cover image The Race for the Chinese Zodiac

The Race for the Chinese Zodiac

Gabrielle Wang, illus. by Sally Rippin. Candlewick, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-6778-8

In a story first published in Australia, Wang retells a folktale that explains both the origin of the Chinese zodiac and the historical enmity between cats and rats. The Jade Emperor, a figure from Chinese myth, promises to name a year after each of the first 12 animals to cross the river. Rat and Cat, intimate friends, conspire to ride across on the head of the Ox. “ ‘We’re winning!’ cried Rat. When Cat stood up to look, Rat pushed her into the water.” Rat’s deed means Cat falls behind and doesn’t get a year named after her; after that, “to this very day, cats have hated rats.” Rippin’s traditional ink painting acknowledges the story’s Asian origins. Graceful black lines are brushed on backgrounds in warm shades of tortoiseshell, burgundy, smoke gray, and glass-bottle green. The action, shown in close-up portraits of the individual animals, is easy to decipher, while the story is lucidly and simply told. The Chinese zodiac determines personality based on the year, rather than the month, of one’s birth; an afterword gives the characteristics traditionally associated with each year. Ages 5–9. (Nov.)