Helen Plum Library

When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names

This magical folktale tells of a boy who awakes from a dream with a paintbrush that brings his drawings to life. He paints tools, cows, and food for his village, and teaches a greedy emperor a lesson. Folktales from Around the World transports young readers to worlds where everything is alive and anything can happen! Gathered from across the globe, these stories are traditional tales that have stood the test of time. With original artwork and lively...

A poor old Chinese farmer finds a magic brass pot that doubles or duplicates whatever is placed inside it, but his efforts to make himself wealthy lead to unexpected complications

When a crew of Chinese fishermen forget to bring cooking utensils with them, they find creative ways to make do with what they have and what they can find

Ping returns and deals with the selfish Tan Tan, who owns a beautiful house and a beautiful shady tree, but who does not share, so Ping turns Tan Tan's greed into his own gain, but remains true to his generous nature

A collection of thirteen adapted Chinese fables, in which an array of animal characters demonstrate principles such as "It is foolish to be greedy" and "We frequently see only what we want to see."

A folktale based on a poem from the Sung Dynasty in which a young girl disguises herself as a man and leads the army of China to victory over the enemy

Winston Chu saves the owner of a curiosities shop from a robbery only to be gifted a broomstick and a dustpan for his trouble--items that turn out to be more a curse than a blessing when they sweep away important stuff, like his baby sister

Willow's pet cat Mao relates how the Jade Emperor chose twelve animals to represent the years in the Chinese calendar and why there is no Year of the Cat. Includes end notes on the twelve-year lunar cycle and the Chinese zodiac animals