The Story of Paper

Three boys constantly get in trouble at school when they have to write in the dirt. They find all of the ants, grasshoppers, and worms in the dirt far more interesting than their assignments, and they hate having to walk around with a note from their teacher written on their hands where everyone can see. The boys work together to create a solution to their problem at school. They use everything they can find lying around to create what will become paper. Everyone is impressed with their new invention, and the teacher wants to bring it to the Emperor. The story is mostly fictional but details the actual steps of how paper was first made. It is a cute story about kids working together to invent something new to fix an existing problem.

This book's setting helped portray Chinese culture. I enjoyed learning about Chinese culture and about how paper was invented through the story of the three Kang boys. The boys in the story didn't pay attention in school because they always had to write on the ground. The grasshoppers, ants, and worms always distracted them. The teacher would write on the boys' hands to let their parents know what they were doing during school. The boys desperately wished that their teacher had something else to write on instead of their hands. After helping their parents make rice cakes one day, the boys experimented with water, leaves, wood, twigs, bark, silk, and cloth. They beat and mashed the concoction and ended up making paper. The teacher spread show more the word about what the boys created to the emperor. Although this wasn't the exact story of how paper was created, I still think that this book can teach children that a little curiosity and experimenting can lead to an invention that is now used all over the world. show less

Great book that follows the tale of how paper was created. The illustrations are unique with traditional Chinese paper art. Really enjoyed reading this book. The are other books by the same author such as "The Story of Noodle" that would be worth having in addition to having this one in a classroom library. Good for teaching about different cultures and having representation in the primary or early intermediate classroom.

This is the perfect book to teach students about different cultures, diversity, and just being creative. This book is about three young boys Ting, Pan, and Kuai Kang. During this time period, they did have paper to write on, so they wrote with sticks on the ground or on their hand with slender brushes. These three brothers were always getting into trouble in school because they were so distracted by the bugs on the ground instead of writing and doing their classwork. One day they decided they were going to do something about not having paper to write on, and they decided to invent paper. The three brothers worked very hard together. They used silk, cloth, water, bark, twigs, wood silvers, and leaves, they beat and mashed it altogether show more into a pulp. They all took turns beating and mashing until it was just right. When their mom and dad came home and saw this invention their boys created, they knew they had to show the boys' teacher who then showed it to the emperor. The Kang family was able to open the world's first paper factory, and the boys did not get into trouble as much at school anymore because now they had paper to do their work on instead on doing it on the ground. This is a perfect book to read to students when learning about either being creative or learning about the different cultures like the Chinese culture. show less

Summary: This book describes the history of paper making in ancient China. The Kang brothers did not want the teacher to write notes on their hands after school because all the village people could read it. So they put many things together and secretly made paper. Their invention was presented to the emperor and the happy ending ensued.
Review: This was a great read that is a fun way to present the story of paper creation. The collage style art in this book really creates the setting.
School Use: This is a perfect book that leads into a paper making project. There are even directions to make "Homemade Garden Paper".

This story is excellent for teaching cultural diversity, creativity, and invention. It is also very good for social awareness and the benefits of helping and collaborating with others. The reading level is 3.2

Review: This book is about three boys who live in China before paper was invented. The boys are always getting in trouble at school for playing with bugs on the ground when they are supposed to be doing their lessons on the ground. One day the three boys get a brillant idea to combine pieces of fabric, water, bark, twigs, slivers, and leaves. After After several days the boys had created something that could be written on instead of the ground. The boys took it to school and showed their teacher. The teacher showed it to the emperor and he named it zhi which means paper. The boys and their parents opened the World's first paper factory and the boys never had to write on the ground again.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Genre Critique: This show more book is historical fiction because it is bases off of the event of how paper was made back in 105 C.E. It is clearly distinguished in this book what is true to the event of paper making. It is also obvious that research was done by the author. In the back of the book there is a little blip about the history of paper. From this note it is clear that the story is based off of true facts. show less