Tuesday 13 October 2015

Picture Books about Asia

Our local home education group has been studying Asia, this term, so I have been collecting picture books that we can use for reading aloud. This is a collection of those that we have used or plan to use.

Asia
Asia: Rookie Read-about Geography Rebecca Hirsch 
This is a simple book with many photographs.

Asia Gary Drevitch 
More complex than the first book and is divided into chapters. 

China

The Story of Ping Marjorie Flack
 A classic story of a duck on the Yangtze River.

Tracks of a Panda Nick Dowson 
A picture book is about the life of a giant panda.

Could somebody pass the salt?: Hudson Taylor Catherine Mackenzie 
A child's biography of the famous missionary, Hudson Taylor.

Yikang's Day: From Dawn to Dusk in a Chinese City Sungwan So 
A pictorial day in the life of a modern Chinese girl.


Thailand
Elephants of the Tsunami Jana Laiz 
The retelling of a real event when elephants saved some people from the 2004 tsunami. This has references to the many deaths but it is written sensitively and focuses on those saved from the water.

South Korea
If you were me and lived in South Korea Carol Roman
 One of a great series of books with basic information about countries.

Japan
A pair of Red Clogs Masako Matsumo A tale of temptation to deceive.

Grass Sandals: The travels of Basho Dawnine Spivak. This chapter book is aimed at older children and is a gentle introduction to haiku poems.

Grandfather's Journey Allen Say A poignant book about two different cultures. Deservedly a Caldecott Medal winner.

India
Tigress  Nick Dowson Another natural history, non-fiction book.

Can brown eyes be made blue: Amy Carmichael Catherine Mackenzie A biography of the missionary, Amy Carmichael.

Please let me know about any other books about Asia that you recommend. We are hoping to look at Africa, next term, so feel free to recommend picture books about Africa. I have some ideas and books on the bookshelves but could do with more suggestions!

Thanks to Lizzie of  Peaches at Home for devising and directing the production of the cookie dough Asia map, in the photo.

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2 comments:

  1. Hi,

    For picture books about Africa (specifically Kenya), I would recommend:
    Mama Panya's Pancakes - which shows a day-in-the-life-of a Kenyan boy, and has a lot of background information about Kenya and rural life there in the back.
    Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain - which is an Kenyan folk-tale with a rhyming, repetitive structure, as told to Sir Claud Hollis (an anthropologist) who was researching the language of the Nandi.
    There are a few resources about on the web if you wanted to make a unit study of either of them, although you do have to hunt a bit as they are not as popular as some other books (for example Handa's Surprise).

    Hope that helps! Have fun,
    Georg

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. Mama Panya's Pancakes is a favourite here but I hadn't heard of Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain so will look that up.

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