The Legend of Hong Kil Dong

Written and illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien

Paperback

$8.95

$8.58

9 - 12

Reading age

Page count

680L

Lexile measure

Feb 1, 2008

Publication date

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What's This Book About

Publisher Summary

In this classic tale from early seventeenth-century Korea, Hong Kil Dong, the son of a powerful minister, is not entitled to a birthright because his mother is a commoner. After studying the martial arts, divination, swordplay, the uses of magic, and the wisdom of the I Ching, the Book of Changes, Hong Kil Dong sets off on a quest for his destiny. He leads a band of men to right the injustices shown to the peasants by some powerful and corrupt merchants, ministers, and monks. Hong Kil Dong can then claim his rightful role and become a wise and just leader. This graphic book captures the drama and pageantry of sixteenth-century Korea during the Chosun dynasty and pays tribute to the adventure story that became the first novel written in the Korean language.

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The Creative Behind the Book

Author & Illustrator

Anne Sibley O'Brien

When I was seven years old, my parents moved our family to South Korea where they worked as medical missionaries, and which was our home base for the next twenty-one years. This experience of being raised bicultural and bilingual inspired and formed my world view — of global connections among diverse people — and my life’s work as a writer and illustrator of children’s books. People’s differences are glorious and fascinating, and our commonalities bind us together as one family. For the last 38 years, I’ve lived and worked on an island in Maine, where my husband and I raised our two children, and which we now love to explore with our 4-year-old grandson. I’ve published 37 books — some I illustrated, some I wrote, and some I wrote and illustrated.