Reading China

Last week, Sudarat gave me two books to read about China. One was Shen and the other was Chu Ju's House by Gloria Whelan. We are looking for books for the seventh graders to read for a course called Humanities. Chu Ju is about a young teenaged girl who realizes that as a girl, she is not as valued as a boy. When her little sister is born, her poor family cannot afford to raise two girls. They consider selling the baby. To save her sister, Chu Ju runs away.

As I read Chu Ju's story, I compared it with Chrisman's book of stories. One is set in contemporary China, the other in a China of long ago. I didn't read all the stories in Shen of the Sea as I sampled only two of them. In any case, the language would be difficult for my students and they would find it hard to identify with the characters. Chu Ju would be easier to read but I wondered how many of them would be able to identify with the main character's problem. I am looking for a balanced portrayal of the Chinese for my students to read; something that speaks to their experience, too.