China, Part 2

The photo (below) is some of Alexandra's Chinese calligraphy. These characters were painted with Chinese bamboo brushes using the book, At the Beach, listed below. We were amazed to learn that the Chinese have to learn thousands of characters!

Here are more books & movies (mainly fiction) that we've been enjoying while studying China:

• Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat movies
• Ma Jiang and the Orange Ants by Porte - wonderful story about a little girl whose father & brother leave to help build the Great Wall. While they're gone, she discovers a way to help improve their family business.
• Tikki Tikki Tembo by Mosel - we've loved this for years!
• The Story About Ping by Flack - another we've loved for years!
• Pi-shu: the Little Panda by Butler
• The Seven Chinese Sisters by Tucker - cute story about 7 sisters who each have a special "talent" - they work together to save the littlest sister
• The Five Chinese Brothers by Bishop - we've read this book before - very funny book & Alex likes me to read it over & over
• A to Z: China by Fontes -we like this series
• At the Beach by Huy Voun Lee - This book shows you how to write Chinese characters. There are also other books by this author, but I felt like this particular book had the easiest characters to copy.
• Following Jade! Let's Visit Chinese Kindergarten (video) - this is a cute video that teaches you a few Chinese words (for example, "hello" and numbers to 10)
• Count Your Way Through China by Haskins - we always enjoy these books
• The Emeperor's New Clothes: a Tale Set in China by Demi - this might have been Alexandra's favorite book while studying China - we read it many times
• Giant Panda's: Gifts from China by Fowler
• Ruby's Wish by Bridges - true story about the author's grandmother and how she was one of the first Chinese women to be admitted to a particular university
• Chinese New Year Crafts by Bledsoe - this is a great book of Chinese crafts that you could use any time while studying China, not just for New Year's. I don't know why, but I just haven't gotten back into crafts the past few weeks, so although there were lots of good ideas for China, we didn't do very much.
• Chinese New Year (videorecording by Schlessinger) - highly recommended
• Chinese Fables at http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/chinese-fables/load.htm?f
• The Ballad of Mulan by Zhang - the Chinese story of Mulan - it shows the Chinese characters in the margin - the back of the book says Mulan may have been based on some truth
• Mulan & Mulan 2 - Disney movies - demonstrates Chinese culture & it's very entertaining