The Magic Paintbrush

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So when he saw the peoples' troubles, he would use his magic paintbrush to help. Then many people knew about the magic paintbrush. Summary: This book offers rhymed retelling of a traditional Chinese folk story perfect for reading aloud, with beautiful illustrations and strong message about greed and artistic responsibilities. Highly recommended for children aged 4 to about 9, and parents should enjoy it too. As the boat started out slowly towards the island, the emperor demanded that Ma Liang make it go faster. So Ma Liang sketched a few broad strokes in the air and immediately huge gusts of wind started blowing, propelling the boat forward. Bianco Hills • Corona Mountain • Delfino Airstrip • Delfino Plaza ( Bianco Square • Shine Gate) • Gelato Beach ( Sand Cabana • Shine Tower • Surf Cabana) • Isle Delfino • Noki Bay • Pianta Village • Pinna Park • Ricco Harbor • Sirena Beach ( Hotel Delfino • Casino Delfino)

Once he had the paintbrush, he felt very happy and he invited his friends to come to his home so that he could show them his new possession. He drew a lot of pictures, but none of them would come to life for him. He was very angry that the paintbrush would not work for him so he sent for Ma Liang. I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. The emperor wanted even more speed, so Ma Liang added more strokes to the wind. The boat masts caught the wind fully, and the wooden boat sailed ahead at full speed. However, the waves were getting bigger and bigger, and the boat was being tossed about in the choppy waters.The moral lesson of “ The Magic Paint brush “ is that one should use their talents and abilities for the benefit of others , rather than just for personal gain . There was once a young boy named Ma Liang. He lived in a small village in China. He was poor and friendly, and he loved to draw. His love for painting was too much so he drew paintings all over the place. When the rich man saw the mountain shining in gold his eyes lit up like two yellow suns. “Yes!” he said, “That’s much better! But the mountain is far from here. How will I get there?” If you'd like to plan even more lessons exploring this folktale, you'll want to take a look at these activities.

The story gives a lot to talk about: first, of course is the magic of the brush - what would you paint, and for whom? But there are also the moral messages: the simple ones regarding keeping one's promise (Shen does, even in the face of powerful and very scary emperor) and greed being a Bad Thing; but also higher-level ones, about artistic integrity perhaps and not selling out or being scared by the powerful. Artists' creative power comes with responsibilities, too. One day, Ma Liang walked past a school and saw a teacher painting with a brush. Without hesitation, he walked into the classroom and asked the teacher, “I want to learn painting. Can I borrow a paintbrush from you?” The young man smiled quietly and drew a big ship. The rich man jumped into the ship and set off to find the gold but when the ship sailed to the middle of the sea, Ma Liang drew a large wave which destroyed the ship and the rich man was never seen in the village again. The story is about a girl called Shen who is given the amazing gift of a magic paintbrush. She is told never to paint for rich people but to use it to help the poor. But the emperor hears about Shen and decides he will use her gift to add to his already enormous wealth. Shen of course refuses and is thrown into jail by him. As her paintings come to life she finds a way to get herself out of jail and get rid of this horrible Emperor once and for all. Because Shen is a beautiful person she decides against it but finds a way for the whole village to live happily ever after.As most Donaldson's efforts, this one, despite being of a different style, also reads very well aloud. It's certainly one of the books I really like reading to Katie - one of the few I would read when most others seem too difficult, too boring, too repetitive or too well known. I think it should be read aloud, even to older children who can read themselves, as should be a lot (if not all) of good verse. It requires attention, though: you need to follow the rhythm which is always there, but not always that obvious. After a few lines you will fall in line with it, though, and after a few readings you will get the whole text right. I’ll draw you a boat to get to the mountain,” said Liang. And he drew a golden dragon boat that was even bigger and more beautiful than the emperor’s boat. The rich man climbed aboard the boat and stood in the bow facing the golden mountain. He said to Liang,” Now draw me a wind to take the boat to the mountain.” Liang began to draw a wind, and the boat set sail. The rich man stretched his arms out to grab the golden mountain. “Make the wind stronger so I can get there faster,” he said to Liang. Liang kept drawing and the wind got stronger. Soon the wind became a terrible gale and the rich man’s beautiful boat sank beneath the sea and took him down with it. Paint me a golden mountain,” said the rich man. “I want to go there and get lots of gold.” What he didn’t say out loud was, “And then I will be the richest man in the kingdom, richer even than the emperor himself!” I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.