Customer Reviews

Long Is a Dragon: Chinese Writing for Children

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There is a lot of information presented in this book. Perhaps too much for young children to absorb unless it is presented to them very slowly and systematically. However children of all ages definitely have a fascination for "secret codes" or "symbols" and their meanings, which is essentially what Chinese writing is to most people. The graphics are large and bold and the text easy to follow, making it an appropriate reference for grade school children. The calligraphy alongside the simple line drawings allow children to easily see the resemblance between real life objects and the Chinese pictographs. I am a teacher and often use this book when giving classroom workshops on Chinese calligraphy. Some of the characters are rather small to see from a distance so I paint larger versions of them on 8X10" cards. Children enjoy looking at the ancient pictographs first and then trying to guess what they mean. After that we try matching the modern characters to the ancient pictographs, which is another fun activity. We always conclude the lesson with trying to write some of the characters using real brushes and ink. This experience brings to life everything that this book so ambitiously tries to present.

Although written to be a children's book, Long Is a Dragon is an excellent tool for adult learners of the Chinese written system. I originally encountered the book while visiting a professional calligrapher. This light hearted, well animated and fairly matter-of-factual book, takes the mystery out of stroke order, character origins and all the complexities of Chinese writing. It is also refreshing and entertaining in its whimsical approach. This book is a must for anyone accustomed to the romanized alphabet who is serious about studying Chinese.

There is a lot of information presented in this book. Perhaps too much for young children to absorb unless it is presented to them very slowly and systematically. However children of all ages definitely have a fascination for "secret codes" or "symbols" and their meanings, which is essentially what Chinese writing is to most people. The graphics are large and bold and the text easy to follow, making it an appropriate reference for grade school children. The calligraphy alongside the simple line drawings allow children to easily see the resemblance between real life objects and the Chinese pictographs. I am a teacher and often use this book when giving classroom workshops on Chinese calligraphy. Some of the characters are rather small to see from a distance so I paint larger versions of them on 8X10" cards. Children enjoy looking at the ancient pictographs first and then trying to guess what they mean. After that we try matching the modern characters to the ancient pictographs, which is another fun activity. We always conclude the lesson with trying to write some of the characters using real brushes and ink. This experience brings to life everything that this book so ambitiously tries to present.

I sent this to a 8 year old who had showed such interest in learning Chinese characters that she created flash cards for herself to learn them. She was thrilled with this as a gift! Highly recommended for those curious, creative minds.

I love this book. I really do.

Although it was written primarily for Western children learning Chinese and the concept of Chinese characters, it is ideal for anybody who is seriously interested in learning Chinese. The illustrations are well drawn and appropriate. The characters are broken down by stroke order so that the beginner can learn the rhythm and flow of Chinese writing.

The calligraphy is the best part of the book because readers can learn to write the characters in the proper stroke order. The ancient characters paired alongside the current characters help readers develop a broader sense of history and this in turn helps language and reading comprehension in Chinese. I like the clever little puzzle at the end of the book as well.

What really impressed me was the presentation of Chinese, which to Westerners can be considered a metaphoric language. The characters for "television," for example are the 2 characters (compound word) for "electricity" and "vision," therefore "electric vision" or television. Volcano is "fire + mountain" and train is "fire + cart." Readers also learn what slight alterations of characters, e.g. a character presented 3 times that creates a different word with a different meaning. The character for sun written 3 times has an entirely different meaning. I love this book and it has been an excellent key to learning Chinese.

This is the best introduction to Chinese characters that I have found in or outside of China. This book teaches stroke order and gives a basic history of characters showing how they have developed over time in a way that is entertaining and makes sense. Simple enough for those with no Chinese language experience, it is also an excellent resource for Chinese students struggling with writing and the character system.