The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac
Written by: Dawn Casey
Illustrated by: Anne Wilson
Traditional/Folk Literature

I first picked up this book because I am interested in the Chinese Zodiac, so I thought this would be an interesting idea of how they came about. The people had no calendar so they had no way to measure time. The Jade Emperor decided that something must be done so he came out with the idea to start a calendar and name each year after a different animal. His problem was that he didn't know how to decide what order the animals should go in so he decided to have a race. He decided that the winner would be the first year on the calendar. All the animals gathered, including Rat and Cat who were best friends. They made a plan to out smart the other animals by riding on Ox's back in the water. Ox agreed and it was such a smooth ride through the water that Cat fell asleep. Rat knew that since Cat was sleeping he could be well rested when they reached the shore for the run so he pushed him into the water. Rat jumped off of Ox's back when they reached the shore and ran to the finish, coming in first place. All the animals came in leaving Cat as the 13th animal to finish, so that is why he is not on the Chinese calendar and the reason why he and Rat are now enemies.

This book can be a good introduction to help students learn more about the Chinese culture. You could also have them devise their own plan of how they would name each year if they could re-make the calendar we currently use. This book can also be used as a lesson to show students that doing something mean to one of your friends can cause you to no longer have a friendship. Encourage them to think about the importance of friendship in comparison to other things like winning a race. Ask them to think about and discuss questions like: "What would you do if you were Cat?" "How could they solve this issue and stay friends?" Use this opportunity as a chance to have students understand the value of friendship and kindness.