Reading about China with Kids

With the Olympics taking place in China right now, it's a good time to grab some picture books to give kids a look at life in this amazing country. Millie is at an age where she's most intrigued by a story line that she can relate to, and there are two books that she has especially enjoyed over the past couple of years which I think give a very accurate picture of everyday life in much of China.

We've owned this first book since we lived in southwest China, which is titled, Mei-Mei Loves the Morning. It's a sweet story of a girl and her grandfather in urban China and what a usual morning looks like for them. The watercolor pictures in this book wonderfully depict a typical Chinese city, and provide a nice accompaniment to the gentle story.

We had checked out this second book from the library before, but just today when Millie turned in her reading log for our library's summer reading program, we came across this book as one of the choices for her prize for completing the log. So I'm thrilled that we now own Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett. I love the book not only because it's another accurate depiction of today's China, but also because Jan Brett's work is simply amazing and this book is no exception. The incredibly detailed illustrations tell the story of a little girl, this time in a more rural setting, who raises her own chickens and sells their eggs at the local market. Though I suppose really the story is just as much about one of the chickens, Daisy, as it is about the little girl. It's a very cute, engaging story. Happy reading!