhist inspired.
There was very weird artwork that looked like it was just ripped up and crumpled pieces of paper-so a lesson could be devised from that aspect.
There were two interesting pull out pages that gave an extra something special to this otherwise extremely weird and nonsensical story.

[Ariza · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little crazy but still cool. The monkey King could easily be turned into a movie if it hasn't already. Constant adventure and excitement due to the Monkey King's restless and mischievous personality.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

love, love these illustrations

[Ebony Hargett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this story for independent reading in my classroom. It has bright illustrations and is entertaining for the elementary level audience.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The legend of the Monkey King complemented by paper collage illustrations and fold out pages to enhance drama.

An author's note and list of characters is also included.

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very condensed and simplified retelling that nevertheless had all the kids, ages three to thirteen, absorbed. We were inspired by the illustrations, too, to make some collage papers.

[Tiffany Chan]

gorgeous illustrations, as always