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The Weaving of a Dream
A retelling of the Chinese folktale “The Chuang Brocade”
The Weaving of a Dream is the story of a widow who provides for her sons by creating intricate brocades. One day, she trades a brocade for a beautiful painting of a palace. She then spends years lovingly recreating the scene in brocade only to lose her work on a windy day. After everything she has done for her family, her youngest son seeks to recover the lost treasure, traveling through terrible weather and rocky terrain.
Great for ages 5 and up. Beautiful and vibrant full-color illustrations.
The Weaving of a Dream is the story of a widow who provides for her sons by creating intricate brocades. One day, she trades a brocade for a beautiful painting of a palace. She then spends years lovingly recreating the scene in brocade only to lose her work on a windy day. After everything she has done for her family, her youngest son seeks to recover the lost treasure, traveling through terrible weather and rocky terrain.
Great for ages 5 and up. Beautiful and vibrant full-color illustrations.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 7, 2022
Fantastic classical illustrations, an oriental work of art. The story seems like the folktales I've read before but with an Asian element. A must have to any classical, folktale, diversity or cultural collection in your library.
March 12, 2011
Lovely, richly detailed illustrations are the main attraction of this story. I had never encountered the folktale before, but since it is subtitled "retelling" I assume it is a traditional tale. I'm afraid I didn't care much for it. The old mother's obsession with the palace seemed unhealthy rather than admirable. Liking a painting is one thing, neglecting your work and children for three to weave a copy of it is another. And threatening to die if you don't get your way is not a very responsible way for a parent to behave! Retrieving a weaving doesn't seem like a good enough reason for the sons to risk their lives. And then in the end the woman lives in luxury with son who is repeatedly indicated as her favorite and their is no reconciliation with the older boys. Really the family seems pretty dysfunctional. But I did like the details in the pictures, especially of the animals.
February 22, 2014
I remember being enchanted by this chinese folktale when I was younger largely because of the beautiful illustrations and the end where the weaver girl ,the servant of the East wind weaves herself into the tapestry.
You can read the fairytale here http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs...
You can read the fairytale here http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs...
January 27, 2022
At first, my daughter and I both found the mother in this book to be an absurd, selfish woman. She wants this fantasy world shown in her brocade so badly that she’s willing to sacrifice her family? Then herself?
But, then I remembered this story is based on a Chinese folktale (or maybe a fairy tale?) and everything is always exaggerated to the extremes in those. Also, if you look at the brocade as a symbol for the mother’s dreams, or hopes, maybe something that she put aside all those years while raising a family and taking care of a husband, then it makes more sense. Her sons are, for all intents and purposes, men grown; her husband is dead. Now she wants to fulfill that dream before she too dies.
The fortune teller is asking the sons if they’re are willing to make personal sacrifices and hardships to help their mother achieve her dream. The two oldest sons are not. The youngest is. As is always the case in fairy/folk tales, the virtuous son is rewarded, while the first two are not.
Read that way, the story is far more rewarding, and lends to a much more in-depth conversation with my daughter. She still told me she’s pretty sure she wouldn’t give up her two front teeth for me, but she would try to bargain some other way. :D
The real star of this story is the art. This book has the most stunning, most detailed, and most gorgeous art I’ve seen in a children’s book since the Wood team. The art is what led me to choose this book in the first place. It’s just amazing! You can almost see why the old mother would give up everything for art.
But, then I remembered this story is based on a Chinese folktale (or maybe a fairy tale?) and everything is always exaggerated to the extremes in those. Also, if you look at the brocade as a symbol for the mother’s dreams, or hopes, maybe something that she put aside all those years while raising a family and taking care of a husband, then it makes more sense. Her sons are, for all intents and purposes, men grown; her husband is dead. Now she wants to fulfill that dream before she too dies.
The fortune teller is asking the sons if they’re are willing to make personal sacrifices and hardships to help their mother achieve her dream. The two oldest sons are not. The youngest is. As is always the case in fairy/folk tales, the virtuous son is rewarded, while the first two are not.
Read that way, the story is far more rewarding, and lends to a much more in-depth conversation with my daughter. She still told me she’s pretty sure she wouldn’t give up her two front teeth for me, but she would try to bargain some other way. :D
The real star of this story is the art. This book has the most stunning, most detailed, and most gorgeous art I’ve seen in a children’s book since the Wood team. The art is what led me to choose this book in the first place. It’s just amazing! You can almost see why the old mother would give up everything for art.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2013
My sisters and I were given this book as children and it was one of our absolute favorites. If I can say this first: THE ILLUSTRATIONS. THEY ARE AMAZING. Every page is filled with lush and gorgeous, brilliant, vibrant illustrations. When people are pictured, you can see their expressions, their layered emotions, their individual strands of hair, the movements they would make if they were set free from the pages. The inanimate objects are rendered so beautifully, so full of detail . . . and it's pretty amazing that illustrations like this are attached to a story of this sort, because it's hauntingly appropriate.
This is a Chinese fairy tale of sorts beginning with an old woman who had three sons, and when she spends food money on a painting that she feels she loves more than life, two of her sons are angry at her for "wasting" the money. But she's so taken with the scene in the painting that she feels she must live inside it or she'll die. The closest she can get to doing so is weaving, because she sort of becomes part of a scene when she weaves it. And weave she does! The brocade weaving is hard on her physically, though, and her tears and her blood are actually woven into the fabric. But when it's done her weaving is stolen by magic, and of course this blow leaves her at death's door, with only her sons to save her. The older sons are tempted by riches, but the youngest sympathetic son goes on a magical journey to reclaim the brocade, and he and his mother will have the reward.
Because it is a fairy tale and people are usually simply good or simply evil in stories like this, I forgave it for having simplistic "selfish, greedy" older sons, single-mindedness to the point of foolishness on the part of the mother, and pure-heartedness on the part of the youngest son. Archetypes usually aren't very complicated in stories like this; you read them more for concept than character. If it had been a novel I probably would have wanted to know more about all of the sons and the mother, but the widow's yearning for the world of the painting was really quite palpable, and even at a young age I related to the concept of literally pouring yourself into a creative work.
This is a Chinese fairy tale of sorts beginning with an old woman who had three sons, and when she spends food money on a painting that she feels she loves more than life, two of her sons are angry at her for "wasting" the money. But she's so taken with the scene in the painting that she feels she must live inside it or she'll die. The closest she can get to doing so is weaving, because she sort of becomes part of a scene when she weaves it. And weave she does! The brocade weaving is hard on her physically, though, and her tears and her blood are actually woven into the fabric. But when it's done her weaving is stolen by magic, and of course this blow leaves her at death's door, with only her sons to save her. The older sons are tempted by riches, but the youngest sympathetic son goes on a magical journey to reclaim the brocade, and he and his mother will have the reward.
Because it is a fairy tale and people are usually simply good or simply evil in stories like this, I forgave it for having simplistic "selfish, greedy" older sons, single-mindedness to the point of foolishness on the part of the mother, and pure-heartedness on the part of the youngest son. Archetypes usually aren't very complicated in stories like this; you read them more for concept than character. If it had been a novel I probably would have wanted to know more about all of the sons and the mother, but the widow's yearning for the world of the painting was really quite palpable, and even at a young age I related to the concept of literally pouring yourself into a creative work.
August 11, 2016
In this gorgeously illustrated Chinese fairy tale, an old woman weaves a brocade as her attempt to live inside a beautiful scene, but when her beautiful weaving is stolen, her youngest son is her only hope of recovering her passion and her life.
The story is fantastic, and it's a story that isn't overly familiar to many in the West. When the old woman buys a painting at market ("wasting" her family's money, to the disappointment of her oldest sons), you can feel her yearning and desperation to live inside the scene. And as an artist myself, I very much related to the idea of being able to become part of something by recreating it through your own labors, as this woman does when she recreates the scene in her brocade. (She even actually weaves her own blood and tears--literally--into the threads!) And then we follow the loyal youngest son when he must quest to get the brocade back after it was stolen by magic. Its characters are somewhat one-dimensional and defined by a single trait, but that's the norm in fairy tales, so it's entirely forgivable.
But what really sets this book apart is the illustrations. To this day I have never seen another children's book with accompanying illustrations this vivid. You can see the characters' individual hairs, the heaviness of their clothing fabrics, their complicated expressions, the weariness and happiness and terror and love on their faces. These pictures say so much more than the words, but they're perfectly complementary, and each page has so many hidden surprises. The book is a bit wordy, so it should be shared with older children (or younger ones with patience), but adults will love it too.
The story is fantastic, and it's a story that isn't overly familiar to many in the West. When the old woman buys a painting at market ("wasting" her family's money, to the disappointment of her oldest sons), you can feel her yearning and desperation to live inside the scene. And as an artist myself, I very much related to the idea of being able to become part of something by recreating it through your own labors, as this woman does when she recreates the scene in her brocade. (She even actually weaves her own blood and tears--literally--into the threads!) And then we follow the loyal youngest son when he must quest to get the brocade back after it was stolen by magic. Its characters are somewhat one-dimensional and defined by a single trait, but that's the norm in fairy tales, so it's entirely forgivable.
But what really sets this book apart is the illustrations. To this day I have never seen another children's book with accompanying illustrations this vivid. You can see the characters' individual hairs, the heaviness of their clothing fabrics, their complicated expressions, the weariness and happiness and terror and love on their faces. These pictures say so much more than the words, but they're perfectly complementary, and each page has so many hidden surprises. The book is a bit wordy, so it should be shared with older children (or younger ones with patience), but adults will love it too.
August 15, 2025
What happens when your dream is taken from you? In this case, the children go searching find it. And when one of them finds it, he brings it back. The story follows the quest to find a woven image of a beautiful scene. The challenges that face each adventurer are epic. The fairies are the thieves and one of them wants to add herself to the beautiful scene. Who can blame her? When the dream is laid over the dying woman, she revives. In an amazing shift, the brocade covers the old cottage and the run-down farm and becomes real. The images woven throughout this story fairly shimmer. The imagination could go for days on any part of this story! Highly recommend!
April 11, 2019
This is a wonderful story based on a Chinese folk tale which depicts the love a son has for his mother. The youngest son loves his mother so much that he will go to extremes to make her happy. This story is not only well-written but also well illustrated. Honestly, the pictures are magical and tremendously beautiful.
June 11, 2009
This story that’s based on an ancient Chinese legend is enthralling and the illustrations are lush and gorgeous.
However, I can’t quite give it 5 stars. Re the pictures: Some are somewhat gruesome including one of the first pages with the bat and the old woman’s hand covered in blood that’s from her bleeding eyes. Re the story: I thought it was too harsh toward the two older sons, and I felt impatient with the old woman for coveting the painting/brocade/palace with gardens. I couldn’t feel that much empathy with her because she was so manipulative and selfish in trying to get what she wanted, but the story made it seem as though she and her youngest son were the exemplary characters. I’m not so sure, but it’s a very satisfying story to read anyway. Given that to date 22 Goodreads members have given it 5 stars and only 1 other person has given it 4, and I don’t know why they gave it only 4 stars, I guess I’m the only one who has this interpretation. Even so, I think that it’s a wonderful book.
However, I can’t quite give it 5 stars. Re the pictures: Some are somewhat gruesome including one of the first pages with the bat and the old woman’s hand covered in blood that’s from her bleeding eyes. Re the story: I thought it was too harsh toward the two older sons, and I felt impatient with the old woman for coveting the painting/brocade/palace with gardens. I couldn’t feel that much empathy with her because she was so manipulative and selfish in trying to get what she wanted, but the story made it seem as though she and her youngest son were the exemplary characters. I’m not so sure, but it’s a very satisfying story to read anyway. Given that to date 22 Goodreads members have given it 5 stars and only 1 other person has given it 4, and I don’t know why they gave it only 4 stars, I guess I’m the only one who has this interpretation. Even so, I think that it’s a wonderful book.
December 12, 2015
a lovely picture book with gorgeous pictures retelling a Chinese fairy tale. One can recognize a few tropes, deep in the skeletonal structure.
A widow is enraptured with a painting of a beautiful house, and at the suggestion of her youngest son (of three), weaves a brocade tapestry of it. Then it is blown away on the wind.
One by one, her sons set out. The first two are told who took it, and how to get it, and falter. The third. . . .
it's a very elegant tale, well-told and well illustrated.
A widow is enraptured with a painting of a beautiful house, and at the suggestion of her youngest son (of three), weaves a brocade tapestry of it. Then it is blown away on the wind.
One by one, her sons set out. The first two are told who took it, and how to get it, and falter. The third. . . .
it's a very elegant tale, well-told and well illustrated.
January 4, 2025
This is a reread. Beautiful detailed illustrations, filling the pages with vibrant colors. The story is a fairly standard fairytale quest plot, featuring three brothers - one heroic, the others not. The themes are filial piety and valuing of self-sacrifice above self-enrichment. The mother’s obsession with weaving is extreme, but beautiful. At least three cats are featured in the art, but they are not the main focus.
June 9, 2018
A beautiful book! I knew right away that it would be above my littles heads but I brought it home from the library anyway. I had to relish over the rich illustrations and read the tale myself.
In this story an old widow becomes so obsessed with making a tapestry of her dreams that she spends every day and night for three years creating it. She works through pain and exhaustion but is filled with pure happiness when it is finished. Of course the story does not end there! The tapestry is whisked away on the wind to the fairies. The only way to retrieve it is very very dangerous. Two of the brothers take the easy way out and abandon the journey to retrieve the tapestry. The youngest and most dutiful son risks his life and is able to fetch his mother's precious work. When he returns he saves his mother from despair and magically the tapestry comes to life! They invited all to stay in their grand home including the fairy who tagged along with the son, all but the two brothers who sheepishly snuck away realizing their foolishness.
And all lived happily ever after ❤
In this story an old widow becomes so obsessed with making a tapestry of her dreams that she spends every day and night for three years creating it. She works through pain and exhaustion but is filled with pure happiness when it is finished. Of course the story does not end there! The tapestry is whisked away on the wind to the fairies. The only way to retrieve it is very very dangerous. Two of the brothers take the easy way out and abandon the journey to retrieve the tapestry. The youngest and most dutiful son risks his life and is able to fetch his mother's precious work. When he returns he saves his mother from despair and magically the tapestry comes to life! They invited all to stay in their grand home including the fairy who tagged along with the son, all but the two brothers who sheepishly snuck away realizing their foolishness.
And all lived happily ever after ❤
October 11, 2020
I finally got around to reading a children's book my parents got for my hypothetical adopted child. I am pleased with it. I specifically asked for folktales from other cultures, not just the Germanic Grimm's Fairy Tales that most American kids get. This followed traditional fairy tale structure: three sons, only one of whom was rewarded for altruism while the other two were punished; magic; and a lesson about respecting one's elders.
Beautiful artwork, and just enough writing to paint the scene. I kind of like this simple format, where one page has a few paragraphs of text, while another page is just a beautifully drawn scene that looks like an elaborate painting.
This is infinitely better than all those children's books out there that just expect me to oink and moo at the kid repeatedly.
Beautiful artwork, and just enough writing to paint the scene. I kind of like this simple format, where one page has a few paragraphs of text, while another page is just a beautifully drawn scene that looks like an elaborate painting.
This is infinitely better than all those children's books out there that just expect me to oink and moo at the kid repeatedly.
September 19, 2023
Another wonderful short read perfect for adults and children alike. The story surrounds an elderly grandmother who found a beautiful painting at a street market and knew she had to have it. She loved the picture so much she couldn't live without it. So, when she brought it home, she decided to start weaving the picture which took her three long years. One day, during a wind storm, the quilt blew away; so the grandmother sent her grandsons, one at a time, to try to find it for she knew she would die if it wasn't returned. The ending is also very touching.
June 14, 2023
A review for myself so I can let the physical book go on to someone else to enjoy.
Cherished images from childhood. I looked at the illustrations and would touch the pages and image the places and what they would be like to live in. The story is simple, but with deep meaning and point. The tapestries in the images will forever be in the fabric of me.
Beautiful.
Cherished images from childhood. I looked at the illustrations and would touch the pages and image the places and what they would be like to live in. The story is simple, but with deep meaning and point. The tapestries in the images will forever be in the fabric of me.
Beautiful.
October 28, 2016
I love how this story kinda come off as the story as a "Prodigal Son" turned epic adventure so I loved this story. I remember seeing a picture of the kid on the stone horse going into the lava and keeping his eyes shut and I thought that was so cool.
May 3, 2018
This is a beautiful picture book telling a traditional Chinese folktale. I love everything about it: the story, the illustrations, and the fact that it still keeps the edge that all folktales started with before they were made "safer" for kids.
November 16, 2017
Gorgeous illustrations and a sweet story about a mother son relationship.
February 14, 2018
Beautiful illustrations in this retelling of a Chinese legend.
November 1, 2019
One of the first books I remember from childhood. Beautiful story - beautiful illustrations.
November 23, 2020
Wow!!! The illustrations are superb, highlighting this Chinese folktale impeccably. Loved!!!!
February 13, 2022
I remember reading this wonderful book at my local library as a child, I've been searching for years, and I've finally found it.
September 4, 2024
A lovely Chinese folktale with majestic illustrations.
April 19, 2025
What a beautiful Chinese folktale. The illustrations in the book are stunning!
April 28, 2026
A wonderful retelling of a Chinese folktale. The illustrations are incredible! I reviewed it on my blog: https://wineandhistory.wordpress.com/...
January 3, 2017
"When the beautiful tapestry woven by a poor woman is stolen by fairies, her three sons set out on a magical journey to retrieve it. A retelling of a traditional Chinese tale."
Gorgeous illustrations! I'm still thinking on the story, though... the old woman sacrificed food for her family in order to weave the brocade, and then asks her sons to risk their lives to retrieve it for her. Then the two eldest sons betray their mother for gold, but the youngest son completes the quest, restores his mother's health, and gets the girl. And his two older brothers end up beggars. So its potential takeaway/ deeper interpretations might not be the best for the youngest of readers, but the pictures are dazzling.
4 stars
Gorgeous illustrations! I'm still thinking on the story, though... the old woman sacrificed food for her family in order to weave the brocade, and then asks her sons to risk their lives to retrieve it for her. Then the two eldest sons betray their mother for gold, but the youngest son completes the quest, restores his mother's health, and gets the girl. And his two older brothers end up beggars. So its potential takeaway/ deeper interpretations might not be the best for the youngest of readers, but the pictures are dazzling.
4 stars
October 19, 2013
Read by: Melanie
Author/Illustrated by: Marilee Heyer
Genre: Traditional literature
Grade Level: PreK
Equiv: 4.7
DRA: N/A
Lex: N/A
The lesson this folklore tells is that doing for others before doing for yourself is more rewarding in the end. Leje, the youngest of three sons, is a great supporter of his mother’s dreams even at his own sacrifice. When her brocade goes flying off in the wind, he literally braves fire and ice to retrieve her treasured belonging and bring it back to her. This book may appeal to younger readers, but has a more difficult reading level so may be useful for advanced readers in younger grades.
Author/Illustrated by: Marilee Heyer
Genre: Traditional literature
Grade Level: PreK
Equiv: 4.7
DRA: N/A
Lex: N/A
The lesson this folklore tells is that doing for others before doing for yourself is more rewarding in the end. Leje, the youngest of three sons, is a great supporter of his mother’s dreams even at his own sacrifice. When her brocade goes flying off in the wind, he literally braves fire and ice to retrieve her treasured belonging and bring it back to her. This book may appeal to younger readers, but has a more difficult reading level so may be useful for advanced readers in younger grades.
February 27, 2016
Another fairy tale recommended by our history book (Story of the World), and another one that is not an over-told fairy tale. It is one that we happened to be familiar with from a version told by the storyteller Heather Forest. (The similarity leads me to believe she probably read this version to tell her version.) Heather Forest's version doesn't have the Asian flavor, but the illustrations in this one are clearly Chinese (which is fitting since it's a Chinese folktale). The illustrations are STUNNING! Really, they are absolutely beautiful!
March 3, 2011
This was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I've read it countless times and it takes me ages to read it each time because I am so busy staring at all of the amazing details of the illustrations. I think this is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. The story is interesting, I'd recommend it more for children ages 8-11 than younger just because some details seem a bit morbid from a modern standpoint.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews