In a Chinese City (Child's Day) [Library Binding]

Sungwan So (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-In these titles, readers meet a seven-year-old from each country and follow the children through a busy day. Each page includes one to four lines of text with at least one clear, color photograph or map. The illustrations help bring to life each child's home and school experience, and even show them as they wash in the morning, demonstrating at a most fundamental level the differences in cultures. Readers will be interested in the many contrasts between these lives and their own; details such as the integration of physical activity throughout the day at a Chinese school will be noticed by U.S. students who tire of sitting for long periods of time. Throughout both books, foreign words are accompanied by a translation in parentheses or an explanatory note. Chinese also provides the phonetic pronunciation for a few words at the end of the book while Ghanaian explains that Twi, the most widely spoken language, is not usually written down. Concluding three-page sections briefly discuss the history, land, religion, people, and the language of each country. Good additions to collections owning more traditional studies on these nations.
Alida F. Given, Fairhope Intermediate School, AL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Benchmark Books (NY) (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761412247
• ISBN-13: 978-0761412243
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,377,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to children's lives in China, February 12, 2003

By 

"ellen_mackey" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Chinese City (Child's Day) (Library Binding)

With simple text and large, colorful photographs, this book describes a typical school day for Ren Yikang, a seven-year-old girl who lives in the city of Changzhi in the Shanxi Province of northern China. The photos are especially effective for portraying ordinary things that children would wonder about their counterparts' lives in China. We see what kind of food Yikang eats, what kind of clothes she wears (a sharp blue, white & red uniform at school), how the school day is structured, and how she and her parents spend their time when they get home from work and school. Some of the images show the striking differences between Chinese and American children's lives: photos of the children mopping the school's floors at the beginning of the day; children practicing their mathematics, each with an abacus at their desk. Other images are familiar: Yikang playing on her father's computer, watching the Olympics on TV, reading books with her mother before bedtime. Other favorites of mine are photos of Yikang eating milk and crackers for breakfast, an art teacher using computer images to teach about the human body in motion, and two girls snacking on sunflower seeds straight from the flower. The photos are cropped wide enough so that we can see the everyday details of Yikang's life: how the bathroom and living room are furnished, what the food looks like, the items for sale at the local market. The text is a perfect accompaniment to the photos, explanatory, but not long-winded. At the end of the book, the author includes a "More About China" section, very briefly touching on China's past, natural resources, religion, people, and language. The book also contains a glossary of Chinese words, a brief index, and an even briefer bibliography of other sources.

Another good resource on family life in China is the videotape Families of China, a 30-minute look at the daily lives of two children, one in the city, and one in the country.