Seven beautiful stories featuring Chinese mythology, chosen by Maisie Chan

The illustrations are beautiful in this picture book about one of my favourite Chinese deities – Kuan Yin (which is also spelt many other ways such as Guan Yin). The story is a famous one and the older retellings have often been harsh as many old fairytales and legends are. However, this is done in a fairly easy to digest way and retells the story of how Princess Miao Shan became the goddess of compassion and mercy.

The Monkey King is one of the most famous characters in Chinese myths and legends. I used to watch a TV show called Monkey Magic when I was younger. I was charmed by the characters floating on clouds and by Monkey’s friends Pigsy and Sandy. Monkey is a mischievous character but one who stands the test of time.

The moon rabbit in Chinese mythology was the companion to Chang’e a moon goddess. This picture book follows Luna, whose grandma has told her to leave some rice cakes out for the moon rabbit and maybe he will come down to visit, but Luna is not so sure. However, she and the rabbit have a moon lit adventure in this magical tale.

Here we follow Kai, a Chinese girl who comes from a long line of explorers in a colourful graphic novel for younger children. The book includes pictures of other East Asian myths such as the nine-tailed fox and the Fenghuang (the mystical phoenix) and the nian monster. Her encounter with Monkey becomes a fun adventure and the illustrations are vibrant and fresh.

I bought this book because my son was born in the year of the Tiger. It’s one of a series of books which follow one of the Chinese zodiac animals.

This middle-grade book features Billy Chan who is Asian American and other children from around the world who meet at a Camp Dragon in China. They find out that dragons are more than myths and legends in this fast-paced adventure.

This collection of stories has a Mulan tale written by me! I loved researching the many legends of Hua Mulan and coming up with my own retelling for this gorgeous anthology.