Lon Po Po (Caldecott Medal Book) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Once, long ago, there was a woman who lived alone in the country with her three children, Shang, Tao, and Paotze..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Three little girls spare no mercy to Lon Po Po, the granny wolf, in this version of Little Red Riding Hood where they tempt her up a tree and over a limb, to her death. The girls' frightened eyes are juxtaposed against Lon Po Po's menacing squint and whirling blue costume in one of the books numerous three-picture sequences, which resemble the decorative panels of Chinese tradition. Through mixing abstract and realistic images with complex use of color and shadow, artist and translator Young has transformed a simple fairy tail into a remarkable work of art and earned the 1990 Caldecott Medal in doing so.

From Publishers Weekly

This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young ( The Emperor and the Kite ; Cats Are Cats ; Yeh-Shen ) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope--killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness." Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Philomel; Library Edition edition (November 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399216197
• ISBN-13: 978-0399216190
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,151 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice is different than good, August 4, 2004

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (Paperback)

Like film awards, book awards rarely go to an artist's best work. Usually if a picture book has won a Caldecott medal you can sift through the author and illustrator's other books and inevitably find something far more deserving. This is true of almost every author/illustrator, save one. Ed Young has had a varied and fabulous career. From his spectacular "Seven Blind Mice" to his insipid and poorly drawn "Turkey Girl" he's run the gamut from "Yippee!" to "Bleach!". But his Caldecott winning "Lon Po Po" falls squarely into the "Yippee!" category. To my mind, it is his best work. A stunning edition of the Chinese tale of Lon Po Po, this story weaves elements of Grimm Fairy Tales with "Little Red Riding Hood" and comes out swinging.

One day a mother leaves her three daughters to visit their grandmother on her birthday. Before she leaves she instructs the girls to lock the doors soundly after she is gone. The girls do so but a wily wolf has overheard that the mother will be leaving. The wolf disguises himself as an old woman and knocks on the door. When asked who he is, he responds that he is their grandmother (or "Po Po") come to stay with them. The children foolishly let the animal in and he quickly douses the lights. After many questions about the supposed grandmother's bushy tail and sharp claws the eldest and cleverest daughter catches sight of the wolf's snout and must find a way to save her sisters. Not only does she succeed, but she also finds a way to get rid of the wolf forever.

In the dedication of this book, Ed Young writes, "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness". This was written in part, I suspect, to appease the wolf lovers of the world. Much like the old fairy tales of European folklore, this tale has its fair share of violence. The wolf's end, for example, is a particularly nasty way to go. And because it has been created so realistically in this book, I suspect that there are probably some animal advocates who will take offense at his death. Nonetheless, we're not dealing with reality here, people. We're dealing with fairy tales and in these stories wolves are (as Young himself said) representative of our own evil.

The story is translated by Young himself and is done beautifully. The words in this tale sing. Yet even the best laid plotting can be undone by poor illustrations. In this particular case, you've nothing to fear because Young has bent over backwards to bring you absolute breathtaking beauty. Combining watercolors with pastels, the book is simultaneously gorgeous and frightening. It may take a couple readings, but if you look carefully in some of these pictures you will find wolf images hidden in the landscapes and backgrounds of a great many scenes. The first spread in this book is of the mother leaving her children. As she goes, the land beneath her feet is shaped like that of a wolf's nose, the cottage the eye of the animal. Often the pictures are separated into threes, giving the book a formal feeling. Finally, the pictures of the girls and their enemy are excellent. Sometimes the merest of glimpses of the wolf are scary enough to drill home what a threat he is. You really do feel scared for the children when they cuddle up with their supposed grandmother in bed, only to find her to be a hungry beastie.

The "Little Red Riding Hood" story is all well and good in and of itself, but it always lacked kick. "Lon Po Po" has more than kick. It has bite. It will enrapture small children and give them tangible forms for their darkest fears. It will hypnotize any reader, drawing them effortlessly into its deeply interesting story. Of all the Caldecott winning picture books of the last 15 years, this one is my favorite, hands down.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Opportunity to Learn About Comparative Literature, May 9, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Many people never have the opportunity to compare literatures from different cultures. Lon Po Po offers a rare chance for a 4-8 year old to have that experience. The book is gorgeously illustrated in panels of stunning shades of shifting color, providing the feeling of an oriental screen. The images themselves seem to be rendered in pastels and grease sticks. It was no surprise to me that this book won the Caldecott Medal in 1990 for the best illustrated children's book. It is one of the very best of such medalists that I have seen.

In the book, mother leaves to visit grandmother for her birthday leaving her three daughters, Shang, Tao, and Paotze home alone. "Remember to close the door tight at sunset and latch it well."

An old wolf sees the mother leave. He dresses up like an old woman and after dark knocks on the door. "Bang, bang." He says, "This is your grandmother, your Po Po." Shang challenges him, and the wolf lies. Tao and Paotze let him in, and the wolf blows out the candle so he could not be seen. He gives the two girls who let him in a hug, and they all go to bed together.

Shang notices that "your foot has a brush on it" referring to his tail. He replies that they are "hemp strings to weave you a basket." She then mentions that "your hand has thorns on it" referring to his claws. He responds that it is an "awl to make shoes for you."

Shang figures something is wrong. She asks the wolf if he has ever eaten gingko nuts. He says not. The children offer to get him some. Once in the tree, Shang tells her sisters they have a wolf.

They lure the wolf into a basket held by a rope and pull him up into the tree. Then they drop him repeatedly until he dies from the fall.

The girls share their story with their mother when she returns the next day.

As you can see, the story is much like Little Red Riding Hood. No one is harmed by the wolf, which makes the story a little less terrifying and horrible. The battle of wits is significant here, as in Little Red Riding Hood. The book also displays the issues involved around children being home alone, and the need for children to communicate and cooperate with each other. Shang probably would not have let the wolf in.

After you finish enjoying the story and its illustrations and thinking about how it differs from Little Red Riding Hood, I suggest you also think about why stories about wild animals attacking from the woods are common to many cultures. Why do you think these stories were told originally? Why have they persisted in having appeal? Do you think they will be popular 1000 years from now? Why?

Enjoy and appreciate differences!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lon Po Po comparison, November 29, 2001

By	Laura Harmon (Clemson, SC) - See all my reviews

Lon Po Po is an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood from China. In Young's version the mother leaves her three children for the day, Shang, Tao, and Paotze, to visit their grandmother on her birthday. While the mother is gone a wolf, dressed as their grandmother, Po Po, comes to try to eat them. The oldest daughter Shang is clever and outsmarts the wolf. The relevance of this folk tale to the article Strong Women in Appalachian Folktales is the importance of the female protagonist.
A female protagonist in a folktale is a rarity. Male protagonists over shadow females in twentieth century tales. Shang is the female protagonist in Lon Po Po. Not only does she defeat the wolf but she outsmarts him as well. It is important that she is portrayed as the clever heroin so that contemporary children have more positive role models than the heroines in the best-known traditional fairytales (225). In Lon Po Po, the wolf does not fool Shang as little red riding hood was in the European tale. Shang realizes from the start that the wolf is trying to trick her. When she asks the wolf about his fur and his claws she is simultaneously planning a way to get rid of him. Appalachian folktales are tales that were adapted in America. Many made the female protagonist stronger than the previous European version. Ed Young readapted the tale of little red riding hood in the same way. In the original European version the wolf eats the grandmother. There are no women in this Chinese rendition that fall victim to the wolf.
Folktales inevitably change when retold by another culture. However, there are some similarities in the way that Appalachian folktales and Chinese folktales changed. They both highlight the strengths of female characters and give them an even bigger role than their original one (225).