Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years of Bruce Lee

by Ken Mochizuki, Dom Lee (Illustrator)

Overview

The true story of the formative years of Bruce Lee's early life growing up in Hong Kong in the 1940s and 1950s, before he became an international film star.

Growing up in Hong Kong in the 1940s and 1950s, young Bruce Lee had an active mind, boundless energy, and a knack for finding trouble. As he grew older, Bruce also developed an interest in martial arts. He thrived on the grueling training but struggled to understand and apply the principles of gentleness and yielding that the master taught. Only after he set sail for the United States at the age of eighteen did Bruce truly embrace the values of martial arts and discover his own path to inner calm.

Bruce Lee eventually became a pioneer of martial arts cinema, and his legacy lives on in popular culture. In Be Water, My Friend, his boyhood journey toward self-discovery and his courage to overcome obstacles will inspire all who search for their way in the world today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620140130
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	75 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 11 Years

About the Author

Ken Mochizuki is a writer, journalist, and former actor who made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us. He is also the author of several other award-winning picture books published by Lee & Low, including Passage to Freedom and Heroes. Mochizuki lives in Maple Valley, Washington. His website is kenmochizuki.com.

Dom Lee made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us. He grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and went on to illustrate books in both the United States and Korea. His titles for Lee & Low include Ken Mochizuki's Passage to Freedom and Heroes, as well as the award-winning Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds. Lee's unique illustration style involves applying encaustic beeswax on paper, then scratching out images, and finally coloring the images with oil paint. Lee and his wife live in Hollis, New York.

Editorial Reviews

More than three decades after his death at age 32, Bruce Lee (1940-1973) remains a martial arts legend. Mochizuki and Lee, whose previous works of historical fiction (Baseball Saved Us; Heroes) offered riveting perspectives on the Asian and Asian-American experience here trace the past of this fascinating figure, who straddled the cultures of Hong Kong and America. The team's narrative and artwork remain as vivid as ever; Lee's sepia-toned, almost photographically detailed illustrations set an album-like mood that perfectly matches Mochizuki's careful chronological account of Lee's life from his childhood in Hong Kong to his emigration to America at age 18. A bright boy and a voracious reader, Bruce was restless at school and teased by his peers until martial arts provided him with discipline and a spiritual epiphany. Puzzled by his teacher's remark, "There is even gentleness in the martial arts," young Bruce finally understands it while sitting alone in a boat ("Water, the softest substance on Earth, could never be hurt because it offered no resistance. But with enough force it could break through anything in the world"). Mochizuki and Lee are compelling storytellers, but the facts of Bruce Lee's early years still pale in comparison to what he accomplished as an action movie star (briefly covered in an afterword). Still, the overall message of what can be accomplished, even by the least eager student, with dedication and passion, may well be encouraging to readers. Ages 6-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2-This picture-book biography is a gentle tribute to a martial-arts legend. The story follows Lee from his birth in San Francisco through his youth in Hong Kong. His family life, impatience with school, and legal troubles are touched upon, as is his growing passion for martial arts. The writing is clear for the most part, but can be awkward in places. Feelings and thoughts abound. For example, "Gentleness? Bruce asked himself for the hundredth time," and, "Angry with himself, Bruce punched the water." In an appended note, Mochizuki explains that since so little is known about his subject's youth, "some events are extensions of the facts-." The brown-and-white illustrations, scratched through beeswax melted over acrylic on paper, are lovely and play an important role in moving the narrative along. Lee, who is often pictured wearing thick glasses, is shown interacting with family members, taking on opponents, and spending time in quiet contemplation. The book ends when Lee, at age 18, boarded a ship bound for America. The rest of his life is given a one-page summary. A fine introduction.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Mochizuki chronicles the famed and iconic actor's early life for young readers. Bruce Lee was actually born in San Francisco, while his father was touring with the Cantonese Opera Company. He grew up in Hong Kong, restless and argumentative, but loving to read and dance. He studied martial arts, including the hard lessons of yielding and suppleness. The title, a quote from Lee, recognizes how water cannot be grabbed, shattered or hurt, but it can wear down anything. His study of martial arts led to a boxing championship, which led to more fights, so at 18, his parents sent him to San Francisco. The illustrations are dramatic and effective: Lee uses encaustic over acrylic on paper, and scratches the images in the wax. The results are rich sepia-toned images with great depth; Lee looks rather nerdy in his early years, which will no doubt lend appeal. The narrative language is somewhat stilted, but clear. A brief page of facts continues the story through stardom and early death. (Picture book/biography. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"This picture-book biography is a gentle tribute to a martial-arts legend. . . The brown-and-white illustrations, scratched through beeswax melted over acrylic on paper, are lovely and play an important role in moving the narrative along." — School Library Journal

"Mochizuki and Lee are compelling storytellers." — Publishers Weekly

"Lee looks rather nerdy in his early years, which will no doubt lend appeal." — Kirkus Reviews

"By the author and illustrator of Baseball Saved Us (1993), this distinctive-looking book offers a smoothly written text and many handsome, textured acrylic paintings done in tones of brown and cream acrylic paints. With its sophisticated look and high-interest topic, this picture book has appeal for readers across a broad age range." — Booklist

"Photographically exact drawings in sepia by the sensitive and masterful artist Dom Lee illustrate the early years of Bruce Lee. Accurate to a degree seldom seen in picture books, these superbly catch the flavor of life in old Hong Kong. . ." — Multicultural Review

"For this gift of successfully introducing Bruce Lee to a new generation, author, illustrator and publisher are to be congratulated. While my children are currently too young, there will come a time when I will share with them the story of a boy whose passage to adulthood and short life offered many lessons, for better or worse." — Bruce Lee Review

From the Publisher