Summary: This story explains how oxen came to live on Earth. This is an origin story explaining how oxen used to live in heaven but then the emperor in Heaven sent down his messenger, an ox. However, the messenger gives the people the wrong message and the emperor is furious with the ox. He was banished to Earth and was never allowed to return to Heaven. They are now burdened to help farmers, and really help their people in China.

Personal reflection: I thought this story was really interesting, I enjoy origin stories and this one was well written. It also has beautiful illustrations.

Class use: Have students write their own origin stories. ( )

Summary:

This book tells a legend about how the oxen came to work for the humans. The story says that they oxen used to live in the sky with the Great emperor. The people of the earth tried really hard to farm but they could just not get enough food so they sometimes would go up to seven days with out meals. The emperor of the sky saw this and he decided that every human should eat at least every third day and he sent the OX star to deliver his message to the people of earth. Except the Ox star deliver the wrong message. He said that the emperor had said that the humans would eat three meals a day. The emperor was angry because he could not fulfill that decree. So he banished the Ox star and all of the other oxen to earth so that they could make sure the what the Ox star had said came true by helping the humans farm. Ever since then the Oxen have worked on farms and humans have eaten three meals a day.

Review:

While the content of this book was unique and culturally distinctive I would not give this book a high rating. The topic was well selected. I think this is and interesting story to read. However the writing was not great. The author sometimes skipped over details that should have been there for the story to be easily followed. For example the author doesn't tells us that the emperor sent the Ox to fulfill its own promise to the people of earth. The reader must make that inference and there are not enough clues for a small child to get this at all. Also the writing is choppy and the illustrations do not always work with the mood of the book. For example even though we know that Ox star experiences different emotions through out the story, the Ox's face is the same on every illustration. Over all nice story, poor execution. ( )

This story is about the Ox who live an easy work free life up in the heavens. But the people on earth are struggling to survive. Eventually the emperor in heaven sends the ox to tell the people they shall eat every three days. The Ox makes a careless mistake and tells the people they will eat three times each day. Because of this mistake the emperor banishes the oc from the heavens and they become the burden animal for all the people who's lives become much easier.

This gives you the tale of the ox who made the mistake of delivering the wrong message. The Emperor was furious because the ox sent the wrong message, and punished him by sending him to earth and work by helping people harvest food. I loved this tale, and it gave an explanation on why we eat three times a day. I would definitely use this book for a lesson on Asian folklore or even for story time. ( )

This story is retold from a Chinese legend of how the ox first came to be on the earth. The ox in the heavens lived a life of luxury and when one of the gods saw that the farmer was not producing enough food, he sent the ox down to help. The message that the god wanted to send down to earth, the ox go confused and told the people the wrong thing, so then the ox was punished and the ox was banished to earth to be become the first beast of burden.

It is a really great folk tale and it would be a great book on teaching about Chinese folk tales and why they were written they way that they were.