Love in the time of the Tiananmen Square. Anna never imagined living in such a foreign place. Fresh out of high school, she has joined her father, who works in Shanghai. She’s eager to see China beyond the bicycle-crowded streets between their apartment, her father’s expatriate community and the art school she’s attending. That’s why she’s thrilled when her father hires a cute local student named Chenxi to be her translator and guide. Too bad Anna seems nothing but trouble for Chenxi. His ideas about art already rankle the authorities, and he could do without the added attention of being with a wai guo ren, a foreigner. Even so, he is intrigued by Anna’s brashness and the freedoms she takes for granted. But when Anna turns their friendship toward passion, her actions have consequences that are intensified by a watchful regime looking to get rid of disruptive artists. Set around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and inspired by the author’s time spent in China as a teenager, Chenxi and the Foreigner crackles with emotion, ideas and authenticity.
China
Materials from China
Projects about Ancient China (Hands-On History)
Includes social studies projects taken from the ancient Chinese.
American Born Chinese
A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.
Awards
2007 Michael L. Printz Award
Take a closer look at American Born Chinese as examined in WOW Review.
Dragonwings
Moon shadow is eight years old when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Windrider lives in San Francisco and makes his living doing laundry. Father and son have never met, but Moon Shadow grows to love and respect his father and to believe in his wonderful dream. And Windrider, with Moon Shadow’s help, is willing to endure the mockery of the other Chinese, the poverty, the separation from his wife and country — even the great earthquake — to make his dream come true.
Series: Golden Mountain Chronicles
Awards:
Newbery Honor Book
Chu Ju’s House
When a girl is born to Chu Ju’s family, it is quickly determined that the baby must be sent away. After all, the law states that a family may have only two children, and tradition dictates that every family should have a boy. To make room for one, this girl will have to go. Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju knows she cannot allow this to happen to her sister. Understanding that one girl must leave, she sets out in the middle of the night, vowing not to return.
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
When China’s Communist Party detained Ji-li’s father, the 12-year-old was faced with the most difficult choice of her life. She could denounce her father and break with her family, or she could refuse to testify and sacrifice her future in her beloved Communist Party.
Ruby’s Wish
Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author’s grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, this is an engaging portrait of a young girl who strives for more and a family who rewards her hard work and courage.
Little Panda
In the misty mountains a little panda bear climbs tall trees, munches sweet bamboo, and curls up in his favorite perch to sleep. It is just right—until Mother Panda goes looking for a snack and Little Panda’s nap is disturbed by something unexpected.
Mei Ling in China City
Based on a true story of events during World War II in China City, a 12-year-old Chinese American girl named Mei Ling Lee was separated from her best friend Yayeko Akiyama when she and her family were interned in the Manzanar War Relocation Center. By writing letters to each other, both young girls recounted their lives and hardships in China City and Manzanar. This unprecedented children’s book depicts the cross-cultural experiences of Americans of Chinese and Japanese ancestry during the war years.
What the Rat Told Me
One day, the Great Emperor of Heaven invited all the animals to visit him on the Jade Mountain. Twelve animals came, and they became the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. This porquoi tale explains why the cat is not part of the zodia and why the cat and rat are no longer friends. This ancient porquoi tale is adapted from a Chinese Buddhist legend dating from the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) introduces the Chinese zodiac and the animals of the Chinese zodiac to young readers.