What do you think?
Rate this book
The Girl Who Drew a Phoenix
One day a young girl named Feng Huang finds a phoenix feather that has fallen from the sky. When she tries to draw the magical bird and share her inspiration, no one is able to tell what it is. Luckily for Feng Huang, the Queen Phoenix sees her troubles and swoops down from the heavens to offer her help.
A phoenix's powers are not easily revealed, however, and Feng Huang embarks on a journey of thought, wonder, and self-discovery. Wisdom, Clear Sight, Equality, Generosity, and Right Judgment are worthy qualities indeed, but Feng Huang finds that they are only truly powerful when shared.
Brilliant sweeps of plumage and flourishes of sparkles and stars accentuate award-winning artist Demi's interpretation of one of the most intriguing and elegant creatures of ancient myth.
A phoenix's powers are not easily revealed, however, and Feng Huang embarks on a journey of thought, wonder, and self-discovery. Wisdom, Clear Sight, Equality, Generosity, and Right Judgment are worthy qualities indeed, but Feng Huang finds that they are only truly powerful when shared.
Brilliant sweeps of plumage and flourishes of sparkles and stars accentuate award-winning artist Demi's interpretation of one of the most intriguing and elegant creatures of ancient myth.
52 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2008
97 people want to read
About the author
Demi
181 books179 followersDemi (September 2, 1942) born Charlotte Dumaresq Hunt, is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. During her career she has published over 300 titles.
Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the great-grand daughter of the American painter William Morris Hunt, and the great-grand niece of architect Richard Morris Hunt. Demi earned her nickname as a young child when her father started calling her demi because she was half the size of her sister.
She studied art at Instituto Allende, Mexico, and with Sister Corita at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She was a Fulbright scholar at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India where she received her Master’s degree.
Demi is known for her biographies for spiritual figures including Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), Muhammad, Rumi, Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.
In 1990, Demi and her husband Tze-si “Jesse” Huang represented the United States at the First Children’s International Book Conference in Beijing.
Source: Wikipedia
Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the great-grand daughter of the American painter William Morris Hunt, and the great-grand niece of architect Richard Morris Hunt. Demi earned her nickname as a young child when her father started calling her demi because she was half the size of her sister.
She studied art at Instituto Allende, Mexico, and with Sister Corita at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She was a Fulbright scholar at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India where she received her Master’s degree.
Demi is known for her biographies for spiritual figures including Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), Muhammad, Rumi, Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.
In 1990, Demi and her husband Tze-si “Jesse” Huang represented the United States at the First Children’s International Book Conference in Beijing.
Source: Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 22, 2021
Read yet again for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf. Even as I am trying to catch up on my backlog of reviews in order to clear the TBR shelves for monsters, murder, and suchlike for the two months of All Hallow's Read and Halloween Bingo, I walked out of my libraries yesterday with more books than I could carry into the house in one trip.
The use of brocade, the gold, the traditional elements: it's really lovely even in a much-used library copy.
Plus I love he way practice is incorporated into the story.
***
More Chinese philosophy and art. Pretty, pretty, art.
The use of brocade, the gold, the traditional elements: it's really lovely even in a much-used library copy.
Plus I love he way practice is incorporated into the story.
***
More Chinese philosophy and art. Pretty, pretty, art.
May 18, 2009
The illustrations are absolutely GORGEOUS! Classic Demi here, but with a twist--she uses Chinese silk brocade for the backgrounds and for the main body of the various phoenix birds. You can tell she really enjoyed this and the illustrations are a visual feast! However, the story is far less inspired. I found it boring and didactic--teaching some principles of the Phoenix bird (i.e., generosity, right mindedness, etc.) but with very little sense of style or characterization. (Nowhere near, say, "Zen Ties") Maybe it was just my mood, but I found it hard to think of kids getting into this.
March 29, 2017
Exquisite illustrations and some solid moral lessons.
April 28, 2017
Demi has done it again with another visually stunning book, some illustrations in gorgeous fold-out spreads, this time about a girl, Feng Huang, who wants to draw a phoenix. Try as she might, she can't get one to look right. Finally, the Queen Phoenix comes down to earth to teach her the five lessons she needs in order to draw a proper phoenix. The lessons consist of literally drawing the opposites of the five virtues or powers of the phoenix: wisdom, clear sight, equality, generosity, and right judgment, thereby drawing those opposites out of her. Finding the five virtues gives her the ability to draw a beautiful, lifelike phoenix. Finally, to emphasize that the lessons she has learned have become a part of her, she offers to teach all the other children how to draw the phoenix too, thereby sharing what she knows.
Now, I thought this was a beautiful story beautifully told, and enjoyed it very much. However, I'm not sure that kids would really appreciate or understand the lessons here. The dust jacket indicates that the book is written for ages 7 to 10, but I'm not sure kids that young would get it. Maybe I'm underestimating kids today. The story teaches about the five virtues of Confucianism, although Confucianism is not mentioned anywhere in the book. Also, the name Feng Huang means phoenix--combining the male (Feng) and female (Huang)--the bird that rules over all other birds. I highly recommend this book as a gorgeously illustrated, interesting story filled with symbolism, but am not sure what age/grade level I would recommend it for if used in a classroom setting. Perhaps it could be used when teaching about China, with some initial preparation on Confucianism. Recommended, nonetheless.
Now, I thought this was a beautiful story beautifully told, and enjoyed it very much. However, I'm not sure that kids would really appreciate or understand the lessons here. The dust jacket indicates that the book is written for ages 7 to 10, but I'm not sure kids that young would get it. Maybe I'm underestimating kids today. The story teaches about the five virtues of Confucianism, although Confucianism is not mentioned anywhere in the book. Also, the name Feng Huang means phoenix--combining the male (Feng) and female (Huang)--the bird that rules over all other birds. I highly recommend this book as a gorgeously illustrated, interesting story filled with symbolism, but am not sure what age/grade level I would recommend it for if used in a classroom setting. Perhaps it could be used when teaching about China, with some initial preparation on Confucianism. Recommended, nonetheless.
June 10, 2025
another stunning picture book from Demi, one of my favorites so far. there's so much to love here, any single page could make a gorgeous poster.
I really love all of the tail feathers, the way they look like fabric prints. I love how the Phoenix queen stands on a star (I was surprised and a little disappointed by the complete visual absence of fire, considering it plays an important role in the plot, but the stars and gemstones work as a fine substitute).
my favorite phoenix was the green one with dragon print for feathers. i could look at it every day and still find it mesmerizing. I also really liked the owl phoenix (it's too bad the queen basically told Feng Huang she was drawing it wrong, it wasn't accurate to the other phoenixes but it still looked really good and was visually interesting for being so different from the rest of the birds). the baby phoenix chicks were also very cute, one of them in particular reminds me a lot of my cat.
as for non-phoenix drawings, the clothes on all the kids are absolutely stunning. this book also made me appreciate how Demi draws architecture and creates the impression of open space.
as for the narrative, a couple modest critiques. the lessons of the last three phoenixes--passage through the fires of selfishness, greed, and jealousy--all seem to be kind of the same thing. the examples drawn--witholding or sharing a bird, witholding or giving away a bowl of rice, and being angry versus hugging your friend, don't really clear things up. my impression is that this is an adaptation of a Buddhist folk story, in which case this could definitely be a case of nuance or connotation getting lost in translation. if that's the case, I would have liked some kind of clarification in a glossary/background info as found in several other books.
it would have also been nice to see in a little more detail the dynamic (dare I say, dialectic?) by which the fires of ignorance, anger, selfishness, etc. turned into their respective powers. even expanding on just one of these transformations would have helped clarified all of them. ah well, c'est le vie.
finally, the question of gender. in this book and in Chinese cosmology the Phoenix is the Supreme Female principal and power, while the Dragon is the Supreme Male power. Feng Huang, the protagonist, is a girl. The Queen Phoenix is explicitly female, though every other phoenix seems to be conspicuously ungendered—visually the phoenixes seem to most resemble (male) peacocks or perhaps male birds of paradise. it would seem all of Feng Huang 's friends are girls. in the final part of the story are they all being taught feminine principles? what about the phoenixes and their powers are we to understand is essentially feminine? wisdom, right judgement, equality, generosity, and clear sight all seem fairly gender neutral, with perhaps the exception of a gendered expectation that women should be more self sacrificing than men. but if these virtues, or rather as the text refers to them, these powers, are meant to be practiced by people of all genders, why mention the cosmological association between the Phoenix and the Supreme Feminine principle? the Phoenix was also symbolically linked to the Empress, for example, but that fact is not incorporated into the story or mentioned. I don't know, I found this very puzzling. I know Demi has another, similar book about a boy who paints dragons and who is similarly visited by dragons so he may be taught their wisdom; maybe comparison with that book will shed some light.
overall, this book is a treasure, a palace for the eye and a feast for the soul. I've been enjoying reading Demi's collection--i was obsessed with the couple of books by her which my elementary school library had on hand. Thank the Phoenixes for public libraries!
🐦🔥 🐦🔥🐦🔥🐦🔥🐦🔥
I really love all of the tail feathers, the way they look like fabric prints. I love how the Phoenix queen stands on a star (I was surprised and a little disappointed by the complete visual absence of fire, considering it plays an important role in the plot, but the stars and gemstones work as a fine substitute).
my favorite phoenix was the green one with dragon print for feathers. i could look at it every day and still find it mesmerizing. I also really liked the owl phoenix (it's too bad the queen basically told Feng Huang she was drawing it wrong, it wasn't accurate to the other phoenixes but it still looked really good and was visually interesting for being so different from the rest of the birds). the baby phoenix chicks were also very cute, one of them in particular reminds me a lot of my cat.
as for non-phoenix drawings, the clothes on all the kids are absolutely stunning. this book also made me appreciate how Demi draws architecture and creates the impression of open space.
as for the narrative, a couple modest critiques. the lessons of the last three phoenixes--passage through the fires of selfishness, greed, and jealousy--all seem to be kind of the same thing. the examples drawn--witholding or sharing a bird, witholding or giving away a bowl of rice, and being angry versus hugging your friend, don't really clear things up. my impression is that this is an adaptation of a Buddhist folk story, in which case this could definitely be a case of nuance or connotation getting lost in translation. if that's the case, I would have liked some kind of clarification in a glossary/background info as found in several other books.
it would have also been nice to see in a little more detail the dynamic (dare I say, dialectic?) by which the fires of ignorance, anger, selfishness, etc. turned into their respective powers. even expanding on just one of these transformations would have helped clarified all of them. ah well, c'est le vie.
finally, the question of gender. in this book and in Chinese cosmology the Phoenix is the Supreme Female principal and power, while the Dragon is the Supreme Male power. Feng Huang, the protagonist, is a girl. The Queen Phoenix is explicitly female, though every other phoenix seems to be conspicuously ungendered—visually the phoenixes seem to most resemble (male) peacocks or perhaps male birds of paradise. it would seem all of Feng Huang 's friends are girls. in the final part of the story are they all being taught feminine principles? what about the phoenixes and their powers are we to understand is essentially feminine? wisdom, right judgement, equality, generosity, and clear sight all seem fairly gender neutral, with perhaps the exception of a gendered expectation that women should be more self sacrificing than men. but if these virtues, or rather as the text refers to them, these powers, are meant to be practiced by people of all genders, why mention the cosmological association between the Phoenix and the Supreme Feminine principle? the Phoenix was also symbolically linked to the Empress, for example, but that fact is not incorporated into the story or mentioned. I don't know, I found this very puzzling. I know Demi has another, similar book about a boy who paints dragons and who is similarly visited by dragons so he may be taught their wisdom; maybe comparison with that book will shed some light.
overall, this book is a treasure, a palace for the eye and a feast for the soul. I've been enjoying reading Demi's collection--i was obsessed with the couple of books by her which my elementary school library had on hand. Thank the Phoenixes for public libraries!
🐦🔥 🐦🔥🐦🔥🐦🔥🐦🔥
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2019
This one is all about the artwork. It's an illustrated legend. Whether it's an actual Chinese legend or not, it has that feel to it. After finding a phoenix feather, a little girl draws all the attributes of the Phoenix (aided by different colored phoenix to represent each virtue) in order to give her phoenix drawings life.
I don't know if it's one I'd pull out for a storytime, though might bring it out for a Chinese New Year event (or similar cultural program). It's too beautiful to not highlight at some point. For a group read, though, a lot of the detail on the pages gets lost. You see all the beautiful phoenix, for example, but it's harder to see the details of the other drawings (as she draws jealous or sharing, to name a few). Would work much better as a one-on-one read where you can get up close to the pictures. It's also a little more abstract for my average crowd of toddlers and young preschoolers. Younger elementary schoolers would appreciate the story more, though kids of most ages will appreciate the beautiful details and textures and metallic touches to the pictures.
I don't know if it's one I'd pull out for a storytime, though might bring it out for a Chinese New Year event (or similar cultural program). It's too beautiful to not highlight at some point. For a group read, though, a lot of the detail on the pages gets lost. You see all the beautiful phoenix, for example, but it's harder to see the details of the other drawings (as she draws jealous or sharing, to name a few). Would work much better as a one-on-one read where you can get up close to the pictures. It's also a little more abstract for my average crowd of toddlers and young preschoolers. Younger elementary schoolers would appreciate the story more, though kids of most ages will appreciate the beautiful details and textures and metallic touches to the pictures.
March 30, 2020
Very beautiful visually, so I have a third star. Rich golds and reds, and beautifully detailed patterns throughout-the illustrations are striking because they are very different than the usual type on a child’s bookshelf. Otherwise this book isn’t super appealing as one to read to children. It is in the style of a legend or fable, and is about a young girl who finds the feather of a Phoenix and wants to earn it’s powers by drawing it. Along the way she uncovers gifts from other phoenixes, such as wisdom, equality, understanding, etc. Maybe appropriate for older children would be able to grasp and appreciate the concepts more.
July 9, 2025
A companion to The Boy Who Painted Dragons, I think as they have similar formatting and illustrations using fabric to fill in space, I think this is a liiiiiiittle more abstract with phoenixes representing various Buddhist values (I assume that is what these are), though illustrations are once again lush and a joy to pore over.
June 19, 2020
This was quite a beautiful book and I was tempted to give it 4 stars but it felt like the was something missing to the story. It felt decently paced, the illustrations were beautiful, and it was a good story, but it felt like they just closed over parts of the story to get to the end.
I have mixed feelings about recommending it to others.
I have mixed feelings about recommending it to others.
September 12, 2017
The theme of this book is learning about a new culture and values such as generosity and equality. This book goes also under bullying theme so it's multi-funtioning! The illustration is amazing and the book offers activity to children with its folding pages and sparkling pictures.
March 29, 2018
Girl tries to draw a phoenix but gets laughed at. The spirit of the phoenix comes to her and tries to help her out. Then the phoenix gives her a list of things to do. She learns about wisdom, clear sight, equality, generosity and right judgement. Now she draws beautiful pictures.
February 8, 2018
Wonderful, stunning artwork. And loved the story too :).
October 4, 2019
A very brief overview of the office of the presidency. Oddly, several of the pictures lacked captions.
October 19, 2022
I like this story but I think the storytelling is not what I’m used to so it was hard for me to really sink into
It.
It.
August 7, 2023
Lovely illustrations, repetitve text
March 16, 2024
The heroine's journey picture book. With enchanting illustrations and a lovely story by one of my favorite author/illustrators, this is a delight.
June 22, 2013
Once upon a time in China, all life on heaven and earth was lighted and nourished by the great phoenix. One day on earth, a little girl found a phoenix feather. She had never seen a phoenix, and did not know what one looked like, but having the feather, she decided to draw a phoenix on her garden wall. It was not a good drawing. Her friends teased her and called her drawing ugly, but she didn't know how to make it better. But the Queen Phoenix saw the girl's problem and flew down to help.
Demi, an expert at classical Chinese art, uses paint, ink, and Chinese silk brocade to create lavish illustrations for this Chinese tale. Some pages are folded, making them difficult to return to their original folded position without damage to the pages. Although presented as a picture book, the concepts of wisdom, equality, generosity, clear sight, and right judgment are not easy to understand for preschoolers. Better for ages 6-10.
Demi, an expert at classical Chinese art, uses paint, ink, and Chinese silk brocade to create lavish illustrations for this Chinese tale. Some pages are folded, making them difficult to return to their original folded position without damage to the pages. Although presented as a picture book, the concepts of wisdom, equality, generosity, clear sight, and right judgment are not easy to understand for preschoolers. Better for ages 6-10.
January 10, 2013
Yet another beautiful book by Demi.
This is essentially a fairy tale about a girl gaining wisdom and learning that sometimes it takes hard work to achieve your dreams. Written with an obvious (but not overbearing) Buddhist influence, it uses the architecture and archetypal phoenixes of of China past. The illustrations are beautiful, shiny and bright. My 4 and 6 year old loved this.
Of note, Demi has written another book with a female protagonist that makes an ideal companion - The Boy Who Painted Dragons.
This is essentially a fairy tale about a girl gaining wisdom and learning that sometimes it takes hard work to achieve your dreams. Written with an obvious (but not overbearing) Buddhist influence, it uses the architecture and archetypal phoenixes of of China past. The illustrations are beautiful, shiny and bright. My 4 and 6 year old loved this.
Of note, Demi has written another book with a female protagonist that makes an ideal companion - The Boy Who Painted Dragons.
February 25, 2016
My five year old loved this book so much he brought it to preschool school to show his classmates.
Demi always creates beautiful artwork in her books. The pictures are stunning in this story of a girl artist who drew away things like anger and greed to find the phoenixes of Clear Sight and Generosity (and several other wonders).
I especially liked the way Feng Huang uses art to find healing and wholeness. My son especially loved the huge colorful birds that take the children on a ride at the end.
An excellent read in the evening before bed and the next day at preschool.
Demi always creates beautiful artwork in her books. The pictures are stunning in this story of a girl artist who drew away things like anger and greed to find the phoenixes of Clear Sight and Generosity (and several other wonders).
I especially liked the way Feng Huang uses art to find healing and wholeness. My son especially loved the huge colorful birds that take the children on a ride at the end.
An excellent read in the evening before bed and the next day at preschool.
January 26, 2014
One day a young girl named Feng Huang finds a phoenix feather that has fallen from the sky. When she tries to draw the magical bird and share her inspiration, no one is able to tell what it is. Luckily for Feng Huang, the Queen Phoenix sees her troubles and swoops down from the heavens to offer her help.
February 21, 2015
This book is really good. The illustrations in it, are wonderful! The way the phoenix is drawn in the book is incredible. For each different phoenix, the young girl learns something new each time. It teaches girls that they can do things just be experiencing and trying new things. They do not have to be perfect, all they have to do is try their best.
November 1, 2008
This is very profound. But like the phoenix the language and concepts are bound to soar above the heads of most children. More appeal here for adults, especially those into the metaphysical. The art of course is beautiful and will be enjoyed by all.
December 24, 2008
Beautifully illustrated with endpapers in red and gold, it deals with some difficult to grasp concepts ~ wisdom, judgement, equality. A good message about the power of art, but not so easy for kids to grasp. But a nice gift book for the adult artist or philosopher in your life.
August 6, 2010
Wow, I really like this book. It is so beautiful to look at. It is about a young girl trying to find some truth. Along the way she is ridiculed and discouraged, but finds what she's looking for and keeps her generous spirit.
September 23, 2014
The books illustrations are very good. You can actually touch and feel them. Not only are the illustrations done well, the story is good as well. It teaches children about wisdom, clear sight, equality, generosity, and right judgement too.
September 25, 2010
The images are beyond beautiful.
April 16, 2011
I really enjoyed the style of illustration in this book but thought the text was way too complex for a Children's book. This is definitely for older kids who can understand the folk tale. Grades 3+
July 27, 2011
Beautiful & fanciful
October 5, 2014
Same gorgeous illustrations as The Boy Who Painted Dragons, same kind of journey of learning and self-fulfillment, same simplicity and beauty.
November 11, 2012
Beautifully illustrated, but the text is more of a moral tale than a story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews