Why Rat Comes First: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac

by Clara Yen, Hideo C. Yoshida (Illustrator)

Explains why Rat comes first in the Chinese calendar cycle of twelve years.

Genres: Picture Books

31 pages, Library Binding

First published June 1, 1991

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa was most interested in what animal represented her birth year. She's the Year of the Dog - honest, loyal, and generous. She wanted to know about Angelica - the Year of the Snake who's wise, calm and elegant. She asked about Mom - Year of the Horse - attractive, independent and stylish and Dad - Year of the Tiger - courageous, powerful and adventuresome.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introductory book about the Chinese zodiac.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather peculiar version of the Chinese Zodiac story. Rat complains that he is too small to fairly compete against the ox for the honor of being first animal in the zodiac. So the prime minister makes him as tall as a man, and the children delightedly vote for him.

The tale is written in an odd part prose/ part verse manner, that ends up just being awkward. The rat, as well as the horse, the pig, and all the other animals are drawn standing on their hind legs, like humans, which looks quite peculiar. Hideo C. Yoshida drew the illustrations in a black-outline cartoon style, using ink and colored pencil. Ages 3-7.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in this because the story is different than the one I am familiar with. In this version, the rat becomes large and the children choose him in a popularity contest.