Showing posts with label Chinese Culture Books for kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Culture Books for kids. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2012

Reading Time: "Dumpling Days" and more!

Reading together makes learning a language and its culture fun! I like to share my own stories with my children when we read stories related to Chinese culture or life in Mainland China or in Taiwan.

Recently my daughter, Meimei, was asked to help out a Chinese girl who does not speak very much English in a weekend art class. Meimei told me that the girl was able to work on her Valentine's day art project because she explained to the girl what the teacher wanted them to create. A week later, she told me she found out that there is another girl in her class who can also speak English and Chinese. I could tell she was happy to meet someone just like her who has two languages and two cultures.

One of my recommended books below, "Dumpling Days", tells the story of a young girl who goes to Taiwan for a month to help prepare for her grandmother's 60th birthday. At first she finds fitting in harder than she expected but at least the dumplings are delicious!

In my family we love to make dumplings at home. Our homemade dumplings come in different shapes - they are not the traditional dumplings, they are the "creative" kind. My children have a story behind every dumpling. It is just like the fun we have when we read together.

Have fun reading this month's book picks from Miss Panda! Happy Reading!

A New Year's Reunion
by Li Qion Yu





Dumpling Days
by Grace Lin





Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China
by Ai-Ling Louie





Sam and the Lucky Money
by Karen Chinn




Enjoy and keeping learning fun!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Reading Time: Chinese New Year

Let's get ready for the Chinese New Year! This year is the year of the DRAGON and the Chinese New Year is on January 23rd. Dragon year only comes once every twelve years so it is very special. Dragon means power, wealth, and good fortune for Chinese. Do you know the ancient Chinese emperors wore lóng páo 龍袍, Dragon robe?

Chinese New Year is my favorite Chinese celebration and there are many interesting traditions about it. Do you know the Chinese families start preparing for the arrival of Chinese New Year on the 23rd day of December on the lunar calendar? The traditional celebration goes from the 1st day of the New Year to the 15th day. The Lantern Festival marks the completion of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Let's have fun reading about the Chinese New Year and get ready for the year of the Dragon!

This is Miss Panda's monthly book selection and each image of the book is linked directly to Amazon. I am able to find most of the books listed here in the library as well.


Bring In the New Year
by Grace Lin


Happy Chinese New Year, Kai-lan!
Simon Spotlight



Happy New Year! / Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts'ai!
by DEMI DEMI




The Dancing Dragon
by Marcia K. Vaughan



Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes

Monday, December 12, 2011

Reading Time: Look What Came from China

Can every one say your name correctly in your class? I remember when I came to the States my friends had a hard time to pronounce my name. When I first moved to Morocco one of my friends called me on the phone to invite me to a party. I told her twice that she got the wrong number since I could not recognize the name of the person she would like to talk to. I had no idea she was looking for me. The way she said my name sounded like a Chinese snack. Then I realized that was ME she was looking for... So the third time she called I figured it out, we laughed so hard on the phone.

On the list for December, "The Name Jar" is a story about the name of a girl when she just moved from Korea. Going to university for a Chinese girl decades ago was a big thing. How did Ruby make it happen? Let "Ruby's Wish" tell you the story. Do you like Fortune cookies? Do you know there is no Fortune cookie after a meal in a Chinese restaurant in Taiwan or in China? "Fortune Cookie Fortunes" is an interesting read. "Look What Came from China" shows children neat inventions and discoveries in China. And here is the reading list. Have fun!

(1) Ruby's Wish
by Shirin Yim

(2) The Name Jar
by Yangsook Choi

(3) Fortune Cookie Fortunes
by Grace Lin

(4) Look What Came from China
by Miles Havey

Reading Time: Red is a Dragon

How many siblings do you have? What is going on with "The Seven Sisters"? Dragon is from China and the color red is the lucky color for Chinese. Let's take a look at "Red is a Dragon" and see what we can find! Who is the fastest one in "The Great Race"? The Rat or the pig? Here is the reading list for November. Enjoy!

(1) The Seven Sisters
by Kathy Tucker

(2) Red is a Dragon
by Roseanne Thong/Grace Lin

(3) The Great Race
by Dawn Casey

Reading Time: Dim Sum for Every One

My children enjoy the following books. A lot of facts about China and Chinese culture in the Ms. Frizzle's book. An interesting introduction to Chinese characters in "The Pet Dragon". After reading "Dim Sum for Every one" a family field trip to a Dim Sum restaurant is a great choice. Here is the list for October. Have fun reading!

(1) Ms. Frizzle's Adventure Imperial China
by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

(2) The Pet Dragon
by Christopher Niemann

(3) Dim Sum for Every one!
by Grace Lin

Reading Time: Thanking the Moon - celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival

Moon Festival is also known as Mid Autumn Festival. Moon Festival is the theme for September. Here is the reading list. Don't forget to try some moon cake!

(1) Thanking the Moon - celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
by Grace Lin

(2) Thank you, Meiling
by Linda Talley

(3) Mei Ling in China City
by Icy Smith

Do you have any favorite culture books you would like to share? Leave a reply and let me know.