Book Review of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Oh, Ellen. 2018. A THOUSAND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780062671165.

 

PLOT SUMMARY

This is a collection of short stories by a variety of authors. The stories range in plot and setting from the legendary/mythological to the supernatural to the futuristic/science fiction.     

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

A short story anthology is a great way to appeal to young adult readers. As Dr. Rosemary Brock points out in her book, Young Adult Literature in Action, there are three benefits of anthologies and story collections. First of all, we hope the reader is entertained and satisfied after reading. Second, the reader can pick and choose which stories might interest them. They don’t have to read every story in the anthology. If they start one and don’t like it, they can stop reading it and move on to the next one in the book. Third, the reader may find an author that appeals to him or her, the reader can search for more works by that author. Finally, I will add a fourth benefit. Short stories by their very definition are more abbreviated than full-length novels, which makes them less daunting and more accessible for a quick read. This particular anthology has another benefit in that it provides a window into a realm of diversity not available in the normal literature offered in traditional curriculum. One aspect of the diversity offered by this collection is the fact that many of the protagonists are female. This is a nice change of pace from the male-dominated world of traditional fictional protagonists. Another aspect of the diversity offered by this collection is that all the stories have connections to Asian themes and culture. The beauty of this anthology is that it does not offer stories from only a single Asian culture. This collection spans stories based on myths and legends from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Pakistan, and Japan. Finally, another wonderful part of this book is the cultural explanation provided by the authors at the end of each story. Readers can use this information to further explore the cultures, mythologies, and legends that inspired the stories within this anthology.

 

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2018 Freeman Book Awards for Children’s and Young Adult Literature on East and Southeast Asia Honorable Mention

2018 Publishers Weekly Best Book: “Thoughtfully compiled and written…”

KIRKUS starred review: “A marvelous anthology of retold Asian myths and legends.”

THE HORN BOOK: “All of these stories achieve emotional depth and connection.”

 

CONNECTIONS

This is a good anthology to introduce any of a variety of Asian cultural themes.  

* Other books related to this one:

Oh, Ellen. 2013. PROPHECY. ISBN 9780062091093.

Oh, Ellen. 2017. FLYING LESSONS AND OTHER STORIES. ISBN 9781101934593.

Wu, Cheng'en. 1592. JOURNEY TO THE WEST. ISBN 978-0143107187.

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