MONKEY: A Journey to the West ...

MONKEY: A Journey to the West retold by David Kherdian (Shambhala: $10; 209 pp . , paperback original). Both a picaresque entertainment and an allegory of spiritual growth, Wu Ch’eng-en’s 16th-Century novel “Journey to the West” ranks among the classics of world literature. Award-winning children’s author David Kherdian’s shortened “modern reworking” is considerably livelier than Arthur Waley’s familiar, scholarly translation. Kherdian condenses the chapters devoted to the extravagant pranks of the Monkey-King’s early career and concentrates on his labors for the Buddhist pilgrim Tripitaka who leads to his enlightenment. This readily approachable adaptation for American readers also would make an excellent story for parents to read aloud.