Saturday, November 10, 2007

Taiwanese Children's Books (work in progress)

I've decided to locate children's books that are written by Taiwanese authors and have been translated into English. They also might include ones written about Taiwan that are not necessarily Taiwanese. I thought they would be nice to have. I may also add some favorite Chinese books as well. Stories are such a staple in our home, we'd be lost without them; why not add some that we might have heard if we grew up as children in Taiwan. Being a child is all about imagination anyways, right? SO here is an expanding, tentative rough draft:

1. Tales from a Taiwan Kitchen by Cora Cheney Illustrated by Teng Kung Yun-chang. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1976
A collection of traditional Taiwanese tales that reflect the varied cultural heritage of the island.
2.Dragon Kite of the Autumn Moon by Valerie Reddix, Jean Tseng, Mou-Sien Tseng, 1992
When his grandfather is sick, Tad-Tin goes out to fly his special dragon kite, so that it can take all their troubles away with it.
3. On My Way To Buy Eggs by Chih-Yuan Chen
In this award-winning import from Taiwan, a young girl's errand to the store turns into a sensory adventure.
4. A Family in Taiwan (Families the World Over) by Ling Yu, Chen Minq-Jenq
Presents life in Taiwan as seen through the daily life of a twelve-year-old and her family.
5. The Abacus Contest: Stories from Taiwan and China by Priscilla Wu
These six simply written short stories, which take place in a small manufacturing city in southern Taiwan, are about values: religious, secular, and cultural.
6. Taiwan: Lisa Lin's Painting "Making Mooncakes" by Jacquiline Touba, Barbara Glasser, ph.D. Touba, Lisa Lin
The young Taiwanese artist, Lisa Lin, describes her painting of her family making mooncakes for the Mid-autumn Festival. Beautiful paintings!
7. Happy Birthday to You by Fang Su-chen
winner of the first Mandarin Daily News Children's Literature Award for illustration in 1995.
8. Taiwan in Pictures by Yu, Ling Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, c1989.
9. Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen a book about a crocodile that's "adopted" by a duck family.
10.
An introduction to the geography, history, economy, government, people, and culture of the island republic of Taiwan
Copy and paste this into your browser: http://www.taiwan-taipei.com/taipei_city_tip/smile_kid_learning_store.html
It is a site to a children's store in Taiwan that has English books (I'm planning on stocking up)!

1 comment:

Cindy said...

This is a fantastic resource - thank you so much. I checked out the one about the kite from the library but I haven't been able to find any others. Thanks for sharing!

Cindy
http://adopttaiwan.wordpress.com