Road test: The Tale of Sybil Snake
While the Year of the Dragon was welcomed with much fanfare, the Year of the Snake seems to be slithering in with a hiss. might be a good way to bring in the new year with your children and introduce them to some Chinese folk tales, such as the story of China's only ruling empress, Wu Zetian, and the much-loved legend of Lady White Snake.
Billed as "a tale of mystery, missing treasure and the extraordinary magic of love", the story is narrated largely in four-line verses written by Sarah Brennan with an upbeat tempo which spurs the plot. There are some longer words such as "menagerie" and "dignitary" used which younger children might struggle with. However, the rhythm is catchy enough to carry the little ones along if read out by an adult.
The tale has two parts - before and after Sybil's disappearance - and this, again, makes it more suitable for children over four as younger children might perceive the disappearance of Sybil as a natural end. For my two-year-old son, I summarised the story, reading only some verses but he preferred the drama of the earlier pages to the more romantic latter ones.
The illustrations by Harry Harrison are rendered in his easily recognisable style with bright colours to attract the wee ones. Each of the characters - human and animal - has a quirky, slightly manic expression that hints at both inner machinations and the debauchery of the court. My son particularly enjoyed the opening pages featuring the emperor's menagerie, and we spent some time on them naming all the animals. Sybil Snake makes a fittingly dramatic appearance, accompanied by a longish verse.
Despite her somewhat sinister origins, I was pleased that the empress was not cast as the vamp of the piece. The legends underpinning the story are explained in the back pages, albeit on a slightly harder to read patterned background. Parents, I suspect, will enjoy reading the historical and cultural information provided in the blurbs at the back. Sybil Snake is the sixth in a series of tales based around an animal from the Chinese zodiac, so parents might also want to check out the book based on the animal of their child's birth year.
a beautifully illustrated story that introduces a slice of legend and history. A good entry point into Chinese culture for English-speaking children.
