Who Is Jackie Chan?

By (author) Jensen Shaffer Jody; By (author) Who HQ; Illustrated by Copeland Gregory
Short description/annotation
How did Jackie Chan become one of the most recognisable and beloved actors in the world? Find out in this exciting biography of this martial artist turned international film superstar.
Description
When Kong-sang was a young boy in Hong Kong, he enjoyed practicing martial arts with his dad but hated going to school. He was eventually enrolled in the China Drama Academy, where he improved his martial arts skills and became a stuntman. That training led to a successful career as an actor. Kong-sang, now known as Jackie Chan, never gave up on his passion for screwball physical comedy. Luckily for Jackie, his determination paid off. His humour and dangerous stuntwork in films like Cannonball Run, Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, and Karate Kid have made him an international star, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be leaving the big screen anytime soon.
Biographical note
Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning children''s author who has written numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including The Way the Cookie Crumbled, Ninja Warriors, and What''s Your Story, Frederick Douglass? She lives in Missouri with her husband and two children.
Promotional headline
How did Jackie Chan become one of the most recognizable and beloved actors in the world? Find out in this exciting biography of this martial artist turned international film superstar.
Excerpt
Who Is Jackie Chan?
 
Seven-year-old Chan Kong-sang stared at his father. He could hardly believe it. They were going on a trip! His father had never taken him on a trip before. And especially not on a day when Kong-sang was supposed to be in school. He wasn’t good at school, and he didn’t like it. He got in trouble for being too active and not doing his work.
 
Kong-sang ran to his bedroom and put on his favorite outfit—a Western cowboy costume with a big hat and a plastic gun. It was his birthday gift from his parents. He waved to his mother and boarded the bus with his father.
 
“Where are we going?” he asked.
 
“Somewhere special,” his father said.
 
They rode the bus down the mountain from his home on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, to the city at the bottom. Kong-sang had never been to the city before. It was filled with unfamiliar sounds and smells. But he did recognize one thing: sweet buns! The flaky sweet rolls were the boy’s favorite. He begged his father to buy a bag of the steaming treats.
 
Delicious sweet buns in hand, Kong-sang and his father boarded a ferry, another new experience for the boy. They chugged across Victoria Harbour toward the bustling city of Kowloon. Kong-sang and his father pushed through the crowd, past cars, buildings, and signs advertising food and music. Then they turned onto a street lined with old apartment buildings. Kong-sang’s heart sank. There was nothing exciting here. Was their adventure over?
 
They stopped in front of a building with a sign that read China Drama Academy. “Here we are,” said his father. As the doors opened and Kong-sang saw inside, his heart raced. Boys and girls in black-and-white outfits kicked and jumped, somersaulted, and tumbled. Kong-sang was in heaven! It was a school to learn how to perform martial arts. And that was the kind of school an active boy like Kong-sang could love.
 

Chapter 1: Early Years
 
 
Chan Kong-sang was born on April 7, 1954, on Victoria Peak—the highest mountain in Hong Kong. His parents were called Charles and Lee-Lee. Kong-sang was a big baby. He weighed twelve pounds! Kong-sang was so big and heavy that his parents nicknamed him “Pao-pao.” It means cannonball in Chinese.
 
Kong-sang’s parents were very poor. His mother was a housekeeper. His father