The Luminous Pearl: A Chinese Folktale

by Betty L. Torre (Retold by), Carol Inouye (Illustrator)

Two brothers go on a quest for a luminous pearl in order to win the Dragon King's beautiful daughter for a wife.

Genres: China, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Beatrice Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I really like is the first half of the story and drawings therein. It depicts king dragon an d his court of underwater halfman, half seacreature beings. So creepy yet elegant. The half man have seahorse is my favorite. They want to find a husband for the king's daughter. The second half deals with the morality proverb of the two brothers and their quest to find the best pearl so they can marry the king's daughter. It's confusing actually. At times I thought both were evil, others both were good. Was a little hard keeping them straight. The bad brother was obviously bad, a little stock charactery. Toward the end things get a little more clear and the ending is satisfying enough. Just nothing special. I was really disappointed that the whimsical bizarre art and characters at the beginning didn't really continue. So it's okay...good in places, not great.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce a Folktale to a class. This diverse story touches on the Chinese culture. "The Luminous Pearl" was a read aloud for a third grade classroom, and the students were truly engaged and attentive. This book could be compared to other folktales, and implemented as a lesson learning about the purpose of different types of folktales.

[Janise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sun and I both give this book two thumbs up. It has a very sweet and not too hitting you over the head message of goodness and sacrifice.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is one of my childhood favorites!