Meilo So is Hong Kong born Chinese, but she was educated and lives in Britain. She has illustrated many picture books, including folktales, poetry and original stories. A favourite in the library is Gobble, Gobble, Slip, Slop: The Tale of a Very Greedy Cat which is a retelling of an Indian folktale. In it a greedy tabby cat swallows a parrot, an old woman, a farmer and donkey and then all in the sultan's wedding procession. The cat gets fatter and fatter just like it does in the Danish folktale, The Fat Cat, until two crabs end the greed and just as in the Jack Kent version all the victims emerge from the cat's stomach unscathed. Certainly it is a preposterous story, but the children love the silliness and joining in with the repetitive refrain. I also particularly like Wishbones which is a Chinese version of Cinderella where the bones of a fish have magical qualities. It is written by Barbara Ker Wilson.
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