The Son of the Cinnamon Tree / The Donkey's Egg

Korean Folk Tales for Children #10

by Yon-Kyong Kim (Illustrator), Yon-Kyong Kim and Mi-Sun Kang (Illustrator)

Two charming folktales are included in this one bilingual (Korean and English) volume. 1) A cinnamon tree and his human son rely on each other as they set out on a series of adventures which occur at the time fo the great flood. 2) The hilarious story of a simple-minded farmer who buys a "donkey egg" from a clever watermelon vendor. Vol. 10 in the 10 volume set Korean Folk Tales for Children

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

43 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 1990

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two bilingual Korean folk tales for children. "The Son of the Cinnamon Tree" is about a boy who is the son of a cinnamon tree and a fairy. When a huge flood comes that knocks down the cinnamon tree, the boy finds shelter from the flood floating in his branches and welcomes several others as well, which turns out a blessing in the future. "The Donkey's Egg" is about a very foolish farmer and his wife who buy a "donkey's egg" from a watermelon vendor who capitalizes on the man's foolishness.

I have to be honest, I finished reading the second story and went, "That's it?!?" I was expecting more of a punch line or moral. But it just kinda ends. The first story starts off weird (a tree and a heavenly maiden -aka Korean fairy- getting married and having a son) but then got more interesting with the boy's kindness and the similarities it has to the biblical Noah's flood story. So far this is the volume I'm least impressed with in this series.