Fa Mulan: The Story of a Woman Warrior

One of four adaptations of the Chinese folk legend of Fa (or Hua) Mulan that I have read recently - the other three being Jeanne M. Lee's The Song of Mu Lan, Song Nan Zhang's The Ballad of Mulan, and Charlie Chin's China's Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan (all bilingual) - Robert D. San Souci's Fa Mulan: The Story of a Woman Warrior is the first exclusively English retelling I have picked up, and is more of a prose retelling inspired by the original poem, than a translation (whether in poetry or prose) of it. This approach allows San Souci to expand on the story a bit, adding passages in which Mulan sits by her campfire, missing her family and dreaming of being home again, or pretending, as a young girl, to be the famous show more swordswoman, the Maiden of Yueh.

San Souci, as witnessed by his two-page afterword about the historical background of the tale, has clearly done a lot of research here, and his telling, in contrast to some of the others I have read, really emphasizes that this tale comes from the period in which the Mongolian Xianbei culture was dominant in China. Illustrators Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng, a husband and wife team, follow his lead with their colorful illustrations, done in acrylic, and in the style of a Chinese scroll painting. All in all, I enjoyed Fa Mulan: The Story of a Woman Warrior, finding the story engaging, and the artwork appealing, and I would recommend it to young readers who have only encountered this story through the animated film from Disney. That said, I do prefer the Jeanne M. Lee and Song Nan Zhang versions, which, though more limited in narrative, are also more faithful to the form of the original. show less

This story is set in ancient Asia during a time of war. Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins Khan’s army to fight against the Tartar’s. Her story is told to be an inspiration to girls everywhere. Mulan’s story sends the message it doesn’t matter if you are a girl, you can do anything a boy can. Gender should not be a limitation or discriminated against. The author’s style of writing is fast pace and suspense building. On the pages in which the author is describing the battle, he uses language to build the suspense and emotion. “With a shout, Mulan urged her steed at the enemy. An armored, Tartar raider raced to meet her. The shock of their clashing spears nearly unseated Mulan.”

In this inspiring story, the author has created an excellent and visually amazing retelling of the popular Chinese legend. When Fa Mulan knows that her father has been selected to join the Khan's army to fight the Tartars, she is shocked because her father is too old and not strong enough to go to war. She bravely forms a plan, which her family forcibly accepts, and, "At dawn she cut her hair short, put on her father's armor, and fastened his weapons to the horse's saddle."
Fa Mulan feels excited and afraid at the same time. Soon she finds herself engaged in fierce warfare with the Tartars. She carefully studies the art of war, and becomes masterful with the sword. She becomes a famous person because of her accomplishment, and she is show more called to meet the Khan in the royal city of Loyang. Fa Mulan is scared and anxious about the discovery of her true gender and the consequences for her family. When they know about that, they bow to her “acknowledging all she had achieved and their loyalty to their formergeneral.”
I loved the beautiful, expressive watercolor paintings, however, the quick acceptance of Mulan’s truth surprise me in the end of the story and the author did not clearly explain what if the Khan discovered that one of his generals was a woman or not. show less

Fun tale, and not one with which I was familiar before we read this book. The illustrations were nice, but the story didn't really grab me (or my kids, to whom I was reading the book aloud), but we enjoyed it.

This book is a great choice for 2nd grade and up. This chapter book is a historical fiction book over the life of a woman named Fa Mulan, At the age of fourteen, coming back from the mountains, she is trained to fight. This book is great for teacher Chinese culture and history as well as the view of women during that time period.

In this version of Fa Mulan, her parents knew that she was to act like a man implace of her father. SHe also had a younger brother and an older sister. This is interesting because it brings the family closer and the readers are able to understand the urge to do well in war for her family. They allow Mulan to go because of their honor for the country and wanting to protect their family. I find it interesting how they made it seem like it was not a big deal when Mulan revealed that she was a woman. During that time it would have been a huge deal.

The illustrations for this book are phenomenal. They probably took just as long or longer to draw out than to write the actual book. There are so many details and colors that they show the entire show more story almost without needing words. show less

A wonderful retelling of the ancient Chinese folktale about a brave woman warrior. This is the story that the Disney movie Mulan was based on. It would be nice to incorporate this into a folklore unit to be able to watch the movie too. I would use it to discuss theme (family/loyalty/bravery/gender roles).
Reading Level 4.2