Reading together makes learning a language and its culture fun! I like to share my own stories with my children when we read stories related to Chinese culture or life in Mainland China or in Taiwan.
Recently my daughter, Meimei, was asked to help out a Chinese girl who does not speak very much English in a weekend art class. Meimei told me that the girl was able to work on her Valentine’s day art project because she explained to the girl what the teacher wanted them to create. A week later, she told me she found out that there is another girl in her class who can also speak English and Chinese. I could tell she was happy to meet someone just like her who has two languages and two cultures.
One of my recommended books below, “Dumpling Days”, tells the story of a young girl who goes to Taiwan for a month to help prepare for her grandmother’s 60th birthday. At first she finds fitting in harder than she expected but at least the dumplings are delicious!
In my family we love to make dumplings at home. Our homemade dumplings come in different shapes – they are not the traditional dumplings, they are the “creative” kind. My children have a story behind every dumpling. It is just like the fun we have when we read together.
Have fun reading this month’s book picks from Miss Panda! Happy Reading!
by Li Qion Yu
by Grace Lin
by Ai-Ling Louie
by Karen Chinn
