The Abacus Contest: Stories from Taiwan and China (World Stories Series) - Hardcover

Wu, Priscilla

9781555912437: The Abacus Contest: Stories from Taiwan and China (World Stories Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555912435 ISBN 13: 9781555912437

Publisher: Fulcrum Pub, 1996

In a small city in southern Taiwan, six children with a traditional background experience different changes in their outlook

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5?Six stories about school children in Taiwan. The subjects are universal, and readers will recognize the characters' hopes and fears. In one selection, Gao Mai wants to win a school contest without losing her friend; in another, Kun Pei learns that there are more important things than winning a race; and in a third, Da Wei becomes closer to his mother during his beloved grandmother's funeral. Wu includes many facts about everyday life in this country, but the information does not intrude on the tales. The transliterated Chinese terms used in context are perfectly understandable, and they are also defined in a glossary. The cover art is colorful and attractive, but the interior illustrations (one picture per story) are dark and scratchy pen-and-ink drawings. A good choice for anyone wanting contemporary stories about children living in another country.?JoAnn Rees, Sunnyvale Public Library, CA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Stories about life in modern Taiwan, each centered on one of six children in the same class, and each intended to convey information about the culture as well as to make a moral point. Wu's first book also provides background on Taiwan in an introduction, and explanatory notes about the stories. The writing is flat, the characters interchangeable, and the setting nearly featureless, despite laundry lists of description intended to make it distinct. Despite the inherent drama of pigeon- racing, a funeral, and the contest mentioned in the title, readers will find the stories dull and didactic; instead, let them dig up a good collection of Taiwanese or Chinese folktales, accompanied by sturdy nonfiction on the region. (b&w illustrations, not seen, glossary) (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright �1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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