From School Library Journal
In format, this is a long essay that presents the country smorgasbord-style: a little bit of everything in glittering array. Children are utilized merely as a conceit to get started and are rarely referred to later, making the title something of a misnomer. This aside, the text is interesting and logically organized, although the lack of subheadings of any kind may prove a bit daunting to the targeted readership. Stylistically, this uncredited translation from the Finnish is smooth and readable. Children will be fascinated by the choice of facts, including the Great Wall, the First Emperor's Tomb, food, street games, etc. Taking the yak by the horns, Pitkanen accurately describes the current conditions in Tibet, rather than spouting official PRC cant. Illustrations are extremely beautiful color photographs, stunningly reproduced, but lacking captions. In the early stages, this presents no problem as they clearly are tied to the accompanying text. Later in the book, however, captions are needed to tie pictures to text a few pages away or give needed information that is not in the text. One photo shows a tin of Chinese tea on a table with a thermos and mugs--the writing on the tin is in Arabic, a questionable choice. All in all, an interesting and useful first book on China, with beautiful illustrations that will need a bit of explaining. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
An introduction to the history, geography, and culture of China through brief descriptions of the day-to-day lives of a variety of children.







