Learning about China through Books

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American Heritage Month. Last week we focused on Vietnam and this week we will focus on China. I have two books to share with you today. One of them I reviewed an older edition several years ago. The other is a book of children's stories from both China and Tibet. I began to wonder about Tibet. Tibet was taken over by the Communist Chinese Government in 1949. The leader of Tibet prior to that was the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama escaped to India and lives there in exile with over 100,000 Tibetan refugees. (Source) We will start with Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-chiu.

Women in World War II

 

Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share. 

Women in Wars -- Introduction-- Women's History Month

 

As I thought about Women's History Month I knew I wanted to really touch on women in history that may be forgotten. Today women are members of the Armed Forces, but not that long ago they were not allowed. I decided I would focus on women who played important roles in wars. This month I will share about women in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the two World Wars. Today I thought I would start with some women who fought wars before America was a country. I have focused on the legend of Mulan in the past. She is one of the women who reportedly disguised herself as a man to fight in a war. Then there was the Greek goddess, Athena, who was the goddess of war, as well as the Amazons, the race of women warriors in Greek mythology. Even the Aztecs had a warrior goddess, Itzpapalotl. Then we know of Joan of Arc and how she led the French army through battles. And we shared about Artemisia in the past. Today let's talk about some of the other women you may not have heard about that fought in real wars and battles. As I started researching women in wars I found The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals by Stephanie Warren Drimmer. All of the women, goddesses and legends mentioned in this post are featured in this book. This book is one of the sources for my entire post. I will list others that I used to find out more about the women and share books for kids when possible. (Note: I have not checked out these books but found them searching my local library website and Amazon.)

Review of American History: Asians in America #readyourworld

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am sharing the first of my reviews for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Today's book shares about fourteen Asian Americans and what they achieved with their lives. The book is part of the Casey S. Bell's American History series.

Mulan--Teach your kids the story of Mulan and not only Disney's versions

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you seen Disney's live action Mulan yet? It came out on Disney+ a couple of weeks ago for the subscribers that didn't pay for the premium subscription. I made Hazel wait until it was included in our regular subscription. Her love of Mulan was reignited recently. She loved meeting "Mulan" at Disney last February. 

Meet Diane Tells His Name and her Dolls

 

A few weeks ago I shared two of the beautiful Tribal Nations Maps about Indigenous women. One of the people shared on them is Diane Tells His Name. Diane has an interesting life story and she makes the most beautiful dolls. As a doll collector from my childhood I have always loved dolls. My sisters and I had a doll collection that was displayed in a curio cabinet in our dining room. Over the years some dolls have been lost or damaged as we each have moved and separated our collections. I still have some and they are now in my china cabinet. I have a love of dolls from different cultures because they share so much about the culture from their features, their clothes and often their stories. Perhaps this is why I was so drawn to Diane and her story. However as I learn more about Diane I find her story even more fascinating.

Paper Quilling Four Seasons: Chinese Style -- Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have become a bit fascinated with paper quilling. I shared my first projects previously. After trying it a bit I wanted to get some books about it. I bought a paper quilling kit from Amazon. Then I looked for some books to review. Tuttle Publishing answered my quest. Today I am going to share one of the books they sent me. Paper Quilling Four Seasons Chinese Style by Zhu Liqun and Zhu Liqun Paper Arts Museum. 

Crafty Sundays -- Quilt Art Chinese Style Review and My First Attempts at Paper Quilling

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This week I have been focusing on organizing my craft room. I'm about half way there! However last night I felt a strong urge to make something. I pulled out a cheap paper quilling kit I bought awhile ago (maybe at AC Moore before it closed). The kit taught how to make three different style flowers. I decided to give it a try. Here is my first one.

3 Multicultural Picture Books

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have gathered a group of three new multicultural picture books to share with you. Each are multicultural in different ways and share about different important lessons. We will start with one that is good for teaching young children a bit of Civil Rights Movement history. It is A Ride to Remember by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan and illustrated by Floyd Cooper. 

Origami: Fun Facts, Product Reviews & Craft Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

We are on our third week of exploring Japan for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you missed our first two weeks we did new picture books to learn about Japan and crafts from Japan. Today we are taking a look at the ancient art of Japanese origami. I thought I would start with some fun facts since I shared a bit about the history of origami a few years ago. 

Lunar New Year

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Chinese New Year or lunar new year starts on Saturday. Did you know there are other countries that celebrate the lunar new year besides China? Other Asian countries celebrate it like Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and others. Since I have shared so much about the Chinese New Year in the past I thought I would share books that share the culture of China and Korea this year. For both countries I have books that share about the lunar new year as well as other books to learn about the culture and way of life. 

Multicultural Books for Multicultural Monday

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

January is upon us. Wow, time has been flying. Now that the holidays are over we turn back and look at our lives. Did you make resolutions? I always find January to be bitter sweet. I enjoy the holidays and seeing everyone and they are over. We take our Christmas decorations down and the house seems empty. However as someone who loves diversity there are always more things to look forward to. Multicultural Children's Book Day is January 31st and I am co-hosting again this year. Stay tune for my official posts starting this week. The lunar new year is also approaching. I will be participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs annual blog series on January 20th to share books about China and Korea and their lunar new year celebrations. And of course Martin Luther King Day is this month. So much great stuff. Then February hits with Black History Month. Lots to look forward to. Today I thought I would share four multicultural books with you to start off our January. 

Hawaii Challenge -- How was Hawaii formed?

Awhile ago I read a Facebook post about how Native Hawaiians have been conserving and preserving our wildlife and earth for years. The post challenged people to learn about it. So I am taking the challenge. I want to learn more about the 50th state and its people. It has an interesting history and I am fascinated with the legends and such. Plus I do want to preserve our wildlife, so I want to see what they are doing and how we can help. It is also top on my list for places I want to visit. Are you in? 

The Year of the Pig -- Fun Facts, Craft Round-Up and Book Review

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It is officially the Year of the Earth Pig according to the Chinese Zodiac. I thought it would be fun to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a look at fun facts about pigs as well as the Year of the Pig and of course some pig crafts and a fun Chinese pig story. We will start with fun facts about pigs!!

Fun Facts about Chinese New Year!

The lunar new year (better known as the Chinese New Year) begins next week, February 5, 2019. This year will be the Year of the Earth Pig. (Stay tuned for some facts about pigs, the year of the pig and a pig craft round-up coming soon.) I thought it would be fun to look at some fun facts about this holiday. In China and many cultures this holiday is the big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas is in America. It amazes me how I learn something new about this holiday every year as I prepare post. So read below to learn a bit about the holiday and some fun facts about it.

Kids & Cooking

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This year Hazel has really wanted to start cooking on her own. She has been helping me in the kitchen for a long time, but really wants to be able to cook on her own now. I'm always interested in checking out new books that help encourage her with her cooking because it is an important life skill. The first book we are sharing today is a book where she took it and tried a recipe on her own and it was a huge success. (Unfortunately I did not take any photos of her creation. Sorry!!) The book is Say Cheese! by Ricki Carroll and Sarah Carroll. 

10 Interesting Facts about Fireworks & Independence Day & Craft Round-Up

1. It is believed the first fireworks were created in China as early as 200 BC. The first was a natural one where they would roast bamboo which would explode with a bang. It was believed to scare off evil spirits.

Asian and English Nursery Rhyme Books

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Do you have preschoolers or even toddlers? Do you want to introduce them to other cultures but are not sure how to bring it to your home or classroom? I have to fun books that will do just that. These books will also work to help older kids become familiar with Chinese and Korean as well. Both books come with CDs so the pronounciation of the other languages can be heard and you do not have to try to figure out how it is said. Nursery rhymes have been a favorite in our house. Hazel even has a nursery rhyme quilt that I made her when she was younger and had a nursery rhyme themed birthday party when she turned three. Oh and there was the year that Hazel and I dressed as the dish and the spoon for Halloween. But today's books are different than our nursery rhymes. They give us a sense of different cultures. We will start with Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes: Little Mouse and Other Charming Chinese Rhymes by Faye-Lynn Wu and illustrated by Kieren Dutcher. 

Chinese New Year Resources

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The lunar new year begins on Friday this year. Many countries celebrate the lunar new year but in America it is often referred to as the Chinese New Year. We already shared a few resources for the year of the dog (this new year), but I wanted to share a few more with you. The first is a book that gives a new version of the old fairy tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. The book is The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by David Roberts. 

The Year of the Dog--Chinese New Year

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It is hard to believe the lunar new year is approaching. This year it is February 16, 2018. This coming year will be the year of the dog in the Chinese horoscope. I always love when it is the year of the dog since that is the sign I was born under. Now this year we had a New Year's Eve themed birthday party for Hazel and one of the things I tried to do was have some different cultures represented so we had a table set up for the Chinese New Year with items from Oriental Trading.