The Sleeper

Day's ``original'' folktale is a contrived mix of elements from Chinese history and folklore with a sentimentally predictable story. Wu Wing Wong, a young Buddhist monk who loves books and reading, has trouble waking up in the morning. One day the Emperor decrees that all books must be destroyed. Directed to deliver the last of the monastery's books for burning, Wu is swept away by a flooded creek. He is sheltered by two mysterious old men in a cave and inexplicably falls into a 200-year-long sleep. When he finally awakens, he is confused, but soon one of the books he carries provides the answer to a question that has provoked 200 years of war. The conflict ends and the moral is implicit: the pen is mightier than the sword. This uninspired story is enhanced by Entwisle's strikingly fluid watercolors, which far outstrip the text with their careful appreciation of Chinese painting and landscape. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)