C Is for China

I used C is for China in my second grade class. We appreciated the authentic photography and interesting details. We also enjoyed talking about the text coming from a Chinese perspective. We really enjoyed the information about dragons and the abacus. A must have for a teaching unit about China.

I really enjoyed reading this book and looking at the photos that accompany each letter of the alphabet. The author also did the photos and what makes this book stand out among the other Chinese ABC books is that the photos are not the glossy touristy looking photos of wealthy families and places like the Imperial or Summer palace. But instead the photos of China's people doing their day to day things. The author states that the photos where taken in Guangxi, Yunnan & Shanxi. He wanted to show that the Chinese People are hard working, they have a strong commitment to their families, religion, history, customs both modern and traditional and their hope for the future. Each photo has on the right side of the page the Chinese character for the photo each letter represents. I would have like to have seen translation on how to correctly say each word. Other than that small thing I think this is a terrific book to have in your home library or for those of you who have children from Guangxi, Ynnan or Shanxi. Here are the letters and what each represents: A - Abacus B - Bicycle C - China & it's rivers D - Dragon E - Excercise F - Fengzheng ( A popular flying kite) G - Garden H - Herbal Medicine I - Incense J - Jade K - Kitchen L - Lanterns M - Markets N - Noodles O - Old (the older generation) P - Picture Q - Qingming Festival R - Remminbi - Chinese Currency S - Singing T - Tiaoqi ( Chinese Checkers ) U - Uniform V - Vegetables W - Wenzi ( Chinese Writing ) X - Xiao ( A Musical instrument from ancient times ) Z - Zen ( Major Religion commonly known as Chan )

I really like this book. It is a great introduction to China for young people written by a Chinese author. She wrote it very responsiblity and provides a general insight into her culture. I want to read other books by the author.