El Chino - Hardcover

Allen Say was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1937. He dreamed of becoming a cartoonist from the age of six, and, at age twelve, apprenticed himself to his favorite cartoonist, Noro Shinpei. For the next four years, Say learned to draw and paint under the direction of Noro, who has remained Say's mentor. Say illustrated his first children's book -- published in 1972 -- in a photo studio between shooting assignments. For years, Say continued writing and illustrating children's books on a part-time basis. But in 1987, while illustrating THE BOY OF THE THREE-YEAR NAP (Caldecott Honor Medal), he recaptured the joy he had known as a boy working in his master's studio. It was then that Say decided to make a full commitment to doing what he loves best: writing and illustrating children's books. Since then, he has written and illustrated many books, including TREE OF CRANES and GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal. He is a full-time writer and illustrator living in Portland, Oregon.

Grade 2-5-- A picture-book biography of the first Chinese matador. On his first vacation to Europe, Billy Wong saw a Spanish bullfight and, marvelling at the athletic prowess of the matador, realized that even a man shorter than he might enter the sport. So he stayed in Spain and went to bullfighting school, but after two years passed without fighting a single cow, Billy realized that a Chinese matador might stand out in the crowd of aspiring bullfighters--as indeed he did. After his first success as El Chino --The Chinese--in his native costume, Billy receivedan offer to become a real matador. The large, bordered illustrations in the first part of the book describe Billy's early life in Arizona, and are suggestive of old sepia photographs; these have that sense of being posed in that way that both conceals and reveals the life of the subjects. When he attends the bullfight in Spain, however, the illustrations take on color and action. Say's subtle watercolor shadings and the details in the fine lines of these illustrations capture the power and the sensitivity of this story of a man who learns that to become someone beyond his current self, he must first truly be himself. A book that's lovely to look at, but one that is likely to have limited appeal to children because of the slow, uneventful beginning. --Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
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