The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks

by Katherine Paterson

Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon This powerful Japanese folktale begins when a cruel lord captures a Mandarin duck solely for the prize of its magnificent plumage. When a compassionate servant girl releases the bird after its beauty fades, the lord sentences her and her true love to death. The illustrations are both realistic and illuminating and truly bring this folktale to life.

Enrichment Activities
Internet Resources

Enrichment Activities

• Explore the Work of Illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon Sometime after reading the Mandarin duck folktale, read students Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, a book also illustrated by the Dillons. Have them brainstorm the similarities between the drawings in the two books. 
   
• Folktale Festival Report After completing a folktale report, students can find Japan in an atlas or on a globe and color in the area on a map of Asia.
  
• Is It Found on Land, in Water, or Both? The Mandarin ducks in this folktale lived in the water and on land. Help students understand that animals live in many different places by working with them to select which locations an animal might live in.
   
• Thank-You Cards Students can pretend they are the captured Mandarin duck that is released by the servant. Then, have them write cards to Yasuko and Shozo thanking them for saving "your life."

Internet Resources

Japanese Feudal Lords (Daimyos)
Grade Levels: Intermediate, Middle, Secondary
This article describes the history of Japanese feudal lords, also known as Daimyos.
http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~gemini/simons/historyweb/daimyo.html

Katherine Paterson Biography
Grade Levels: All
Find out about the very interesting and culturally diverse life of this famous author.
http://books.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jsp?authorID=80&displayName=Biography

Mandarin Duck Photo Gallery
Grade Levels: Primary, Intermediate, Middle, Secondary
Beautiful pictures of Mandarin ducks and the colorful markings Katherine Paterson describes in the story. https://www.beyourownbirder.com/2020/09/29/mandarin-duck-photo-gallery/

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks Video
Grade Levels: Primary, Intermediate
This site allows you and your students to watch a video of the story The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks.
http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/Tekdata/TaleOfMandarinDucks.html

Books by Katherine Paterson

The Angel and the Donkey, 1996
Angels and Other Strangers: Family Christmas Stories, 1988
The Bridge to Terabithia, 1977
Celia and the Sweet, Sweet Water, 1998
Come Sing, Jimmy Jo, 1985
Consider the Lilies, 1986
The Crane Wife, 1981
The Field of the Dogs, 2001
Flip-Flop Girl, 1993
Foxwood Regatt, 1986
The Great Gilly Hopkins, 1978
Images of God, 1998
Jacob Have I Loved, 1980
Jip: His Story, 1996
The King's Equal, 1992
Lyddie, 1991
Marvin One Too Many, 2001
Marvin's Best Christmas Present Ever, 1997
The Master Puppeteer, 1976
A Midnight Clear: Family Christmas Stories, 1995
Of Nightingales That Weep, 1974
Over the Water, 1996
Park's Quest, 1988
Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight, 1998
Preacher's Boy, 1999
Puzzling Book, 1990
Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom, 1983
The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, 1976
Smallest Cow in the World, 1991
The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks, 1990
Tongue-Cut Sparrow, 1987
Who Am I?, 1992
The Wide-Awake Princess, 2000
The World in 1492, 1992

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