Chungliang Al Huang,
The Chinese Book of Animal Powers.
Joanna Coller Books, 1999

In the Foreword, the author expresses the hope that the reader will see in this book "the animals dance their unique dances and hear them speaking their special musical languages." These goals are certainly achieved through the powerful illustrations and bold brush strokes of calligraphy. The animals pounce and leap on the page. The tiger's very whiskers bristle with energy, and the symbols for the animals’ names presented in Chinese capture the animal's special features. These Chinese symbols gallop, slither, and saunter across the page.

The text itself, however, somehow diminishes the animals’ powers The details about the animals are indeed informative, but the telling of their traits is not as absorbing as their illustrations or even their written Chinese names. One wonders why no comparison is made between these animals and their human counterparts born under their respective lunar years. After all, who has not, in a Chinese restaurant, pored over the paper place mat’s listing of traits of those born in the Year of the Ox, Snake, or Rabbit?

There is much to be learnt from this book. One is enlightened about the relevance of certain animals in Chinese history and culture. In addition, there are guide lines on the correct pronunciation of the animals’ names in Chinese. One only wishes that the telling of these details were as riveting as the vivid illustrations.

Fatima Lim-Wilson