China

I recently wrote about the new boy in C's class who moved to this country from China with his family.  C is very happy to have a new friend and to have the opportunity to learn a little about China.  I requested a few books from the library to add to C's learning experience.

The first book we read is The Dragon and the Phoenix retold by Lesley Sims.  This book is from the Usborne First Reading series and it was very easy for C to read, but he really enjoyed the story.  It is based on The Bright Pearl, a folktale from China.  We learned that dragons and phoenixes are often shown together in Chinese stories.  As if dragons aren't cool enough, C is now very intrigued by phoenixes and hopes to read more stories about both of these creatures.  At the end of the book, there are a few pages of puzzles (spotting differences, finding opposites, putting pictures in order, etc.); C enjoyed these.

C, R, and I all enjoyed Yeh-Shen, A Cinderella Story from China.  The story is very similar to Cinderella, but according to information in the book, this story is at least 1,000 years older than the earliest known Western version of Cinderella.  I was very proud when C and R began comparing this Chinese version to the Western version - they did this on their own and it became a competition to see who could come up with the most differences.  

C is for China by Sungwan So is a photographic alphabet book featuring the culture and beauty of China.  We enjoyed this book, but liked the next one better.

C and R both enjoyed Look What Came From China by Miles Harvey.  We learned about inventions, food, animals, toys, musical instruments and more that came from China.  At the end of the book there are a few English words translated into Chinese and there is a recipe for fried rice.  Usually, I can't resist recipes in books like this, but C and R do not like rice so I had to skip this one.  One thing we all learned is that fortune cookies were not invented in China; they are a U.S. invention.

After reading this book, I gave C and R maps of China and they drew some of the things that came from China.

C drew a dragon, fireworks, a bowl of noodles, a peach, a goldfish, and a Panda Bear.  Did you know that the Chinese were the first people to discover the flavor of the peach?  They used to think that by eating a lot of peaches, you would live forever!

R drew an abacus, fireworks, a bowl of noodles, and a cup of tea.


To find out what other children are reading, visit What My Child is Reading at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.