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C is for China.
Sungwan So.
Subject Heading:
Preschool - grade 3 / Ages 4 - 8.
**** /4
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excerpt:
N is for Noodles, a typical dish eaten plain or with other food. Noodles are made from wheat, rice or corn, and are fried or served in soup. We eat them with chopsticks. Some stories say the explorer, Marco Polo, brought noodles from China to Italy, where they became spaghetti.Q is for Qingming Festival, the day when we pay tribute to our ancestors. Schoolchildren throw flowers at monuments, erected as a reminder of the Communist Revolution and as a sign of respect to past leaders and heroes who sacrificed their lives for the Revolution!
Sungwan So, who has studied anthropology and philosophy, is also a freelance photographer and writer, now living in the United States. This alphabet book, his first, is a fine example of how well photographs can be adapted as illustrations for children. The photos were taken in the author's home province of Guangdong in southern China where his parents still live. A wide variety of subject matter is contained in the book: chubby babies, the much venerated older people, peaceful parks, crowded city life, religious ceremonies, favourite foods. Photos are reproduced in beautiful colour on quality paper with a semi-matte finish. Each page shows upper and lower case letters and the corresponding Chinese characters comprising all twenty-six letters of our alphabet - I cannot vouch for the quantity of letters in the Chinese alphabet. The text is in an attractive font, designed to appeal to young readers.
C is for China will fill a need for social studies about China in elementary school libraries. In addition, children of Chinese parentage will especially enjoy this glance into life in their parents' homeland.
Recommended.
Joan Payzant is a former teacher and teacher-librarian in Dartmouth, N.S.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © 1998 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - JANUARY 2, 1998.
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