Book Review: Lon Po Po

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Young, Ed. LON PO PO: A RED-RIDING HOOD STORY FROM CHINA. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. ISBN 039921619

2. SUMMARY
In this Chinese folktale, a mother leaves her three children at home to go and visit their grandmother. Before she leaves, she instructs the children to bolt the door and not let anyone come inside. The mean old wolf that lives near by sees the mother leave and decides to take advantage of the situation. The wolf disguises himself as an old woman and pretends to be the children's grandmother in order to get himself let into the house. His plan works and the children lead him inside. The wolf blows out the children's candle, so they cannot get a good look at him, but while laying in bed with the wolf, they begin to ask questions. The oldest child is the one who discovers the truth and she comes up with a plan to kill the wolf by tricking him with a Ginkgo tree. The mother returns home the next day and the children share their story.

3. LITERARY CRITICISM
In this version of the classic Little Red-Riding Hood tale, the children are very easily fooled by the wolf, just like the European version. However, here they are wise enough to discover the truth before it is too late. Also, unlike the European version, the little girls do not have to depend on the big strong manhood of the lumberjack/hunter figure to defeat the wolf. The children themselves are brave enough in this story to devise and carry out a plan for destruction.

The Caldecott Medal winning illustrations are very beautiful. The pastel drawings give just enough detail, leaving the rest of the scene to be imagined by the reader.

4. LITERARY CRITICISM
-PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY "The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book"
-starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL "is an outstanding achievement that will be pored over again and again"

5. CONNECTIONS
*Talk to students about the concept of "stranger danger" in the book and in their lives.
*Read and compare different variations of the Red-Riding Hood tale