The Celestial Kingdom Duology

I found two beautiful books based on Chinese mythology, and they might be my new favorite books.

I have taught the story of Houyi and the ten suns to kids in China over and over and over, as well as the story of Chang'e and the Mid-Autumn Festival, but this version was amazing. The version I knew was hardly more than the basic beginning, middle, and end of the story. 

Here is the opening of the first book:

"There are many legends about my mother. Some say she betrayed her husband, a great mortal warrior, stealing his Elixir of Immortality to become a goddess. Others depict her as an innocent victim who swallowed the elixir while trying to save it from thieves. Whichever story you believe, my mother, Chang'e, became immortal. As did I."

Many of the little girls in China that I have taught prefer the version of the story where Chang'e took the elixir so that an evil sorcerer couldn't have it. She did it to save the world.