When Helen's grandfather, Gong Gong, comes from China to live with her family, he's shocked to find that none of his grandchildren speak Chinese. How will he communicate with them? At first he keeps to himself. Then one day he joins Helen to watch the trains. He starts counting the train cars in Chinese, and she repeats the words. Then Helen says the numbers in English. They continue to teach each other, and Helen even learns her Chinese name, which means "flower." In this luminously illustrated intergenerational story, the devotion between a young girl and her grandfather helps them overcome barriers of age and language. Grandfather Counts was selected as one of the 50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Know by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC).
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Book Description
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Ages 4-8. Helen is bothered by having to give up her room to Gong Gong, her Chinese grandfather, when he comes to live with the family. She's puzzled by his sitting and reading his Chinese newspapers. As she can no longer watch the trains from her bedroom window, she sits on the concrete wall in the backyard to count the cars and wave to the engineer. It's there one evening that Gong Gong joins her and teaches her to count the cars in Chinese. They sit together long after the engineer waves good-bye, counting in both Chinese and English. So begin their language lessons and a special relationship. Conveying nuggets of Chinese culture as well as bits of the language, Cheng's story hints honestly at the difficulties of resettling an aged, non-English-speaking relative, and in velvety colors, Zhang's acrylics paint the growing relationship with simple integrity. A brief glossary with pronunciation guides presents words in both Chinese and English. Ellen Mandel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
ANDREA CHENG is the Director of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. A native of Texas, Cheng now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and their three children. This is her first book for children.
ANGE ZHANG has illustrated several children's books, including The Fishing Summer and Winter Rescue. A former designer at the Beijing Opera Company in China, he now lives in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming grandparent-grandchild story,
By Linda (Madisonville, OH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grandfather Counts (Reading Rainbow Books) (Hardcover)
The delicate relationship between the child and her grandfather is beautifully developed by the author, and the message that our differences -- age, language, etc. -- matter less than what we share is conveyed with subtlety. The glossary of Chinese words gives added insight into a different culture. The illustrations are good, though not as outstanding as the text. A real charmer!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful book!,
By CPK (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grandfather Counts (Reading Rainbow Book) (Reading Rainbow Books) (Paperback)
My grandfather had recently passed away and my younger cousin was very close to him. I never thought I would find such an excellent children's book on the important and loving relationships between Asian American grandparents and their grandchildren. Additionally, the storyline is simply and beautifully written, and the animation is of high quality.
I consider this a rare and priceless treasure that I hope will get passed on in generations to come.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grandfather Counts book review,
By Matthew Kartal (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grandfather Counts (Reading Rainbow Books) (Hardcover)
I thought Grandfather Counts was a really good book. When I read it I liked how the child and grandfather taught each other. I espeacially liked it because of my intertest in different languages. I would recomend this book for any one who has an interest in different cultures and languages.
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Gong Gong, Grandfather, was one of the last people off the plane. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gong Gong, Yin Hua New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Gong Gong, Grandfather, was one of the last people off the plane. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gong Gong, Yin Hua New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
5
books
cite this book:
- Winter Rescue by W. D. Valgardson in Front Matter
- The Fishing Summer by Teddy Jam in Front Matter
- Promoting a Global Community Through Multicultural Children's Literature: by Stan Steiner on page 74, and page 80
- Proactive Parenting: Guiding your Child from Two to Six by Faculty of the Department of Child Devel on page 65
- The Organized Teacher: A Hands-On Guide to Setting Up and Running a Terrific Classroom by Steve Springer on page 160
- The Big All-Year Book of Holidays & Seasonal Celebrations for Grades 1-3 by Judith Mitchell on page 56
- Proactive Parenting: Guiding Your Child from Two to Six by Faculty of the Department of Child Devel on page 65
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