Adventures of Monkey King (Paperback)

~ Cheng-En Wu (Author), R. L. Gao (Author), Marlys Johnson-Barton (Illustrator) "On the top of Mystic Mountain was a magical stone..." (more)
Key Phrases: Monk Tang, Reality Spirit, Tiger King (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

' . . . truly a fun book' -- Rocky Ford Daily Gazette

'A story with universal appeal. A charming way to look at human nature.' -- L. H. Ko, teacher

'Better than the Ninja Turtles, better than the Power Rangers.' -- S. Zhang, instructor Defense Language Institute

Product Description

Follow the adventures of the magical Monkey King and the gluttonous Piggy as they accompany Monk Tang on a journey from China to India to gather Buddhist scriptures.

The story of Monkey King has been read and loved by Chinese children for hundreds of years. Now it is available in an easy-to-read English translation.

A light-hearted look at the true story of the Chinese pilgrim Tang Xuan Zang who is often credited with bringing Buddhism from India to China.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Victory Press (October 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962076511
• ISBN-13: 978-0962076510
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #351,528 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good, as far as it goes, December 13, 2001

By	Bradford Daniels (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I was a teenager, the BBC aired a dubbed version of the PRC's television version of "Journey to the West", and ever since, I have loved the story of the Monkey King. Being unable to find that series on DVD (or VHS, for that matter), I decided to buy this book to read to my son.

The book does an excellent job of introducing the character of the Monkey King, and tells the portions of the story that it covers well, and on a level comprehensible to children. It is hugely abridged, however, and ends only partway through the original story, with no attempts to tie up loose ends.

As a result, my son wasn't really satisfied with the open-ended plot, and there also weren't enough of the little subplots with the interesting secondary characters to make the book as memorable as it really should be. The book would have been a solid 4 or maybe 5 stars if it had just gone on a bit longer, either to bring the story to something resembling a conclusion, or to explain why there wasn't such an ending in a way as accessible to children as the rest of the book was. Incomplete as it is, though, I can't recommend it that strongly.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, September 8, 2001

By	Lily Lu (Montibello, CA) - See all my reviews

This is a very readable version of the monkey king classic. The sentences are short and simple, written in standard American English. The book is packed with action and is lots of fun to read.

The character of monkey is rather naughty, like Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn.

The pictures have a definite Western slant to them, which is rather amusing.

13 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A violent book, January 14, 2000

By A Customer

This book contains much violent material and may not be suitable for children. Monkey King, an impulsive supernatural being on a quest for some Buddhist Sutra texts, thinks nothing of killing whole groups of people on a single occasion. Here's a quote: "Why would I want to eat a baby? It's not even a time of famine."