Ep7: Ringing in the Year of the Rooster

Welcome to Episode #7!  My name is Leigh Collazo, and I am a certified school librarian and former middle school English teacher. I'm currently living and librarian-ing in beautiful Suzhou, China. Above all else, I love talking about books!

Since I live in China, I couldn't let Chinese New Year pass by without a podcast dedicated to the celebration. Chinese New Year is really quite something, so in this podcast, I talk about what it's like to live in China during Chinese New Year and what my family has done to celebrate.

My booktalk this time is a bit different. Instead of organizing by genre, I've paired a YA or MG book with each of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Some of these animals were very difficult to pair a book with, so on a couple of them, I had to stretch my imagination a bit!

All books featured in my podcasts are for teen and tween audiences, though I'm sure many adults will love them as well. For more podcasts, book reviews, lesson ideas, and genrefication tips, please visit me at my blog listed below.

 

FIND ME AT:

MrsReaderPants blog

FaceBook

Twitter

Pinterest

Goodreads

 

TITLES DISCUSSED IN THIS PODCAST:

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Anne Wilson
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
Misunderstood: Why the Humble Rat May Be Your Best Pet Ever by Rachel Toor (Rat)
Bull by David Elliott (Ox)
Calvin by Martine Leavitt (Tiger)
Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes (Rabbit)
Falling Into the Dragon's Mouth by Holly Thompson (Dragon)
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (Snake)
The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman (Horse)
Crow Mountain by Lucy Ingles (Horse)
West of the Moon by Margie Preus (Goat/Sheep/Ram)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Monkey)
Egg & Spoon by Gregory MacGuire (Rooster)
A Dog in the Cave by Kay Frydenborg (Dog)
Some Writer! The Story of EB White by Melissa Sweet (Pig)

MUSIC CREDIT:

"Let It Be Christmas" by Nicolai Heidlas. Licensed under Creative Commons, 2016.

 

CHINESE PHRASES MENTIONED:

Xīn nián kuài lè! -- Happy New Year!

Jī nián dà jí! -- Wish you luck in the Year of the Rooster!


Zài jiàn -- Goodbye (literally, "again see")