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Rev. Pat Hoertdoerfer Children, Family and Intergenerational Programs Director Department of Religious Education, UUA The Paper Dragon By Marguerite W. Davol Illustrated by Robert Sabuda (New York: Simon & Schuster,1997) Courage – Loyalty – Love – Sincerity This story is an ambitious retelling of a Chinese folk tale and exquisitely illustrated with pictures cut from painted tissue paper. Mi Fei is a humble, beloved Chinese scroll painter. He is content living in his small village and painting scenes of gods and heroes and their deeds. But he is always ready to stop work and listen to the tales of his neighbors. One day his peaceful life is shattered when the dragon Sui Jen of Lung Mountain awakens from his hundred-year sleep and begins destroying crops and ruining villages. Mi Fei is chosen by his village to appease the great dragon. With the worried faces of the villagers filling his mind, Mi Fei leaves his beloved village to face the terrifying dragon. In a trembling voice he begs Sui Jen, " . . .you have scorched the tea leaves and trampled the rice, leaving nothing for the people to eat or drink . . . Please, return to your sleep of a hundred years." The dragon assigns Mi Fei three seemingly impossible tasks. First, he is to bring fire wrapped in paper. Mi Fei fashions a paper lantern and brings it to Sui Jen before sunset. Second, he is to bring wind wrapped in paper. Mi Fei folds a fan and brings it to the dragon before noon of the following day. Third, he is to bring the strongest thing in the world wrapped in paper. Mi Fei struggles over this last assignment, yet he delivers his message to Sui Jen before sundown. Then Mi Fei walks back to his village and tells the story of how he found a way for the dragon to sleep once more. This story is told visually in a series of foldout illustrations. The right-hand page of every scene is a foldout that makes each picture a triple-page horizontal spread. The forms of the dragon, plants, trees, and people are portrayed in painted tissue-paper collages affixed to Japanese handmade Sugikawashi paper. Sometimes Mi Fei is creating the picture and sometimes he is within the scene. This is a wonder-filled book in which the storytelling majesty of the Chinese narrative scrollmaker's art is beautifully conveyed. This children's book is a timely and timeless story for all ages. |
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