Six Words, Many Turtles, and Three Days in Hong Kong [Hardcover]

Patricia McMahon (Author), Susan Drinker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Doing homework is not the way eight-year-old Tsz Yan wants to spend her weekend, but she must learn six new English words. Tsz Yan is a Chinese child living in Hong Kong, where she shares an apartment with her mother and father. With humor and insight, the author paints a portrait of daily life for an engaging, energetic child living in one of the most intriguing of all international cities. Hong Kong is in the midst of dramatic, historic change from British to Chinese ownership. The fabric of Tsz Yan's life may remain largely unchanged, yet she and her parents cannot help but be concerned about the transition. Stunning, vividly detailed photographs capture resplendent street scenes and the mountainous surroundings of Hong Kong as well as the quiet moments and joyful times of a young girl and her family.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5. This attractive photo-essay opens with a double-page spread of Hong Kong in the early morning mist and closes with a shot of the city at sunset. Readers are introduced to eight-year-old Tsz Yan and her family. The "six words" of the title refer to the English writing homework that the girl works on throughout the story. The "many turtles" are what she thinks school children look like with their backpacks. The "three days" are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, thus giving readers a glimpse of the child's life at school and at home.The colorful and exciting photos are definitely the strength of the book, and are, for the most part, logical adjuncts to the text. Unfortunately, the lack of captions may cause confusion. For instance, many readers may mistake a wedding photo for a prom picture if they are not acquainted with the Chinese tradition of wearing red for weddings. The pronunciation guide does not give phonetic spellings for the words and is really not useful. Many parallels are drawn between Tsz Yan's experiences and those of a typical eight-year-old American youngster yet distinct differences are also shown. The title is interesting, the photos superb, yet the text seems lackluster in contrast.?Marilyn Fairbanks, East Junior High School, Brockton, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. The author of Chi-Hoon: A Korean Girl (1993) and Susan Drinker, a photographer specializing in advertising, follow eight-year-old Tsz Yan for a weekend in this sunny snapshot of middle-class life in today's Hong Kong. Although less concerned than adults about the city's imminent shift of sovereignty, Tsz Yan and her age-mates are aware of it; still, school, family, songs, and the pleasures of feeding turtles in her apartment complex's courtyard pond and of going to an amusement park crowd out anxious thoughts. The sharp, unposed color photographs show Tsz Yan and other children moving easily between the cell phones and Disney icons of the modern world and the street markets and large, tightly knit families of an older tradition. Through Drinker's lens the streets, buildings, apartments, and residents of this crowded city look clean, prosperous, and tidy. McMahon writes as an omniscient observer, deftly using recurrent ideas or words to give her narrative structure and a sprightly, good-humored air. Although never quoted directly, Tsz Yan comes across clearly as bright, confident, and energetic. Text and photos run parallel courses, sometimes linking directly, sometimes not, together presenting a captivating child's-eye view of a complex society poised for big changes. John Peters

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1St Edition edition (August 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395686210
• ISBN-13: 978-0395686218
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,306,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and fun to read!, April 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Six Words, Many Turtles, and Three Days in Hong Kong (Hardcover)

I read this book with my 8 year old son, we both really enjoyed it. Well written and cleverly entwining Tze Yan's homework into the story, this book offers a view into the weekend of a girl my son's age living in Hong Kong. It is full of interesting facts and ideas...things an 8 year old would think of, as well as fun pictures that capture lots of details.

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure for anyone who has adopted from PRC or Hong Kong, August 15, 2004

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Six Words, Many Turtles, and Three Days in Hong Kong (Hardcover)

In my quest to finding books on China for my daughter.... I came across this book. It's about a young girls family in Hong Kong right before the historic change from the British to becoming part of The Peoples' Republic of China. Tsz Yan and other families who live in Hong Kong wonder what changes will happen and how their life will change when this happens.

The book is also interesting because it shows a difference perspective of how others go to school and how other families lives. Tsz Yan's father works in China and leaves on Sunday night to travel to China and stays there until Friday evening, so during the week it is just Tsz Yan and her mom. The photos are absolutely beautiful capturing everyday life in the eyes of a young girl. There is a translation page for 13 words used in this book! I wish they would do a follow up story on what did change and what stayed the same for this family!

A definate book for any child who's been adopted in Hong Kong or China!