Customer Reviews

China (DK Eyewitness Books)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The last few Eyewitness books purchased for my school library contained a CD of clip art and a poster. I guess DK wanted to kick it up a notch by adding those items to their already superlative publications!

The lay-out for "China" is perfect and the first I've seen in an Eyewitness country book. After the introductory artifacts--flag, bamboo, calligraphy, kung fu stance, moon cakes, and children, laughing Buddha, yin yang, fashion (in China?)--then begins the first two pages of text--and this is what is so clever.

"The day begins..." The last two pages? "The end of the day...." In between are 54 pages of all imaginable topics identifying traditional China and evolving, modern China. Tai chi in the park by the hundreds to stretch their way into the day, while school children bustle off to their expensive educations.

Think China and 90% of people come to mind--the ethnic identity of Han, but there are 55 other ethnic groups. The Chinese comprise the oldest continuous civilization on earth, but Mao Zedong changed imperial China into Communist China. One sculpture at the end signifies his influence: a massive gray arm and shoulder over-riding the environment, but broken nevertheless.

Mandarin is the national language by which Chinese can communicate, as they speak hundreds of dialects throughout the country. Citizenship, fashion, hutongs and high-rises, home life--Many families live in one-room apartments. Transportation, manufacturing, daily markets, all are part of big city life.

Food, family life, religion and spirituality, festivals, education (took a 10-year loss during Mao), media, science, technology, cinema, sports--the book is fairly exhaustive in topics, but, of course, lacks in depth

Then the day ends, but not the book. Mapping China. I read recently that China has one time zone. According to this map, China spans five, but keeps its clocks at the same time as Beijing. A Timeline is next, then Famous Chinese, a glossary, and an index.

If you have never paged through an Eyewitness book, may I invite you to go to your local bookstore and buy one on a topic of choice or get one from Amazon. Or borrow one from your local library. Eyewitness books have been described as "a museum in a book."

I bought this book because my daughters were born in China, and we have an interest in learning more. Since they are young, the colorful format and illustrations are great. And, there is a bonus CD of clip art, great for school reports or even scrapbooks. This book is not an in-depth study, however, but it does hit the highpoints very well.

The price of this book is a bargain! Filled with hundreds of full color photos on large glossy spreads. Lots of Information in here about modern China...the country, nature, animals, food, money, art, families, language, government, etc. There is a big 4-color poster in the back of the book and a clip art CD included.

We chose China as our cross-cultural country to "visit" this year in conjunction with the up-coming Olympics. This was a great resource for me in preparing to teach about China, and with the lovely pictures, interesting to the students as well. I was especially pleased with the "free gifts"- the poster was a nice addition and I was able to use the CD pictures for writing promts for the students.

DK Eyewitness books are always great, but this one is special because I have so many Chinese students this year. They are not always able to tell me in English about China and I don't speak Chinese, but photographs and the short paragraphs which accompany them are helpful. Many of my Chinese students want to tell me about the Chinese mummies, or the terra cotta soldiers and other sights they've seen in China. It is helpful to communicate about everyday life there too. Now if only Eyewitness books reached out to cover Korea, Turkey and the Pacific Islands!

My granddaughter told me she's interested in China and I liked the format of this book on Amazon. It has photos rather than illustrations. She called and said she loves it and considers it interesting and fun to read. She also said she learned something new. Yay!!

Before taking our daughter to China we purchased this book to give her some background on the history, culture, and development China as a nation. When we began the tour, she could answer many of the questions posed by the tour guide, who was most impressed with our daughter's knowledge. Two years later, we still find out daughter flipping through the pages, remembering her trip -- not through family photos -- but this book! It is a great read for older kids and even adults who just want a quick overview.