The Seven Chinese Brothers

When faced with death by execution by an evil emperor, seven Chinese brothers use their special powers to elude death. Each brother switches out with one another as they all look the same. This was always one of my favorite books when I was growing up.

Los siete hermanos chinos es un libro maravilloso. Soy la hija menor en mi familia, y aprecio el poder de Séptimo Hermano, el menor de la familia. Los otros tienen dones especiales, pero viven con miedo de la tristeza de él. Me recuerda a la película Encanto—una familia con cada miembro con otro don extraordinario.

Summary: "The Seven Chinese Brothers" tells the story of seven brothers who each held a special power of his own. For example, one brother had the ability to hear a fly sneeze from a hundred miles away, while another brother had the ability to sit in fires without burning up. The first emperor of all China, Ch'in Sinh Huang, noticed one of the brothers possessed great strength and deemed him dangerous. The emperor tried vigorously to execute the brother, but was unsuccessful in every attempt. This is because each brother would take the place of each other during each execution, to use his strength to counteract the method being used to kill the brother. Finally, the one brother who's tears had the ability to spring rivers, cried, show more causing massive amounts of water to appear. This provided the brothers with fresh fish and wood to make a fire. After all, they were very hungry after their long week.

Review: I really enjoyed reading this Chinese folklore. While obviously fiction, there was a bigger message being presented in the story. The message that it is almost impossible to break the bond of family. While the emperor tried drowning, burning, and beheading the brothers, he was unsuccessful. This was due to each brother using his own power against the execution being put in place. A great read for any classroom! show less

While perfectly serviceable, this book just doesn't live up to the greatness of Claire Huchet Bishop's "The Five Chinese Brothers". Adding in two extra brothers doesn't do this version of the Chinese folk-tale any favors.

If the illustrations were better, then it might be a worthy competitor to the all black-and-white illustrations in the Bishop version. However, the cover illustration is the absolute best and the rest of the illustrations are simply ho-hum.

The setting of the story has been changed , as well, and not necessarily for the better. If you want to own both books for the contrasts, go for it. Otherwise, stick with the earlier, more simplistic yet more powerful version by Bishop.

This story contains seven amazing brothers with seven amazing gifts: one of stellar sight, one of stellar hearing, one who had stellar strength, one with iron bones, one with evergrowing legs, one with a high capacity for heat, and one with enormous tears. They worked together to free each other from prison after the emperor ruled one (truly all of them) as dangerous. In the end, they all end up together, feasting on fish.

I loved the theme of this story. Teamwork helps overcome obstacles. I think it's funny that the author never named them. Throughout the story, they are referred to as First Brother or Fifth Brother. The theme of family is strong. They are not identified as individuals but as brothers. I loved the setting (China). I show more also loved the illustrations.

I think children would like some creative extension ideas for this book. I would ask the children to write a story about what special gift they wish they could have and why. How would they use it to help others? I also think this would be an appropriate time to do family trees of some kind, to tie in the theme of family. show less

I liked this book for many reasons. One reason I liked this book was because of the writing. It was engaging. The book has many events that make the reader want to continue to read the book. The book was also very repetitive. Young readers like books that have events that are repetitive. I also liked this book because the language was very descriptive. The author described each of the seven brothers and their different abilities. For instance, the author said “the first brothers amazing ear could hear a fly’s sneeze a hundred miles away.” The author would continue and tell the readers each of the brother’s different abilities. The big message of this story is that family is always there for you. Family will do anything to show more protect you. show less

I hadn't ever heard this story before! A folktale about the seven chinese brothers each with their own unique talent that they use (unwittingly) to defeat the evil emperor. It's a fun story that is also kind of funny and might make younger children laugh. I thought the illustrations added to the multicultural feel of the book. The obvious connection is to a unit on folktales or multiculturalism.