The Magic Brocade

Recommended grades 2-4.  Aaron Shepard adapts a Chinese folktale in his picture book, The Magic Brocade (Edustar Press, 2011).  In the story, an old widow becomes enchanted by an image of a fairy palace far to the east of her Chinese Village that no mortal has ever traveled to.  She spends months weaving her own brocade of the scene, only to have it stolen by the fairies themselves.  Her devoted son, Chen, must face certain danger to return the brocade to his mother on her death bed.  Chen is a hero on a familiar journey, and he is rewarded for his bravery with a romance of his own.  Illustrations by Xiajun Li are done in a marbled watercolor that bleeds and exudes a dream-like quality.  It may have been helpful to young readers to have an illustration of the brocade itself to understand the content vocabulary of the book.  The author did not include much background information on the origin of the story, which leads readers wanting more.  This book could still be used to introduce students to classic elements in folk and fairy tales, including traditional heroes, magical beings, and the similarities in these stories across the world.  Recommended, ***

A Blues Ensemble For the Birds

Recommended grades K-3.  Jan Huling brings us a New Orleans flavored fable with Ol' Bloo's Boogie Woogie Band and Blues Ensemble ( Peachtree, 2011).  Huling gives Grimms' Musicians of Bremin an American feel.   In this picture book, Ol' Bloo, a hard-working Donkey, narrowly escapes death when his owners threaten to "end his misery" after a lifetime of back-breaking service.  Instead of sitting by to face his demise, Ol' Bloo makes a run for it, planning on furthering his musical career in New Orleans.  Along the way, Ol' Bloo encounters other musically inclined animals with rough stories of their own, and just like Dorothy on her way down the Yellow Brick Road, Ol' Bloo invites these animals to share in his dreams.  Illustrations by Henri Sørensen contribute the the folk feel of the story, combining rich oil paintings in warm hues with black sillouhettes of the animals incorporated with the text.  The silhouette have the feel of shadow puppets onstage in a children's theater.  Ol' Bloo's story offers young readers a glimpse into the mythic South, and the reader can't help but root for his Boogie Woogie Band, though they would surely be ghastly to the human ear.  Recommended, ***