Beyond the Great Mountains [Hardcover]

Ed Young (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Ed Young's spare prose, as lovely as a rice-paper painting, describes in measured detail the beautiful and mystical land that the author so clearly loves. The unique format and gorgeous paper-collage illustrations, highlighted with Chinese characters, combine to convey the many facets of China to form a poetic picture of the lands grace, depth, and majesty.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up–A stunning and uniquely designed picture book. Described as a visual poem about China, the book is comprised of 14 lines, each of which is accompanied by its own double-page illustration, done in cut- and torn-paper collage. Young also provides the ancient characters for the images he presents. Readers are able to read the entire poem from the title page since the pages are of graduated lengths, from short to longer, with a line of poetry appearing on the bottom of each page, overlapping just enough to allow for the text to show. Designed to be read vertically, each page is flipped up to reveal the accompanying illustration. In this way, the entire book becomes a piece of art, a visual treat of sublime colors and textures that joins with text and characters to describe the vastness and beauty of China. A chart shows the ancient characters that appear in the book, along with their modern-day equivalents. While the poetry, along with the illustrations and Chinese characters, may provide a creative experience that children can appreciate and enjoy, Young's rather abstract concept of visual verse, as explained in the author's note, will challenge most youngsters. Certainly, adults would find the explanation interesting, and would also appreciate the reflective poetry and images. An excellent choice for libraries looking for China-themed picture books.–Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Reminiscent of Young's Voices of the Heart (1997), this highly conceptual picture book offers "a visual poem about China." Opening the book (from the bottom rather than the side), the reader sees a strip of each page, since each is about one-half inch longer than the preceding one. The entire poem is visible immediately, with one line per page. Besides the line of verse, a typical page includes one or two ancient Chinese characters in red, with the English equivalent in black. Observers will note the resonance between the forms of the Chinese characters and the images in the illustrations, bold collages of cut and torn papers. The final end papers offer a chart of ancient and modern Chinese characters. In a note, Young expresses the hope that his readers will be open to his use of symbols as "visual verse." Though not inaccessible to children, this unusual poetry book may be best appreciated on an intellectual or aesthetic (rather than emotional) level. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811843432
• ISBN-13: 978-0811843430
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caldecott Medalist Ed Young is the illustrator of over eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written.
He finds inspiration for his work in the philosophy of Chinese painting. 'A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words,' explains Young. 'They are complementary. There are things that words do that pictures never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe.'
Born in Tientsin, China, Ed Young grew up in Shanghai and later moved to Hong Kong. As a young man, he came to the United States on a student visa to study architecture but turned instead to his love of art.
Young began his career as a commercial artist in advertising and found himself looking for something more expansive, expressive, and timeless. He discovered all this, and more, in children's books. The subject and style of each story provide Young with the initial inspiration for his art and with the motivation for design, sequence, and pace. Accuracy in research is essential to his work, too--whether he is illustrating fantasy, folk tale, or fact.
According to Young, a strong foundation of credibility must be established in order to create new and exciting images. Through such images, he hopes to capture his readers and ultimately expand their awareness. Young's quest for challenge and growth are central in his role as illustrator.
'Before I am involved with a project I must be moved, and as I try something exciting, I grow. It is my purpose to stimulate growth in the reader as an active participant as well,' Young explains. 'I feel the story has to be exciting, and a moving experience for a child.'
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Young has since taught at the Pratt Institute, Yale University, Naropa Institute, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 1990, his book Lon Po Po was awarded the Caldecott Medal. He has also received two Caldecott Honors--for The Emperor and the Kite and Seven Blind Mice--and was twice nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the highest international recognition given to children's book authors and illustrators who have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.
Young lives in Westchester County, New York, with his two daughters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful poem that is a treat for your eyes & ears!!!!!!, September 19, 2005

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beyond the Great Mountains (Hardcover)

From the moment you open this book you will be pleasently surprised, you'll notice that this book is read from top to bottom. And from that first page you get to read the full poem from start to finish first before even lifting a page.

The pages are made from rice paper as well and the illustrations from simply tearing paper and paint. If your like me, your hands will imediately go to each page expecting to feel that soft texture threads that rice paper has, or the texture of thick quick strokes of paint and then being sadly disappointed when you feel regular plain old paper pages. The rainbow of colors used are bright and so very rich!

I love that the last two page show the Chinese characters both ancient & modern characters side by side so you can see how the characters changed from then to now. The Chinese characters are mountain peaks, tree, east, water, rain, river, boulder, through, sun, moon, many plants, metal, rice, hanging grain, ice, bamboo, hanging leaves, leek, fruit on a vine, hemp, west, salt, wine, jade, kindgon, center or middle and fire.

I also love that in the middle of the author's notes inside a light pink circle in the middle of the page are thesewise and beautiful words....

Be open to inspriation,
Inspiration leads to creativity.

Be open to play.
In play we see mistakes
as stepping-stones to fulfillment.

Be open to challenges,
Challenges offer us a chance to grow,

Be open to work.
It is in the willingness to labor
that we mature
and find excellence.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Mist rose and fell, rain gathering...", September 27, 2005

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond the Great Mountains (Hardcover)

This striking book is bound in a unique format, layers of pages that reveal paper-collage illustrations and symbols, as spare and elegant as a Chinese scroll. Each layered page adds another line of prose and art, revealing the grace and majesty of China. The art is extravagant, each unfolding image larger and more captivating, a garden of natural beauty with prose to complement the artist's vision, unrestricted by conventional ideas: "Beyond the great mountains/ far to the east, a vast fertile plain./ In its sky, mist rose and fell, rain gathering, river cascading/ down cliffs and boulders, through valleys into fields."

Beautifully bound, this elegant prose, combined with imaginative collage is a magical experience. Introduce a child to the vast beauty of China, if you are able to part with this volume, the harmony, simplicity, tradition and wisdom of ancient symbols. (The inside back cover includes a list of Chinese characters then and now, the symbols integrated into the artwork, all flowing together.) The author's philosophy is revealed in his work: "Rather than show a particular instance of the idea, it reminds me that ideas are bigger than a single instance... that leisure is not simply an activity but a state of being." Born in China, but now living in the United States, Ed Young retains the inspiration of that mystic land. A combination of words and images, this elaborate and unusual feast of words and pictures is a treasure. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intro of art and a new language to children, January 17, 2006

By 

Lin Fong-O'Neill "Author of Tiger! Tiger! Tai... (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond the Great Mountains (Hardcover)

The design of the book is extremely creative and artistic. The pictorial language of Chinese, besides its beauty, is thought provoking. It makes children think with imagination and ask to learn more. When a book stimulates curiosity, it translates to search for knowledge, and results in growth. It's a wonderful thing.