The Emperor, His Bride and the Dragon Robe by Lisa Sankar-Zhu is a wonderful fairy tale set in ancient China. It is the story of a honorable emperor and the two beautiful women that hope to be his bride. One is greedy and resorts to trickery in her attempts, while the other is kind and gracious even when it is detrimental to her cause. There are unexpected challenges and a grand battle to determine the outcome.
The Emperor, His Bride and the Dragon Robe is a fairy tale that feels just like the classic tales from ancient China. The theme is heavy in the tradition of honor and kindness, perfectly executed and illustrated to continue the tone and feel. The challenges of the potential brides flowed well, and the outcome was expected (because good should always win in a fairy tale) but the climactic battle was interesting and added an extra oomph to the tale. I really enjoyed the illustrations and story.
The Emperor, His Bride and the Dragon Robe would be a stunning and valuable addition to every school library. It tells a classic story of good overcoming evil, and does it with charm. While I would class it as an older picturebook, I think many age groups could enoy it in the right setting.
The author was inspired by her two sons, who were born in China, to write the story. She also credits writing the book to having lived in China for many years and being warmly embraced by the Chinese people who have willingly shared their rich culture with her.
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