The Twelve Animals of the Chinese Zodiac - by Vivian Ling & Peng Wang (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Twelve Traditional Stories That Children Will Love!

This bilingual children's book presents a charming collection of folktales and fables on the timeless theme of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. All of these stories are very popular in China, retold and adapted here to appeal to young readers and children all around the world. Each story explores a moral dilemma that young readers can easily understand, and provides a gentle lesson that they will discover for themselves.

The twelve stories in this book include:

• "How a Monkey Was Doomed by His Own Pride" A monkey is rescued by a dolphin after a shipwreck but is dumped back into the sea when his pretense of being rich and famous is discovered.
• "What Kind of Music Do Cows Appreciate?" A master musician does not blame the cows when they don't like his music, but instead learns to create music that the cows will appreciate.
• How Do You Make Dragons Come to Life?" An artist obeys the emperor's command to add eyes to his painted dragons, but when the dragons come to life and fly away, it tuns out this was not what the emperor wanted after all.
• And nine other stories!

This book is intended for children 7-12 years. It is for young language learners as well as general readers.

Review Quotes

"If you have more than a passing interest in the culture of Asian countries, whether that is folklore, mythology, traditional crafts, food or a host of other areas, then you should really be placing books from Tuttle Publishing at the top of your list. [...] The Twelve Animals of the Chinese Zodiac is one for younger readers, being a collection of traditional fables from the region; short stories designed to entertain but to teach an important message at the same time." --Mark Norman, The Folklore Podcast

"...a delightful bilingual children's book that brings to life the enchanting tales of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Drawing from popular stories in China, Ling and Peng have masterfully retold and adapted these folktales, making them accessible to young readers worldwide [...] The stories present gentle lessons that children can discover for themselves, making the book not only entertaining but also educational." --The Educator's Spin On It

Let Good Ideas Flourish: A Q&A with Author Vivian Ling

"As a Chinese language teacher and parent of a Chinese-American child, I highly recommend this book of fables to all families interested in having their children learn Chinese language and culture. The book integrates valuable wisdom about life into lifelike fables which are alluring and easy for children to understand." --Jingjing Cai, Assistant Professor of Chinese, Centre College

"As an Asian American parent, I see this book as an effective vehicle to get our kids interested in their heritage and culture, as well as to motivate them to learn the language." --Yan Lei, Senior Lecturer in Chinese at Dartmouth College

"The animals in this book are so lively that they literally jump off the page. They are also so human that I think my toddler son could easily see them as his friends." --Chuanmei Sun, Senior Lector in Chinese at Yale University

"This beautifully written and illustrated book is packed with treasures. The bilingual text invites language learners to explore the stories in Chinese, while the stories themselves invite readers of all ages to share in the rich cultural heritage of China." --Christina Stouder, Chinese language teacher, Washington Latin Charter School

"This bilingual book of fables has all the hallmarks of an all-time favorite for young and old alike. Children will love it for the stories of funny animals, parents and teachers will love its wit and wisdom, and everyone will love the whimsical and lively illustrations." --Lucy Lu (Shengjie Lu), Director of the Elementary Chinese Language Program, Dulwich International School (Beijing)

About the Author

Vivian Ling has enjoyed a long career in Chinese language and literature, teaching at Oberlin College and Indiana University, and directing Chinese language programs abroad in Taipei, Shanghai, Kunming and Beijing. She is the author of many books on Chinese language education, including The Field of Chinese Language Education in the U.S.: A Retrospective of the 20th Century. With Peng Wang she has co-authored Essential Mandarin Chinese Grammar, Chinese Stories for Language Learners and A Bilingual Treasury of Chinese Folktales, all published by Tuttle.

Peng Wang has been on the faculty at Georgetown University since 2002, teaching various Chinese language courses including Business Chinese and Chinese for Heritage Learners. Formerly, she was chief instructor at the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University, as well as a visiting faculty at Oberlin College and Brown University. She has co-authored three other books with Vivian Ling: Essential Mandarin Chinese Grammar, Chinese Stories for Language Learners and A Bilingual Treasury of Chinese Folktales, all published by Tuttle.

Yang Xi is an artist and illustrator combines classical and contemporary styles. She holds an MA from the College of Fine Arts at Nanjing Art Institute. While specializing in illustrations related to Chinese culture, she has an eye toward the sensibilities of an international audience.