One Year in Beijing

by Xiaohong Wang

Ling Ling is eight years old and lives in Beijing, China. Come along as she takes you on a year-long journey through her life. Ling Ling’s personal accounts tell about Chinese culture and destinations, holidays and festivals, school and family life, and more. The month-by-month, journal-style format makes it easy for young readers to relate to Ling Ling’s experiences and feelings. Children will learn about life in Beijing and gain an understanding of China’s rich cultural history, through simple storytelling and the eyes of an eight year old. Illustrated by Grace Lin and written by Xiaohong Wang, this picture book is the first of its kind to introduce children to life in a big city in modern China.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2006

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6-year-old loved it, and Mom liked it, too!

[YingYu Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a book about the yearlong life in Beijing from a girl’s perspective.
For people who want to know a bit more about Chinese culture, it may be a good resource as it is translated into English.

I was intrigued to red this because of the illustrator, but found out that this is more of educational than I had expected. Still a good read though.

[Haydn Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing all that it has to offer for a classroom. It is a book about an eight year old girl who lives in Beijing and the experiences that she has throughout a year of her life living there. I believe that this book would be beneficial to read as a read aloud book to my students during a China until because it puts the reading in a place where they feel like they, too, are living in China for a year. It is also written in the format of a journal which makes it a fun and different thing to read. Overall, I think that this book has both some great educational value and I will plan on reading it to my future students.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because the illustrator, Grace Lin, is from this area where I live. It outlines a typical year in the life of a girl living in urban China. American children will see that some traditions and activities are the same as or similar to what we have here, and others are completely different. Additional information at the back of the book elaborates on some of the festivals, foods, and traditions mentioned in the story. An enjoyable and informative read.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A month by month account of the celebrations, day-to-day, foods, family visitors and trips of, you guessed it, one year in Beijing. A nice mix of story and facts -- felt non-fictiony in a good way. And I could pat myelf on the back for all the holidays, places, and food names I recognized. Beijing, take me back! There should be more straightforwardly documentary yet fun books like this. I will read them all! And then maybe go live in those places! :)

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book to share with the two students I am tutoring in EDU 639. I thought it would be fun to share it since I spent a month in China. The story is from Ling Ling's point of view (she is 7) and the book is her diary. It goes through every month and shows holidays, places, and food. A great way to introduce the Chinese culture and generate questions for further research.

[Madonnasharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great accidental find. It was on display at my local library and it provides lots of information in a simple format. There is a glossary with food, holidays, places and traditions nicely explained. The pictures look like snapshots and then there are neat little sketches scattered about. It is a great little research book.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had found this before we went to China with the kids. They liked it and were excited to read about places we had visited. They didn't care much for the holidays, even though we celebrate some of them. They liked the pictures and the illustrations added to their introduction of Chinese culture.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely was a cute and informative read about tradition and culture. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in getting their children or even adult family member into reading about different cultures. There were a lot of festival and foods related to the Chinese culture that I knew nothing about and decided to do more research after reading this picture book.

[Pei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading this book. The book provides great information about various Chinese holidays, Chinese culture, and points of interest around Beijing by telling a story of a girl who lives in Beijing. This book would give my students who are in Chinese immersion program the background information about China.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As some of you may or may not know already, I'm hoping to read all of Grace Lin's bibliography this year. I seem to be constantly coming across picture books that I didn't realize she illustrated including this one!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

About an 8 year old living in China throughout one year..lots of pictures, descriptions of holidays, etc. Almost more like a picture book for anyone interested in life in China.