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Saved by Allyson Way
on November 30, 2010 at 9:40:00 pm
 

Book Review: The Five Chinese Brothers

written by Claire Huchet Bishop and Illustrated by Kurt Wiese 

  

Plot Summary 
    The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Biship was one of my all time favorite stories growing up.  This story is a well-known Chinese folktale and therefore I would classify this story in the genre of folklore with fantasy elements because of the different "magical" elements in the story.  This is a story of five Chinese brothers who all look identical and all obtain a special talent.  The first brother could swallow the sea, the second had an iron neck, the third could stretch his legs, the fourth could not be burned, and the fifth could hold his breath indefinitely.  All of these talents become very important once the first brother is summoned to his  death.  He is summoned to the death of being beheaded, so he was sent home to bid his mother goodbye, his second brother returned.  When the executioner swung his sword to behead the second brother it did absolutely no damage for he has an iron neck.  He is then summoned to a death of drowning.  He is sent home to bid his mother good bye, and the third brother returns.  When the third brother is thrown into the sea he stretches his legs until his feet hit the bottom and he does not drown.  
     At this point the towns people are furious and summon him to a death of being burned alive.  The brother is sent home to bid his mother goodbye, the fourth brother returns.  He is tied to stakes and set on fire.  He shows no reaction and actually finds it quite pleasant, so they take him down.  He is then finally summoned to a death of being smothered.  He is sent home to bid his mother goodbye once more, and the fifth brother returns.  The executioner puts the brother into a large black oven that is stuffed with whipped cream and wait all night to see to it that he is finally put to rest.  The next morning the fifth brother is taken out unharmed.  After his fifth survival, the towns people now believe that he is innocent and he is released.  
     The reason I suggest that this children's book belongs in the fantasy genre is because a normal human could not obtain these certain talents, and that it is simply make believe.  However, I believe that it are these fantasy aspects that makes it such a great children's book.  Claire Huchet Bishop did a great job in producing such a memorable book.  For more on the author visit http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/aww_01/aww_01_00101.html
Textual Elements
     The setting of The Five Chinese Brothers is in China, the time and year is not mentioned.  However, from the acts of execution of "beheading" I would assume that it is set some time ago.  As previously explained the characters of this story are the five Chinese brothers who all obtain their different talents.  The point of view of this story is through a narrator in third person.  The escape from death theme and the powerful connection between the brothers made this book a classic.  The text used in this book was nothing special or "eye-catching" but rather just basic, black text that was very straightforward as to not take away from the artistic appeal of the book. 
Artistic Elements
      The illustrations in this children's book was very attention grabbing and supplemented the story in a great way.  Without these graphics this story would not have been portrayed the same way and would have been quite boring.  Even though they were pretty simplistic illustrations I believe they fit perfectly within the authenticity of the story.  I would classify the artwork as folk art because is gives a broad designation for the artistic expression of the ethnic group. Here is an example of an illustration within the book http://www.bettybirney.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/5-Chinese-Brothers-sea-swalloer-247x300.jpg  The pictures also appear to have a "cartoon" aspect to it, meaning that it does not represent realistic  images.  The majority of the images also lay in front of a white background which also adds to the simplicity of the pictures which can also be seen in the example above. The color scheme is very basic, revolving around around two basic colors of black and orange.  The illustrations also contain a certain texture that seems to be brush strokes on a canvas.  The placement of the text is nothing out of the ordinary, placed either on the bottom or top of the page not to interfere with the pictures.  Here is an example of the picture-text placement  http://www.fairrosa.info/rj/uploaded_images/Photo-37-751044.jpg.  Finally, the artistic/design elements of this book is the relationship of words with pictures.  Meaning, it is a complete story with both pictures and words.  The words indicate what to pay attention to and how to interpret what we see.  The pictures can reflect and extend the text, provide a richer and broader context and give a visual quality. Without one the story would simply not be complete. 
Analysis and Critique
    
     I believe that there are many hidden messages contained in this book and that  it could be considered controversial in the classroom.  The fact that each brother was sent to his death could be a touchy topic for young students.  A source stated, " The racial question felt like a non-issue but the whole drama of how the five brothers escape execution by using their magical abilities was very disturbing. I felt really uncomfortable having to discuss capital punishment with a four-year-old" (Murray).  This is a very good concept to bring to attention.  What will a child think when death is considered such a light topic in this story?  Even though the executions are not stressed in the book, it could be a touchy subject for children to wrap their minds around. 
Here is a youtube link of the complete story:

 

Citation 
Murray, Kristy . "Five Chinese Brothers." Magic Casements . June 11, 2008. Web. 30 Nov 2010.      <http://magiccasements.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-i-was-in-canberra-last-month-i.html>.

     

          



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