1 comments about Go2Guides China Ages 5-7 (Travel Guides for Kids Who Are Going Places).

1. I have always wanted a guide that is written for children! The Go2Guides are perfect. So much information is a colorful and unique guide. My children are adopted from China and we are planning a trip back to see and learn about their country and heritage. These guides gave them so much critical and interesting information. I especially like that there are guides for the different age levels. My thirteen year old loved hers and my 6 year old was thrilled with her guide. It was obvious that each were written with the age level, interest level, and reading level in mind! I can't recommend them enough. Even if you never travel to China, the Go2Guides wonderful to expose your children do different countries. I am looking forward to the next ones!

5 comments about Across China.

1. This book is written from the viewpoint of an American with little knowledge of China. I think it is an entertaining book about new and unique experiences. It is not intended to be a deep study about China.

   I'm just finished the book (it's now 2003). I believe Peter's trip to China took place in 1984. I'm sure things have changed a great deal in the last 19 years!

   I would recommend this book.




2. This book is disappointingly adolescent. The writing is stale, especially given the imagination-stimulating possibilities when encountering a new culture, but its worst failing is the barely hidden--and quite possibly even written unawares--xenophobia. Much of the description is insulting--meant to be amusing, I suspect, but Jenkins comes across as a man who is determined to vaunt America and disparage Chinese history and culture. From the very beginning, still in the States, when he describes one of his "favorite waitresses" as having "a perm and wears tight pants", I squirmed. Did a teacher never help him distinguish between `telling detail' and pointless detail? More disturbing here, perhaps: is he unaware of the negative implications of this description? I wouldn't want to be any favorite of his. It's dated, yes--his never having met any "Orientals" (his description), say--but beyond this, the picture is flat, strained in its sentimental description, and the narrator comes across as self-absorbed and unsympathetic. For a far more comprehensive and thought-provoking picture of China in the 80s, and beautifully written, try Colin Thubron's, Behind the Wall.



3. this is an exciting and easy read. i couldn't put it down!



4. Have read most of Peter's books, his walks across America, his boat trip around the Gulf of Mexico, his adventures to Alaska and find this book to be in keeping with his personna as a traveling author. His writing style is a bit folksy and down to earth. In his books, you do feel like your traveling alongside him, meeting the people and experiencing the trip. Through the books, you come to know a lot about his life and family as well as wherever he is traveling. Certainly his books will not go down as a marvel of literary accomplishment, but I do enjoy simply sitting back seeing new places and experiences though the eyes of someone who has taken the initiative to travel places and write about it for us readers. All in all his books are good, comforting reads. And I'd recommend this and any of his books if you're looking for a story of one's travels to places we otherwise may never visit. Lastly, it's probably worth noting that China has radically changed since this book was written, so it's somewhat dated, yet looking past that, it's a glimpse into another place, another time.



5. I picked up this book at a book sale, and it wasn't worth the 50 cents I payed for it. but that's about it. It reads like the author is describing a story that someone else told him, and describing it badly. The writing is patronizing, assuming we don't know how to pronounce city names like "Lhasa", and explaining what a crevasse is. the characters are flat, and the adventure isn't exciting. This is an example of someone who got a book just because they did something that unusual, and maybe who they knew, not on their writing abilities. I would recommend that you do not read this book. Rather pick up Colin Thurbrons "Shadow of the silk Road" The pages he's in china paint an infinitely better picture of China this this book does.

4 comments about Speak in a Week Flash! Chinese: 1001 Flash Cards (Speak in a Week Flash!).

1. I was looking for some good basic flashcards to help me with my Chinese vocabulary. I bought this set because the design of the flashcards was exactly what I was looking for. English on one side and Hanzi and Pinyin on the other side. However, while using the flashcards, I have found two typos so far. zhi1piao4 was defined as "the cheek" instead of "the check", also the flashcard for hair had the pinyin listed as mou2fa instead of tou2fa.
   
   If not for the typos, I would have given these flashcards five-stars. However, now that I know that there are typos, I need to double check all of the flashcards for accuracy before I can really use them with confidence.



2. I've only reviewed about 100 of the 1000+ cards and found at least 6 errors ... not sure why they'd have released it for sale in this kind of shape. It's also limited to long form characters, which is a product description I may have missed during the purchase process ... or not.
   
   Time permitting, I hope to check all the cards against some dictionary software I have, which could actually aid the learning process.
   JPQ



3. I purchased this set some time ago for Chinese vocabulary review and I have only recently dug into it.
   
   Fortunately, I know Mandarin fairly well, so I am able to catch most of the typos in this set. There are pronunciation errors as well as mistakes in the definitions.
   
   If you are an experienced Mandarin student, then you can correct the typos yourself and the set will still be useful. For beginners, though, these cards may be difficult to use. (Beginners might try the Tuttle Chinese flash cards instead.)
   
   This is a shame, because these cards are well designed, handsomely produced, and reasonably priced. I am generally a fan of Penton Overseas; I have used their products for about 20 years now with few problems. Nevertheless, this is clearly a case of a product that was rushed to market without proper proofreading. Hopefully the company will correct the mistakes in the next printing.



4. These cards are well made and there are a lot of them. However, the side with the Chinese character(s) also has a picture, making them of limited usefulness if what you are working on is recognizing the characters. In other words, the characters for "dog" show a picture of a dog-- making it immediately obvious what the translation is, instead of forcing you to remember based on the characters. I purchased these in a store, and now that I've read the other reviews here, I also have some concerns about their accuracy. as a beginning student, I have no way to know without looking up each and every one. Overall, I'd have to recommend avoiding these.

No comments about Beijing Walks: Exploring the Heritage (Odyssey Illustrated Guides).

1 comments about Hong Kong - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1. As someone who is soon to be an expat in Hong Kong, I've really begun researching about the country and the culture. I was really disappointed in the book. It's very redundant and doesn't give any information that you can't find in Frommers, or any other guide book. It's small and fairly short, probably trying to be a pocket guidebook, but if you also need a guidebook for getting around the city itself, and then language help, it just adds one more book to lug around. It didn't delve into culture as much as I had hoped. It had a long section on Hong Kong history (long for how short the book is overall). History of a country is of course important, but again, I learned everything I read in here from my Frommer's guidebook, and that also gave me maps, places to see, restaurants, hotels and key phrases. The only unique section was on business banquets, which seems to be a bit dated. The only unique tidbit I learned was that showing the soles of your feet is considered rude. For a book supposed to be all about culture, I should have learned more than one new fact, especially as I've only begun educating myself on Hong Kong. If your planning a trip, either business or vacation, or considering a move to Hong Kong, skip this book. There are others out there that are much better.

No comments about Me No Speak: China.

2 comments about Guizhou Province, Second Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guides).

1. I normally don't like Odyssey guidebooks, but a Chinese friend gave me their guidebook to Guizhou when I was undecided where to go on holiday. On the basis of it, I decided to visit the province as part of a three-week trip out of Beijing to South China. The book has excellent photos, but was light in areas on how-to details. I used it in tandem with Lonely Planet's guide to China, and the two complimented each other nicely. I only spent 10 days in Guizhou, which wasn't enough. I'm heading back someday, and will use the guide to festival dates in the book to better plan my visit.



2. Guizhou is a fascinating area to see the culture of some of China's ethnic minorities, having visited the province twice recently myself, but there are too few books in English on this province.

   Gina Corrigan's book is a must for anyone who wants an understanding of the culture and history of the colourful people here. The book is well organized into different parts of Guizhou, with lots of sugested itineraries. It also gives an excellent overview of the different ethnic groups and its customs.

   This is by no means a comprehensive book on Guizhou. That would require a size many times this one. There are just too many hidden corners to explore. There are places in the book that I wish for more specific details. The book is also thin on pratical information such as buses, trains, hotel lists. The Lonely planet SW China Guide would be a workable complement for that.

   There are some beautiful photos in the book. Even if you don;t plan on visiting the area soon, it still makes a very interesting book to read.

No comments about Osaka Travel Map: 2nd Edition (Periplus Travel Maps).

1 comments about Passport Korea: Your Pocket Guide to Korean Business, Customs & Etiquette (Passport to the World) (Passport to the World).

1. This is a slim book with excellent information. Absolutely crucial for anyone doing business in Korea. If you're planning to visit Korea - and do plan to visit Korea, it's a great introduction to the culture and the people. Also it's well written and a fast read.

3 comments about Dream-of-Jade: The Emperor's Cat.

1. Dream-of-Jade is a fabulous and fantastic story that emphasizes kindness, generosity, diplomacy, and common sense. The setting is beautiful, the characters are delightful, and nestled throughout the stories are bits of humor, pieces of irony, and the occasional new vocabulary word. Mr. Alexander's book is smart and charming, and as good a read for adults as it is for children. As an added bonus, the artwork, while more impressionistic than many children's books, adds to the flavor of the story quite well, providing a detailed enough view of events that one can see them while not detracting from the reader's eager imaginings.



2. Come laugh with me and allow an Imperial Feline to draw back the veil of Time that obscures Imperishable Truths. You doubtless know Lloyd Alexander as a prolific writer & author of medieval fantasies. In "Dream-of-Jade" his wonder-filled stories tell us about ancient China and Emperor Kwan-Yu. "Jade" is the cat who stole his affections.
   
   The author dedicated his book to "my dear cats who told me these tales." Fables can be enjoyed 'time and again' - - these were first published in CRICKET magazine in 1976. We learn how historical events were clarified by the wisdom of "Jade": how she cured the emperor, wrote the Law, and most importantly made the emperor laugh. Her beautiful green eyes & white fur is realistically portrayed through the artistry of D. Brent Burkett. He, as well as the cat, get in a few 'swipes' at pompous know-it-all bureaucrats. Some of the tongue-in-cheek humor may be lost on the youngest listeners but they will love the highly stylized speech with "important" words, and the rhythm of complicated 'titles' - such as this on page 36: "the Glittering Repository of Highly Valuable Objects."
   
   If we listen attentively as any cat lover should, we will realize there are often lessons for adults to be found in children's picture books. Reviewer mcHAIKU suggests that you allow yourself to be hypnotized by "Dream-of-Jade."



3. This book is actually several stories about the Dream-of-Jade Cat and the Emperor. There are beautiful illustrations and the stories good, this book is rated for ages 9 - 12 and I agree.
   
   The stories are:
   How Dream of Jade Looked at the Emperor
   How the Dream-of-Jade Cured the Emperor
   How the Dream-of-Jade Made the Emperor Laugh
   How the Dream-of-Jade Chose a Gift
   How Dream-of-Jade Wrote the Law