Tseng, Grace. White Tiger, Blue Serpent. Illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng. Lothrop, Lee,& Shepard, 1999. ISBN 0-688-12515-8. $16.00. Not paginated. A All PB Reviewed by Vicky M. Turner Young Kai and his mother live on the barren side of the river. On the other side are the lands of Qin, guarded by the White Tiger and the Blue Serpent. None dare cross the bridge that connects the two lands. Kai works hard each day while his mother weaves tapestries to sell for food and rice. Kai wants very much to keep one of her tapestries, so he tells her he will work even harderCchopping wood and tending their own rice by night, so he can keep one. Because he works so hard, Kai grows up to be strong, swift of hands and feet, and very able to see at night as well as in the light. No sooner is the tapestry finished than a wind comes up and whips the tapestry into the air toward the land of Qin. Kai is not to be robbed and so he sets out to recover the cloth. Because of his great strength, he defeats the White Tiger; because of his swift hands he is able to grab the serpent's horn and fly safely through the air to an island on the lake; and because he fights so hard, Qin must set up a great wind to sweep him back to his own land. The wind is so strong that all the plants and animals are blown off the tapestry and into the air. When Kai is also blown home, he finds that his side of the river has become a living tapestry. This very well-written, exciting tale is reminiscent of Demi's work, and is based on a tale from the Drung tribe of the Yunnan Provence in southwest China.
