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Summary
Summary
Even as a young boy in 11th-century China, it was clear that Su Shih was special. After finding a rare inkstone, he began to write stories and verses expressing his love of the natural world. His words flowed effortlessly, his brush danced across the paper. Su Shih grew up to become a leading scholar and statesman, eventually taking the name Su Dongpo. He promoted justice and condemned corruption - often at his own peril. Su Dongpo's life transcends the ages and is a shining example of dignity, ingenuity, courage and resilience.
Author Notes
Demi is the author and illustrator of more than one hundred books for children. Her works have received numerous awards and accolades, among them ALA Notable Children's Books, The New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Notable Books for a Global Society, American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, the Middle East Book Award, and the Christopher Award, which recognizes individuals whose work makes a positive difference in the world.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Starting with the endpapers, Demi's style is instantly recognizable, with richly detailed illustrations and a profound subject that recalls her biographies of other spiritual figures. For many, this will be an introduction to Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shih, renowned as China's greatest genius. The 11th-century scholar and statesman's accomplishments read like a laundry list of humanism. His poetry is incorporated into the story, leaving readers with thoughtful images and metaphors to consider. In a poem he composed as a boy, Su Dongpo writes, "To what can human life be likened?/Perhaps to a wild goose's footprint on snow-." Using a now-characteristic technique, Demi adds gold-leaf borders and details to boxed illustrations, but her images frequently extend over and beyond them. Red, like the gold, works as a spot color that adds a striking focus to the more subdued scenes. The text is spare, depicting the man's life through specific events. There are no such conventions as a time line, but the story leaves readers with the sense of an extraordinary man and enough detail to write a brief report about him.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The subject of Demi's latest picture-book biography, Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius, was alive during the Song dynasty, at about the same time as William the Conqueror. Remembered now as a poet, Su Dongpo was better known in his own time as a statesman, and it is on this side of his career that the book focuses. The author implies that Su Dongpo's setbacks refined him spiritually, and rendered his worldly fame meaningless. In Demi's glorious Chinese landscapes, the mountains and oceans dwarf the human figures. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This handsome volume introduces Su Dongpo (1036-1101), an intriguing figure in Chinese history who will likely be unknown to many readers. Offering examples of his writing and calling his accomplishments ""almost superhuman,"" Demi describes him as ""a statesman, philosopher, poet, painter, engineer, architect, and humanitarian."" The striking illustrations combine small, meticulous figures with spacious, misty backgrounds and touches of gold. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In reverent tribute to a "statesman, philosopher, poet, painter, engineer, architect, and humanitarian" born nearly ten centuries ago, Demi offers a text in which quoted passages of poetry and references to "mystical painting skills" mingle with biographical detail. She pairs this with her trademark scenes of dignified, finely detailed figures floating through luminescent clouds in traditional dress. Though she sounds a false note near the end with a dismissive description of Hainan Island as "a place inhabited only by natives," this portrait of a "knight-errant," who shone brightly in both the literary and political arenas while surviving several severe reversals of fortune, presents an exemplary role model. In the author's view, he still stands at the "heart and soul of Chinese culture." (Biography. 8-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This handsome picture book tells the story of the multitalented Su Dongpo, an eleventh-century Chinese who rose to political prominence because of his knowledge, skills, accomplishments, wisdom, and honor. Exiled by a jealous political rival, he lived happily as a poor farmer until he was appointed secretary to the new emperor. Exiled again, he survived, but after a triumphal return to China, he fell ill and died. In the brief introduction, Demi notes that Su Dongpo is fondly remembered to this day as a statesman, philosopher, poet, painter, engineer, architect, and humanitarian who approached everything with joy and grace. This picture-book biography portrays Su Dongpo with quiet admiration as a virtuous man who met difficulties with uncommon dignity and presence of mind. Beautifully designed and produced, the book features delicately limned, brilliantly colored paintings of scenes from Su Dongpo's life, outlined in scarlet and bordered with thin bands of gold. A visually striking introduction to the man sometimes referred to as Su Shi or Su Tung-po. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist