The Magic Paintbrush

Product Information

urn:lcp:magicpaintbrush0000dona:epub:99998a6b-bb0e-4722-bdc5-8bddc023e39f Foldoutcount 0 Grant_report Arcadia #4281 Identifier magicpaintbrush0000dona Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t5p93p64h Invoice 2089 Isbn 033396442X

With her magic paintbrush, Shen can paint steaming pots full of fish and oysters to feed the hungry people in her village, but when the evil emperor hears of her gift he commands Shen to paint gold for him instead. She is determined to keep her promise to paint only for the poor, but how can she match the emperor's mighty power? I have some reservations around a write author appropriating a Chinese story (however beautifully) and not even having a "note to the reader" about where the story came from. I wonder if Edward Said would find this an example of his problematic "Orientalism" and I feel a little uncomfortable with it. I am personally slightly over rhyme but nevertheless enjoyed the way the story unfolded and the nearly dragon (I was almost disappointed but Donaldson immediately threw in a party to distract me- in a good way. Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA19306 Openlibrary_edition Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-09-28 03:00:50 Associated-names Stewart, Joel Boxid IA1947216 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier To discover what happens in this exciting and heart-warming story, you will have to read it for yourself... I will say, however, that there is a happy ending.It is, however, a wonderful one and to be honest, I personally like it better than the other ones, though there isn't really much comparison to be made as their intentions and styles are different. I thoroughly enjoyed this fable, I loved the magic and hope within it- the teasing out that there is a difference between need and greed and that solidarity is owed more to some than to others. The book simply skims over any sort of internal conflicts (eg the consequences of not producing food- although I guess the point to to value also intellectual and artistic "work"; also e.g. any moral conflict- desire to please the emperor or fear by Shen) to have a simple movement where one thing logically follows the other- although she is imprisoned at one point. We turned the narrative poem (The Spider and the Fly) into a playscript, by setting it out correctly and adding detailed stage directions. We then acted them out in assembly, for Years 5 and 6.

As always happens in such stories, the greedy Emperor learns of Shen's magical powers, courtesy of the paintbrush, and demands that she paint him a golden tree of coins... As we all know, Shen is unable to fulfil this request and she explains how she is unable to fulfil the Emperors wish, as she had made the promise to paint only for the benefit of the poor.We bought this book when Katie was 2 years old and I think she was too young for it then, she would listen to it and look at pictures, but I don't think she had much of an understanding of the story. I would say that you could start around 3 years old and that pretty much every 5 year old would understand it well, while it would remain attractive to children up to at least 8-9 years old, maybe older? In fact, I liked it a lot myself! I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. However an Emperor here’s of the things Shen has created and demands riches. When Shen refuses (upholding her promise to the man) she is imprisoned but soon uses her brush to escape. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.