Customer Reviews

A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art

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This book is an autobiography of the Chinese author and illustrator Song Nan Zhang. The book begins with Song who is 3 years old and is in hiding with his mother in the Bao-wu mountains. Song sees what he thinks is a kitty which turns out to be a little tiger. The tiger hangs around their little cottage and Song's mother and the villagers tell him it's a good omen to see a tiger and that he would have a lucky life!

Through Song's life we learn about the Great Leap Forward working to build a dam, planting trees, fishing and going into coal mines. China is a wonderful country filled with hard working people. Mao Tse-tung's vision of a new country under his Great Leap Forward & labor camps " reeducated" really harmed his people and his family .

As in all of Song's paintings are done quiet nicely there are small painting and some larger ones that show that Song is a talented artist! The inside of the book cover has a map of the areas Song lived and worked and in the back of the book 3 pages of historical background on China from 1835 to the present.

History is often told from large numbers of people which make stories and their numbers too hard to really comprehend. But when you tell the story of 1 or several people it's easier to see history through there eye makes the people and their struggles real and understandable. This book is definitely for 9 to 12 year olds.

We found our copy of this book at our local library if you are interested in checking it out before purchasing it or are unable to purchase it.