At best Shaggy Dog stories. Of the five books recognized by the Newbery Award selection committee in 1925 and 1926, four of them were short story collections, including back-to-back winners Tales from Silver Lands and Shen of the Sea. As a folklorist I am deeply disappointed in this book and I would be hard pressed to recommend it to any child today. Welcome back. A series of fascinating Chinese stories, strong in humor and rich in Chinese wisdom, in which the author has caught admirably the spirit of Chinese life and thought. Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children: Chrisman, Arthur Bowie: 9780525392446: Books - Amazon.ca Each folk tale embodies its own humor and cleverness—none of them are straightforward or predictable. At best Shaggy Dog stories. Shen of The Sea book. Defunct Winner UID: 2 966. Shen of the Sea. It was fun to read, and quite humorous at times. Chrisman won the 1926 Newbery Medal for the work, recognizing the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". Full of superstition, dragons, demons (aka Shen), witches, and naughty childr. Twenty-fourth Tami Charles is a former teacher and the author of picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, and nonfiction. What else can one expect though? no ghastly Ting A Ling for a name. About Arthur Bowie Chrisman. I wasn't in love with this book, but I did kind of enjoy reading it. But presenting it as authentic Chinese folktales to children today would be a misrepresentation. Many of the stories were hard to follow because of the repeating of certain names (Nu Wa appears twice and Ching Chi thrice as different people), name parts (Ah, Mei, Ching, Fu, Wu, Lang, Ting....) and words that I am sure are not really Chinese at all. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. It's a little hard for me to judge this one since I read it right after reading the previous Newbery winner, which is another collection of tales. Most explain either how items were invented or why they are named as they are. I'm glad I didn't give up but I will also not recommend it to any readers (unless s/he is participating in the reading challenge ~ then I'd have to say, some of the stories are not terrible. We’d love your help. I think I would have liked it better if, like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the author had made clear that it was "inspired" by Chinese folklore though I'm not sure that distinction would have been one understood by the author or readers at that time period. But they are couched in insensitive la. Editions. I might recommend this book, it just wasn't for me. I don’t know if children in 1926 liked it, but can say that for the 25 to 30 years, Shen of the Sea set on my classroom library shelves, not one student checked it out. Is it a product of the 1920s full of cultural appropriation and imperialism? Winner Description: by Arthur Bowie Chrisman, and published by Dutton. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Really this book is 2.5 stars, but I decided to be nice and round up. And the Newbery Winner read/re-read continues. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. Another early one, and not a good one. [Arthur Bowie Chrisman; Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress)] -- Sixteen original stories reflecting the spirit of Chinese life and thought. Shen of the Sea H Hamilton, Hardcover, 1969; Shen of The Sea : Chinese Stories for Children Dutton Juvenile, Library Binding, 1968; SHEN OF THE SEA: Ah Mee's Invention; How Wise Were the Old Men; Chop-Sticks; Buy I have trouble trusting that these are accurate folktales as there is no information in the book attesting to origins. It’s just that it claims to be a collection of “Chinese stories,” but from what I can tell these stories have almost no basis in Chinese folklore. As it was I renewed it 3-4 times. Undated title pages of three Dutton editions, displayed at Google Books (books.google.com), show the former subtitle reported as 1925 and 1958, the latter reported as 1968. Chrisman won the 1926 Newbery Medal for the work, recognizing the previous years "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". no ghastly Ting A Ling for a name. I should have realized it would not stand up to su. 17 talking about this. Posted on March 8, 2011 by wordworm98. Even though I found the sentence structure and language taxing after a while (the whole book reads kind of like a fortune cookie), I think that the stories have and will stand the test of time. It's one that I could not get into and avoided going back to. The title story tells of a king who tries to match wits with the demons of the water in order to save his city from a flood. Unusually entertaining folktales. Shen of the Sea is a collection of short stories written by Arthur Bowie Chrisman. [1] Chrisman won the 1926 Newbery Medal for the work, recognizing the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". Award: John Newbery Medal. This 1926 Newbery winner is a collection of 16 Chinese tales. Dutton Date: 1966 Format: Hardcover Condition: Very Good Condition Description: Dust jacket in acceptable condition. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Wählen Sie Ihre Cookie-Einstellungen. Sweet Ladies! While the lack of cultural authenticity and overwhelming orientalist are not surprising given the era in which this book was written, it’s hard to celebrate it today. Refresh and try again. Posted on March 10, 2011 by wordworm98. Shen of the Sea is a collection of sixteen lighthearted and humorous Chinese folktales. So don't be looking for authentic Chinese folk tales here. It's important to remember when reading some of these older books that weren't offensive at the time and our sensibilities are more enlightened now. Chrisman won the 1926 Newbery Medal for Shen of the Sea, the 5th Newbery issued. But they are couched in insensitive language by a story writer and not a folklorist. This collection of short Chinese traditional tales is timeless. … I should have realized it would not stand up to such works written by Chinese authors. Yes, at times, which is why the book gets a half star higher rating than "The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Lo". I finally finished it; if it had been an ILL book I'd have forced myself to read it in 2 weeks. Year this Award was Won: 1 926. Shen of the Sea is a collection of short stories written by Arthur Bowie Chrisman. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of. Join LibraryThing to post. It is a Western interpretation/appropriation of Chinese folklore. And the tone of children's books from the 20s continues to be patronizing and irksome. Read reviews from world’s largest community for readers. Taken at face value these are some cute stories about how some things were invented, words came to be, and moral things we should all know. Yes. Shen of the sea : a book for children. Great Books to Give the Kids This Holiday. I tried explaining it to others, and half-way through they were bored. October 30th 1968 Smoky is up next. Be the first to ask a question about Shen of the Sea. Preview of Shen of the Sea Summary: Shen of the Sea is a collection of sixteen lighthearted and humorous Chinese folktales. Words fail me. Shen of the Sea | | ISBN: | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. I read this as part of my quest to read all the Newbery Medal winners sometime before I die. It was first published by Dutton in 1925, illustrated with more than 50 silhouettes by Else Hasselriis. I do like the inclusion of Chinese words and I do ap. Posted in Shen of The Sea | Tagged 6th grade, books, iBooks, Newbery award, Newbery Award Books, Newbery award medal winners, Newbery books, oppisite, Project Gutenberg, reading, review, Shen of The Sea, violin | Leave a comment Chop-Sticks! I found the stories slightly interesting, but got a little hung over the names and places. I think perhaps Shen of the Sea could use a little light editing (such as Dr. Dolittle received) or at the very least a forward to clarify the author's use of another culture's bits of folklore to create new literary inventions. on the go, reading one story every school day. Reason for Reading: Read aloud to my 9yo son. In order to deal with it at all, we have to have that understanding up front. 2.5 stars. We always have a book of folktales, fairy tales, myths, etc. I eventually fell asleep while reading this book and never picked it up again. I stopped reading this book after about 1 and a half stories. It was hailed at the time as "authentic" but cultural authenticity is regarded a little differently today. Chrisman's 16 original stories are written in the style of humorous Chinese folk tales. They were so different from anything I was used to and I had a hard time keeping them straight. This is yet another early example of the librarians of the ALA trying to use the Newberys to reward cultural diversity and failing big time.Is it as bad as "The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Lo"? From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. The title story tells of a king who tries to match wits with the demons of the water in order to save his city from a flood. MY IMPRESSIONS. Basil E. Frankweiler, A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, Good Masters! It was hailed at the time as "authentic" but cultural authenticity is regarded a little differently today. Mixed in are a number of myths/fairy tales. It's taking me that long. And yet told one at a time these stories might have worked read aloud with small details changed. Shen of The Sea. Sort field for winners: shen of sea. Start by marking “Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children” as Want to Read: Error rating book. So the Shen, the demons of the sea, got them together and took thought. It's about as authentic as "The Mikado" (also regarded as "authentic" at the time). Taken at face value these are some cute stories about how some things were invented, words came to be, and moral things we should all know. And besides the dumb names which were clearly chosen to amuse someone by their play on language for English, they also got details about pretty much everything wrong for China. Winner Rank: WIN. It was first published by Dutton in 1925, illustrated with more than 50 silhouettes by Else Hasselriis. These action-filled stories express ancient Oriental philosophies and culture, and offer descriptions of pagodas and paper-covered windows, brocade tapestries and lacquered sedans, Chinese medicines and foods, and the constant fear of "death by beheading." These are also very cute and absurd, merely in a different setting. Both subtitles have been used for later editions.[2]. Sometimes it got a little slow, but collections of tales tend to do that when you're reading them in a bunch. Some are inventive, creative, and optimistic, while others are foolish, contrary, and undisciplined. Is it a product of the 1920s full of cultural appropriation and imperialism? Feb 5, 2008, 11:25pm . I do like the inclusion of Chinese words and I do appreciate, that for the time, it was big step forward in accepting and introducing other cultures to children. This book of stories was good enough that I finished it, but I didn't think it stood up all that well in comparison with Tales from Silver Lands, the previous year's Newbery Award winner. Seriously, the Newbery winners of the 1920s are making me despair for the children who were reading them. It was first published by Dutton in 1925, illustrated with more than 50 silhouettes by Else Hasselriis. Many of these stories explain how the first something was created, so they are like creation myths, only most stories don't explain how an element of nature arose, instead how a man-made thing came about. I think that this book won the Newbery in 1926 because there weren’t many books about the Chinese culture written for children. Chrisman never went to China and probably never spoke to anyone Chinese. No, e.g. These tales were made up for a Western/American audience to explain the origins of various items: the printing press, chop-sticks, gunpowder, tea, porcelain, and kites. These action-filled stories express ancient Oriental philosophies and culture, and offer descriptions of pagodas and paper-covered windows, brocade tapestries and lacquered sedans, Chinese medicines and foods, and the constant fear of "death by beheading." The author, Arthur Bowie Chrisman, put together a diverse collection of stories. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg. The book was written by an American in the mid 1920s. The book was written by an American in the mid 1920s. Children will enjoy the twists, as many times the story seems to wrap up, and then several more pages reveal an amusing, surprising extra turn of events. Another early one, and not a good one. I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge. Doctor Dolittle was good when I read it originally. Work Description. Chrisman also includes some Anglicized Chinese phrases and words which may or may not be correct (shen/shin for demon and lung/long for dragon are two I recognize). I'm finding myself feeling some of the same things I felt after I finished Tales from Silver Lands. I finally finished it; if it had been an ILL book I'd have forced myself to read it in 2 weeks. Hello everyone, I am having a great tine reading all these books, (I am already on my 5th one) Shen of The Sea (a collection of 16 short Chinese stories…. Many of these stories explain how the first something was created, so they are like creation myths, only most stories don't explain how an element of nature arose, instead how a man-made thing came about. Not the most terrible Newbery winner so far (this challenge will drive me insane until I hit the 40s), but not great. This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. 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