The Truth about Dragons by Julie Leung Book Review

   


Written and Illustrated by Ed Young 

Published by HarperCollins in 2001

ISBN: 978-0060279196

Plot Summary: Monkey comes to the earth through a magical rock that burst and spit him out. Monkey becomes king but he is a restless soul and he wants to go out and have adventures. He learns many fighting tricks and he uses that knowledge to send back the Red Beard Bandit. Monkey comes to battle with bigger armies and does things like splitting himself into hundreds of people but that makes him proud and arrogant. Buddha teaches Monkey a lesson and he loses his power. He meets Black Bear who ends up swallowing him and the magic robe but Monkey kicks so hard that he is let out. Monkey learns his lesson about being proud and boastful. 

Critical Analysis: The illustrations are what stand out in this book as the prism and geocentric illustrations are sure to catch the readers eye and the many characters that are introduced are easily recognizable through Young's use of watercolor and colored pencil. The collage nature of the illustrations are what brings out the geocentric aspects of the illustrations. The highlights of the illustrations are when all of the 100,000 celestial soldiers and the 36 thunder generals come to capture Monkey as the illustrations show the epic amount of people plus the battle that was to come. The illustrations also tell the whole story as well as the words so even non readers would be able to follow along with the story as each scene is carefully illustrated and detailed with each part of the plot. 

The story is one that teaches us as the reader to admit that it is okay to know that you are good at something but being boastful and arrogant leads to pride before the fall. Monkey is a character that we can all see ourselves in at times and being knocked down a peg or two is good for the reader to understand that sometimes we must get knocked down before we can get back up again. Young's use of many different characters and settings to teach Monkey a lesson parallels the path that we choose in life where we meet many different people and how each one of those people are a part of our story. This book is sure to please anyone looking for a great story with fantastic illustrations. 

Review: Kirkus

Using a combination of handmade and bought papers, Young has created a dazzling collage adaptation of the traditional Chinese legend of the Monkey King. Brilliant shades of pink, purple, red, orange, gold, and green are offset by wispy whites and stark blacks on warm earth-toned backgrounds. The colors often leap and swirl across the pages, tracing the trajectories of Monkey’s energetic somersaults and mirroring his irrepressible personality. Always restless and eager for new adventures, Monkey simply can’t keep out of trouble. Born from an exploding rock, he fights the fierce Red Beard Bandit, steals a golden pillar from the underwater palace of the Dragon King, and gobbles up all the forbidden fruit from Jade King’s immortal peach tree. The centerpiece of the book, and of Monkey’s adventures, takes place on pages that fold out both horizontally and vertically as Monkey leaps to a place that he thinks is the end of the earth, but that turns out to be the upraised hand of Buddha. He scribbles, “Monkey was here,” thinking he has triumphed, but in fact he is trapped. After 500 years of captivity, he is freed to have a few more adventures before the end of the book, which concludes when he learns that there is “strength in admitting to weakness.” The narrator leaves the reader with a question and an answer—“Did Monkey’s humility last? That’s another story for another book.” Young’s prose is spare, and the placement of the words is brilliantly integrated into his page designs. An author’s note provides information on the Chinese epic Journey to the West, from which these episodes have been adapted. There is also a list of characters with their descriptions. This visually and thematically rich creation by one of our finest picture book artists is wonderful both to read aloud and to peruse and ponder at leisure. (Picture book/folktale. All ages)

Connection: Students can learn more about the art style of collage and how they can incorporate it into their art skills. 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-collage

More Books by Ed Young 

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China ISBN 978-0698113824

Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China ISBN 978-0698113886




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