Arlene Chan

Chinese-Canadian author and librarian Arlene Chan, who explored the history of the Dragon Boat Festival in her Awakening the Dragon: The Dragon Boat Festival, turns to the subject of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in this lovely seasonal picture-book. She begins by relating the folktale of Hou Yi the archer and his beautiful wife, Chang O, a story central to the celebration of the festival, and also briefly discusses other mythical residents of the moon, including the Three-Legged Toad, the show more Woodcutter, the Moon Hare and the Old Man in the Moon. The legend of the revolt against the Mongols (said to involve mooncakes), Li Bao's famous poem about the moon, the importance of mooncakes and other observances and customs are also covered. A list of sources is included at the rear...

I have encountered the work of illustrator Nicolas Debon before, in Colleen Sydor's Timmerman Was Here, but The Moon Festival: A Chinese Mid-Autumn Celebration was the first book I have read from Arlene Chan. I found it both educational and entertaining, with a wealth of information about the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, the folklore associated with it, and the customs observed during its course. Debon's artwork is lovely, particularly in the section devoted to the story of Hou Yi and Chang O. I've read a number of picture-books about Mid-Autumn Moon Festival at this point - Loretta Seto's Mooncakes, Christina Matula's The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Brenda Williams' Lin Yi's Lantern: A Moon Festival Tale - and a number of them address or include the folklore behind the celebration, often pairing it with a fictional story. Chan, on the other hand, pairs the folklore with non-fictional elements, from the historical legend of the mooncake rebellion to the way in which the festival is observed. The result is an engaging book, one I would recommend to any picture-book reader looking for titles to read at this time of year. show less