Asia

Materials from Asia

Magic Spring

Once upon a time, in a small village in Korea, there lived a childless old couple. They worked hard and lived good, simple lives, wanting only a baby to love and care for. But their rich, greedy neighbor sneered at their patched-up clothes. And when he saw the old man chopping wood he’d taunt him: “Ha! Old Man, where is your son to help you?”

Then one day, a mysterious bluebird leads the old man to a magic spring that makes him young again. But that’s only half the magic, as the miraculous power of the spring brings justice to the greedy neighbor, and a child for the couple from the least likely place of all.

The Man Who Caught Fish

A stranger with a bamboo pole magically catches fish and hands them out to villagers, saying “One person, one fish,” but the king will not be content until he receives a whole basket of fish.

Words In The Dust

A daughter of Afghanistan discovers new friends and opportunities after the defeat of the Taliban. Zulaikha hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her–“Inshallah,” God willing. Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the Americans come to the village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikha.

See the review at WOW Review Volume 5, Issue 4

Owl Ninja

Sensei Ki-yaga leads Niya and the other students of the Cockroach Ryu on a journey to beg the feudal Emperor to stop war from breaking out between the mountain ryus, putting to the test the firm friendship and unusual skills of these physically-disabled samurai-in-training.

Daughter of Xanadu

Athletic and strong willed, Princess Emmajin’s determined to do what no woman has done before: become a warrior in the army of her grandfather, the Great Khan Khubilai. In the Mongol world the only way to achieve respect is to show bravery and win glory on the battlefield. The last thing she wants is the distraction of the foreigner Marco Polo, who challenges her beliefs in the gardens of Xanadu. Marco has no skills in the “manly arts” of the Mongols: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Still, he charms the Khan with his wit and story-telling. Emmajin sees a different Marco as they travel across 13th-century China, hunting ‘dragons’ and fighting elephant-back warriors. Now she faces a different battle as she struggles with her attraction towards Marco and her incredible goal of winning fame as a soldier.

Water Ghost

In China in the 1940s, ten-year-old Ying sells her handmade bamboo chicken fences to make money to attend a school camping trip, but no one understands why she instead uses her earnings to buy a dead hen from the grandmother of a drowned classmate.