Mulan: A Story in Chinese and English

it's just for kids, but I liked it. Will give to a niece or nephew. [my family keeps makin' 'em!]BK

When my daughter read this story, she was not surprised that Mulan could read or ride horses or shoot a bow and arrow. The bigger question was "Why do people have to go to war?..." In this version of the story, there is no prince and Mulan doesn't get married in the end. More true to the original spirit of the story, Mulan's inspiration is her love of family and the readers learn about honor and duty. The English translation is nearly perfect, and perhaps just a bit formal for a children's book. The illustrations are lovely, including architectural scenes in a traditional Chinese house, on horseback in the battlefield, on the steps to the throne, and the pictures are even prettier in the story than the cover.

Story is pretty accurate

The paintings are beautiful! This is an excellent version of the story focusing on Mulan's skills and love of family. It's not 5 stars as I'm picky about the translation. I found it formal and awkward. There is no need to say she is just as good at martial arts as the boys, which implies that boys are better. My daughter doesn't have this worldview. Also, I wish the last few pages didn't emphasize so much on her putting on her dress, make up and her friends (who look like suitors) were surprised she was beautiful. Still some issues making it not quite perfect enough.

We used this book as a resource for a paper. It had a good amount of information that we needed and is one of the main sources we used!! It was great because my 10 year old daughter could easily read it, understand it, and use it to write her paper!

I bought this for my granddaughter. Her preschool was focusing on China the following week, and she had to carry something for show-and-tell that related to that particular country, past or present. She chose Mulan: A Story In Chinese and English. It is a folk story from China's Northern Dynasty (439-589). It is an extraordinary tale of an ordinary but very brave girl named Fa Mulan. The teacher and children loved the story and the beautiful illustrations. Thank you.