Ling-Li was a beautiful girl who had a great talent with her hands. She was talked about all over when it came to her skill. One day she was betrothed to a man whom she cared for named Manchang, his family were poor farmers but she did not let this affect her feelings for him. For a wedding gift, she received vegetables that they had grown. These were beautiful gifts in Ling-Li's opinion and she cherished them so much that she made her wedding robe from their beauty. In the same place, a girl named Golden Flower was also getting married but unlike Ling-Li she was marrying a rich man. Golden Flower had many wedding robes but when she saw Ling-Li's she knew she must have it. She tried to bargain with Ling-Li but nothing would be worth the robe to Ling-Li. Golden Flower knew that she would not get this robe without a fight, so she stole the robe before she was able to know what was happening. Ling-Li chased her through the village until a flock of magpies stole the robe from Golden Flower and flew off with it. Ling-Li knew she had to get this back and did everything in her power. Capturing the magpies in a net, they flew and took her with them to their land high in the mountains. Here is where she found the Phoenix Fairy who asked if she could have to robes because she just fell in love with them. Ling-Li could not part again with the robes so she told her that should could not let her have them. Ling-Li finally came down from the mountain and had her wedding while wearing the robe that she created, the couple was extremely happy. Following the wedding Ling-Li worked side by side with her husband and only took the robe off when she became hot and when she took it off, the magpies watched over the robe for her. One day, Golden Flower was traveling and she saw the robe lying there and again tried to steal it. The magpies fought with her over the robe and it was torn to shreds. The pieces of material were blow into the families fields and flowers that looked like the robe bloomed in the soil.
This book was written well and sounded like a story your grandparent would read or tell you. I thought that the illustrations were great and really showed what we were reading. I enjoyed getting to read a story from a different culture. ( )

This book is one that I very much enjoyed. The story was beautiful Chinese folktale that told the story of a girl who sewed a beautiful wedding gown only for it to be stolen by a jealous girl and then found by the Phoenix Fairy. The illustrations told the story in this book. Although there was a good amount of text, the amazingly detailed acrylics brought the story to life. The text described the pictures with phrases like, “As beautiful as the poppy that grows in the fields." The illustrations transported you back to the time that the story was told. The big idea for this book was about the power of humbleness and a good work ethic. The story describes how the girl with lots of money got to buy her wedding gown but the main character made her own and put all of her effort and passion into it. Every time a “drop of blood fell on the rove [from sewing so much] she would embroider a blood red flower.” The effort and time she put into this robe made it so much better than any robe that could be bought which made the rich girl jealous enough to steal it. Ling-Li used her passion to hunt down the robe that was swooped up by magpies and given to the Phoenix Fairy who finally gave it back to her because of her efforts. This theme is a very powerful one and this folktale do a very good job of depicting it. ( )

This classic Chinese folktale tells a story of a young poor girl who wove an extraordinary wedding gown for her wedding, that is stolen by a rich girl and is eventually torn into pieces and scattered over the land to represent a common wildflower. This story tells of the Phoenix fairy that is unique to the Chinese culture and is unlike the Greek mythology of the Phoenix. This story is beautiful written with excellent metaphors throughout the book. The illustrations capture the Chinese culture and are meticulous painted to create captivating images. ( )

I loved the illustrations in the book that followed the text and enhanced the meaning. When the book talked about the rich girl the illustrations had her gazing into a mirror putting on makeup which helped portray her vanity. I also liked the plot of a poor girl verses a rich girl, the poor girl getting the reward in the end while the rich girl gets punished. I liked how the illustrations matched the Chinese character traits and how they often bridged the pages of the book with the text along the sides instead of at the bottom. Even though the book is definitely read the way English is read, with the text aligned in this manner it gave you the feeling of the Chinese reading experience of top to bottom. The big idea for this book was about quality of character being more valuable then money. ( )