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Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about China
by
Ed Young
Ed Young's spare prose, as lovely as a rice-paper painting, describes in measured detail the beautiful and mystical land that the author so clearly loves. The unique format and gorgeous paper-collage illustrations, highlighted with Chinese characters, combine to convey the many facets of China to form a poetic picture of the lands grace, depth, and majesty.
Hardcover, 36 pages
Published
August 25th 2005
by Chronicle Books
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98)
Grade/interest level: Upper elementary (4th-5th grade)
Reading level: None available
Genre: Poetry, multicultural (Chinese symbols), Picture book, Information book
Main Characters: No real main characters
Setting: Middle empire China
POV: 3rd person narrating the poem
This is a very short poem with great imagery in its pictures and use of Chinese symbols. The poem describes the various features of China including its rice fields, bamboo, hemp, and mountains with an every present mist hiding the valle...more
Reading level: None available
Genre: Poetry, multicultural (Chinese symbols), Picture book, Information book
Main Characters: No real main characters
Setting: Middle empire China
POV: 3rd person narrating the poem
This is a very short poem with great imagery in its pictures and use of Chinese symbols. The poem describes the various features of China including its rice fields, bamboo, hemp, and mountains with an every present mist hiding the valle...more
A visual poem about China in which Ed Young describes China in such a way as to make you love it. Each page is slightly longer in length, giving the appearance of stairsteps or deeper knowledge. The illustrations look like rice paper collages with watercolors of Chinese script. According to the last few pages, the script used are actually ancient Chinese characters. But there is also a guide to the modern characters and a little history of how the characters have changed. The texture is so vivid...more
Gorgeous book! great for sharing Chinese cultural aspects, especially Chinese writing. Is a "visual poem" with lovely collage illustrations and great prose. Is a unique format, and would be fun to use to talk about what aspects make a book. Would also be good to use when talking about letters and the origin of Chinese letters.
Chinese American Libraries Association (CALA) Best Illustrated Book Award
Children's Book Sense Pick
IRA Teachers' Choices 2006
PBS Teacher Source, Recommended Books in Soc...more
Chinese American Libraries Association (CALA) Best Illustrated Book Award
Children's Book Sense Pick
IRA Teachers' Choices 2006
PBS Teacher Source, Recommended Books in Soc...more
This is a poem that describes China. It talks about the beautiful setting including the mountains and the rivers. One of the good phrases in the book is “In winter’s ice, summer’s fire, more plants flourished." The language is very descriptive and it elicits emotions from the reader. The reader can picture the background while reading the poem. The drawings include a variety of colors which makes the reader more interested in the book. I would use this book when we talk about poetry or China.
In the Author's note, Young states that he is trying to create the poetic notion of "visual verse." He certainly achieves this through his simplistic paper collages; he is representing a line of poetry in one picture. The book includes chinese symbols which can represent a whole idea in one character. I also like that you get the entire poem when you open the book, but you must flip the pages to see each image grow.
Ed Young with rice paper yields magic, in this case as he crafts each illustration around an ancient Chinese character or two, accompanied by a poem that stretches the length of the book (on pages of increasingly larger size. You have to see and take this one in to appreciate it. The book design adds a nice touch, resulting in another expression of Young's affection for the country of his birth.
I loved this poem about the Great Mountains of china. I love the beautiful collage illustrations and I love the format where each page is a little longer than the last, so that you can actually read the whole poem as you open the front cover...but you have to flip page by page to see the amazing artwork. What a lovely book!
The illustrations are lovely and the text is ok - you wont learn much about China but its an interesting read from a poetic standpoint. The book's format is unique, too, which is fun. It would be a good idea to read the author's note before you read the book.
What a gorgeous book! I love how Ed Young's illustrations show the meaning of the old Chinese character. A beautiful poem (even if it is a bit on the abstract side), lovely illustrations on rice paper, and I love the use of Chinese characters (both old and new).
This is a beautiful and unique book. After reading the author's note, it's great to read it again.
I'd be interested in hearing comments from people who have read this to their young children/grandchildren.
I'd be interested in hearing comments from people who have read this to their young children/grandchildren.
A visual poem indeed! Prolific Ed Young writes about the China he loves, illustrating each line with Chinese characters and collages. Ed Young is such a dynamic writer and illustrator.
There are really no words but the text itself to describe this poetry. A wonderful way to introduce children to poetic innovation and convention all at once. Took me outside myself.
The simplistic beauty of this book shows the character of China. I also love that the book opens vertically rather than horizontally.
Incorporating old Chinese characters within a poem, this book tells a Chinese creation-type story. The pages are layered so that when you first open the book (up and down orientation), you see the entire poem on the stair-step strips at the bottom of the page. Then illustrations reveal the connection between the words of the poem and the Chinese characters represented.
I wish I had come across this book before our World Studies class read about China being the Middle Kingdom because that's exact...more
I wish I had come across this book before our World Studies class read about China being the Middle Kingdom because that's exact...more
Bonus star for the concept.
Jul 30, 2010
Machim
added it
Children's Books
A beautiful piece of art! The book speaks to both the mind and the eye. It words speak to you as the images express the texture. An attractive combination of color and printed word, worthy of reading and looking at!
Appropriate 3-5th grade-This flip book has pictures that take you right to China. Each one of them, misty, water colored, haunting. They speak to you about what natural resources have come to the world through the birthplace of China, or can be found there now such as jade, hemp, and bamboo. Take a trip to the mountains of China in this fabulous book.
1 like · like · see review
Disappointing, though I liked the different orientation of the text. The poem didn't do much for me, and with the exception of one picture, of birds perched on branches with the sun behind them, the pictures didn't do much either. I ususally like Ed Young's books, but this one wasn't the greatest.
Apr 20, 2013
Tom De
added it
Feb 10, 2013
Bhm
marked it as to-read
Feb 02, 2013
Tara
marked it as to-read
Jan 04, 2013
UNC Reading Center Library
added it
Jan 04, 2013
Xiri
marked it as to-read
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Nov 01, 2009 06:28pm