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Summary: Boat Trip on the Yangtze River
Review: I have not read this book since I was in the first grade and I am now 42, however it left a lasting impression on me. Lasting enough for me to travel to China for 3 weeks to see the Yangtze River and see men walking their birds in the park in bamboo cages! I think that it would provide mystery for young readers and encourage them to find out what is going on in other countries and with other cultures. I would highly recommend it!
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Summary: What a terrific story!
Review: I just got this book for my 5 year old daughter. I had ran across it purely by accident and thought this would be perfect for her. Little did I know HOW perfect! She loved it! What a great tale to tell before bedtime. The illustrations were very nicely done and wove such a story by themselves. I enjoyed it too which made reading it all the more special. Get this. You won't regret it. Love that duck!
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Summary: My Children Loved It
Review: I just read so many negative reviews of this book, I felt that I needed to write a positive one. I read this book to my children (aged 5 and 2) numerous times over the course of a week, and they both loved it. They could not wait to read "Ping" each day, and my two-year-old still talks about Ping and China, 2 months after we read it.
Yes, Ping received a switch (not a beating) for being last, but he learned that being safe with his family was much better than being alone. He (and we) also learned that facing up to the consequences of being late (or any error) is definitely better than trying to hide from the consequences or lying about it. Much bigger trouble comes then. During the time we read the book, we learned about China (then and now), the Yangtze River, the artwork (drawing water, repetition, etc.), taking responsibility for one's actions, water safety, and many other things.
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Summary: Ping rules!
Review: I loved the Story About Ping as a little girl and now it's even better as an adult. (It must have worked; I'm almost never late for anything for fear I'll get smacked on the back!) The images of the boat and the ducks with the rings around their necks remain powerful. I always thought "rice cakes" were something sweet until I tried them years later. Yuk!
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Summary: Not the book I remember!
Review: I made a long list of books I remembered from childhood when my son was born. He pulled this one off the shelf the other day, and though he moved on to another book more age-appropriate, I continued to read Ping to myself.
Though the illustrations are lovely and the exploration of culture interesting, the portrayal of corporal punishment (especially for no offense, not that that should excuse it!) made me sick to my stomach. The "moral" of the story seems to imply that Ping should be grateful for his physical abuse, for at least he is safe from unknown abuses. This is not a message I want to pass on to my son.
As we already own the book, I may keep it around to read to him when he is much much older, so that we can discuss how the message is wrong and that no one, including Ping, deserves to be hit. However, I would not recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: A Joy to Read to Children!
Review: I read this book to my 6-year old niece and we both loved it. She got such a kick out of a duck getting a spanking. I now can't wait to read this to my other niece, who's now 2 1/2. Just a sheer delight.
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Summary: A bit disturbing
Review: I'd have to agree with the reviewer, Gregg Hower, who said he found this book traumatic when it was read to him in his childhood. I haven't gone back and reread it as an adult, but I clearly remember being disturbed by it. It wasn't so much the occurrence of the swat on the duck's behind at the end of the book that bothered me, but rather the fact that he spent most of the book obsessing about it and trying to avoid it, which conveyed to me that being swatted was truly terrible. It was sort of like the situation of an abused child who runs away but ends up going back, because he has nowhere to run to. I realize that may all sound a little farfetched to people who enjoyed the book in their youth, but that was my reaction as a child and is the only reason I remember the book today. Obviously I wasn't scarred by it, but if you read this book to a child, I would strongly recommend discussing it with them afterwards to make sure they were not upset by it.
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Summary: Good Lesson
Review: If nothing else, this book teaches that, no matter what, you should take responsibility for your own actions. To avoid a little spank on the back, Ping hides, his home floats off without him, and he gets in what could be serious trouble. When he finds his home again, he realizes that a little spank for being the last one home is well worth it just to be home again. This is NOT a book about capital punishment: The spank is NOT a punishment; it's a reminder to Ping (or any other duck who is the last in line to go up the ramp into the home boat) that you need to pay attention to what's going on around you and to try as hard as you can to do your best...and, like another well-known story, there's no place like home!
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Summary: Controversial--Judge for Yourself
Review: In a 1998 survey, (www.randomhouse.com/features/treasury/vote), online participants ranked Marjorie Flack's now-controversial 1933 book as highly as such favorites as "Horton Hears a Who," "Jamberry" (Bruce Degen), "Thomas the Tank Engine," (W. Awdry), and "In the Night Kitchen" (Maurice Sendak)!
Note that Random House asked that readers name their most "memorable" books of the century, and most participants were probably adults. As seen in these reviews, "memorable" is not necessarily favorable. It appears from the diversity and intensity of feelings here that, depending on adult and child values, personalities, and sensibilities, reading this book can be a springboard for discussion or an incubator for nightmares.
I'm always impressed with the number of excellent children's books available. If you think that the book may upset you or your small ones, or if it offends you or your values, then do not buy it. I will try to list some of the objections that reviewers have mentioned. The book shows little duck "Ping" almost being struck, his later escape and separation, birds yoked about the neck (Fishers yoke the birds so that they can't swallow the fish that they retrieve for the "Master"), Ping tricked, caught, and almost becoming dinner, and, finally, actually getting hit by a long stick. For some, it's like a kid's version of El Greco's war series. In the tradition of "Hansel and Gretel," there is horror aplenty here, and there's no ultimate escape to freedom. I can also respect those who object to the stereotypes of the Chinese and China (the boy who captures and subsequently releases Ping is as brightly yellow as the duck, and the Yangtze River is colored yellow).
Marjorie Flack wrote this and many other very popular books, and the book--written during the Depression and the sociopolitical movements of the 1930's--has historical interest. For example, one could argue that the book supports--or indicts--Fascism, Communism, Capitalism, or Social Darwinism. However, in a brief search on Google.com, I did not see any scholarly works about the book. Obviously, these are the concerns of adults and mature young teens.
There is the potential, at least, that this book will be disturbing. So, please be aware of the controversial content and the differing reactions that your young audience could have. If you get the book, talk it over with them, as several people here have suggested. On another note, there's a lot to admire in the pictures. Kurt Wiese's simple but evocative color drawings are beguiling. Wiese, a man who illustrated over 300 children's books and who twice received Caldecott honors, draws in a soft, evocative, "crayon-y" style that is appealing and powerful. "Ping" has 32 pages, excellent illustrations, and sturdy binding (if you purchase the book with the ISBN of 0-670-67223-8).
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Summary: Provokes Young Readers' Imaginations Without Oversimplifying
Review: Like many of the reviewers, this is a book I loved as a child and that I've returned to now that I'm a parent. While it has a moral--that many times, simply accepting an umpleasant consequence is better than trying to avoid it--it's not preachy about it. In fact, what's really nice about the storyis that it's not Ping's fault that he will be the last duck to board the boat (and thus get a whack upon his back). His head was below the water at the time, and he couldn't have heard the boat master's call. I think this is what gave me a thrill as a boy. I knew that the world wasn't fair and that sometimes punishments were unjust. This is what made me identify with Ping.And the book really taps into a young child's fears. I remember being thrilled that Ping ran away instead of accepting his punishment--what small child hasn't fantasized about running away? And I remember thinking how terrifying to wake up and find that you were totally lost in the wide world--what child's greatest fear isn't that sort of separation? I think that's the greatest thing about this story. It's not a tidy, pat treatment of issues like children's anxieties or the value of accepting the consequences of your actions. Rather, it's a tale that provokes imagination--that taps into those fears and ideas without simplifying them. And there are too few books that do this well. Incidentally, in terms of age, I've just begun reading this book to my four year old, and I think that's been a good age for him to start appreciating it. But I can imagine a much older child enjoying it as well.
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