The Rainbow People

This is an enjoyable audiobook version of Yep's collection of retold Chinese stories. It does a good job of capturing the Chinese mindset and immersing the listener into a very different world. Yep's introductions to the various sections, however, don't really provide a lot of insight into the significance of these tales. Most involve the supernatural, and this is something the whole family can certainly listen to during a car trip. I especially liked the one about the gambler who becomes a detective.

In a land where animals talk, ghosts marry, and rocks and streams are magical, anything is possible. . . . Newbery Honor Award-winner Laurence Yep has collected and retold 20 folktales originally recounted by Chinese-American immigrants as part of a 1930s WPA project.

I did not like this book at all. The language was not engaging nor organized for young readers who are developing an interest in reading chapter books. I could barely make it through the text. I honestly have no clue what the overall message is suppose to be. An example of the language used in the text are "Instantly Dagger Claws leaped down and killed poor old woman with one swipe of her big claws." I'm not sure where this came from and why it was included within the text.