Characters from the Year of the Monkey

THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Monkey, Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2016.

The Jade Emperor sat on his cloud and observed the Monkey King and Queen’s new baby, Max.

“If this child follows in his parents’ footsteps, heaven below had better take notice,” the Jade Emperor said.

Max was a rambunctious monkey both in and out of school. He often reported to the principal’s office to answer for one prank or another.

He became friends with Kai. One day, their teacher introduced them to the game of shuttlecock or jianzi. Max and Kai showed talent for the sport and the friends practiced hard.

Max’s family heard about a shuttlecock tournament and encouraged Max and Kai to enter it. The friends had to make the team roster first so Max and Kai continued to practice. They learned many moves including the “Leopard Head” and Standing Crane.”

Max and Kai became one of the county’s best teams but they barely qualified for the tournament tryout.  But Max’s dad had a thought about how to improve his son’s game. He taught Max a new move.

When the contest began, Max and Kai made it through the first two rounds. They beat the Snake, a formidable opponent, in the semifinals and squeaked to the finals.

In the finals, they came face to face with Tiger and Dragon. Tiger and Dragon won the first set but Max and Kai hung on in the second. Max and Kai earned a match point.

Max served a hard shot but Dragon leashed a hard return. This was the moment.

Max leaped high and smashed through Tiger and Dragon’s defense utilizing the “Monkey Spike” move his dad taught him. This was the deciding move! Max and Kai won the contest.

“This upset shows us that magic can still surprise us all,” the Jade Emperor said.

Shadow Puppets:

Max the monkey

Kai, a friend

The Jade Emperor

Tiger

Dragon

Monkey Queen

Monkey King

Act out The Year of the Monkey. Show Max and Kai competing and wining in other sports, too.

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials