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With the help of her droll friend Yishan, the beautiful Lady Meng, and a mind full of stories, Pinmei sets out on a journey to rescue her grandmother and foil the Emperor's plan of gaining immortality.
Editorial Reviews. Review. “Ghosh imbues his narrative with historical sweep and the lavish The first novel in the Ibis Trilogy, Sea of Poppies, was short- listed for the Man Booker to be quite strange www.farmersmarketmusic.com character having changed quite implausibly from my reading in the other books. The man is a master storyteller. When the Sea Turned to Silver has ratings and reviews. Lola said: If you ever get the chance to read this book, I'd say jump on it! A stunning and gorgeous story about a storyteller's granddaughter and the incredible .. Once again Lin weaves together a series of Chinese myths/legends/stories in a plot that.
I was already impressed with the author's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon , but this new tale just takes it to a new level. When the Sea Turned to Silver is a beautiful tale of family, friendship, loyalty, mythical creatures, magical landscapes and what it takes to rule a kingdom. And of course, it is not short on stories.
I can't help but love stories within stories, and this one has them interwoven so nicely - a reread will always be worthwhile! It is one of those stories that includes so much foreshadowing, every little detail from the first page down to the last matters.
We follow Pinmei and her friends on their journey through China where winter does not seem to end. They are certain the Emperor is to blame and try to get to the bottom of it. On their way, they meet a variety of characters and creatures who all want to hear stories from the storyteller's granddaughter. I also love how the author handles the Chinese elements. Various elements of the story ring familiar in accordance with my Chinese studies - the author incorporates language, tales and real historical events such as the building of the great wall. It is a pleasure to see these elements and they strike me as very accessible to anyone, no matter how much or little you are familiar with the culture.
Pinmei is a great character. She grows so much throughout the book but never loses her kindness and modesty.
Her friends Yishan and Lady Meng have their own secrets that unravel during their journey, but both prove to be wonderful friends. But what I enjoyed the most were, without a doubt, the through and through magical sceneries. They travel through icy lands with red butterflies, the depths of the ocean where the bottom reflects the sky, trees draped with lanterns, endless starlit bridges, and a moon that can be seized with a magical bracelet.
When the Sea Turned to Silver is far from being short on magic. Pinmei's tales come to life and, as far as I am concerned, easily hold their own next to similar better-known books. It is a shame that this is the least known out of the author's three Chinese fantasy novels - it deserves so much more!
Jul 24, Rachel rated it really liked it Shelves: They are what we cherish and what we remember. It's full of adventure, magic, and emotion. Pinmei, the main character, transforms throughout the novel as she finds her voice and inner strength. There's a great message about the importance of storytelling. Also, the illustrations in the novel were so gorgeous please read this book in print so you can truly appreciate the artwork.
May 23, Aentee rated it it was amazing. I'm just so happy this book exists. An intoxicating and wondrous blend of old folklore and new adventures. A must-read for everyone who believes in the power of stories. Nov 25, R. Nairam rated it liked it. I'm not sure if the problem was me or the book, but I had a harder time following this one than previous installments. Still enjoyed reading it and it still had some really beautiful moments, but I wonder if I needed to have read the first two more recently I think, like the first two, it is not a sequel but a companion story and I had a harder time remembering which characters I was supposed to already know to appreciate it fully.
Dec 15, Julia Carlton rated it really liked it Shelves: Omg what can I say? Despite this being a children's book, I quite enjoyed it. It was sooo rich, and enchanting. Definitely going to look for the author's other works.. It's one of those books that make you wish you had a child so you could tell them about these glittering worlds XD. Apr 03, Heidi Burkhart rated it it was amazing.
Grace Lin weaves a beautiful novel through ancient Chinese folktales. I loved this book and enjoyed the audiobook narrator very much as well. Oct 19, Evan rated it it was amazing Shelves: I recommend this book to everyone. Oct 17, Alex not a dude Baugh rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Tiger Emperor, disguised as a soldier, is going around to all the mountain villages and kidnapping men to help build a Vast Wall around his entire kingdom.
When the Emperor arrives in Pinmei's village, not only does he take all the men, but he also takes Amah, her elderly grandmother known as the Storyteller. Amah had hidden Pinmei in a large empty wine vessel to keep her safe. Before the soldiers leave, young Yishan arrives at the hut and demands they not take Amah, but the Emperor only laug The Tiger Emperor, disguised as a soldier, is going around to all the mountain villages and kidnapping men to help build a Vast Wall around his entire kingdom.
Before the soldiers leave, young Yishan arrives at the hut and demands they not take Amah, but the Emperor only laughs. As they leave, the soldiers set fire to the little hut Pinmei and Amah lived in. Pinmei and Yishan decide to go rescue Amah and set out on a quest to find a Luminous Stone That Lights The Night, traveling from their home on the Never-Ending Mountain through deep snows in what seems to be a never ending winter to the City of Bright Moonlight.
Along the way they are given much help in exchange for one of Amah's story, which Pinmei knows by heart. Pinmei and Yishan are not in the City of Bright Moonlight long before they must journey to the Crystal Palace at the bottom of the sea to seek the help of the Sea King and then back to the Capital City to try to get Amah released from the Tiger Emperor's dungeon.
Along the way, Pinmei begins to suspect that Yishan is hiding something from her as his demeanor begins to change to a more confident person when dealing with all the obstacles they meet on the quest to rescue Amah. Her suspicions aren't without foundation, providing one of the big surprises at the end of the story. Besides Pinmei and Yishan's journey, there are parallel chapters of Amah in a dungeon with a fellow prisoner, a stonecutter, as well as the plight of the entrapped Black Tortoise of Winter, both adding to the mystery and enchantment of Pinmei's adventure.
At the heart of this cleverly woven tale is the Tiger Emperor's desire for invincibility but also for immortality and he is willing to do anything to achieve that. But why did the Tiger Emperor kidnap Amah, the Storyteller? And why can't the Black Tortoise move on so that winter can end? How can they help the Emperor achieve what he wants? The answers to these questions can be found in the stories that Pinmei and Amah tell and which are strategically interspersed throughout the book of course, I didn't realize the strategic part on my first reading of When the Sea Turned To Silver.
Though rooted in traditional Chinese folktales, Grace Lin has given them her own spin to support the story of Pinmei, Amah, Yishan and the selfish Tiger Emperor. It is an adventure with lots of twists and turns, where nothing is as it seems and there are a few surprises along the way The tales fit smoothly and relevantly into the framing story, so the reader doesn't experience any disjunction or lose track of Pinmei and Yishan journeys.
When the Sea Turned To Sliver is the third book in the trilogy that includes When the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky but you don't need to have read these two previous tales to enjoy this third one. Although there are references to the past narratives, this one does stand alone. I found the writing to be clear and clean, but not quite as lyrical or poetic as Lin's two previous novels.
In fact, sometimes I thought Yishan sounded a little colloquial. None of this takes away from the loveliness of the basic story, but I was surprised by it. When the Sea Turned To Silver is an enchanting work and Lin has invented an imaginative ancient Chinese world that is at times rather dark in tone and at other times is just beautiful.
And she has provided the reader with illustrations that will take your breath away, beginning with the cover, and continuing with the full color images throughout the book and the two-tone vignettes at the start of each chapter. The first illustration in the book is one of my personal favorites.
I love the way Lin frames her illustrations like her stories with what appears to be her version of traditional Chinese designs that fit her story. You can see that Lin really puts a lot of care and thought into what she creates. In this first full color illustration in the story, you can almost feel the bitter cold of the winter that is going on and on, and the isolation in which Pinmei, Amah and Yishan live Yishan lives alone in a different hut since his Aunty Meiya died. When the Sea Turned To Silver is a eminently readable, spellbinding tale that is sure to please fans of Grace Lin, young readers who enjoy good fantasy, and everyone who likes to read.
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading This story links incidentally with Ms. It is an engaging tale of deception, greed, sacrifice, and love that is complemented by numerous short stories that help to show the importance of storytelling and how we can become immortal through sharing our memories and stories with others. Kim Mai Guest skillfully narrates the tale, which is filled with myriad characters and different subplots. I was impressed with her ab This story links incidentally with Ms.
I was impressed with her ability to keep the voices distinctly separate from one another to help the listener keep track of the different speakers. Though I suppose the powerful all seem the same to us. Oct 29, Sara rated it it was amazing Shelves: Best book of bar none. It will be an outrageous injustice if it is not honored by some award in the field of children's literature.
Yeah, I said it. I felt like a child again, reading books about dragons and secret treasure boxes. However, it was a good feeling. While being at summer school may shorten my reading time, I try to get the best out of it, and I can say that it's a big surprise for me to pick up another one of Grace Lin's book.
The last one I read was in third grade: That book was also mind-glowingly powerful and influential. Jul 20, Katy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Read this one in a single sitting, I loved how the fables were intermixed into the storyline. Jan 22, Laura bbliophile rated it really liked it. I like this series a lot. Aug 02, Jalilah rated it really liked it Shelves: A delightful children's book inspired by Chinese mythology and folktales that is an enjoyable read for all ages. A lovely little story with gorgeous illustrations. I remember liking Where the Mountain Meets the Moon just a tiny bit better, though.
Feb 02, Jenna Falling Letters rated it it was amazing Shelves: Review originally posted 8 February at Falling Letters. I love seeing a non-Western aesthetic featured so beautifully in a work for children. One of my favourite illustrations can be found on page View the photos on my blog. The illustrations and book design work well to convey the writing style.
This kind of prose is what I enjoy most about middle grade fiction. Simple yet descriptive, everything parred down to get at the essence of what will spark your imagination. I took a uni course on Chinese women and gender which we studied primarily via Chinese literature throughout the centuries, so I have a general familiarity with the flavour of Chinese storytelling.
What I can say is that is that stories are just what lovers of fairy or folk tales might expect. Characters trying to get ahead in life or trying to do their best, traces of the fantastic influencing their actions, and a relevance of the mini-story to the grander narrative. Aside from the sheer loveliness of When the Sea Turned to Silver , the storytelling theme is the aspect of this book I adored.
I like how Pinmei learns how valuable her stories and her storytelling ability can be. And I like what the climax of the story has to say about the importance of stories. This is a book for those who love stories. I wonder if she pops up in the other two novels at all? Nov 26, Barbara rated it really liked it Shelves: Returning to some of the characters from her two previous folktales [I won't say more in order not to reveal any spoilers], Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sea, Grace Lin mines traditional Chinese stories for material for this wonderful adventure story.
Although Pinmei's grandmother has sheltered her for her entire life by living on a remote mountain, that peacefulness disappears when the emperor sends his soldiers to kidnap the elderly woman, known throughout the land Returning to some of the characters from her two previous folktales [I won't say more in order not to reveal any spoilers], Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sea, Grace Lin mines traditional Chinese stories for material for this wonderful adventure story.
Although Pinmei's grandmother has sheltered her for her entire life by living on a remote mountain, that peacefulness disappears when the emperor sends his soldiers to kidnap the elderly woman, known throughout the land as the Storyteller. Everything you need to know is in Pourquoi Play: Use the stories in Mitch and Martha's Noodlehead Stories: You can also download a complete Noodlehead Writing Unit.
Although the focus is on K-3 for these Lesson Plans, many have information that is useful for other grade levels. Click on any of the following titles and then look for "To download lesson plans. If you click on "View Video Clips" at the top of this page and scroll down, you will find several child tellers -- and more will be added in the future so keep checking back. When children hear other children telling stories, the idea of "That sounds like fun. I'll bet I could do that, too" is planted in their minds. Mitch and Martha have two CD recordings, both of which include several fabulous child tellers.
Mitch and Martha have five books as part of the Story Cove series and all have free animated versions including Mitch and Martha's voices available at www. Although Mitch and Martha might tell some of these stories during their visit, playing the animations for students would be a great introduction. However, it is even better to show them after they have heard the story so that they have already used their own imaginations to create the story in their minds. The Story Cove animations are aimed at primary age students but even fourth and fifth graders enjoy watching them and can be encouraged to retell them.
Along with reading, writing, speaking, and listening, two more literacy skills have been added for teachers to address: For example, the illustrator of "The Well of Truth," Tom Wrenn, has depicted the story the way he saw it in his mind. Have children figure out how they might tell it, or even just a part of it, using vocal and facial expression and hand motions to "visually represent" the story and help listeners visualize it in their minds. The Hidden Feast , part of the larger and beautifully illustrated LittleFolk picture book series, also has a free animation online and will be enjoyed by K-3 students.
The games included in Children Tell Stories pages are perfect for classroom use, but be sure to check out the Storytelling Games section on this site as well. Students love the seven letter sentence game and it shows them that they don't need a television or a computer screen or even a game to have fun with friends -- just a paper and pencil.
Storytelling is the best way to help students focus on speaking and listening skills which are emphasized in both national and state educational standards. Indeed, telling stories has a profound influence on all language skills. The more children engage in telling stories, the more command they get over language. With more language, they can understand more detail in the stories they hear. That gives them a better idea of how stories hang together. So the better their own storytelling and retellings get, the more experience they'll bring to reading stories and writing them from By Different Paths to Common Outcomes.
Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom. Permission is not required to link to this list, but the chart is copyrighted. Although State Standards vary, the underlying requirements are the same. The requirements listed here are a few of the ones we found in the Standards for many states at a wide range of grade levels. These are samples from state standards across the United States. We found specific information for a few states on the Internet:. Scroll down to "Activities for State Standards.
General Sites on State Standards: Two general sites that will lead you to your own state standards are: The following is a general statement on the importance of storytelling in the classroom from The National Council of Teachers of English. Once upon a time, oral storytelling ruled. It was the medium through which people learned their history, settled their arguments, and came to make sense of the phenomena of their world.
Then along came the written word with its mysterious symbols.
For a while, only the rich and privileged had access to its wonders. But in time, books, signs, pamphlets, memos, cereal boxes, constitutions - countless kinds of writing appeared everywhere people turned. The ability to read and write now ruled many lands. Oral storytelling, like the simpleminded youngest brother in the olden tales, was foolishly cast aside. Oh, in casual ways people continued to tell each other stories at bedtime, across dinner tables, and around campfires, but the respect for storytelling as a tool of learning was almost forgotten.
Luckily, a few wise librarians, camp counselors, folklorists, and traditional tellers from cultures which still highly valued the oral tale kept storytelling alive.
Schoolchildren at the feet of a storyteller sat mesmerized and remembered the stories till the teller came again. Teachers discovered that children could easily recall whatever historical or scientific facts they learned through story. Children realized they made pictures in their minds as they heard stories told, and they kept making pictures even as they read silently to themselves. Just hearing stories made children want to tell and write their own tales. Parents who wanted their children to have a sense of history found eager ears for the kind of story that begins, "When I was little Storytelling is relating a tale to one or more listeners through voice and gesture.
It is not the same as reading a story aloud or reciting a piece from memory or acting out a drama - though it shares common characteristics with these arts. The storyteller looks into the eyes of the audience and together they compose the tale. The storyteller begins to see and re-create, through voice and gesture, a series of mental images; the audience, from the first moment of listening, squints, stares, smiles, leans forward or falls asleep, letting the teller know whether to slow down, speed up, elaborate, or just finish.
Each listener, as well as each teller, actually composes a unique set of story images derived from meanings associated with words, gestures, and sounds. The experience can be profound, exercising the thinking and touching the emotions of both teller and listener.
Everyone who can speak can tell stories. We tell them informally as we relate the mishaps and wonders of our day-to-day lives. We gesture, exaggerate our voices, pause for effect.
Listeners lean in and compose the scene of our tale in their minds. Often they are likely to be reminded of a similar tale from their own lives. These naturally learned oral skills can be used and built on in our classrooms in many ways. Students who search their memories for details about an event as they are telling it orally will later find those details easier to capture in writing.
Writing theorists value the rehearsal, or prewriting, stage of composing. Sitting in a circle and swapping personal or fictional tales is one of the best ways to help writers rehearse. Listeners encounter both familiar and new language patterns through story. They learn new words or new contexts for already familiar words. Those who regularly hear stories, subconsciously acquire familiarity with narrative patterns and begin to predict upcoming events. Both beginning and experienced readers call on their understanding of patterns as they tackle unfamiliar texts.
Then they re-create those patterns in both oral and written compositions. Learners who regularly tell stories become aware of how an audience affects a telling, and they carry that awareness into their writing. Both tellers and listeners find a reflection of themselves in stories. Through the language of symbol, children and adults can act out through a story the fears and understandings not so easily expressed in everyday talk.
Story characters represent the best and worst in humans. Teachers who value a personal understanding of their students can learn much by noting what story a child chooses to tell and how that story is uniquely composed in the telling. Through this same process, teachers can learn a great deal about themselves. Story is the best vehicle for passing on factual information. Historical figures and events linger in children's minds when communicated by way of a narrative. The ways of other cultures, both ancient and living, acquire honor in story.
The facts about how plants and animals develop, how numbers work, or how government policy influences history - any topic, for that matter - can be incorporated into story form and made more memorable if the listener takes the story to heart. Children at any level of schooling who do not feel as competent as their peers in reading or writing are often masterful at storytelling.
The comfort zone of the oral tale can be the path by which they reach the written one. Tellers who become very familiar with even one tale by retelling it often, learn that literature carries new meaning with each new encounter. Students working in pairs or in small storytelling groups learn to negotiate the meaning of a tale. Teachers who tell personal stories about their past or present lives model for students the way to recall sensory detail.
Listeners can relate the most vivid images from the stories they have heard or tell back a memory the story evokes in them. They can be instructed to observe the natural storytelling taking place around them each day, noting how people use gesture and facial expression, body language, and variety in tone of voice to get the story across. Stories can also be rehearsed. Again, the teacher's modeling of a prepared telling can introduce students to the techniques of eye contact, dramatic placement of a character within a scene, use of character voices, and more.
If students spend time rehearsing a story, they become comfortable using a variety of techniques. However, it is important to remember that storytelling is communication, from the teller to the audience, not just acting or performing. Storytellers can draft a story the same way writers draft. Audiotape or videotape recordings can offer the storyteller a chance to be reflective about the process of telling. Listeners can give feedback about where the telling engaged them most.
Learning logs kept throughout a storytelling unit allow both teacher and students to write about the thinking that goes into choosing a story, mapping its scenes, coming to know its characters, deciding on detail to include or exclude. Like writers, student storytellers learn from models.
Teachers who tell personal stories or go through the process of learning to tell folk or literary tales make the most credible models. Visiting storytellers or professional tellers on audiotapes or videotapes offer students a variety of styles. Often a community historian or folklorist has a repertoire of local tales. Older students both learn and teach when they take their tales to younger audiences or community agencies.
Once you get storytelling going, there is no telling where it will take you. Oral storytelling is regaining its position of respect in communities where hundreds of people of every age gather together for festivals in celebration of its power. Schools and preservice college courses are gradually giving it curriculum space as well.
It is unsurpassed as a tool for learning about ourselves, about the ever-increasing information available to us, and about the thoughts and feelings of others. The simpleminded youngest brother in olden tales, while disregarded for a while, won the treasure in the end every time. The source for the statement printed above is: If you would like to download a list of reasons to use the oldest educational tool in today's classrooms - no matter what the age level of your students, click here. In addition to the ones listed here, there are several other handouts available in the Handouts section at the top of each page of this site.
Our second edition of Children Tell Stories was just too big to fit into one book! We didn't want to use so much paper that the book would not be affordable, or include so much information that it would be overwhelming, so we have included additional information here. The documentary filmmaker, Peter Carroll, Click to see his Web site , is a longtime friend of ours. For years we talked about how film would be the best tool to document our methods of teaching storytelling in schools as a way of inspiring and teaching others to do the same. Cost was always the deterrent; making a documentary is an expensive, time-consuming task.
Our editor, Darcy Bradley, believed that it would be well worth the money and convinced the folks at Richard Owen Publishers www. Richard Owen himself was very enthusiastic, and we owe a debt of gratitude to both of them. Although they gave us guidance, we are incredibly grateful to them for mostly trusting us and Peter to do the job.
Our greatest debt is to Peter for his enthusiasm about the project. He has a playful, childlike quality that helped the students feel comfortable with him in the room almost immediately. Making the film clearly became a labor of love for Peter; although his contract was for a twelve to fifteen minute film, he finally had to stop himself at twenty minutes. We know that those extra few minutes represent days of work.
Peter even took the time to hone one of his family stories and tell it to the class. His written version was kept in the class library for the rest of the year. The teacher, Karen Powers, said it was so popular that it was never on the shelf. The story will be included in our collection entitled Scared Silly , a collection of thirteen scary "jump" stories, which will be coming out in fall, At the end, as a thank you to Peter, students wrote books about the experience of making the DVD.
No one tells the story better than they do! In this section are selected pages from some of these books as well as four of them in their entirety. Reading these books from the children's perspective makes it clear that, because the camera was always on them, these students were under far more pressure than during a normal storytelling unit. Because of Peter's skill as a cameraman, and because a storytelling unit is fun and engaging, they were mostly able to forget about the camera and enjoy themselves. The family storytelling night was clearly the hardest. There were two filmmakers, lots of lights hanging from the ceiling, and the student tellers had to wear a microphone.
We felt strongly that the film should reflect the fact that there are reluctant storytellers in every classroom. We hoped the film would show that those reluctant tellers, after conquering their fears, are also most proud of themselves at the end. However, because this was a documentary, we had no idea and no control over what would happen in the particular class we chose; we would simply watch things unfold as we do in any school residency. Nothing was rehearsed, including the interviews.
Peter ended up filming over eighteen hours of footage, which is not unusual because the industry standard is one hour of footage per minute of film. There is plenty more great footage and one of our goals is to get funding to have Peter do a bit longer version that could reach a wider audience, perhaps on PBS.
Karen Powers is an incredibly dedicated and well-loved teacher who always goes out of her way to make every event special. Not to mention that she is also very articulate, as you see on the DVD. It has always been a joy to work in her class. For the "World Premiere" party, she made a "red carpet" at the entrance to her room. All of the four third grade classes were invited and all were given cups of popcorn for the big show.
The kids had a whole award presentation planned which included opening a large envelope for "Best DVD at Northeast School. We are forever indebted to the parents and students at Northeast School especially those from Karen Powers' third grade class who were incredibly generous in their willingness to share a process that can be scary even without a camera on you at all times.
Download this seven-page document and you'll have everything you need to know to teach a writing unit on pourquoi stories. Download this eight-page document and you'll have everything you need to know to teach a writing unit on "noodlehead" stories. Because students are engaged by the world of story, they want to know more. They feel as if they know the characters and places. They will ask questions, especially if you encourage them to, which will give meaning and purpose to the activities that follow the story.
We have included ideas for curriculum tie-ins for the story "Problems, Problems, Problems" a folktale from India included on page 92 in Children Tell Stories: