The Magic Pillow

by Demi

Based on a famous Chinese folktale, The Magic Pillow tells the story of a poor boy named Ping who is given a magic pillow by a mysterious magician. Ping sees what a lifetime of wealth and power would be like, and discovers that the riches of family and freedom are much more valuable.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, China, Folk Tales, Magic, Fiction, Fantasy

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2008

About the author

Demi (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

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic Pillow is based on a short story that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (700 A.D.), authored by Shen Jiji.

The illustrations are radiant. Each page is a portrait within a circle of gold. The title page states: “The illustrations for this book are rendered in traditional Chinese paints and inks with pen and brush on vellum and watercolor paper.”

A young Chinese boy named Ping stops at an inn to shelter from a storm. There is a famous magician performing there. The magician gives sad little Ping a magic pillow and tells him that it will give him everything that he desires, but to remember that wisdom should be desired above all.

Ping’s family is poor, but happy. Ping wants more.

While Ping sleeps, he dreams of marrying the most beautiful and wealthy wife. He lives in a grand palace and has 100 black ponies. He becomes rich, famous, and powerful. Jealous men tell lies and have Ping put in jail. After a very long time Ping is freed and is honored again.

His sons and grandsons followed the very pattern of Ping’s life.

“Ping was seeing the family fortunes rise and fall, rise and fall, like endless waves upon the ocean. Money was like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, power was like a flickering lamp, and fame lasted no longer than a bubble in a stream.”

When Ping awoke, he thanked the magician for the magic pillow and said:

“It is a wonderful gift indeed, and it has given me great wisdom. Now I know what it would be like to be a great man and have money, power, and fame. And now I know that I am happy just the way I am!”

Ending Proverb: “He who finds peace in his heart has found his palace of gold.”

Personal note:
The Magic Pillow was written over thirteen centuries ago, so of course it is sexiest. The only time women are mentioned is in reference to Ping and his “sons” and his “grandsons,” and women are valued for superficial reasons.
“Quickly they were marrying the most beautiful daughters of the richest families.”

Historical notes:

The inn where Ping stayed was at Handan, a city in the Hebei province.

“Lu Wang, a Taoist priest, was the great magician who enlightened Tung Pin (Ping???) with a dream about vanity and illusion of all material wealth. Tung Pin became one of the Eight Chinese Immortals (Lu), thus known as Lu Tung Pin. He is depicted carrying a sword to destroy greed, ego, passion, jealousy, and ignorance.”

Also, Lu Tung Pin is the patron saint of literature. 😀

[Vy Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has beautiful visual elements. The author uses a repetitive style of a gold circle, where all the illustrations are placed inside. The story itself is a wonderful round character. Ping’s character show major development as he goes through the journey of the motel. Ping goes from wanting all these materialistic items, fame, and power to realizing that it could cost him more than what its worth. Ping at the end of the story is aware that he is perfectly happy in life right now. A quote from the book is “He who finds peace in his heart has found his palace full of gold.” I think that quote is a lesson everyone can be reminded of, we live in such a materialistic and money driven world that its sometimes easy to forget that its good to be ambitious but also to be content and happy with the life you are given.

[Ledys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem by Demi. The illustrations are stunning, the text itself is easy to read without it being too simple, the moral is given without any lecturing and is something that we all need to learn sooner or later. Beautiful book!

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demi The Magic Pillow. McElderry (Simon), 2008. PICTURE BOOK.

A young is given a gift of sleep on a mgic pillow that shows hima life of fame, power and fortune. Upon waking, the boy can decide to follow that path or choose a different type of life. A powerful life lesson wrapped up in a neat little package accompanied by Demi’s stylized Asian drawings.

EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library-Teacher.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enchanting retelling of this Chinese folktale about the power of dreams, the illusion of the material world, and the importance of gratitude for the way things are; however, the lovely illustrations could benefit from full-page enlargement to help readers fully appreciate the tiny details, such as the gorgeous clothing and intricate architectural designs.

[Sarah Limb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it’s nice to see an old Chinese tale told in picture book form, but I just wasn’t sold on the story. It’s an ancient story so of course it doesn’t match with some today standards but it seems silly to me that being rich is being portrayed as something horrible. It could be a good thing and shouldn’t be something to not want or obtain if you have the right reasons for doing so.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautiful lesson from a book about Ping. Ping thinks he wants wealth, but when he sleeps on a magic pillow, he learns what having wealth is really like. He learns to be content with what he has.

[Owen & Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous story about enjoying life despite your circumstances. It has gorgeous illustrations as well!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a poor boy named Ping stops at an inn while out on a mountainside woodcutting trip, he meets a wise old magician who can perform marvelous tricks. Confiding in this new friend, Ping expresses the idea that without money, power and fame, a person cannot do the kind of great deeds that he feels they should. It is then that the magician loans him a magical pillow, once which shows him a vision of his life in a dream—a life in which the constant cycle of enrichment and impoverishment plays out, and is passed down to the coming generations. Waking from his dream, Ping realizes that he is happy as he is, having seen what it is to be a great and wealthy man...

Although The Magic Pillow is shelved in the folklore section of my public library, it is in fact not a traditional tale at all, but a retelling of the short story, The World Inside a Pillow, from classical Chinese author Shen Jiji (ca. 740-800 AD) of the Tang Period. It's themes are similar to many of the actual Chinese folktales that American author/illustrator Demi has retold, in that it extols honesty and humility, and emphasizes acceptance of one's self and contentment with what one has. I found the story engaging, but what really elevated the reading experience for me was the gorgeous artwork. Demi's illustrations are always lovely, with their delicate figures and intricate designs, but here her pictures were particularly lovely! I enjoyed the vibrant background color in the nighttime scenes, and the use of bold reds and golds. All in all, well worth the time, both of those looking for fairy-tales from the Chinese tradition, and those who admire the artist's work.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demi brings an old classic fairytale story from the Tang Dynasty in China to the page. We see a poor boy find his way to an inn during a snow storm to take shelter. At the Inn is an amazing magician. The boy is amazed and longs for riches. The magician gave him a magic pillow to sleep on and what he dreamed would come true.

The boy sees his wants and then far into the future and where it would all lead. He realizes he has happiness right now and gives the pillow back. There's way more to it, but that's the gist.

It's a nice story, well told. The artwork is nice. Every page has a circle with the story inside that circle. The colors are soft like dreams. It's very Demi.

There should be an inbetween of having nothing and everything. Anyway. I find it so interesting. In these historical dramas, they are always about the powerful and wealthy. They always believe they can be so much more happy being reborn as a normal citizen. But in these things, they always suffer and are displace by war, famine and flooding. They don't look very happy to me at all. Plus they can be stepped all over by the powerful. Anyway. It makes no sense.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poor but happy child dreams of what his life might be as a rich and powerful man while resting his head on a magic pillow.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"He who finds peace in his heart has found his palace of gold."

[Lorena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh ... I hate to use the word boring, so I’ll go with uninteresting.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really much of a story, more a lesson in being content with what you have. Ping learns that Money, fame, and power do not bring happiness. Based on an ancient Chinese folktale.

[Katie Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent story about contentment.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Retelling of a Chinese folktale about being happy with what you have. I liked the artwork, but my child was not impressed with the story.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that teaches about the vanity and the fleeting nature of power, wealth, and fame.

[Shannon Hughes]

This book is written about a little boy named Ping who lives in a small town in China. Ping goes on a journey and winds up caught in a snow storm where a local inn keeper offers him shelter. Ping accepts the inn keepers offer and decides to spend the night. Ping meets another one of the guests of the inn who happens to be a magician. The little boy tells the magician of his dreams to have money, wealth and power. The magician offers him a magical pillow that once he rests his head on will show him how his life would be if he had all of his wishes come true. Once Ping begins to see how his life could be he begins to reconsider his wishes.

This book teaches children a very valuable lesson. It teaches them to appreciate what they have and not to long for more. Money,wealth and power are not always the most important thing in the world and that book displays this message in a clear and fun way. I think it gets the message across to children very well.

[Megan Frager]

The Magic Pillow tells the story of a little boy named Ping. He gets lost and comes across an inn and goes inside to find a magician. He shares with him that he is upset that his family is in poverty and that he dreams of having money, power, and fame. The magician gives Ping the pillow which made his wishes come true. That pillow made him realize that he is happy the way he is and he doesn’t need money, power, and fame in his life. This book focuses on appreciating things that you have, happiness, and family.

The book was laid out in an interesting way with each of the drawings inside a gold circle. It added character to the book along with the Chinese pictures. The pictures were very detailed and seemed to have taken a lot of time and effort. Something that was also cool that this book had was the designs on some of the pages that show cased the same thing numerous times. It was cool to see a book do that since I have not seen that before. The text was also different on every page with the location and on one of the pages it is outside the circle. It showed the Chinese culture very well and I would easily recommend this book for all ages. The message is deep yet easy to figure out, so younger children can understand it too.

[Annika Skigen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magic Pillow is about a little boy named Ping, who comes from a poor family. One night he goes out to look for firewood, and gets lost in a snow storm. An innkeeper offers him a place to stay and food for the night. Another guest at the inn, a magician, entertains Ping for the night. Ping tells the magician how he longs for wealth, power, and fame. The magician offers him a pillow that will grant him his wishes. Ping falls asleep on the pillow and sees what his life would be like if all his wishes came true.

Demi wrote a great fantasy children's book. The illustrations at the beginning of the book are very simple, and as Ping gains his wealth, the illustrations also become more and more extravagant. All the illustrations are inside of a circle. The circle goes to show comfort. And how you should be comfortable with your current situation, even if it is not as ideal as you wish. The magic that the pillow contains, showing Ping the future, is a major element of the fantasy genre. The story also begins with "Once upon a time in China," another major element of fantasy books.

[Brianna Manheim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Magic Pillow is a children’s story written by Demi, based on Chinese short story from the Tang Dynasty. This story is about a boy named Ping who comes from a poor family. His one valuable possession is his black pony. When Ping gets caught in a snowstorm, he seeks shelter at an inn. There he meets a great magician who shows Ping many tricks. His most elaborate trick is with a magic pillow. When Ping sleeps on the magic pillow, he gets to see how all of his dreams would come true. When he awakes he understands the punishment of being greedy and instead choses to be thankful for what he has. This book teaches the importance of being content and happy with what you have and that the most treasured gift, is wisdom.

The illustrations in this book are all framed in a shiny gold circle that takes up most of the page, the main back ground of the page looks like a tapestry, adding to the folklore feel. Throughout the story the colors used are mostly gold, red, blue, black, all very regal and shiny during the story. This colors make you think of oriental artwork or designs. The circles that contain the images represent comfort, which is what Ping is searching for in his future and at the inn. It bothered me that in some pictures, the illustrations would go outside of the circles, but not in others. I was trying to make a connection to see if only important characters could bypass the gold line, but it honestly just seemed like a glitch in the design. While Ping is dreaming, the illustrations are very symmetrical, the text is in the center of the page now, waving, rather than lined up in the corner of the circle. Ping is portrayed as wearing red, showing he is the main character. The book is a large square, hardback picture book. It is easy to handle, but seemed a little large for how undetailed the pictures are. The last picture of the story has the text outside of the circle because it is the moral. It is also written in red, unlike the rest of the text. After it has the original story of the magic pillow.
Overall, I was kind of disappointed with the presentation of the book. I liked the story but wish Demi would have put more into the illustrations. In particular, I wish the text would have been formatted in a cooler font, for instance one with Japanese or Chinese influences, to fit in with the story better. It was a decent story and I agree with the message in the front pages, this book is “for children of all ages who find peace in their heart”

[Natalie Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic Pillow (2008) Written and Illustrate by Demi
This picture book tells the story of Ping, a boy who comes from a family with little money but one that is very happy. One day, Ping gets lost and winds up in the house of a great magician who does incredible magic tricks. Ping tells the magician how upset he is by his family’s poverty, so the magician gives him a magic pillow to sleep on to make all of his wishes come true. The pillow grants Ping all of the money and fame he could desire but also makes him realize that, “money was like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, power was like a flickering lamp, and fame lasted no longer than a bubble in a stream.” Upon waking up, Ping thanks the magician for showing him what it would be like to have money, power, and fame and realizes that he is happy just the way he is.
• All of the pictures are framed in a gold circle, and the pictures are drawn in a traditional Chinese way. In fact, the pictures look like such traditional Chinese art that I am confident that even without knowing that this is a Chinese story, people would be able to tell that it is just by looking at the pictures. Each page has a lot of red and gold, the colors of the Chinese flag. Furthermore, the people depicted are incredibly detailed and wear clothing with lots of patterns and bright colors.
• Some of the pictures show the same people multiple times. It is as if the people are multiplied twenty times. I think that the illustrator did this during Ping’s dream to convey that Ping is dreaming and that what Ping is seeing isn’t actually happening.
• The story concludes with the phrase, “He who finds peace in his heart has found his palace of of gold.” This quote leaves readers with something to think about. It is clear that this picture book’s purpose is to teach the important message that it isn’t money or materialistic items that truly makes people happy but family. Although the story starts with once upon a time and feels like a fairytale, what Ping learns can be easily related to people these days.
I enjoyed reading this picture book. It was interesting to experience a book in the Chinese culture and to realize that their values definitely match up with my own. The pictures and words were beautiful, so I would definitely recommend!

[Christina Leone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demi (2008). Book design by Michael Nelson. Beautiful illustrations rendered in traditional Chinese paints and inks with pen and brush on watercolor and vellum paper. Jeanyee Wong is the illustrator of the title calligraphy. This folktale begins with a little Chinese boy, Ping, who “likes to help out” becoming lost while riding his little black pony through the Chinese mountains while looking for firewood. He stumbles upon an inn while lost in a storm while out in the woods. When the innkeeper (a kind old man), invites Ping in he is quickly introduced to a magician who happens to be staying there. Ping witnesses the magician’s magic first hand as “the great magician dropped a tiny seed into a vase. It quickly grew into a tree of diamonds,” Ping is impressed and amazed until he remembers his circumstances. He shares with the magician his disappointment with his life of poverty and how he wishes for wealth, fame and power.
The magician hands him a magic pillow to sleep on; “Go to sleep on this pillow and all your wishes will come true!” Demi then takes the reader on a fantastic journey through brightly illustrated dream illustrations of Ping becoming a wealthy and powerful leader. Only to have themes of jealousy arises taking the powerful leader to prison, to be released and rise again. Ping’s future generations also share these similar experiences of rising to power, having it torn away, becoming imprisoned and rising again. The cyclical nature of rising and falling are strong in nature and not for primary readers. This would be suitable for readers beginning ages of 9 through 12 years as a target audience. It could go along with social studies or even social/cultural issues of fame and fortune as a current cultural value in America. The illustrations are captivating; the text supports each illustration. Every illustration is encircled in gold; a large gold-trimmed circle gives the reader a feeling that it is written by royalty. Demi leaves the reader with one final statement; “He who finds peace in his heart has found his palace of gold.”
MOTIF; MAGIC ITEM

[Courtney Canino]

The main characters in this book are Ping and the magician. This book takes place in China, with a lexile of 330, and a point of view of third person. The plot was that Ping was a very poor boy who one day went into the mountains to collect firewood but there was a bad snow storm and he got stuck. He luckily found an inn, and the inn keeper let him stay the night. A magician happened to be staying too, and while performing tricks for Ping, Ping asks him how he can become rich since he is so poor. The magician tells him to sleep on this magic pillow and it would appear in his dreams. When he does so, the dreams of marrying rich, having power, being thrown in jail and then being freed and rise to power again. He then sees all of his grandchildren do this and they become very money and power hungry. He wakes up and then realizes that he is happy the way he is and does not want to become rich and powerful. The main idea was to be happy with what you have. I would recommend this book because the Chinese culture in this book is very interesting. My personal reaction was that even after I had that dream I would have still wanted to become rich and powerful.

Concluding statement: Be happy with what you have now.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time in China, there was a poor boy named Ping. His family worked hard and they were happy together. One winter day when Ping was far from home, it started to snow so heavily that Ping realized that he would not be able to get home, so he spent the night in an inn. Also staying at the inn was a magician who performed marvelous tricks, conjuring up dragons, diamonds, and jewels of light. Ping was suddenly sad, knowing he would never be wealthy enough to have those things. When he saw Ping's sadness, the magician gave Ping a magic pillow to sleep on for one night, so Ping could dream of what his life would be like with a multitude of riches. What a surprise for Ping!

This folktale teaches a basic Buddhist philosophy of appreciating what you have and not wishing for more. Demi illustrates the tale in glorious detail, using Chinese paints and inks. Although presented as a picture book, it is more appropriate for children old enough to understand the underlying philosophy. Ages 7-10.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book type; Folklore and fable
The book, “The Magic Pillow”, tells the story of a young boy named Ping that lived in poverty. One day after Ping was working very hard collecting wood, he got caught in a very heavy snow storm and couldn’t get home. Ping found shelter in a local inn where he talked to the innkeeper and he told him how poor he was. After this, Ping notices that there was a magician staying there too, the magician wanted to help Ping feel better .The magician gave Ping a magic pillow, which helped him see in a dream what the other side of having fame, and fortune was like. This book can give children the idea of money, and its effect on people .It talks about scarcity and what it can do to the soul. This book is filled with intricate images, bold colors, and gold tones.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dates I have listed here are approximate. We actually read this while riding in the car on our way back from Knoebel's the other weekend.
I'm really kind of surprised to not see more high ratings for this story. Julia and I both really liked it. The description and the moral of the story has already been explained so I'll skip that and stick to my feelings. This "lesson" is in the top 3 all-time favorites for me. When it's executed well it's a sure winner in my book. And this was almost perfect I thought.
The author made it extremely easy for a child to follow and really see what the story means. I'd be quicker to recommend this than anything else I've read lately.

[Jacqueline Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book was very entertaining. It was about a boy who dreamed of a life with fame, money, and power and realized how corrupt a life like that can turn into. It had simple, wonderful illustrations. Any age child could learn something from this book, as it says in the end, " he who finds peace in his heart has found his palace of gold."

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When all said and done, I loved the moral of this story...one that is very timely in our day, especially with all the financial and economical drama. Didn't love how the author actually chose to tell and illustrate the story...