The Five Chinese Brothers (Paperstar) (1938)

This book too was read to me when I was in elementary school. Our school librarian read it to us and I loved it. It is about a family living in China with five brothers who looked a lot like each other, and each one had their own talent. One can swallow the sea; one has an iron neck; one can stretch his legs; one can survive fire; and the last can hold his breath forever. However, one brother is accused of murder and sentenced to death. His four brothers take his place when subjected to execution. They each use their powers and one cannot be beheaded, one cannot be drowned, one cannot be burned, and one cannot be smothered. It is finally decided that the brother must have been innocent because he couldn't be executed. I think this a fun book for most kids to read in elementary school but it has been known to promote ethnic stereotypes about the Chinese. I think most kids would see past that and simply enjoy the plot more than anything!

Characters: First Chinese brother, Second Chinese brother, Third Chinese brother, Fourth Chinese brother, Fifth Chinese brother, mother, fishing boy. judge, executioner
Setting: Imperial China, a fishing village in the China
Theme: family relationship, brotherhood, superpowers, lack of justice system, severe punishment, habeas corpus
Genre: brotherly love, family, folk stories, picture book
Golden quote (optional): “Your honor, will you allow me to go and bid my mother good-bye” “It is only fair”
Summary: Near the sea in a fishing village in China there are five brothers that look alike, that live with their mom. All five brothers have a special power or skill, which makes them seem like ancient heroes. One brother can swallow the sea, Second brother has an iron neck, third brother can stretch his legs pretty far, fourth brother cannot be burned, and the fifth brother can hold his breath indefinitely. The first brother is a good fisherman, that always brings rare and fine fishes to the village’s market, and one day he gets a request from a young boy to allow him to join him during his next fishing trip. The first brother rejects the boy, but the boy insists until the first brother accepts. The first brother has one request, the little boy must obey all commands given to him, and the little boy agrees. They go fishing, the first brother swallows the sea, and the little boy begins to collect sea creatures that are now left in the bare ground, when the first brother gets tired of holding on to the sea in his mouth, he asks the little boy to make his way back to safety, but the little boy ignores the plea. The first brother can no longer hold on and releases the sea and the little boy disappears. The first brother is charged with murder, he is sentenced to decapitation, but before the execution he makes a plea with the judge to let him go home to say good-bye to his mom, and the judge agrees. In return, the second brother comes in to replace his brother, but the executioner is unable to cut through the iron neck of the second brother. The judge offers three more methods of execution, but every time a new brother is put in place to use his special skills to survive the execution. At the end, the judge allows the first brother to walk free, justifying that he must be innocent since he survived all the types of execution.
Audience: children, 3rd graders and up
Curriculum ties: Imperial China
Awards (optional): Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, National Education Association named it “Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children.”
Personal response: This book does a good job of continuing the tradition of telling folk stories to children. The story allows children to capture the imagination of boys and their fascination with superpowers. I have mixed feelings about the book, especially when read to children. On one part I think that the book may send a negative message about using your special powers or skills to escape punishment. On the other hand I feel that it shows that innocence ultimately prevails over everything. The illustrations of this book may display some type of generalization of Chinese, and can be considered by some as offensive. ( )

Children’s Classic
Bishop, Claire Huchet. The Five Chinese Brothers. illus. by Kurt Wiese. Coward, 1938.
Characters: Five Chinese brother(Identical) ; one that could not be burned , one that had a neck made of steel, one that could swallow the ocean, one that could stretch his legs very long and one that could hold his breath indefinitely.
Setting: China in the late early 18th century, near a port.
Theme: family bond and loyalty
Genre: cautionary tale, fairy tale
Golden quote: “Your honor will you allow me to go and bid my mother goodbye?”
Summary: When a little boy fails to listen to the brother that can swallow the ocean, he is tragically drowned as a result a group of brothers band together to manipulate a trial process in order to avoid be unjustly executed.
Audience: Elementary 3rd -6th grade
Curriculum ties: Cultural, entertainment, behavior
Awards: Caldecott Honor Award, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and National Education Association “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children”
Personal response: This book is a fine example of a cautionary tale that may be used to entertain kids in elementary while telling them the importance of listening and following directions. The story was surprisingly dark for the year that it was made but it is that darkness and individuality that could resonate with the contemporary youth audience. ( )

Not a cozy picture book to snuggle up on the couch with, this shocking fable of long ago tells the story of five Chinese brothers who band together to take advantage of their striking physical similarities and bizarre talents to save the life of one of the eccentric brothers. Sometimes upsetting and even gruesome this inventive story portrays the brothers’ tag-team effort to save the life of the unjustly accused brother. Despite (or maybe because of) the grisly topic, this classic book has been a favorite of young children since its original publication in 1938. Young readers are consistently fascinated by each brother’s narrow escape and delighted as the brothers cleverly exhibit a sequence of death-defying feats. The attention-grabbing pen and ink drawings, floating in the white space of the page, supplement the grim text with humorous cartoon images of the brothers’ outlandish exploits. The black and white images (highlighted with yellow) have been criticized for portraying all Chinese people the same. It’s the five brothers’ amazing escapes that children will focus their attention on, making this “blast from the past” an imaginative and fun read aloud book for children in kindergarten through third grade. ( )

Five brothers who look alike, all outwit execution. This book is great for bringing culture into the classroom, but I think it's a little too stereotypical. ( )