The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac (Hardback)

"In gorgeous naif artwork, we see the black-bearded emperor throwing his arms wide in his colorful robes, his tiered red headdress a visual echo of a nearby pagoda. Rat arrives first, having failed to wake his best friend, Cat, and having forded the river on the back of Ox. Ox wins second place, and so it goes, animal after animal, until Cat arrives, too late to make the zodiac and spitting mad. And that is why, children, through 'all the many years leading up to this day . . . rats have always fled from cats!'" * Wall Street Journal *
"Corr's vignettes and spreads blaze with color, and his folk-art-style paintings give the figures sinuous contours and stylized eyes. Against backgrounds of contrasting colors, the animals seem to pop off the page." * Publishers Weekly *
"In retelling the-traditional tale, Corr skillfully weaves in traits associated with some of the animals. Corr's distinctive folk-art style gouache illustrations are fun, bright, and bold....a good choice for classroom read-alouds....A visually fun and vibrant retelling of the Chinese Zodiac." * School Library Journal *
'This read-aloud story also provides a great stepping stone for introducing other cultural ideas to young children.' * BookTrust *
This is an easy introduction to the Chinese zodiac for young students. Recommended"
* School Library Connection *
"An animated introduction to Chinese culture and folklore, Christopher Corr's The Great Race: Story of the Chinese Zodiac fuses bright colors and lively characters. The wise Jade Emperor's plan to measure time motivates the entire animal kingdom to take action. Find out who is playful, gentle, sneaky, or lucky, and who misses out entirely, as a horse, monkey, dragon, rat, ox, tiger, and others compete for a place of honor on the newly created calendar." * ForeWord Reviews *
' A stunningly illustrated story of how the Chinese zodiac came to be' * Picture Book Blogger *