The Story about Ping
Encyclopedia
The Story About Ping is a popular children's book
. First published in 1933, Ping is a colorfully illustrated story about a domesticated Chinese duck lost on the Yangtze River
.
and illustrated by Kurt Wiese
. Since its first publication, it is now in its 17th edition and 23rd printing by Viking Press in hardcover and Grosset & Dunlap in paperback.
(or his friend Mr. Greenjeans) read Ping once a week on his show for seventeen years, while displaying its colorful illustrations in stark black and white on the screen. Only Stone Soup, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
, and The Little Engine That Could
had longer runs on the show.
Soupy Sales
and Howdy Doody
both featured Ping on numerous occasions, and Shari Lewis
's sock puppet Lambchop once played the role of Ping in an adaptation for sock puppets and ventriloquists.
Sesame Street
had an animated version that ran in the 1970's. This version featured the song Jinzhur as the background music.
computer program: http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/ping.html
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
. First published in 1933, Ping is a colorfully illustrated story about a domesticated Chinese duck lost on the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
.
Publication information
The Story About Ping was written by Marjorie FlackMarjorie Flack
Marjorie Flack was an award-winning artist and writer of children's picture books. Flack was born in Greenport, Long Island, New York in 1897. She was best known for The Story about Ping , popularized by Captain Kangaroo, and for her stories of an insatiably curious Scottish terrier named Angus,...
and illustrated by Kurt Wiese
Kurt Wiese
Kurt Wiese was an award-winning German-born book illustrator. Wiese wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors.- Biography :Wiese was born in Minden, Germany...
. Since its first publication, it is now in its 17th edition and 23rd printing by Viking Press in hardcover and Grosset & Dunlap in paperback.
Plot
Ping is the name of a domesticated duck who lives on a riverboat on the Yangtze River in China. He gets sent out every morning to forage along the river with his relatives, and is expected back every evening. The last duck on the boat would get a swat with a stick and one day he is the last duck. He is afraid to return and spends the night on shore. When he awakens his boat is gone and he is soon caught by a boy on another boat where he worries about becoming their dinner. After some time the boy lets Ping go just as all his duck relatives are getting back on Ping's boat nearby. Ping rejoins his family and happily receives the last duck swat.Ping on television
Ping has appeared on television since the 1950s. Captain KangarooCaptain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
(or his friend Mr. Greenjeans) read Ping once a week on his show for seventeen years, while displaying its colorful illustrations in stark black and white on the screen. Only Stone Soup, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is a classic children's book by Virginia Lee Burton, the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning The Little House...
, and The Little Engine That Could
The Little Engine That Could
The Little Engine that Could is a children's story that appeared in the United States of America. The book is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work...
had longer runs on the show.
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
and Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on NBC in the United States from 1947 until 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows...
both featured Ping on numerous occasions, and Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s...
's sock puppet Lambchop once played the role of Ping in an adaptation for sock puppets and ventriloquists.
Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
had an animated version that ran in the 1970's. This version featured the song Jinzhur as the background music.
See Also
A tongue-in-cheek review of this book is included in an article about the history of the pingPing
Ping is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol network and to measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer...
computer program: http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/ping.html