FICTION
♦ $ China The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen by Lloyd Alexander
A rich fantasy of a young boy's journey from innocence to experience.
A rich fantasy of a young boy's journey from innocence to experience.
CLASSIC LITERATURE
CULTURAL
♥ China Children of China by C. Campbell Brown (1907)
China’s customs through the eyes of an American living there.
♦ $ China Homesick by Jean Fritz
Popular children's book writer, Jean Fritz, tells her own childhood experiences living in China during the turbulent 20s.
♥ Japan A Boy of Old Japan by Robert Van Bergen (1901)
A true story of how a boy was raised a Samurai.
♥ Japan When I Was a Boy in Japan by Sakae Shioya (1920)
Learn about life in early 20th century Japan through the eyes of a Japanese boy.
China’s customs through the eyes of an American living there.
♦ $ China Homesick by Jean Fritz
Popular children's book writer, Jean Fritz, tells her own childhood experiences living in China during the turbulent 20s.
♥ Japan A Boy of Old Japan by Robert Van Bergen (1901)
A true story of how a boy was raised a Samurai.
♥ Japan When I Was a Boy in Japan by Sakae Shioya (1920)
Learn about life in early 20th century Japan through the eyes of a Japanese boy.
HISTORICAL
FC W1-1 Adventures of Marco Polo
FC W11-541 Story of China and Japan
FC W11-541 Story of China and Japan
♦ $ China China's Long March: 6000 Miles of Danger by Jean Fritz
An account of the Chinese Communist Red Army's march for safety and survival in 1934 to 1935, told from the point of view of the common soldier and marchers, some of whom were women
$ China Landmark The Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo by Walsh
$ China Landmark Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings
$ China Landmark Genghis Khan and the Mongo Horde by Harold Lamb
$ China Landmark The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-Sen by Pearl S. Buck
$ China Pageant of Chinese History by Elizabeth Seeger (1934)
This book may be difficult to find, but it is a wonderful overall introduction to Chinese history from ancient times to the early 1900s. It was a Newberry Honor recipient in 1935.
♦ $ China Red Scarf Girl : A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li-Jiang
It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. And when Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.
♥ China The Adventures of Marco Polo by Edward Atherton (1902)
♥ China The Story of China by Robert Van Bergen (1902)
Written for young people.
♥ China The Travels of Marco Polo for Boys and Girls by Thomas Knox (1885)
♥ Japan The Story of Japan by R. Van Bergen
♦ Young People's Story of the Orient by V.M. Hillyer
An account of the Chinese Communist Red Army's march for safety and survival in 1934 to 1935, told from the point of view of the common soldier and marchers, some of whom were women
$ China Landmark The Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo by Walsh
$ China Landmark Clipper Ship Days by John Jennings
$ China Landmark Genghis Khan and the Mongo Horde by Harold Lamb
$ China Landmark The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-Sen by Pearl S. Buck
$ China Pageant of Chinese History by Elizabeth Seeger (1934)
This book may be difficult to find, but it is a wonderful overall introduction to Chinese history from ancient times to the early 1900s. It was a Newberry Honor recipient in 1935.
♦ $ China Red Scarf Girl : A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li-Jiang
It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. And when Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.
♥ China The Adventures of Marco Polo by Edward Atherton (1902)
♥ China The Story of China by Robert Van Bergen (1902)
Written for young people.
♥ China The Travels of Marco Polo for Boys and Girls by Thomas Knox (1885)
♥ Japan The Story of Japan by R. Van Bergen
♦ Young People's Story of the Orient by V.M. Hillyer
HISTORICAL FICTION
JC China (9:22) Service at the Point of a Rifle (from Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze)
♦ China He Went With Marco Polo by Louise Andrews Kent
$ China House of 60 Fathers by Meindert deJong
Little Tien Pao is alone in enemy territory during Second Sin-Japanese War and must make a dangerous journey to try and re-unite with his family.
♦ $ China Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
An early Newbery winner; a 13 year old boy must adjust from rural farming life to city life.
♥ China/Japan Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Japan and China by Thomas Knox(1879)
The Boy Travellers Series
♦ $ The Samurai's Tale by Erik Haugaard
When the powerful Lord Takeda’s soldiers sweep across the countryside, killing and plundering, they spare the boy Taro’s life and take him along with them. Taro becomes a servant in the household of the noble Lord Akiyama, where he meets Togan, a cook, who teaches Taro and makes his new life bearable. But when Togan is murdered, Taro’s life takes a new direction: He will become a samurai, and redeem the family legacy that has been stolen from him.
$ Korea A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
A broken piece of pottery sets events in motion as an orphan struggles to pay off his debt to a master potter. This finely crafted novel brings 12th-century Korea and these indelible characters to life.
$ China House of 60 Fathers by Meindert deJong
Little Tien Pao is alone in enemy territory during Second Sin-Japanese War and must make a dangerous journey to try and re-unite with his family.
♦ $ China Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
An early Newbery winner; a 13 year old boy must adjust from rural farming life to city life.
♥ China/Japan Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Japan and China by Thomas Knox(1879)
The Boy Travellers Series
♦ $ The Samurai's Tale by Erik Haugaard
When the powerful Lord Takeda’s soldiers sweep across the countryside, killing and plundering, they spare the boy Taro’s life and take him along with them. Taro becomes a servant in the household of the noble Lord Akiyama, where he meets Togan, a cook, who teaches Taro and makes his new life bearable. But when Togan is murdered, Taro’s life takes a new direction: He will become a samurai, and redeem the family legacy that has been stolen from him.
$ Korea A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
A broken piece of pottery sets events in motion as an orphan struggles to pay off his debt to a master potter. This finely crafted novel brings 12th-century Korea and these indelible characters to life.
BIOGRAPHIES
♦ $ China Confucius, the Golden Rule by Russell Freedman
"Born in China in 551 B. C., Confucius rose from poverty to the heights of his country's ruling class. But then he quit his high post for the life of an itinerant philosopher. "The Analects" collects his teachings on education and government, the definition of nobility, the equality of man and the right way and purpose of living, ideas that eventually spread to the West and influenced the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. And five centuries before Christ, Confucius set forth his own Golden Rule: "Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."
$ China Gladys Aylward, the Little Woman by Gladys Aylward and Christian Hunter (1970)
"With no mission board to support or guide her, and less than ten dollars in her pocket, Gladys Aylward left her home in England to answer God's call to take the message of the gospel to China. With the Sino-Japanese War waging around her, she struggled to bring the basics of life and the fullness of God to orphaned children. Time after time, God triumphed over impossible situations, and drew people to Himself. The Little Woman tells the story of one woman's determination to serve God at any cost. With God all things are possible!"
♦ $ Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff
Junior Deluxe version, illustrated
$ China No Mountain Too High by Myrna Grant
Trailblazers Series version of Gladys Aylward story.
♦ $ China Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang
Memoir of a young girl in Chinese Cultural Revolution.
♦ $ China The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman
"He claimed to have seen rocks burn, bandits command sandstorms, lions tamed with a look, and sorcerers charm sharks while divers gathered pearls on the ocean floor. Marco Polo shook Europe with descriptions of the world he'd seen on his epic journey to the court of Kublai Khan."
"Born in China in 551 B. C., Confucius rose from poverty to the heights of his country's ruling class. But then he quit his high post for the life of an itinerant philosopher. "The Analects" collects his teachings on education and government, the definition of nobility, the equality of man and the right way and purpose of living, ideas that eventually spread to the West and influenced the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. And five centuries before Christ, Confucius set forth his own Golden Rule: "Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."
$ China Gladys Aylward, the Little Woman by Gladys Aylward and Christian Hunter (1970)
"With no mission board to support or guide her, and less than ten dollars in her pocket, Gladys Aylward left her home in England to answer God's call to take the message of the gospel to China. With the Sino-Japanese War waging around her, she struggled to bring the basics of life and the fullness of God to orphaned children. Time after time, God triumphed over impossible situations, and drew people to Himself. The Little Woman tells the story of one woman's determination to serve God at any cost. With God all things are possible!"
♦ $ Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff
Junior Deluxe version, illustrated
$ China No Mountain Too High by Myrna Grant
Trailblazers Series version of Gladys Aylward story.
♦ $ China Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang
Memoir of a young girl in Chinese Cultural Revolution.
♦ $ China The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman
"He claimed to have seen rocks burn, bandits command sandstorms, lions tamed with a look, and sorcerers charm sharks while divers gathered pearls on the ocean floor. Marco Polo shook Europe with descriptions of the world he'd seen on his epic journey to the court of Kublai Khan."