From School Library Journal
Grade 4–6—The Forbidden City is a vast and magnificent palace complex. Wandering through this huge site, visitors often wonder about the people, royal and otherwise, who lived there during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Marx begins the history with Yongle, the Ming emperor who moved the government from Nanjing to Beijing and ordered the construction of the colossal structure in 1407. She brings the Forbidden City to life by telling stories about six different royal inhabitants from Zhengde, "one of the worst emperors in Chinese history," to Puyi, who became a pawn of the invading Japanese. Royal women take their rightful place with a look at the funeral of Princess Su as well as a relatively tame description of the preparations made by the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi to start each day. Each short tale is followed by straightforward but lively factual text that provides information about the palace and the lives of its inhabitants. Even the eunuchs, including a no-nonsense explanation of their condition and the reason for it, are included. Beautiful drawings and photographs, some provided by the Palace Museum and some taken for this book, lend color and provide additional information. Of particular note are the photos of the interiors of buildings, a number of which are not regularly open to the public. A book with surefire appeal to anyone interested in China's history and culture.—
Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Beijing Olympics and China’s news-making economic growth will draw readers to this photo-essay, which invites exploration of the vast imperial fairyland that cloistered Chinese officialdom for more than 500 years. Following an enthusiastic foreword by the director of the Forbidden City’s museum, sections move through the centuries via brief, interpretive visits with historical figures—among them, emperors, princesses, and even a royal elephant—paired with commentary that sometimes leaps forward through time to address Chinese culture today. Though slightly scattershot in delivery, the unstinting supply of choice details, such as the city’s 980 buildings and the symbolism of its carved dragons, will impress and fascinate readers. And although the large number of official images among Senisi’s photos sometimes call to mind a visitor’s pamphlet, their evocatively vacant courtyards and pavilions will encourage contemplative musings about the structures’ long endurance through the dynastic tides. A glossary and scholarly bibliography conclude, but citations for the occasional artworks, such as one fine scroll painting of a lavish procession, are curiously absent. Grades 4-7. --Jennifer Mattson
