100 books like Illustrated Myths & Legends of China

I always like reading anything about day-to-day living in China. In this book, I loved the descriptions of what life is like in rural China, eg making their own reed shoes and building their own roofs. On the surface, this book is about the idyllic life in the countryside. However, it is set during the cultural revolution but so subtly described in the back-drop that it is perfect for the target audience. We often read about the people banished to the countryside, and this book tells me what happens to them when they arrive.

I also enjoyed it as it is a translated text, so there is a sense that this is authentic.

It’s not often you can pick up a fantasy book and laugh. Not only laugh but travel with a rogue group of people and enjoy every minute of it. The Girl from Everywhere is just plain fun! I loved the characters, so much personality! That it’s a time travel story makes it exciting, and I have a passion for tall ships, so she had me with the sailing adventure. Add to that humor and a feisty dialogue. I can’t say enough about this book.

Winner of the 2004 Smarties Award for fiction 9 – 11, it is a well-deserved award as it describes a difficult topic at an appropriate level for its readers. 

I read Spilled Water as it has a similar theme to my own book. It gives insight into the unseen ugliness of economic success in China. In addition, this story informs our target audience of the existence of child labour and misogynism in this part of the world, where poverty forces family to treat their daughters like ‘spilled water’ and employers regard them as property.

I could have chosen any of Pearl S Buck’s books, as they are all beautifully written. But this one was the first one I read and what I remember most vividly is the tiny details of daily life, in a rags-to-riches story of a peasant man in China. One of the journey’s most emotional changes comes when he gets a concubine, and I liked reading about a concubine in a fairly ordinary household (rather than the usual imperial/upper-class settings) and the ripples it makes in family life. 

This is my favourite book to read to children about honesty. It illustrates why it is good to tell the truth.

Often books focus on the negative aspects of lying. My research shows that it is important to show there are positive consequences for honesty.

In this book, the Emperor gives a seed to each child in the kingdom, proclaiming, “Whoever can show me their best in a year’s time, shall succeed me to the throne!”. The boy, Ping, plants his seed but it does not grow and he has nothing but an empty pot. He truthfully presents his failure. It turns into a triumphant end when his honesty (even as others are dishonest) is rewarded.

The artwork is delicate and the text simple, but powerful.

This book presents mythology from my own Chinese culture—specifically, a legend from Hong Kong, where I lived from the age of seven to sixteen. We used to go on drives into the countryside on the weekends—Hong Kong still had some semblance of countryside then—and we’d often see the Amah Rock looming above us in the distance. This book tells the sad and poignant legend behind that rock. I love how it takes a tale specific to one geographical spot—one small pile of stones—and turns it into a universal story about love and loyalty. What also makes it special is that the author used to be beside me in the backseat of the car. Natasha Yim, a very well-respected children’s author, is my sister.

This is a one-story picture book from another great storyteller, Eric Maddern, with fantastic illustrations by Paul Hess.

I love this clever, funny folktale and have often told it to festival and school audiences. The text is elegant and easy to read for ages 7 plus, but younger children will enjoy having it read to them. The humour in the tale is brilliantly portrayed in Paul Hess's colourful, amusing pictures. Look out for the three blind mice.

As with most folk stories, the meaning or moral of the tale is shown through clever wit and riddle-like logic. This story has a particularly surprising and satisfying end.

Historical records of the Chinese immigrant experience in the West are sparse or non-existent. Much has been erased. Yet powerful stories are there for the telling. Zhang begins this gripping novel in a politically troubled China where a young girl is kidnapped and trafficked to San Francisco for the brothels there. She escapes, but her American journey has only just begun. Wending its way from China to California to the rough-and-tumble mining towns of Idaho, where the Chinese are viewed with swelling suspicion, this novel is dramatic, beautifully imagined, and heart-rending. Its portrait of Lin Daiyu, who seeks only safety and independence, is beyond compelling. The book also features a remarkable (and remarkably fierce) ghost. And who doesn’t love a ghost?

This book is a modern retelling of the ancient Nian-monster legend, which explains the traditions of the Chinese New Year. One of the best features of this story is the brave and strong heroine, Mei – here’s to girl power! Each spring, the Nian dragon terrorizes the local village, but this year, Mei receives a magical staff in her dream to defeat him. As she figures out how to use it, she teaches the villagers ways to protect themselves, including wearing red clothes, setting off firecrackers, and making food offerings. This isn’t just an action-packed story, but it teaches children (6-8 years) to be brave and not give up, no matter how scared they are.

This wonderful retelling of an old Chinese folktale brings the reader (and listener) into the little village in China where two brothers live—Chang, the younger brother, and the hilariously repeatable Tikki-Tikki Tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.

There’s a pile of memorable books from my youth—Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet, Robert McCloskey—but this one stands out for its delightful story-telling and a name that I will be able to rattle off from memory for the rest of my life!