Materials from Asia
Xiao Le’s grandmother lives in a faraway village. A visit with Grandma is always a special event, but this time she is frail. With encouragement from his mom, Xiao Le plays with and helps Grandma. When Grandma dies shortly thereafter, Xiao Le comforts his mom―reminding her that when it rains, Grandma is washing her clothes in the sky . . . and that although the Perfume Village in heaven cannot be reached by train, it can be accessed by the heart.
In this retelling of Nankichi Niimi’s masterpiece, delicate watercolors bring to life the mischievous yet kind-hearted spirit of Gon, the Little Fox. Readers should proceed with caution as they begin this tale, however, especially as Gon is sure to win over their hearts. Like many Japanese folktales, Gon, The Little Fox does not exactly end happily; a circumstance which will inspire lively and provocative conversation among young readers. When readers first meet Gon, he is relishing his life as a rascally fox. Each day brings a new opportunity for him to stir up trouble in Nakayama. One day, however, he feels remorse for having killed an eel that was meant for the poor villager Hyoju’s dying mother. Ironically, it is this rare moment of conscience that leads Gon down a path that leads to his fate. As with all great folktales, the world of Gon, The Little Fox is both extremely familiar and extremely mysterious. This quality, as evident in both the text and illustrations, will greatly appeal to readers, both young and old.
In this version of the blind men and the elephant, based on a poem by Rūmī, Persian villagers try to figure out what strange animal in a dark barn has arrived from India.
Stillwater the giant panda and his friends Leo and Molly teach each other about patience, sharing, and compassion.
Fourteen-year-old social outcast Charlie Han, known as “the short Chinese kid” at school, searches for a talent to improve his popularity, but when he discovers skateboarding, much to the disapproval of his overprotective mother, he also uncovers a huge family secret.
When rhesus monkeys are brutally massacred on the dusty streets of Kolkata by a troop of power-hungry langur monkeys, Mico, a privileged langur, becomes entangled in the secrets at the heart of his troop’s leadership and is shocked at what he discovers. He feels compelled to help the few surviving rhesus, especially Papina, a young female he befriends, even though doing so goes against everything he’s been taught. As more blood is spilled, Mico realizes that choosing between right and wrong won’t be easy.
In 1883 thirteen-year-old Katrien Courtlandt is more interested in science and exploring the Javanese jungle for beetles with her native friend, than in becoming a young lady like her despised cousin Brigitta–but when Krakatoa erupts, the tsunami hits, and their families are swept away the two cousins must struggle to survive together.
When twelve-year-old Maya and big sister Zara set off on their own from Delhi to their grandmother’s home of Aminpur, a small town in Northern India, they become separated and Maya decides to continue their quest to find a chest of family treasures that their grandmother’s family left behind when they fled from India to Pakistan during the Great Partition.
In Laos, twelve-year-old Tam must work at a bear farm where bears are cruelly caged and milked for their bile, but when a familiar cub is brought to the farm, Tam will do anything to free both the cub, and himself.
Join the discussion of Moon Bear as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.
A bitterly jealous brother, a cold-hearted husband, a monk who mistakes desire for piety, a fraudulent merchant who meets his match in a supernatural river otter, a samurai who makes the ultimate sacrifice — the motives and pathologies underlying these traditional Japanese folktale characters are explored with haunting results.