The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Kam Mak (Illustrator) "Once there was a poor old farmer with seven daughters..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"This Southern Chinese adaptation of a traditional Chinese tale gains notability through Yep's elegant, carefully crafted storytelling," said PW. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5?Yep presents a polished, touching retelling of a story he calls "a Southern Chinese version of a traditional Chinese tale." When a poor farmer falls into the clutches of a dragon, he begs each of his seven daughters to save him from death by marrying the horrifying creature. At last, the youngest consents. The dragon carries Seven (the daughters are named in birth order, following Chinese tradition) to his home under the sea. Far from being frightened, Seven is full of wonder. When she tells the dragon, "The eye sees what it will, but the heart sees what it should," the monster turns into a handsome prince. They live happily until Seven longs to return home. There, her jealous third sister tries to drown her and takes her place as mistress of the dragon's palace. Then the Prince must go searching for his lost bride. Lavish, hyperrealistic paintings appear opposite each page of text, with two wordless double-page spreads interspersed. However, few of the paintings begin to capture the shivery wonder of the narrative. Most are too literal to illuminate the mood of the story, and leave little scope for the imagination. In the version included in Betsy Hearne's Beauties and Beasts (Oryx, 1993), the monster bridegroom is a snake. Here, the snake transforms itself into a dragon, increasing the excitement and danger. Still, Yep's version of this romantic adventure celebrates resilience and understanding.?Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (September 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060243813
• ISBN-13: 978-0060243814
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,351,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chinese fairy tale story., September 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale (Paperback)

An excellent book on Chinese fairy tales about a Prince/Dragon and a poor, but skilled and beautiful peasant girl. It contains exquisite illustrations that captured my preschool and grade school daughters attention. I highly recommend this fantasy book for preschoolers, through grades three. The reading level and some content (reasoning) for older grades. Recommended for students, teachers, and parents.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dragon Prince Review, April 26, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale (Paperback)

This book is about a prince who can turn into animals and a farmer who had 7 daughters. The third sister is the evil and greedy one and the seventh sister the youngest daughter, was the prettiest. If it wasn't for her weaving fine shoes the family would have died. In the story the prince is trying to find a wife. So he searched everywhere for one.
If you like Beauty And The Beast you will like this book because this is the same only that it is the Chinese version. They also have the same theme which is don't judge a book by its cover. I know this is the message because in both stories they disguise themselves and they are really are princes
This is an awesome book. I recommend it to young readers for it has excitement, romance, adventure, and more. So pick it up at your local library or buy it at a book store. Hope you enjoy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting fairy tale for all children, April 13, 2006

By	Sunshine (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale (Paperback)

I bought this book for my three year old son and he quite enjoys it because of the dragon. The vocabulary is a bit difficult but not terribly so. The story is interesting and I am sure it is a book that my son will come back to again happily when he is older.