LadyDpiano: Bamboo and A Boy in Beijing

In celebration of this years Summer Olympics, I wanted to embrace three special aspects of China:
1. The Panda
The giant panda is considered to be China's national
treasure and has become a symbol of conservation.

http://www.greatbear.org/pandabear.htm Read
more about these special animals that look like a
bear/raccoon!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Panda
Aren't these the cutest photos that you've ever seen?
2. Bamboo from the solo piano album Montana- A Love
Story by George Winston. Check his schedule on MySpace
and see if he'll be playing in your area:

http://www.myspace.com/georgewinston I adore a
simple,peaceful melody like Bamboo. Want to learn the
song? Resources listed for you here below. Take a look
at this great video of Montana along with George
Winston music for your listening pleasure!

George Winston Piano Solos By George Winston. Songbook for solo piano. Exact transcriptions from the recordings, authorized by George Winston. 104 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.306822)
See more info...

3. Guo Yue's Story
I love books because they take you anywhere in the
world! Watch and listen to "Little Leap Forward"
author Guo Yue share his story of growing up during
China's cultural revolution.

An interesting tidbit about this video: Guo Yue provides the beautiful flute music that accompanies his spoken account.
Little Leap Forward is Barefoot Books' very first Young Adult novel! It is beautiful story of friendship found and lost. Set in the time just before and during the Cultural Revolution, the Revolution does not dominate the story, making this book a great choice for young readers. The illustrations are beautiful and the descriptions of life in the hutongs vividly convey family life in the unique Beijing neighborhoods.
The afterward by Guo Yue provides excellent historical context for teachers who want to use this book as part of a unit on modern China or the Cultural Revolution. A refreshing addition to young adult literature of the Cultural Revolution! I hope you enjoy both the video and the book!
http://www.barefoot-books.com/us/site/pages/browseandbuy.php?search=yes