Father's Chinese Opera

K-Gr 2—An unnamed young boy spends his day backstage watching his father conduct operas in Hong Kong, and he particularly enjoys watching the acrobats. He wants to become one and trains with the best but is heartbroken when he's told he's not yet ready to perform. His father explains that before he could write and conduct operas, he had to learn how to play all the instruments, so the boy starts at the bottom, ready to work his way up to the role he covets. The simple text is accompanied by large, full-spread watercolor-with-pencil illustrations. They are done in bright, saturated colors, but the expansive use of white space and washes of color over sketched lines makes them appear muted and muddy, evoking the dim world in the wings of a working theater. Coupled with the overly pat resolution that veers toward the didactic, this story won't spark interest in Chinese opera, and there are better titles out there about hard work for long-term goals.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA