DK Eyewitness Books: China: Discover the World's Most Populous Country and How it is Changing with the Times

The last few Eyewitness books purchased for my school library contained a CD of clip art and a poster. I guess DK wanted to kick it up a notch by adding those items to their already superlative publications!The lay-out for "China" is perfect and the first I've seen in an Eyewitness country book. After the introductory artifacts--flag, bamboo, calligraphy, kung fu stance, moon cakes, and children, laughing Buddha, yin yang, fashion (in China?)--then begins the first two pages of text--and this is what is so clever."The day begins..." The last two pages? "The end of the day...." In between are 54 pages of all imaginable topics identifying traditional China and evolving, modern China. Tai chi in the park by the hundreds to stretch their way into the day, while school children bustle off to their expensive educations.Think China and 90% of people come to mind--the ethnic identity of Han, but there are 55 other ethnic groups. The Chinese comprise the oldest continuous civilization on earth, but Mao Zedong changed imperial China into Communist China. One sculpture at the end signifies his influence: a massive gray arm and shoulder over-riding the environment, but broken nevertheless.Mandarin is the national language by which Chinese can communicate, as they speak hundreds of dialects throughout the country. Citizenship, fashion, hutongs and high-rises, home life--Many families live in one-room apartments. Transportation, manufacturing, daily markets, all are part of big city life.Food, family life, religion and spirituality, festivals, education (took a 10-year loss during Mao), media, science, technology, cinema, sports--the book is fairly exhaustive in topics, but, of course, lacks in depthThen the day ends, but not the book. Mapping China. I read recently that China has one time zone. According to this map, China spans five, but keeps its clocks at the same time as Beijing. A Timeline is next, then Famous Chinese, a glossary, and an index.If you have never paged through an Eyewitness book, may I invite you to go to your local bookstore and buy one on a topic of choice or get one from Amazon. Or borrow one from your local library. Eyewitness books have been described as "a museum in a book."

Our family loves all the DK books. We have learned a lot from them. I ordered this one for my 5 year old grandson who has suddenly taken a great interest in China. Of course some of it is above his level of understanding but much of it is not or can be explained on his level. The pictures are very good and informative. I sent it along with chopsticks, various things for Chinese New Year and the Year of the Goat etc. I had already bought and sent him their book on dance around the world and next I'm going to order the one about Africa. I don't think you can go wrong with the DK books and there are MANY titles!

Before taking our daughter to China we purchased this book to give her some background on the history, culture, and development China as a nation. When we began the tour, she could answer many of the questions posed by the tour guide, who was most impressed with our daughter's knowledge. Two years later, we still find out daughter flipping through the pages, remembering her trip -- not through family photos -- but this book! It is a great read for older kids and even adults who just want a quick overview.

I love DK Eyewitness books so when we moved to China for 4 months, I bought a few books including this one to help prepare my daughter for her experiences there. The book is current, interesting and just enough information for a young reader. (I also enjoyed it and read it from cover to cover.) It came with a nice poster-size map of China which we hung on our wall as nice reference tool during our stay.

I love the DK books for my 5th/6th grade gifted classroom. I have about 60 of them and they are excellent nonfiction books. Most have AR levels from about 6.0-9.0 and have 1 AR point.Fabulous pictures, great information in such a succinct book, and the kids love them.

Nice book on China that covers a broad range of historical, cultural and geographic topics in the typical "pictures-with-descriptive paragraph" format of the Eyewitness Books series. Purchased as a Christmas gift for my 12-year-old son who has spent many long sessions with it so far. A good, stimulating middle level book on China, with great pictures and information.

I love the DK Eyewitness books for my classroom. The students enjoy them especially the photos.This one did not come with the clip art cd. Very disappointing but no time for returnsWhen you buy used thats the chance you take.

We chose China as our cross-cultural country to "visit" this year in conjunction with the up-coming Olympics. This was a great resource for me in preparing to teach about China, and with the lovely pictures, interesting to the students as well. I was especially pleased with the "free gifts"- the poster was a nice addition and I was able to use the CD pictures for writing promts for the students.

Bit outdated now but interesting read for my 5yo at bedtime.

This is an excellent book which my 10 year old was totally engrossed in. Pitched perfectly.

fast delivery and looks great. I bought it as a Christmas present.