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Chinese Fables: "The Dragon Slayer" and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom
Winner of the 2013 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award for Fables, Folklore & Fairytales
For thousands of years, Chinese storytellers have delighted listeners with stories about the value of virtues like honesty, respect, courage and self-reliance. Chinese Fables collects nineteen of these wonderful tales, some of them dating back to the third century BCE, and retells them in contemporary English for a modern audience.
Each of these stories offers a nugget of ancient folk wisdom and shares aspects of Chinese culture and lore. All of the tales express the foibles and wisdom of human experience with great humor and affection. And although the lessons are universal, the wit and flavor are uniquely Chinese.
Beautifully illustrated by a master Chinese artist using a patchwork of ancient tones and textures, with a deft touch of humor, this book will give great joy to children and adults alike.
Stories include:
The Practical Bride
Stealing the Bell
Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy
Cooking the Duck
Scaring the Tigers
The Dragon Slayer
For thousands of years, Chinese storytellers have delighted listeners with stories about the value of virtues like honesty, respect, courage and self-reliance. Chinese Fables collects nineteen of these wonderful tales, some of them dating back to the third century BCE, and retells them in contemporary English for a modern audience.
Each of these stories offers a nugget of ancient folk wisdom and shares aspects of Chinese culture and lore. All of the tales express the foibles and wisdom of human experience with great humor and affection. And although the lessons are universal, the wit and flavor are uniquely Chinese.
Beautifully illustrated by a master Chinese artist using a patchwork of ancient tones and textures, with a deft touch of humor, this book will give great joy to children and adults alike.
Stories include:
The Practical Bride
Stealing the Bell
Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy
Cooking the Duck
Scaring the Tigers
The Dragon Slayer
64 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2013
30 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 6, 2018
I absolutely loved this book of Chinese fables!! According to the preface, the author found summaries of these tales in an old book and fleshed them out. She did an excellent job! The font looks like handwriting, which gives the stories a more folksy feel, as do the illustrations, which look as if painted on parchment. My favorite fable is “Kwan-Yin, the Goddess of Mercy,” which reminded me of one of the parables in the New Testament. The lessons in these tales aren’t always spelled out—sometimes you have to think a minute. These fables would make a great book discussion for young or old. Highly recommended!
April 7, 2022
I like fables. They offer teaching in a story form that is non-threatening. Chinese Fables: The Dragon Slayer and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom is not different in that sense. Unlike Aesop's Fables, however, the moral is not stated at the end. You have to figure it out for yourself.
Also unlike Aesop's Fables, most of the tales are not told through the medium of animal behavior. These are people acting out the lessons. The people are from all ranks of life, too.
The underlying lessons of Chinese fables seem to be based on practicality and common sense.
Also unlike Aesop's Fables, most of the tales are not told through the medium of animal behavior. These are people acting out the lessons. The people are from all ranks of life, too.
The underlying lessons of Chinese fables seem to be based on practicality and common sense.
February 14, 2014
The oldest tale in this book is from around 200 BCE-220, the newest one is from around 1368-1645, and every single one in this book is awesome, funny, and wise, each story offering a nugget of ancient folk wisdom. Retold by Shiho S. Nunes, and illustrated by Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard, this book is a timeless treasure! Nineteen tales from yesterday that feel as fresh as tomorrow!
November 25, 2020
An easy and fun read inspired by Chinese folktales and art. After looking into it, the book seems to be more of an author’s retelling rather than translating the original stories directly like I hoped.
April 2, 2021
This book is a compilation of 16 traditional Chinese fables that have been translated, adapted, and – in some cases – abbreviated for a young, English-speaking audience. Each story is stand-alone and introduces new characters and settings that are described in beautiful detail and accompanied with a piece of artwork at the end of the story. Several of the stories have the morals explicitly stated at the end, usually by one of the main characters. However, many are also left open-ended, leaving the purpose of the story up to the personal interpretation of the reader. The stories vary in content and morals with many focusing on pride and wisdom.
The adaptations of these stories are concise enough to be easily taught individually or in groupings based on commonality. They are appropriate and understandable by a wide range of ages and grade levels, but I think the best comprehension and discussion may come from use in a 3rd to 5th grade classroom. One way these stories could be used is by presenting one – or a grouping of them – with a clear theme and asking students how this theme and moral could be applied to our own lives. This would allow students to use critical thinking skills to come up with a hypothetical situation or pull from background knowledge and personal experience to bring to mind an applicable memory. Another option would be for students to analyze one of the stories with a less obvious moral and think about what the author may have been trying to tell us through this story. Students can use the symbolism and other imagery in the story to back up their conclusions. Using folklore such as this in class discussions also allows the opportunity to make comparisons between the folklore of various cultures. Students can be invited to think about similar stories they have heard in their own cultures and share them with the class.
The adaptations of these stories are concise enough to be easily taught individually or in groupings based on commonality. They are appropriate and understandable by a wide range of ages and grade levels, but I think the best comprehension and discussion may come from use in a 3rd to 5th grade classroom. One way these stories could be used is by presenting one – or a grouping of them – with a clear theme and asking students how this theme and moral could be applied to our own lives. This would allow students to use critical thinking skills to come up with a hypothetical situation or pull from background knowledge and personal experience to bring to mind an applicable memory. Another option would be for students to analyze one of the stories with a less obvious moral and think about what the author may have been trying to tell us through this story. Students can use the symbolism and other imagery in the story to back up their conclusions. Using folklore such as this in class discussions also allows the opportunity to make comparisons between the folklore of various cultures. Students can be invited to think about similar stories they have heard in their own cultures and share them with the class.
January 9, 2024
Beautiful illustrations get an extra star. And yet the book is unsatisfying. Short anecdotes that are very restricted- distilled to an essence where they become jokes. This is a collection of “ Asian” stories told without context and produced by an American publishing house that specializes in English language books about the arts, languages and cultures of Asia. I wish the focus was on one tale told well and with respect for the particular context and not many fables that are told poorly.
October 24, 2019
In this book there are 19 tales that are from the collection of Chinese parables and fables. The book itself is just fascinating all together. This book is meant to be a fun story. There are important lessons throughout and would be great to share with a class or child.
April 4, 2022
Disappointed. I didn't get most of the stories and most of them seemed shortened or edited, with great gaps in them, mostly making me wonder, did I miss something? Hoping there are other books out there with far more complete stories in it.
September 9, 2020
A very good collection of fables and interesting illustrations.
January 10, 2021
They're very short, like summaries, but they're entertaining. I had not heard any of these tales before so it was a delight to read the fables and determine the message that went along with it.
July 1, 2021
I loved the fables, but was in awe of the information given of the age of the yu-yen and how they are like parables & fables. Great educational book and very fun to read.
September 13, 2023
This compilation of Chinese folktales is a window into the culture itself.
October 11, 2016
These 19, wonderfully short stories are a humorous collection of Chinese parables and fables that illustrate "both the wisdom and foolishness of ordinary folk", as the author writes in the introduction. The art is simple, and stories are playful and fun. Though many are silly, they also contain important lessons, such as being prepared, being practical, and just making things work in all times.
I have two favorite tales in this collection. The first is the very first tale, The Practical Bride, in which her bridal carriage breaks. Not knowing what to do, she simply runs along with the bearers to her wedding, and not a single bell is out of place in her hair. My second favorite is the story of Sakyamuni and Lao-Tse, in which two statues calmly converse in peace about Buddhism and the Tao, and then their followers come along and keep moving them to different shelves, and they are no longer in peace and have to keep shouting at each other. These tales are fresh, simple, clean, and bright, and great short exercises to get children's imagination's going and connecting with another culture.
I have two favorite tales in this collection. The first is the very first tale, The Practical Bride, in which her bridal carriage breaks. Not knowing what to do, she simply runs along with the bearers to her wedding, and not a single bell is out of place in her hair. My second favorite is the story of Sakyamuni and Lao-Tse, in which two statues calmly converse in peace about Buddhism and the Tao, and then their followers come along and keep moving them to different shelves, and they are no longer in peace and have to keep shouting at each other. These tales are fresh, simple, clean, and bright, and great short exercises to get children's imagination's going and connecting with another culture.
March 17, 2020
The book seemed to have grammatical errors, but that may be due to the translating process since these are Chinese folktales. The little illustrations were wonderful and the folktales had very unique morals and lessons.
Lexile: 810L
ATOS: 8.7
Six & One trait: Ideas
Lexile: 810L
ATOS: 8.7
Six & One trait: Ideas
September 27, 2015
Grades: 2-5; Ages: 7-10
Review: by Barbara Balke
A collection of nineteen thought provoking tales are presented in this collection. Readers are invited to examine honesty, respect, courage, and other such traits with a sense of humor. The characters in these Chinese fables face situations brought upon by arrogance, foolishness, and deceitfulness, and in turn, they learn a lesson. Many times the animals are smarter than the people in the story, For instance, in “The Wrong Audience” a self-important man learns to appreciate his listeners because his music will not impress everyone-namely, a cow in a meadow. Another story, “A Small Gift” tells of a boy with a loud voice that wins over his schoolmates who had earlier thought his talent was unimportant. The lesson learned is “even a small gift has its uses.” The stories are 2-3 pages long and accompanied by an exquisite illustration. Jointly they will keep the reader interested in the story and will lead to engaging conversations about right and wrong and moral values.
Recommendation: I recommend this to teachers in 3rd and 4th grade. The teacher could use this to talk about positive character traits in the classroom. The students could analyze and make inferences from the text to draw conclusions about the moral lesson learned in the story. They could provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. These lessons are universal but the stories have a Chinese cultural context. Students could try to connect it to a more familiar fable. The students could make posters of the character trait illustrating it with the Chinese fables from the stories in this book.
Award: Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award for Fables, Folklore & Fairytales, 2013
Review: by Barbara Balke
A collection of nineteen thought provoking tales are presented in this collection. Readers are invited to examine honesty, respect, courage, and other such traits with a sense of humor. The characters in these Chinese fables face situations brought upon by arrogance, foolishness, and deceitfulness, and in turn, they learn a lesson. Many times the animals are smarter than the people in the story, For instance, in “The Wrong Audience” a self-important man learns to appreciate his listeners because his music will not impress everyone-namely, a cow in a meadow. Another story, “A Small Gift” tells of a boy with a loud voice that wins over his schoolmates who had earlier thought his talent was unimportant. The lesson learned is “even a small gift has its uses.” The stories are 2-3 pages long and accompanied by an exquisite illustration. Jointly they will keep the reader interested in the story and will lead to engaging conversations about right and wrong and moral values.
Recommendation: I recommend this to teachers in 3rd and 4th grade. The teacher could use this to talk about positive character traits in the classroom. The students could analyze and make inferences from the text to draw conclusions about the moral lesson learned in the story. They could provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. These lessons are universal but the stories have a Chinese cultural context. Students could try to connect it to a more familiar fable. The students could make posters of the character trait illustrating it with the Chinese fables from the stories in this book.
Award: Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award for Fables, Folklore & Fairytales, 2013
June 20, 2014
I was prepared to love this collection after just reading the title, let alone the awards it has won. But honestly, I was disappointed in how the book actually turned out.
First of all, it says in the preface that these are not actual Chinese folk tales. Instead, there were the original tales, then their later translations. The those translations were compiled, summarized, and indexed. Her stories are simply her imagining what was really behind those two or three sentence summaries in the massive index. They are not the actual tales as they were told. It really bothers me that most people reading this are going to think that these are historical Chinese folk tales when they really aren't. And theoretically, there are translations out there. Why not use those to make a collection with a more authentic connection to the culture and history?
Secondly, many of the tales read awkwardly. Some are annoyingly colloquial, with weirdly specific snippets of actual conversation taking place that were both unnecessary and poorly done. Some have only very vague lessons or points to make. And most just seem to be good for a chuckle instead of having the wisdom of a timeless fable, and I think the author was intending the latter.
First of all, it says in the preface that these are not actual Chinese folk tales. Instead, there were the original tales, then their later translations. The those translations were compiled, summarized, and indexed. Her stories are simply her imagining what was really behind those two or three sentence summaries in the massive index. They are not the actual tales as they were told. It really bothers me that most people reading this are going to think that these are historical Chinese folk tales when they really aren't. And theoretically, there are translations out there. Why not use those to make a collection with a more authentic connection to the culture and history?
Secondly, many of the tales read awkwardly. Some are annoyingly colloquial, with weirdly specific snippets of actual conversation taking place that were both unnecessary and poorly done. Some have only very vague lessons or points to make. And most just seem to be good for a chuckle instead of having the wisdom of a timeless fable, and I think the author was intending the latter.
July 14, 2014
A surprisingly good picture book of Chinese fables. A retelling of some of the fables collected by anthropologist Wolfram Eberhard, so it's got some cred! Especially as the tales don't have an explicit moral - the reader is left to interpret it themselves. For older readers the moral will be an easy leap, although I'd be curious to know how younger readers would react to what might seem to be open-ended stories. But I'm really impressed that an English picture book would take this approach to Chinese tales. And the illustrations are good as well!
April 28, 2013
Chinese Fables The Dragon Slayer and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom by Shiho S. Nunes, illustrated by Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard - I enjoyed reading this book the other day. Interesting to sit back and think on each story. No explanation for the underlying lesson for each story which can also lead to excellent classroom discussions.
April 12, 2016
The author of this book took the liberty of taking these already translated text and rewording the text and changing them into stories to the author's liking. These are not the original fables, they are foolish and without a moral lesson. I honestly didn't enjoy them and I didn't like the way they were written either.
February 28, 2014
interesting to read some humorous Chinese fables. there were a couple that I didnt really understand as an adult reader, hough, so children may have trouble understanding the humor and/or the lesson for some. but many are funny and relatable.
January 1, 2014
I like the stories in the book and the illustrations are awesome. Tuttle publishing has great books for kids.
January 14, 2014
Beautifully illustrated book. The first thought I had with this book was how can I use this book for reader's theater. Some stories are short enough for me to use with younger children. Excellent!
January 16, 2015
Odd collection of short stories and Chinese folklore. In many cases, I think something was lost in translation, but we still enjoyed reading the tales together.
May 31, 2014
A wonderful collection of traditional Chinese stories.
October 3, 2014
This book was slow to read and the lessons learned in the stories are not current with what kids face today.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews