Lon Po Po (Caldecott Medal Book) [ハードカバー]

Like film awards, book awards rarely go to an artist's best work. Usually if a picture book has won a Caldecott medal you can sift through the author and illustrator's other books and inevitably find something far more deserving. This is true of almost every author/illustrator, save one. Ed Young has had a varied and fabulous career. From his spectacular "Seven Blind Mice" to his insipid and poorly drawn "Turkey Girl" he's run the gamut from "Yippee!" to "Bleach!". But his Caldecott winning "Lon Po Po" falls squarely into the "Yippee!" category. To my mind, it is his best work. A stunning edition of the Chinese tale of Lon Po Po, this story weaves elements of Grimm Fairy Tales with "Little Red Riding Hood" and comes out swinging.

One day a mother leaves her three daughters to visit their grandmother on her birthday. Before she leaves she instructs the girls to lock the doors soundly after she is gone. The girls do so but a wily wolf has overheard that the mother will be leaving. The wolf disguises himself as an old woman and knocks on the door. When asked who he is, he responds that he is their grandmother (or "Po Po") come to stay with them. The children foolishly let the animal in and he quickly douses the lights. After many questions about the supposed grandmother's bushy tail and sharp claws the eldest and cleverest daughter catches sight of the wolf's snout and must find a way to save her sisters. Not only does she succeed, but she also finds a way to get rid of the wolf forever.

In the dedication of this book, Ed Young writes, "To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness". This was written in part, I suspect, to appease the wolf lovers of the world. Much like the old fairy tales of European folklore, this tale has its fair share of violence. The wolf's end, for example, is a particularly nasty way to go. And because it has been created so realistically in this book, I suspect that there are probably some animal advocates who will take offense at his death. Nonetheless, we're not dealing with reality here, people. We're dealing with fairy tales and in these stories wolves are (as Young himself said) representative of our own evil.

The story is translated by Young himself and is done beautifully. The words in this tale sing. Yet even the best laid plotting can be undone by poor illustrations. In this particular case, you've nothing to fear because Young has bent over backwards to bring you absolute breathtaking beauty. Combining watercolors with pastels, the book is simultaneously gorgeous and frightening. It may take a couple readings, but if you look carefully in some of these pictures you will find wolf images hidden in the landscapes and backgrounds of a great many scenes. The first spread in this book is of the mother leaving her children. As she goes, the land beneath her feet is shaped like that of a wolf's nose, the cottage the eye of the animal. Often the pictures are separated into threes, giving the book a formal feeling. Finally, the pictures of the girls and their enemy are excellent. Sometimes the merest of glimpses of the wolf are scary enough to drill home what a threat he is. You really do feel scared for the children when they cuddle up with their supposed grandmother in bed, only to find her to be a hungry beastie.

The "Little Red Riding Hood" story is all well and good in and of itself, but it always lacked kick. "Lon Po Po" has more than kick. It has bite. It will enrapture small children and give them tangible forms for their darkest fears. It will hypnotize any reader, drawing them effortlessly into its deeply interesting story. Of all the Caldecott winning picture books of the last 15 years, this one is my favorite, hands down.

Dedicated to all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness (Ed Young's own dedication)

Cultural anthropologists tell us there are similar fairy tales all over the world. This retelling of the Chinese version of the Big Bad Wolf certainly is cause for the awarding of the Caldecott Medal for Best Children's Literature in 1990. In addition to his story, Ed Young's shape-shifting art merges tale with sight for a free-flowing, fluid interpretation of the wolf.

The Chinese tale is different. Three little girls are left home while their mother goes to see the sick grandmother. At dark the wolf makes his appearance, blowing out the inside light as soon as possible. The illustrations are murky, like the light in the room, and only glints of teeth and whites of eyes can be discerned. But the oldest girl knows what's up and tricks the wolf into wanting gingko nuts high in the tree outside their house.

No woodchoppers in the Chinese version--only one smart oldest daughter and two thoughtful, obedient younger daughters. How they defeat the wolf is sheer brilliance.

Ed Young's illustrations deserve separate praise. Since most of the story takes place during the cover of night, he must show his scenes in darkness. However, he adds touches and big swaths of reds, purples, greens, blues, salmons, golds, to present the story. Beautiful, eye-popping, and very effective!

Many people never have the opportunity to compare literatures from different cultures. Lon Po Po offers a rare chance for a 4-8 year old to have that experience. The book is gorgeously illustrated in panels of stunning shades of shifting color, providing the feeling of an oriental screen. The images themselves seem to be rendered in pastels and grease sticks. It was no surprise to me that this book won the Caldecott Medal in 1990 for the best illustrated children's book. It is one of the very best of such medalists that I have seen.

In the book, mother leaves to visit grandmother for her birthday leaving her three daughters, Shang, Tao, and Paotze home alone. "Remember to close the door tight at sunset and latch it well."

An old wolf sees the mother leave. He dresses up like an old woman and after dark knocks on the door. "Bang, bang." He says, "This is your grandmother, your Po Po." Shang challenges him, and the wolf lies. Tao and Paotze let him in, and the wolf blows out the candle so he could not be seen. He gives the two girls who let him in a hug, and they all go to bed together.

Shang notices that "your foot has a brush on it" referring to his tail. He replies that they are "hemp strings to weave you a basket." She then mentions that "your hand has thorns on it" referring to his claws. He responds that it is an "awl to make shoes for you."

Shang figures something is wrong. She asks the wolf if he has ever eaten gingko nuts. He says not. The children offer to get him some. Once in the tree, Shang tells her sisters they have a wolf.

They lure the wolf into a basket held by a rope and pull him up into the tree. Then they drop him repeatedly until he dies from the fall.

The girls share their story with their mother when she returns the next day.

As you can see, the story is much like Little Red Riding Hood. No one is harmed by the wolf, which makes the story a little less terrifying and horrible. The battle of wits is significant here, as in Little Red Riding Hood. The book also displays the issues involved around children being home alone, and the need for children to communicate and cooperate with each other. Shang probably would not have let the wolf in.

After you finish enjoying the story and its illustrations and thinking about how it differs from Little Red Riding Hood, I suggest you also think about why stories about wild animals attacking from the woods are common to many cultures. Why do you think these stories were told originally? Why have they persisted in having appeal? Do you think they will be popular 1000 years from now? Why?

Enjoy and appreciate differences!