Rachel Yu is a talented author and illustrator, for my money. However, if the book had been labeled for ages 7 - 9, perhaps the severe punishments would have been more acceptable. Of course, Miss Yu was retelling an old Chinese fable in a new way. The colorful art was wonderful. The Chinese culture values ingenuity (or cleverness) when faced with a problem. Therefore, this is a very Chinese tale. However, some Americans may see the punishments as too punitive. I presume we will hear the rest of the story in THE FIVE MOUSE SISTERS.

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