Long ago in a province in China there lived an emperor whose greatest pleasure in life was to dress in new clothes. So begins Demi's retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a proud emperor who does not see what is obvious until he hears the truth from a child. Set in old, provincial China, this book is packed with visual elements of Chinese culture.

The story of the emperor’s new clothes is a tale set in china told by Demi. An Emperor is convinced that he is going to get a new outfit that fools will not be able to see, and when he goes out with no clothes on, everyone pretends they can see the clothes because they don’t want to be labeled a fool. It takes the innocence of a child to point out the ridiculousness of the situation. There isn’t much style in this story. I feel like it’s more of a humor/sarcasm story. Figurative language is used to compare many things. This tale is wonderful for teaching children to think for themselves and be careful of the consequences of letting one’s pride and vanity conquer. ( )

This book tell the classic story of the emperor who is fooled by two people who claim to be the best fabric makers and sewers of all time. They trick the emperor into walking outside in his undies! The illustrations are especially gorgeous showing the traditional Chinese dress and accented with bright shiny gold on every page. ( )

I had mixed feelings about this book for a few reasons. One reason that I liked this book is because it accurately represented the Chinese culture in the illustrations by showing the typical Chinese dress and the town in which the characters lived. The dresses were all very colorful and popped off of the page, which made it engaging. In addition, there was a diagram on one page that showed various pictures and their symbolic meaning in Chinese. For example, the bat means happiness and the chrysanthemum means joy and signifies fall. I liked that the illustrator included this diagram because it added to the authenticity of the book. On the other hand, I didn’t like the ending of this book because it ended somewhat abruptly. There wasn’t an obvious resolution, as the story ended by the Emperor continuing to parade around town in his underwear because he thought he was wearing invisible clothes. I wasn’t sure whether the tailors who made these clothes were tricking the Emperor or if anyone in the town actually was able to see the clothes because the ending was very open for interpretation, in my opinion. The big idea of this story is that you should always be truthful because you will make a fool of yourself if you try to be something that you are not. ( )

Hans Christian Andersen's famous tale is transplanted to China in this retelling by the prolific Demi, whose many folkloric picture-books for children include One Grain Of Rice and Liang and the Magic Paintbrush. When a vain emperor with a taste for fine clothing is taken in by two con artists posing as a weaver and tailor, all his advisors are likewise fooled. It takes a clear-eyed child to see the truth...

Using her trademark gold-leaf illustrations, Demi creates a visually engaging book, with a number of fold-out spreads sure to appeal to young readers. I enjoyed the many illustrative details, and was particularly struck by the fact that the swastika was included in the table of symbols. Given its importance in the iconography of many Asian cultures, I'm rather glad that it wasn't omitted, although parents will want to be aware that they may be called upon to explain that its meaning ("happiness") is very different in the East, than in the West.

That said, while this was a beautiful book, I didn't think it is the best work Demi has done. Nor can I say that this is my favorite iteration of this tale, as that honor goes to the version illustrated by Angela Barrett. Still, I always like to see how different artists interpret the same story, and thank my friend Kathryn for recommending this one! ( )