Kites

The Chinese invented kites. Kites were used by the Chinese during battles. Ancient Chinese believed that kites could ward off evil spirits. Today some still see kites as a good luck symbol.

Brushstrokes from West to East is a 43 page document containing Vermont-standards which includes a kite making lesson for K - 2 on pages 16-17, grades 3 - 5 on page 31-32.

Webquests: I am just learning about these - some are great and some are not, like any other type of resource.

• Watching the Colors Come Alive, Ancient China and kite design/building. (6th grade Ancient Civilizations/Geometry)
• Let's Go Fly A Kite (High School Math)
• "Folklore tells of a Chinese general who used a kite to defeat an evil emperor. In what ways do the stories report that he used the kite?" sounds great - but I can't find this webquest anymore.

And . . .
We like the book Moonlight Kite, although it is not overly "Chinese" IMHO.

Dragon Books

Our favorite dragon books. The "reference books" can be enjoyed at many ages, but the YA books really are for more mature readers. Dragon books for younger readers are here too.

"Reference" Books:

• Dragonology by Ernest Drake
• How to raise and keep a dragon by Joe Nigg
• The Dragonology Handbook: A Practical Course in Dragons by Dugald Steer

YA Fiction:

• Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One by Patricia C. Wrede (also available as an audio book)
• Searching for Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book Two by Patricia C. Wrede (also available as an audio book)
• Calling on Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book Three by Patricia C. Wrede (also available as an audio book)
• Talking to Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book Four by Patricia C. Wrede (also available as an audio book)
• Dragon's Blood: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume One (Pit Dragon Chronicles)by Jane Yolan
  

Grades 5 - 7

• Dragon's Milk (Dragon Chronicles, Book 1) by Susan Fletcher
• Flight of the Dragon Kyn (Dragon Chronicles, Book 2) by Susan Fletcher

Juvenile Fiction:

• How to Train Your Dragon (Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) * by Cressida Cowell (We have not yet read her How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse (The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup the Viking)
• Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
• The Dragon's Boy: A Tale of Young King Arthur by Jane Yolan
• (read to them) Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain by M. Bateson-Hill (really nice paper cut illustrations, OK instructions at the end)

Chinese New Year-related Picture Books:

• Dancing Dragon by Marcia Vaughn. An accordion-fold picture book
• The Rooster's Antlers: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Eric Kimmel. (especially for the beautiful papercut illustrations)
• Silk Peony, Parade Dragon by Elizabeth Steckman (longer story than many picture books)
  
• The Day the Dragon Danced by Kay Haugaard (picture book, ages 4 - 8) not really a Chinese New Year book, but perhaps an accurate picture of how many preschools might celebrate it. I like it - although I wish the snack at the end were something besides lollipops for a number of reasons.
  

Not really a "dragon book":

• Long is a Dragon: Chinese Writing for Children by Peggy Goldstein

Dragon Books that are not quite as beloved:

• The Dragonslayers by Bruce Coville
• The Dragons Are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky and Peter Sis (poetry)
• The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me) by Bruce Coville
• How to Speak Dragonese (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) by Cressida Cowell
• Chin Chiang and the Dragon's Dance by Ian Wallace (also Chinese New Year's related)

Dragon Books We Want to Read:

• Here there Be Dragons Jane Yolan (grades 3 - 8), Collection of 5 poems and 8 stories
• A Dragon Book by Donn Kushner (ages 9 -12, grades 6 - 8)

Dragon Books We Don't Like!

• D is for Dancing Dragon : A China alphabet by Carol Crane and Illustrated by Zong-Zhoiu Wang. (picture book) I don't care for the illustrations and the rhymes seem forced. Mandarin and pinyin was used for
• E - "Ehru" (Although in Mandarin it is "Erhu", so I don't know if that is a typo or if another dialect of Chiense was used),
  
• Q - "Qin Terra Cotta warriors" and
• X - "Xiexie" Thank you"
  
but the pronunciation was only explained for "X". However, the extra information on each page - that most people don't share with their pre-readers was nice.

last updated: January 2008

Summer Solstice is coming!

Summer begins on 21 June 21, 2007 at 18:06 GMT, which is 2:06 pm EDT where I am.

The 10th solar term Xiazhi should start on or about that day.