Yuwen works for a web company as a designer; she is a Beijinger and lives with her husband and son. She likes drawing so much, in her spare time, she just stays at home and draws. Owen, her son, is now 11 years old and studies at Beijing Chenjinglun High School. Owen is a sporty boy: he plays ice hockey and football. Yuwen loves Bejing, and often goes climbing, camping or fishing with her family.
At what age did you start reading to your child?
When he was two or three years old! We started to read to him about dinosaurs – he can identify various dinosaurs from different eras easily. At the same time, my husband started to read English books to him, like Harry Potter. Originally I didn’t believe he could understand it, I thought it was too difficult for him to understand, until one day, he retold us a whole paragraph from the book! That left us shocked, it was amazing!
What books did he enjoy when he was little?
Books with dinosaurs, adventures and magic stories, like Harry Potter I just mentioned before. Another book he likes is Man vs Wild, he is interested in those amazing stories of wilderness survival. At first, we had to read it with an English dictionary, but now he can read the whole original English version by himself. Reading affects us a lot. After he read Man vs Wild, we often went walking, climbing, and camping in the wild in our spare time.
Did you consciously help your child learn to read?
Not really. I just brought a lot of books to him, most of them English original books. But of course I will consciously buy books which match with his age and his interests. For example, as he likes everything related to dinosaurs, then I buy dinosaur-related books. Then he concentrates on reading, because he likes those books so much.
What books did he first enjoy reading on his own?
Harry Potter. It has so much text and few pictures, but he really enjoys it. I think it because of the encouragement of my husband. He read it to him when my son was little, and when he grew up and learned to read, he chose Harry Potter as the first book he read by himself.
Where/ how do you find new books for your child?
Usually I borrow Chinese books from the library, it’s convenient. For English original books, I buy them online or when I travel abroad. Also there are very good book fairs which are held by international schools, that’s a great opportunity to buy good English books.
Do you recommend favorite books from your own childhood? If so, which ones, and did your son like them too?
Yes of course! When I was little, I read picture-story books like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Journey to the West. Those stories are amazing and of course I recommend them to my son. And when he grew up a bit, I recommended kung fu novels like The Legend of Condor Hero to him. He likes it and we often discuss the characters in the novel.
Does your child read comics or magazines? If so which ones?
Definitely, not only does he like to read comics but also he enjoys drawing them! He reads a lot of comics like Star Wars, Transformers, the Japanese manga One Piece, etc. He is planning his birthday party this year at a One Piece themed restaurant.
Does your child have an e-reader? Would you consider getting him one?
Yes I have already bought one for him, because I found lots of good English e-books on Amazon. It’s not expensive and very convenient, you can read some sample chapters before purchasing to make sure it is really what you want to read. And e-books are very convenient when we go out.
Are there any books which your children love but which you can’t stand?
Hardly any. We care about every book he reads; if the content isn’t good or not suitable for his age, we won’t let him read it. My son likes comics, but I don’t like those stories, such as Star Wars, Transformers, Pokemon, and One Piece. I just feel those stories are too cartoony, but definitely, the drawing is really good!
Evelyn Lucero is the Literacy Coach and Curriculum Coordinator at Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA). Originally from the US, she’s been in Beijing for two years with her husband Roberto and three sons, all of whom attend BIBA: Michael (age 17), Dylan (15), and Nolan (13).
At what age did you start reading to your children?
We began reading to our three boys when they were babies but reading to active young boys is a challenge. So when my boys were young toddlers (they were all born within 3.5 years of each other), we would often listen to audio books and watch Scholastic Storybook Treasures, because the kids could still play and my husband and I were still free to run around after them.
What books did they enjoy when they were little?
We had the classics like Good Night, Moon, Are You My Mother?, Where the Wild Things Are, Love You, Forever, many of Dr. Seuss’ books. One of their favorites was the Winnie the Pooh series that they received as a gift. As they grew older they enjoyed Captain Underpants books, Frannie K. Stein books, Rick Riordan books, and poetry from Shel Silverstein.
Did you consciously help your children learn to read?
As a teacher, I was always looking for ways to get my boys to enjoy reading while making it fun and interactive. When they were little, The Leapster gaming system came out and had a letter sound game which had a catchy song that they liked. My oldest two learned their letter sounds within a month or two, and soon after that they noticed that they could actually read their favorite books by reading the words and not just memorizing them. I couldn’t stop them from then on.
What books did they first enjoy reading on their own?
They could all read early on but they would argue that they all wanted to read on their own for enjoyment at different times. My oldest started with “The Name of This Book is a Secret” by Pseudonymous Bosch in 2008 and wanted to read the whole series and that spurred on a drive to read other books in that genre. My middle child read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and then he considered reading for enjoyment. My youngest says that the Myth-O-Mania books by Kate McMullan in fourth grade made him interested in reading for fun.
Where/ how do you find new books for your children?
Nowadays, getting books is so easy! We spend a lot of time at books stores, looking through Scholastic book orders from school, and scouring Amazon and Goodreads for good book reviews. My all time favorite place to get books is from Audible.com, because listening to books while we do chores, go on long trips, or just to hang out has been a fun family activity. Luckily, we are not too picky and willing to try all sorts of new books. The great thing about being here in Beijing is that there are always new things to read.
Do you recommend favorite books from your own childhood? If so, which ones, and did your kids like them too?
I grew up in a household of avid readers and I had many books to choose from, but I found, like my own boys, that I did not feel like a real reader until I started reading more mature books that I picked on my own. When I was a teenager, I found out about Stephen King, and I was hooked from then on. Eventually, I offered my own copy of It to my 16 year old, and he was pleasantly horrified to read it.
Does your child read comics or magazines? If so which ones?
My boys love reading superhero comic books (Marvel and DC), Archie Comics, manga graphic novels, and they enjoyed reading Highlights for Children before we moved to China.
Do your children have an e-reader? Would you consider getting them one?
My youngest son was the only one to ask for an e-reader because we could get both the audio and reading versions of books on his Kindle through Amazon, but my other sons felt that they did not need an e-reader, they could read things on the computer or get the book themselves.
The Kindle has been great for the reading part of it but not so great since games can also be uploaded, and sometimes I find that the games are just too enticing not to play instead of the reading.
Are there any books which your children love but which you can’t stand?
I can see how the Captain Underpants books appeal to the young but they have never really been a favorite of mine. Any book that you have to read one million times and has a plot that a young child can follow is bound to get on your nerves. The classics are still great and I can finally look back on them now and enjoy them for their content and for the memories they bring my family.
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