The Rainbow People

by Laurence Yep, David Wiesner (Illustrator)

A collection of twenty Chinese folk tales that were passed on by word of mouth for generations, as told by some old-timers newly settled in the United States.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Fiction, Childrens, Folk Tales

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1989

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[jAck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was strange but good. I thought the stories were good. I didn't like one of the stories because there were three people named Wong and I just got lost. But overall I would recommend this to anyone who wouldn't mind reading a collection of strange/funny stories

[Peter B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by Laurence Yep, I thought was Okay. Some Stories were exciting or interesting but some were weird or lame. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to read types of books that they don´t usually read.

[Bunmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great stories, wish it were longer.

[Brady H · Rating 4 out of 5]

the book was pretty good i liked all the storys. I recomened this book to anyone who likes folktales/fables

[Lexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a book group book, I´m glad that I chose this book. The Chinese culture was interesting and the magic was creative. This was a good book.

[Daniel Butsko · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine. It was different from what I normally read. It is a collection of old Chinese folk tales, so divided into many short segments and not a cohesive plot throughout with a set of main and supporting characters. It was easy to read a few short stories at a time and take a break whenever. But I wasn’t super compelled to tear through this book even though it is relatively short. Some of the stories were interesting, some of them were less. Only one made me cry kinda. It’s a little dated so that also took some of the intrigue away for me personally. But in the end, it was a free book I found on the street walking through a neighborhood one day so nothing gained, nothing lost.

[Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars because there were a few gems in here. Overall, the stories are okay, but many are rather flat, without much detail. These are less stories than tales, similar in style to original Grimm's fairy tales. They are very short stories to teach a lesson. I wasn't really expecting that going in. My favorite was The Rainbow People for it's message and the red riding hood telling for creativity, and a bit of the message. It was a nice listen and one I'd recommend, if you're interested in Chinese "moral" tales.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has such a variety. While some are definitively some deeper topics, it is interesting to see about twenty different stories from far away places. While it is recommended, it is not for the faint of heart. Consider yourself informed. It’s been liked by many readers, so perhaps I’ll be known as the odd one out.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good it wasn't great it had a lot of weird story's. But overall it was good my favorite book was professor of smells because it was funny and different. I would recommend this book to anyone who like books with a little gore and humor it pretty good

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of folktales from Oakland's Chinatown during the 1930s. The author provides historical and cultural theme notes, which any reader would find helpful. They enhance the story, giving it a new life.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traditional folk tales don't always end in happily ever after, but some are sweet and some are beautiful, and some of the similarities to tales from other places are interesting.

Yep adds some context at the beginning of each section, which is often speculative, but at least makes you think.

[Hammy F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, but watch out for the first story it tells you it will give you the chills

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rainbow people a collection of chinese folktales. Some of the folktales were boring. But most of them were good

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rainbow people was pretty good. But it was just a bunch of little stories. I've read two Laurence Yep books this year and they were both pretty good.

[yuzzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

not bad not bad

[Haley]

I appreciated the short intros to each section, helping the reader understand the significance and the message of the following tales. Added context, and I read with greater awareness.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of Chinese folk tales.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

K: "It is three-and-a-half stars."
H: "It was really good!"
L: "Some of the stories were a little spooky."

[Danielle Woolard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite stories of the collection: Bedtime Snacks, The Ghost's Bride, The Old Jar, Breaker's Bridge, and The Changeling.

But really, so many of the stories collected are enjoyable to read.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of Chinese folktales. Germany has the Brother's Grimm. China has The Rainbow People.

[Xing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very different from the other book. This book is like a collection of Chinese folktales. There are so many different folktales on human, animals and ghost. Within each folktale, it has an adage that teach people lesson. One of the folktales is about a man who keeps lying to his wife to deceive for money. Once he tells a lie, he has to keep make up more lie to cover the one before. It is endless because when you try to tell the true, no one will believe you. When your reputation is gone, it is hard for people to trust you again.
This folktale reminds me of another folktale I heard when I was little. It is about a shepherd boy. A shepherd boy is shepherd the sheep in the hill everyday. One day, he feels bored, he wants to play a tricks on the famers who are working down the hill. So he runs down to the hell and yelling for help. The famers ask him what happen, the boy tells them someone try to steal his sheep. Then those famers run up to the hill and ready to fight with the thief. But when they reach the hell, they see no one and the sheep are all there. Then they hear the boy laughing so hard beside them. The famers know that they are fooled by the boy, they are really angry. A few days later, the boy plays the same trick again, and famers believe him again. Then a few past pass, when the thief comes, the boy is begging the famers for help, but the famers just continue working. In the end, all the sheep are gone, the boy has nothing left.

[English Education · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurence Yep anthologizes 20 well-known Chinese folk tales that were passed on by word of mouth for generations and told through Chinese immigrants in Chinatown, Oakland California. The tales are divided into sections based on several themes (such as “Virtues and Vices” and “Tricksters”), and given thoughtful introductions based on the context feelings in which they were originally written. The stories are fantastical, beautifully and poetically written, richly entertaining and full of traditional Chinese myths, virtues and practices (giving “Strategies for living” to their audiences). Students are sure to enjoy the earthly humor and slightly fatalistic tales presented by Yep, whether it’s about Professor of Smells, an unusual girl who weds a ghost, or a nosey woodcutter, Rip Van Winkle, who gambles with the gods and comes home thousands of years later, or the title story, of a wanderer who sets rainbow people free and falls in love with one of them. Such a text is perfect for a unit on imaginative and creative writing from multicultural sources, where students can not only analyze and imitate aesthetic writing at its finest, but they can also gain insight on new cultures and the storytelling that has a central role in perpetuating their heritages.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of Chinese / American folktales, cleaned up somewhat (ie made kid-friendly) and given clearer narrative arcs (ie made American-friendly) by Lawrence Yep. Raises issues for me, like the fact that so many of the stories have "morals" about the virtues of obedience and industriousness -- and there's the overall issue of folklore in general (not just "ethnic" folklore) being treated as if it's mainly for kids (infantilizing folk culture is a bad habit of literary culture and other commercial cultures). But okay, the stories themselves deserve attention, and those issues I have wouldn't be taking themselves seriously if they just ended up robbing the stories of the attention they deserve. The title story, the Rainbow People, is one of the best folktales I know.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of folktales told in an engaging manner. Some of them are pretty memorable, perhaps because they can be a bit gory and appealing to multiple age levels. I thought the commentary on themes was great but would have appreciated mini annotations before or after each story since I obviously wouldn't be familiar with the stories before reading them. I was listening on audio, which made it difficult to flip back to Yep's introductions as well. Listening to these while driving through southeastern China was a great experience since the cultural connections were immediately applicable although the tales would still be entertaining in other settings.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Genre- Multicultural
2. Awards- None
3. Grade Level- 5-6
4. This is a collection of Chinese folktales. I can use this collection to compare the differences and similarities between European and Chinese folktales. As an activity, I will read a few of the folktales in this book and then read similar folktales from a European viewpoint. The students will then be asked to compare the two. This will show that the students understand how folktales have many similarities but also are very distinct to the culture they originate from. This is a good book to use because it has a very good collection of folktales and beautiful pictures that will engage the students as they read.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty cool. I liked how It told you a lot about Chinese culture and I liked the stories with the animals in them. I think my favorite story was either, Superior Pet about the mouse that made a lady rich, or The Old Jar where an old woman has a crack in a rice jar so she go's to buy a new one and the jar she buys ends up giving her an unending supply of rice. Some of the stories were also scary like, Bedtime Snack were a monster "Dagger Claws" eats a boys aunt and, Trouble Snake where a snake accidently drowns a boy. Overall this was an exiting, scary, adventurous book.

[Gabriel D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rainbow People by Laurence Yep
(In short terms this was a great book)
I really liked these folktales that included in this book. These folktales included; action, history, and even some classic humor. Despising that most of the folktales ended with sad endings and cruel behaviors the folktales were still really enjoyable. I also liked learning about the Chinese culture and how they do their things their own ways. I really enjoyed the stories that provided into this well written, enthralling, book. Laurence Yep did a great job writing this book.

[Zer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and short! The stories will carry you into their world of myths, legends, and folktales that make you want to read and read until the book is done.

It took me two days to complete this amazing book! The stories were quick, fun, and scary.

I have a few favorites and can't wait to share them with my students!

Anyone who has read scary ghost stories and or mysteries would love this book!

[Kassie Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade: 5-6
Award(s): none
Genre: multicutral

This boook is filled with Chinese folktales. I would go over the history of how European folktales used to be written for kids, not sparing their innocence. I would have the students choose their own section of the book that they would like to talk about comparing and contrasting the two. This will show the students undering. Also, it will allow them to see how far literature, mostly children, has evolved.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid collection that ticked nearly all the boxes: engaging retellings, interesting focus, and unique additions to the field. My only real annoyance was its wishy-washy interpretations of the tales during the section introductions; I would have much preferred more solid contextual information or nothing at all.