Mulan: Before the Sword (Disney Mulan)

I bought a book written and illustrated by Grace Lin. Although they say her books are meant for children, I believe adults could definitely appreciate it too. The book I bought first was a gift was “When the sea turned to silver”.I knew I would had to buy this one for myself and I am definitely a fan now of Grace Lin as I had bought several more. I love the writing and illustrations of all her books.

Grace Lin has produced another great book. I've long been a Mulan fan so when I heard about this book I was excited to read it. It did not disappoint. As she did in her Where the Mountain Meets the Moon series, Lin has combined tales of Chinese folklore with her original tale of Mulan before she joins the army and saves the emperor. In this story, Mulan's sister is bitten by a nine-legged spider and has little time to live. Mulan joins forces with a healer who turns out to be the immortal Jade Rabbit to gather the ingredients necessary to save her sister. But things get really complicated when the evil White Fox intervenes to stop Mulan and Rabbit. A prophecy about a member of the Hua family saving the emperor turns out to be at the heart of it all. Enormous challenges face Mulan and Rabbit, will they be able to make the antidote in time or will the White Fox prevail?I found the book to be compelling and full of fascinating tidbits of folklore. It's always interesting to me to read about folktales that I am not familiar with and the Jade Rabbit certainly fits that description. The folktales are integrated beautifully into the story, each placed carefully to move the story forward to it's fitting conclusion without giving away too much along the way. I also appreciated the fact that Mulan faces some challenges on her own, without immortal help, allowing her strengths and courage to shine through, even though she doesn't see those strengths herself. Another winning tale by talented writer Grace Lin. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for my girlfriend, who grew up with stories of Hua Mulan and loves the adaptations of her legend. Grace Lin wrote this prequel novel to Disney’s 2020 live-action adaption of their 1998 animated film. Lin has previously written and illustrated several works that reinterpret traditional Chinese culture and even blend it with European art styles such as Matisse and Van Gogh. Unfortunately, Disney’s 2020 live-action film did not perform as well as they’d hoped and the studio has allowed this book to go out of print. It’s a great retelling of Hua Mulan’s story that blends elements of traditional folklore with the Disney version. Worth reading and tracking down to add to your own book collection! Unfortunately, the original copy I ordered never arrived.

I loved the quality of the book cover and AMAZING story to read.Kind of like Wizard of Oz but Asian theme.Engaging storyline and lesson to be learned

I read this with my daughter, and we both loved the stories within this story. Author really brought to life the Chinese folklore that I grew up hearing and seeing in movies and in the culture. I hope a second book comes out soon!

I hesitated when I saw Disney on the cover but since I’ve enjoyed the author’s other books, I bought. I thoroughly enjoyed the book!

Gave this book as a gift for my 11 year old granddaughter. She loves it!

This is a wonderful prequel. Grace Lin has once again written an amazing story. Highly recommended!