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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 12. . . . February 13, 2004
excerpt:
In this retelling of an ancient Chinese folk tale, readers will be delighted to find vivid illustrations that capture a time and place far away, where seven Chinese sisters would have been rare. In The Seven Chinese Sisters, each sister has a special ability or hobby, such as riding a scooter very quickly, knowing karate, counting to five hundred and beyond, talking to dogs, catching balls and cooking.
The story line is reminiscent of other retellings such as The Five Chinese Brothers and The Seven Chinese Brothers where each sibling's special talent is utilized to solve a problem. However, it is unlike these stories in the way that, for instance, The Five Chinese Brothers was criticized for stereotyping Chinese people. The Seven Chinese Sisters is a splendidly illustrated story children are sure to enjoy. The patterned drawings by Lin and rich colours lend to the brightly told story. My only criticism would be Second Sister's special ability which is karate. Her ability would have been better if it was a well-known Chinese martial art as karate is known to be from Japan. It would have given the story a more authentic feel. Recommended. Carolyn Kim is an MA student in Children's Literature at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
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Seventh sister, however, is not even old enough to speak, and her special ability is not known yet. Incidentally, she is captured by a dragon and taken away to its cave in a mountain. The story takes an exciting turn when the sisters rally together to save their youngest sibling. Through their adventures, they rescue her and even decide to have compassion on her captor who is a starving, lonely dragon.