The splendid scarlet-and-gold jacket will entice readers into this sumptuous picture book, but once in, they might well find themselves confused. At the beginning, Young lists 26 emotions with their modern Chinese characters. He then devotes a page to each emotion, breaking each character into its parts and creating a collage out of the parts and the figure of a heart to express the feeling of the emotion. For example, Contentment is defined as a peaceful heart. The parts of the character are symbols for a claw, work, and a hand; put together they mean After a day of hard work, the heart feels peace of mind. It is content. The accompanying illustration is richly brown like soil, and the heart shape is flecked with shades of brown. Other emotions include panic, rudeness, mercy, and loyalty. For those doing a unit on alphabets or writing, this esoteric book may prove interesting; however, it will require a sophisticated audience willing to examine it closely enough to discern its meaning. (Reviewed April 15, 1997)

Exploring twenty-six Chinese characters describing emotions, Young uses the heart as metaphor for human behavior (joy is "a happy heart"; laziness is "an idle heart"), then creates ideograms and collage constructions for each concept. This small gift book edition seems an acknowledgment that adults may be the book's best audience.

A labor of love for a versatile illustrator (see review, above) introduces some Chinese characters and invites readers to muse upon human nature. <p> A labor of love for a versatile illustrator (see review, above) introduces some Chinese characters and invites readers to muse upon human nature. In 26 pages appear 26 thoughtful descriptions of traits such as virtue, shame, realization, and forgiveness. In Respect,'' a Chinese seal or pictograph is shown at the bottom of the page; above it, its components are broken down, e.g., the symbols fortwenty,'' pair of hands,'' andheart,'' because twenty pair of hands symbolize twenty generations. When the heart acknowledges the wisdom of twenty generations, respect develops.'' Filling much of the page is a modern interpretation of the seal or pictograph, collage creations made from a range of papers, from exotic handmade pieces to paper toweling. Explanations sometimes relate the concept to Chinese history, but while Young calls this a work ofpersonal reflection,'' the emotions and ideas are universal. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-11)</p> "