The Chinese Book of Animal Powers

Are you an easy-going person? Have you ever been described as sassy? If you were to ask a friend to describe you, would they say you are hardworking and dependable or extremely curious? All of these adjectives are associated with your animal power. That's right. Your animal power. According to Chinese folklore, each year and month of your birth corresponds with two animal characteristics that influence our personalities and the way we do things. This is known as our animal chi. The author illustrates the animal, the Chinese characters, and the story behind each animal's chi. At the end of the book, the reader can locate his or her birth month and birth year to discover which animals' chi is associated with the birth month and birth year.

Huangs book summarizes the symbolism of the Chinese mythological animal images. The book is focused on a very particular topic but is not very detailed. Even the background information on the origin and meaning of these images and their powers is quite short. The information on each animal symbol is as vague as it is limited. Although their are some interesting characterizations and implications, they leave much to be desired in terms of understanding the real essence of this mythology. The book is probably geared toward an elementary level. It is organized into 12 sections, one for each animal or month with an introduction and glossary. The illustrations include calligraphy style impressions of the animals and their Chinese symbols show more which add to the book but are not incredibly impressive. show less

Children will love reading the calligraphy and wisdom of this Chinese year and month chart.