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King of Shadows by Susan Cooper. Personal copy. Read for the Scholar's Blog Book Discussion. This discussion took place in February of 2007; I'm going thru old books that I enjoyed but didn't post about when I read.

The Plot: Present-day Nat is a teenager and actor who is in a staging of one of Shakespeare's Plays. Then, boom! Time slip happens and he's back in the day, meeting the real Bard.

The Good: I love time slip novels. I love Shakespeare.

Nat meets Shakespeare and they bond. Nat's father is dead; and Nat sees Shakespeare as a quasi father figure.

OK, true confession time: when I read the Nat/Shakespeare relationship, I thought, "hm. gay." There was something about the intensity of Nat's feelings towards Shakespeare that just seemed -- well, not as a son to a father. Or a friend to a friend. And I thought, OK, that's just my reading, I've read too much slash fanfiction. But then I saw that Roger thought the same thing!

Tho, part of my reading may also be because of Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn. I think this, in a way, is her love story to him; with SC's feelings about HC projected onto Nat's feelings for WS.

Anyway, I also liked this book because of the theatre! angle, a world that Cooper knows. The present day theatre, trying to recreate the Shakespeare plays; and then the world of Shakespeare, putting them on for the first time.

Arby's word convey the heart of this book: "Nothing is more important than the company; nothing is more important than the play." Is it the people or the play that is more important?

Final worlds: I was really, really frustrated by the non-explanation for the timeslip. It turns out that Babbage/ Burbage sends Nat back in time to save WS; but it never explains how B/B manages to learn the secrets of a long life/ time travel.

There are so many different approaches you can take if you want to expand upon The Silk Princess (Picture Book)with your child. Here are just a couple:

Legends, Myths, and Folktales

• If your child enjoys these types of stories, why not read more of them? Your public library probably has a lot of them, and as Marian the Librarian points out, kid’s lit is chock full of them Check out her post for a long list of recent books that feature mythological characters.
• Consider having a themed week where you read your favorite myths, legends, and folktales. You can even tell your own favorite stories
• Create a book with your child featuring his/her favorite characters or stories

Ancient China
The possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to learning more about Ancient China. Here are a few ideas:

• Ancient Chinese Culture

Go to your local library, and check out a few books about the Ancient Chinese culture. Discuss religion, clothing, food, and customs. Kids may be interested in the history of China, the emperors and the dynasties. The Great Wall of China and the Silk Road may be interesting topics.

• Arts and Crafts

Here are some arts and crafts I found online. You and your child can make a circly snake or a Chinese lantern.

• Ancient China Month

A friend of mine sometimes has a themed month with her children. Along with her children, she chooses a country or culture to learn about for the month. They go to the library and check out different books, try different recipes a couple of nights during that month, and then try to find and visit local exhibits featuring that culture. Her kids seem to really enjoy it and have developed a deep respect for different cultures. The most impressive thing is that she makes it fun…the kids don’t feel like they’re in school. This could easily be scaled down to “Ancient China month.”

Books of Interest

Bound--A Chinese Cinderella story for Young Adults

Stories From The Silk Road--A collection of folktales from different countries along the Silk Road

Legend of the Chinese Dragon--Discusses the history, tradition, and role the Chinese dragon plays in China even today

Good Morning China--A very cute picture book of how people in China celebrate their mornings in the park.

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes--The title speaks for itself and features five Chinese holidays

The Silk Princess written and illustrated by Charles Santore
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (December 26, 2007)

I’ve always loved legends, folktales, fairytales, and myths. As a child, I loved reading about Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan. I had a big yellow book filled with fairytales, and I remember my favorite being Snow White and Rose Red. I also had a book of myths where I read stories of Zeus, Aphrodite, and Poseidon. The Furies and Medusa terrified me, and I felt so sad for Persephone when she was destined to a live in the Underworld. In college, I first read Beowulf and The Iliad. And don’t get me started about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Some of my favorite books I’ve read in my adult life are Marian Zimmer Bradley’s Avalon series. (except for Ancestors of Avalon, which I couldn’t even finish…ugh).

I love traditional literature because I love the idea of oral histories—of stories being passed down through many generations. I love the magic, the stories, the mysterious and often larger than life characters, the dangerous situations, and the mostly happy endings.

I was very excited when I saw The Silk Princess, a legend about the discovery of silk in ancient China. Hsi-Ling Chi, the Emperor’s daughter, plays second fiddle to her brothers. Her father rarely notices her, and she spends most of her day in the palace gardens with her mother. It was on one of these days when she saw a silkworm’s cocoon fall into her mother’s tea, causing it to unravel. Her mother suggests that she find out how long it is, and the delighted Hsi-Ling Chi takes one end of the thread and begins to walk.. Soon she’s out of the gardens and eventually outside of the palace, where even her mother has never been. But Hsi-Ling Chi is not afraid and continues walking. It is during this dangerous journey that she discovers the magic of the silkworms and is finally able to win her father’s attention with beautiful silk fabric.

The Silk Princess is based on the legend of Chinese Emperor Huang-Ti, the Yellow Emperor whose wife discovers how to make silk when a cocoon falls into her tea, causing it to unravel. In the end notes, Santore explains that the wife was sometimes called Lei-Tsu and sometimes called Hsi-Ling Chi, so he decided to put both in his story and create two characters—the Empress Lei-Tsu and her daughter Hsi-Ling Chi.

The Silk Princess has everything I like in a good folktale—magic, mysterious characters, danger, and a happy ending. Santore’s striking water colors are full of detail and paint a beautiful picture of life in Ancient China, from the traditional clothing to the palace. There is one scene where Hsi-Ling Chi encounters a dragon on a bridge, and a tiny Hsi-Ling Chi is holding her shoes in her hand, running from the dragon. The enormous dragon looks just like how I would imagine a dragon in ancient China to look.

A longer picture book with complex sentences, this book is more suited as a read aloud for younger children. Children who are beginning readers may stumble over some of the language such as, “Regal in his bearing, he reigned in splendor,” but it’s this type of language that is only fitting to describe an Emperor. When we actually get into Hsi-Ling’s story, the vocabulary gets simpler, but there is still a lot of text.

If you’re looking for a good folktale or legend to read to your child, The Silk Princess is a good choice, and don’t let the title fool you—I think both boys and girls would be interested in the book, especially the part with the dragon.