What Is the Animal of My Birth?

The Mountain God had a great idea! He would give each animal the number of a year so they all could get along better with the people of the village. They would hold a race to see which animal was given the first year. Tiger, dragon, rooster, mouse and each of the animals felt that he or she should be first, of course, and each knew exactly why. The race was on. Dandelions smiled at the side of the road. Bees and butterflies followed along behind. Amazed, the townspeople all stood and watched the animals compete. The winner – and what a surprise who it turned out to be – would lead off the cycle of twelve years that make up the Asian Zodiac. Take your child on this journey into the culture of Eastern Asia as author Nyo Chung tells the story of the naming of the twelve years by animals—called the Kanji in Asia—as snake, mouse, cow, monkey and each of the others finish the race in sequence. The splendid illustrations and playful text will delight young listeners or readers, and included at the back of the book is an appendix of questions for further entertainment or for a classroom aid for young children.