Lon Po Po

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Young, Ed. 1989. Lon Po Po: A red-riding hood story from China. New York: Philomel Books. ISBN 9780399216190

PLOT SUMMARY

Long ago, in rural China, three daughters, at home alone, face an evil wolf pretending to be their grandmother. Lon Po Po is the Chinese version of the familiar Red Riding Hood tale.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China translated by Ed Young is a fabulous piece of work, not only as a story variant but as great literature. Set in rural China long ago—not sure how long ago but before electricity—a mother leaves her three daughters alone in their house. The appropriately secluded, rural setting can only lead to trouble—the appearance of a wolf, the representation of evil.

Just like a cunning wolf, he sneaks his way into the home of these girls: Shang, Tao, and Paotze. Shang, described as the oldest and craftiest, becomes the trickster as she devises a plan to spoil the wolf’s fun. The girls climb into a ginkgo tree. It is fitting that a large tree native to China be included. Ginkgo trees are believed, in the Chinese culture, to withhold magic. It certainly aided the three daughters in destroying the wolf’s plot.

Other than through illustrations, the three girls are not described in detail. We know that Shang is the oldest and in pictures has the longest hair—a black braid. One might assume the order in which Young listed their names could also be their birth order. Tao and Paotze also have black hair, but their hairstyles differ from Shang’s hair. One has her hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head while the other has two short pigtails. Nothing about their hairstyles appears to be unusual or stereotypical.

In relation to the setting, the illustrations do not always match the story. Young informs readers that the wolf comes around dusk. This explains the need for candlelight in the home. However, at the point the girls climb the ginkgo tree, it appears to be daylight outside. One (such as myself) might think this adventure lasted all night, but the text states that “on the next day,” the mother returns. Although the illustrations may cause some confusion, this story takes place over the course of one evening into the next morning.

A couple cultural details are interesting. The girls’ mother goes to visit her mother (the real Po Po) for her birthday; however, there is no mention of a father or grandfather. Is that just coincidence or meaningful? No words from their native language are included. Of course, the reader should not assume the characters are speaking to one another in English. However, we do not know which language is their own (i.e. Mandarin, Cantonese, etc.).

The children’s dress is barely shown in one illustration. From that illustration, Shang looks to be wearing a silk robe. The robe might be a hanfu, a silk robe the wealthy wore during the Han Dynasty. While no other clues lead me to believe the story takes place in the Han dynasty, even if it did, hanfus were not worn by little girls in rural China at bedtime.

The Chinese version on Little Red Riding Hood urges readers to compare this story with the Brothers Grimm version. Instead of big eyes, ears, and teeth, Po Po (the wolf) has a bush stuck to her foot (tail) and thorns on her hands (claws).

The linear plot structure hooks readers so they will read to the very end—even though most readers will know good wins out. If readers are only familiar with the Brothers Grimm version, the events unfold in unexpected ways, so readers need to read to the end (not that Young hasn’t made that easy!).

Young also illustrates this book. He uses traditional Chinese panel art with watercolors and pastels. The panels do not show separate events, but allow the image to keep a continuous flow from one panel to the next. For example, the wolf’s body is illustrated, but his eyes and fangs are in one panel while the rest of his body is in another.

In my opinion, the panels are interesting because they change the focus of the page. Rather than drawing attention to the center of the page as a traditionally illustrated book might, the panels include off center images, drawing the reader’s eye to the picture. Such an example is when the wolf enters the house. We see the shadow of the wolf jumping across the spread, taking up 2 panels. The three girls are huddled together in the lower left corner of the page, right on the crease of the two-page spread.

In the previous example, the girls are illustrated clearly. Most pictures, while including several shades of color, lack sharp, defined detail. This is not due to lack of skill on Young’s part. This is simply his method. This technique adds to the mystery of what is to come.

Ed Young’s engaging account of a familiar tale will encourage readers to seek out other versions of favorite stories.

REVIEWS AND AWARDS

The Caldecott Award, 1990

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1990

ALSC Notable Children’s Book, 1990

ALSC Sharing Cultures: Asian American Children’s Author Best List, 2001

Mockingbird Award Nominee, 1990-91

Parent’s Choice Award, 1996

“The text possesses that matter-of-fact veracity that characterizes the best fairy tales. The watercolor and pastel pictures are remarkable: mystically beautiful in their depiction of the Chinese countryside, menacing in the exchanges with the wolf, and positively chilling in the scenes inside the house.” –School Library Journal, Dec. 1989

“Young illustrates an intriguing Asian variant of a favorite folktale. . . . Said to be more than a thousand years old, 'Lon Po Po' is definitely the most liberated version of Little Red Riding Hood.” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Literature, Nov. 1989

“By dividing the illustrations into three and sometimes four longitudinal sections, Young has given his fine retelling the look of old Chinese decorative panels. . . . The slightly blurred illustrations are subdued in color but seem to throb with the mystery and terror of the wolf and the round-eyed fright of the children. Although the placement of the text on colored backgrounds is sometimes a disadvantage, the wonderfully fine illustrations more than compensate.” –Horn Book Magazine, Jan./Feb. 1990

CONNECTIONS

Readers’ Theater Comparison

Compare Lon Po Po to the Brothers Grimm version of Little Red Riding Hood. Students will create a readers’ theater—one group for each book—and perform their version. During and after each performance, students will record similarities and differences of each version on a trifold foldable. Summarize the similarities and differences and your personal preference in a blog post.

Hyman. 1987. Little Red Riding Hood. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823406531

Multicultural Red-Riding Hood Story

Search for the Red-Riding Hood story from another culture. After doing research about that culture, record a podcast summarizing the main events, stating how that version is culturally authentic/inauthentic, and describing surprising differences from other versions with which you are familiar.

Panel Art

In a group of 4-6, choose another favorite childhood fairytale/folktale. Using watercolors to illustrate the story on rice paper, butcher paper, or other thin paper. Cut your illustration into vertical panels and mount them on thicker paper. Bind and display the wordless picture books. (As a bonus, video yourself or your group retelling the story with your group’s illustrations.)