Sweet and Sour: Tales from China

Rating:
Summary: Sweet and Sour
Review: Sweet and Sour
Tales from China retold by
Carol Kendall & Yao-wen Li
Folk Tale/Fairy Tale

"In choosing the tales to appear in Sweet and Sour, we made just two simple conditions: first, that they be Chinese; and second, that we like them,"
- Carol Kendall and Yao-wen Li

"The title is apt, for this eclectic assortment of Chinese lore is piquant blend, with plenty of wit at heart... The selections are choice; enjoy them"
- ALA Booklist, Starred Review

Sweet and Sour contains many different Chinese tales from various periods of time. The stories contain a wide variety of characters who all take part in a different moral story. From foolish wise men to clever magistrates, this book lets you read the clever folk tales of China.
My favorite story in Sweet and Sour was titled, "Ten Jugs of Wine". In the story there lived ten old greybeards who at the end of each year would welcome the New Year with hot wine together. But there was a little problem. Each of the ten greybeards was so picky about there wine ("My wine is so strong" or "My wine, indeed, is so weak...") that they decided to be clever. Each of the men, without telling their other nine friends, would bring hot water as a substitute for red wine and no one would notice. And that's exactly what they did and no one said anything in fear that their warm water had overruled the taste of the nice red wine.
Out of the twenty-four stories in this collection I would say to read eighteen of them. Compared to other Chinese tales this collection was fantastic, but some of the stories were so dull; it just sort of ruined the book for me.
But if you like fables or specifically Chinese tales then I would definitely recommend this book. Sweet and Sour: Tales from China is available at a library near you.