Chinese Mythology A to Z

Read in the local library too. I found having an overview of what seems important may be culled from other readings-even Hughart's Master Li and Number Ten Ox Chronicles- sparked interest in this selection. The illustrations are quite attractive. Being an American any tool to maximize knowledge requires focus. Mr Roberts style, geared toward young inquiry, is thoughtful and appreciated.

I had a look at several books from this series in the reference section of my library. The information from all meshed with that I found in other sources. It's all introductory material, as would be expected from such a series, but the tone of some entries in the Chinese and Japanese volumes seems a little problematic. Generally this sort of book is trying to convey the facts of, rather than judgments on the validity of, another group's beliefs For example, from the entry Cat in the Chinese volume: "Some people thought just hanging a picture of a cat on the wall could prevent evil spirits or rats from entering the house." As opposed to the entry Jaguar from the South and Meso-American volume: ". . . humans and gods alike could do no better than be associated with the power of this cat." Both are factually correct descriptions of beliefs of the respective cultures, but the former seems to take a superior view, where the latter is simply descriptive. Maybe I'm reading too much into these (and the books are written by different people), I just noticed what seemed to be quite a contrast between them. My other thought was perhaps Roberts got the idea he was writing for a much younger audience, and the other authors did not get the same idea. Factually the books in the series are fine, based on the entries I read, and an easier introduction to these subjects than the route I took, particularly the African and South and Meso-American volumes. They cover many different people groups as compared to other books (at least those available at a public library) that tend to focus on the more popular cultures such as Egyptians or Mayans (though these of course have their place).