Presenting 55 tales from Chinese ethnic groups that do not belong to the Han majority, this volume serves as a companion to The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese (Libraries Unlimited, 2006). Yuan begins with a cultural overview of representative ethnic minorities, touching on languages, customs, clothing, religions, and festivals. Recipes for selected traditional dishes are included, along with rules for a few games and directions for crafts. The tales, organized by subject matter and retold for a child audience, consist of bare-bones plot summaries that teachers could use as a springboard for creative arts. A brief introduction to each tale provides cultural context. Appendixes carefully describe the motifs of each tale type, give detailed source notes, and list national minorities in Chinese and Roman characters. While He Ligi's The Spring of Butterflies and Other Chinese Folktales (HarperCollins, 1985) is more child-friendly, teachers and librarians developing curricula for the study of China will find this new volume a valuable asset, as will storytellers looking for source material.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.