The Big Rock: A Tale of Wisdom Told in English and Chinese

About the Author\nLi Jian has a B.A. in Chinese painting from Hebei Normal University. Formerly a middle school art teacher and children’s book editor, he currently owns his own illustration studio focusing on children’s fairy tales.\nGrandpa builds a beautiful little vegetable garden, but a big ugly rock is in the way. He digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a car, he decides to bypass it when planting vegetables. Grandma nearly trips over the rock when watering the seedlings, so she digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a house, she decides to walk across it when she is there. Papa stumbles over the rock when he is going to trim the seedlings, so he digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as an airplane, he decides to let it stay. Mama is worried about her sons tripping over the rock, so she digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a mountain, she decides to keep her sons out of the vegetable garden. One day, the two brothers see the big rock and decide to dig it out together. Both their grandparents and parents tell them to give it up, because the rock can be bigger than they ever imagine. However, in just one afternoon, the two brothers dig out the rock successfully. It is not as big as they think. Sometimes the things in front of us are not as simple as they look.\nFrom School Library Journal\nPreS-K—When a grandfather chooses to plant a vegetable garden around a large rock, the "big ugly" rock becomes the bane of his family's existence. The family continually trips over it while tending the garden. They all see it as an absolutely impossible obstacle—until two grandsons decide to simply remove it. The gentle, nuanced illustrations are the highlight here: The photorealistic rock contrasts with the hand-drawn style of the figures and spare backgrounds. An eye-catching use of perspective shows both the surface and underground parts of the rock, with the latter skillfully depicted in broad strokes reminiscent of traditional Chinese brush painting. The text, presented in both English and Chinese, carries the tone of a parable or fable. Indeed, the parable of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" is included at the end of the book, implying that this tale is meant to convey a similar message about perspective. The story of the big ugly rock emphasizes the value of different viewpoints and encourages collaboration to solve a problem, but the conclusion is somewhat ambiguous. The family is able to remove the rock simply by deciding to do so, which leaves the reader to wonder: Was the rock really so bad? It was just sitting there, and it wasn't very ugly at all. VERDICT Purchase where Chinese-English bilingual materials for children are in demand.—Allison Tran