The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen

I have read many books in my life, but my favorite one is The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen. It is a fantasy written by Lloyd Alexander. The main character, Young Lord Prince Jen Shao Yeh, is very honest and is willing to help anyone. He does not act as a prince while outside the palace. Instead, he wears a yellow robe and a yellow hat. This book takes place in back in 7th century China, during the T?ang Dynasty. The celestial palace is in the capital, Chang?an where Jen Shao Yeh comes from.In the beginning, when Jen departs from the celestial palace on a great journey, he brings his servant and army with him. He rides a carriage along the way, carrying a sack of gifts, heading to the kingdom of Tien?Kuo. On his journey, he meets many people, including a painter named Chen Cho, Natha Yellow Scarf, and Master Chu. He parts with some of his group and some of the gifts but finds them back. Jen is informed by his servant that his father, the king, died when they were on the journey and that he was now king of T?ang. He is immediately sent back to the palace. When he does, he finds that an enemy has already taken over the palace. Will Jen be able to recapture his kingdom and rule with his beloved lady?I would recommend this novel because Lloyd Alexander has used very descriptive words and I can picture what is going on. I would give this book a 5 star rating because it is just one of my favorite books that I have read in my whole entire life! This book is confusing the first time you read it though not the second time. I would especially recommend this book to children in fourth grade and up because the vocabulary skills necessary are quite demanding. This book sure will be a joy to read.

The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen is a fantastic fantasy and an incredible un-put-down-able read by Lloyd Alexander. When Prince Jen sets off to find the legendary court of T'ien-kuo with the king's best soldiers and six mysterious gifts, he never could have guessed it could lead to such a remarkable journey. Disaster strikes almost at once. First, a sniveling old man almost drowns the young royal, then their carriage breaks down and they lose the soldiers and finally, Jen almost loses his head to a terrifying bandit and has his royal warrant stolen. But with his trusty servant Mafoo and the clever flute girl Voyaging-Moon at his side Jen is determined to find the legendary kingdom and not to fail his father. Jen continues steadily north and meets a conceited official and a `long legged lunatic' or `honest robber' named Moxa. Together Jen, Mafoo, Voyaging-Moon and Moxa finally reach the River Lo. In their haste to cross they make the mistake of trying to cross in bad weather. During a storm their boat is ripped apart and the four friends are swept away from each other down the speeding River Lo!! Will the four friends survive a storm on the river? Will they ever see his each other again? To find out read this fantastic book!

This is the first of Lloyd Alexander's books that I have read. I came across it by accident at the local library and felt mildly curious about it. I read the entire book in one (very long) sitting and was so pleased with it that the next day I read it again, savoring little gems of dialogue and observation and subtle humor. It's not a perfect book but it is a book I'll return to because (like the Six Gifts in the story) there is much more to it than first meets the eye. As other reviews have noted, the story (actually, stories within stories) is richly endowed with myth and legend. I don't know how much of the mythic/fantastic content is a retelling of traditional Chinese folklore and how much of it is direct from Alexander's imagination, but in any case, he brings a refreshingly light and skillful touch to telling stories with deep roots. The book does leave me curious to explore traditional Chinese myths and legends - a vein of folklore with which I'm not very familiar but which based on this book may well hold storerooms of hidden treasures.The story Alexander tells concerns the inner journey just as much as it concerns an outer journey. There are a number of quotes from Taoist and other mystical tradition that indicate Alexander is aware of this, but he is too good a writer to be heavy-handed about it.Stories in the myth/legend genre risk falling into stereotypical characterization - good guys versus bad guys - and Alexander doesn't entirely escape this. However, the main characters do do have some complexity and life, they can do unexpected things and they can change. Even the main Bad Guy has some good traits at the beginning, although by the end he is simply vain and vicious. The minor characters are fun to read about but for the most part they are streretypical - particularly the greedy merchants, the vacuous officials and the wandering sages. Whether you are reading this book for yourself or reading it to your child you will be glad to know that this book is written with a good heart. It is an invitation to life, wisdom and compassion told with keen observation and a great sense of humor.

I'm a best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction books. Don't even remember how I came upon "The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen," but I enjoyed it immensely, and it's worth revisiting annually, such as I do other favorites, such as Siddhartha, or Lord of the Rings. This book is most certainly not just for kids. I'm surprised it's not a perennial best-seller. Alexander has shown himself to be a master story-teller in this book, which remains personal, humorous, human, even as it touches on mythic proportions. For young or old, it's a must-read book.

This is what my children say every night after I read them this wonderful book. I grew up with Alexander's Prydain books. When my oldest was 8 I read her all the Prydain books in order. She loved them and my 6 year old, who I thought would not understand the book, was entranced every night. I couldn't believe that they would enjoy a book more that those great fantasies. Now we're reading Prince Jen and enjoying it even more. I love the style of questions and comments at the end of each chapter and the chapter titles, insights help set the stage for the next chapter. This book is a beauty to read outloud. My Kindergartener is enjoying it as well as her older siblings.