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Foo Dogs Aren’t Dogs… Are They?

Perhaps you’ve heard of foo dogs — also known as fu dogs, fo dogs, or Chinese lions? These works of art may be called dogs, but are they really dogs? First, a little history: animal imagery is an important element in Chinese art. During the Shang dynasty, stylized animal faces were placed on vessels in tombs and engraved onto weapons. For some, the animal faces served as fierce guardians or symbols of royal power. During the Han dynasty, we saw the first appearance of the lion in Chinese art. Outside of royal gifts, China had no lions of its own; … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Picks: Best Novels Read in 2007

It’s that time of year – the time to look back at my reading for the last year and decide which books were the most outstanding. As always, it’s a tough call, more so than usual, as I really found some great reads in 2007. I decided to allow for fifteen top favorites instead of my usual ten – ten is just too limiting. 1. “Wildwood Dancing” by Juliet Marillier was my favorite read over all. This delightful and enchanting fairy tale took the stories of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and “The Frog Prince” and blended them together in a … Continue reading →

Week in Review – Nov 12th – 18th

What a variety of reviews we had this week! Read our posts on a Thanksgiving and a Christmas story for children, inspiration for future vacations, a new idea for sticky notes, a historical adult novel set in China, and an intriguing YA book on OCD. Tristi reviewed Beast by Margaret Wild, a haunting young adult story of a boy with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Tristi says the book provides good insight into the life of someone with OCD. Young children may be bored by traditional Thanksgiving stories, but they will love Clifford’s Thanksgiving by Norman Bridwell, as the big red dog … Continue reading →

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See

“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” is a fiction novel, but it feels so real, it could almost be nonfiction. I came away smelling the dumplings and ginger, seeing all the images before me. Lily is the narrator, looking back over her life in China with the eyes of the eighty-year-old woman she’s become. She tells of her young childhood, when the diviner comes to set the date for her feet to be bound, and being told that her feet were so remarkable, she might have golden lilies, meaning, the smallest feet possible to attain at the approximate length of … Continue reading →