Review by Booklist Review
Ages 6^-9. Cat and Rat were best friends, according to this Chinese legend, until the Jade Emperor of Heaven held a race to determine which animals would be included in the zodiac. Clever Rat hid behind swift Buffalo's ear and jumped down just before the finish line to claim second place. The rest of the story describes feats of the other 10 winners as well as Cat's fury upon hearing that Rat has earned a place in the zodiac, whereas she has not. Young captures the emotional content of the scenes with quick, sure strokes of charcoal and pastels on rice paper. Deep background colors and the sensitive use of light and shadow heighten the drama in the impressionistic illustrations. In the author's note, Young comments on the Chinese New Year, the 12 traditional signs, and the birth years and personality traits for each one. Children will enjoy looking up their signs and pondering the characteristics of those born in the year of the Rat, the year of the Ox (buffalo), and so on. A good picture book to read aloud during Chinese New Year celebrations. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this intriguing picture book, Caldecott Medalist Young (Seven Blind Mice) retells a Chinese folktale about the origins of the zodiac. The Jade Emperor of Heaven invites all the animals in the land to participate in a race through the thickest part of the forest and across the river at its widest point; the first 12 to finish will have a year in the Chinese calendar named after them. Young focuses on Cat and Rat, originally best friends. But when Cat and Rat convince Buffalo to let them ride on his back across the river, greedy Rat tricks them both and wins first place for himself. How the other animals cross the finish line and how Cat arrives too late to be included in the zodiac explains not only the character of each of the zodiac signs but cleverly suggests how the enmity between cats and rats began. Complex and well-told, the story will hold the reader's interest. The design is even more striking: panels of white type on black pages are juxtaposed with dark, scumbled charcoal-and-pastel illustrations. However, Young's characteristically abstract compositions and the murky and sometimes frightening representations of the animals may be difficult for children to decipher. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3In this version of the story behind the Chinese zodiac, the Emperor challenges all of the creatures to a race through forest and river, saying he will name each of the 12 years in the cycle after the winners. Rat and Cat, the best of friends, ask the water buffalo to carry them across the river. In sight of the finish line, Rat pushes Cat into the water and jumps off the buffalo's back, coming in first. ``And that is why, to this very day, Cat and Rat are enemies.'' Young tells the story in lively, spare prose, and includes a chart of the signs and their characteristics. His charcoal and pastel drawings on dark blue and buff rice paper are elegant and full of action. Yet because of the somber colors, the pictures are hard to read, especially from a distance. Setting white type on black background only adds to the gloom. Monica Chang's The Story of the Chinese Zodiac (Pan Asian, 1994), a bilingual import, illustrates the same story with paper sculptures that are brighter but more conventional, and without a chart connecting years to animals. Clara Yen's Why Rat Comes First (Childrens, 1991) tells a different version, and provides chart signs and years with brief explanations of the characteristics. Since 1996 will be the Year of the Rat, schools and libraries planning Chinese New Year celebrations can use Young's title, although the shadowed passion of his drawings forms an uneasy partnership with what is essentially a light trickster tale.Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Cat and Rat are best friends until the emperor holds a race to determine which twelve animals will have a year named after them in the Chinese calendar. Rat tricks Cat in order to win and loses his friend. Darkly hued, abstract pastels on rice paper and white type on a black background create a sinister interpretation of this traditional tale. A note about the Chinese zodiac is included. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
According to the notes at the beginning of the book, when the Chinese calendar was created, the animals ran a race, and the 12 who came in first had a year named after them. Young (Little Plum, 1994, etc.) describes the race, focusing on the cat and the rat; despite their plans to win together, the rat dumped the cat and came in first, while the cat was the 13th animal to finish. Thus, the cat and rat are forever enemies. As animal after animal crosses the finish line, the story becomes mechanical and then tedious. The illustrationscharcoal and pastels on rice paperare very dark and among the most abstract Young has every created; they depict animals in motion (predominantly their heads, with bulging eyes) at the end of the race. The text is printed along the side of page, black on white. Inclusion of a page of horoscopes along with the Gregorian equivalents to the animals' years will intrigue readers, but the story may not keep them involved to the end. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
